Blog Portfolio and Reflection - Jason Foster

Introduction

Upon entering this course, I assumed that most assignments and discussion would be in relation to the most noteworthy topics relevant to higher education today. I was expecting timely material, but also a discussion of topics that had been issues for several years, and remained current issues. Because of the course structure and long class periods, I also expected that each student would be bringing a current event topic to class each week for discussion. While I was expecting an informal, newspaper clipping, 7^th grade social studies type of experience, we did accomplish delivery of topics to the class through means of the blogging experience.

Overall, I was very excited about the opportunity to engage in intellectual conversations concerning current issues with my peers. I knew that many of my classmates had held, or currently hold, professional positions in various areas of higher education. I was hopeful that the combined experience in the room would allow for intelligent discussion, and that individuals would bring real life examples of failures and successes, concerning current events, to the classroom. While I was excited about the discussion, I was not excited about the large amounts of writing that I was expecting.

I was expecting that students would be required to write several, well researched and referenced, scholarly papers in regards to current events. Admittedly, I overlooked the obvious obstacle to this. With all of our topics related to current events, there is not a plethora of research opportunities to be completed in a literature review style. Because of this, we focused our efforts more on the reflection and analysis of current events through blogging. I was truly excited about this opportunity from the very beginning of the course, and overall was very excited about the format of the course that was laid out before us.

Upon entering the course I pegged budgeting, finances, technology in higher education, and access as the main current events for colleges and universities. These are the topics that receive the most coverage in the news, and are ones of constant attention on almost any campus. I was happy that we identified many of these topics in our original blog posts, and was pleasantly surprised that athletics was added as blog category. I was completely satisfied that we would be covering a wide array of topics, as I initially assumed the class would focus on limited, current topics specifically related to traditional administration and teaching higher education roles and departments.

Best Blogs

http://currentevents695d.blogspot.com/2011/10/college-credit-for-student-athletes.html

http://currentevents695i.blogspot.com/2011/11/protestors-continue-to-waste-everyones.html

http://currentevents695c.blogspot.com/2011/10/are-challenges-facing-us-higher-ed.html

Blogging Reflection

My initial reaction to the blogging portion of the class was one of excitement. I was truly excited for the opportunity to reflect on and analyze current events, offer my thoughts through the blog posts, and receive feedback and opinions through comments. While at times the requirement of blogging seemed to become a bit monotonous, the assignment as a whole was very beneficial, as it provided a base for thought development and topic discussion, and laid the foundation for upcoming classes.

I was disappointed that some topics received post after post in various blogs. While it was nice to receive multiple perspectives on the same topic, it seemed like overkill at times. Some weeks it appeared as though a quarter of the class would post on the same Chronicle of Higher education article. Because of this, I located many of my supporting article though various media outlets. I mainly utilized a Yahoo News search to find higher education topics most pressing during any particular week. By locating articles and sources in this manner, I was able to add some variety to the blog boards. I usually felt as though I was adding topics that otherwise would not have been discussed during our blogging experience, and this is the factor that I enjoyed the most about the experience. I also typically attempted to write articles that would create strong, opposing comments and opinions on various topics. In regards to this attempt, I believe that I was successful with several of my blog posts.

The comment portion of the blogging assignment was also very beneficial to the class. As we met as a class on a limited basis, the requirement of four comments per week encouraged us to share our opinions and thoughts with one another. To be completely honest, I was often disappointed if my blogs received very few comments. The highlight of blogging truly was checking back a day or two later and reading the discussion that took place in regards to my topics and posts through the comments section. I felt as though I was contributing the most to the class, and aiding in the development of my peers the most, when my posts inspired a significant number of comments.

Blogging and commenting was the most important part of the class. Again, this assignment allowed us to be involved in intellectual discussion on a weekly basis, even though the class came together as a group on a limited basis. In addition, when we did come together blogging created a foundation and assisted in developing discussion points for the entire weekend. I would highly recommend this format for future courses.

Summary

Overall this was a great class that lived up to my expectations, encouraged thorough discussion among classmates, addressed the most pressing current issues in higher education today, and provided appropriate, applicable knowledge that I will be able to carry with me into other courses and to my career. While the blogging portion of the class was time consuming on a weekly basis, it was beneficial, and served as a necessary and adequate supplement to our limited time together as a group.

While, generally speaking, I enjoyed the class experience and the course did meet my expectations, a couple of the assigned readings did seem to be a bit dated. Many of the articles were beneficial, and even if they dated to the early 2000’s, they were still applicable to the discussions we were having about current issues in class. However, the technology specifically, seemed to a bit out of touch. It is true that technology remains, and will remain, a huge issue in higher education. However, many of the points in this particular article have been rendered moot by current advances with technology and at higher education institutions. So, while I agree that this remains a relevant topic and should certainly be discussed, there must be an article that would meet the criteria and better meet the needs of the students. If universities continue to replace computers every two years because they are outdated, how can we discuss current trends in technology by discussing an article written in a time when the author was not even aware of the dramatic advances we have achieved in even the past two or three years.

Again, I believe that the most beneficial aspect of this course was related to blogging. By reading blog posts and comments, and contributing to comments, I was able to gain a solid understanding of topics that I had received little information on prior to taking this course. My limited knowledge on topics such as concealed carry policies, transgendered athletes, access to higher education, drug testing, religion at private universities, Hispanic-serving institutions, state legislation, social media, and the overall student experience has been greatly improved.

While the online portion of the blogging assignment was critical to this course, the opportunities it created for discussion in the classroom were amazing. I really enjoyed the opportunity that we had as a class to identify the topics that we viewed as most relevant and interesting. In addition, the breakout into smaller groups probably created the best scenario for learning throughout the entire semester. I often discovered that one or two members of a small group would have a much greater knowledge base and understanding of a particular topic. Because of this the rest of the group was really able to develop their own thoughts on the topic. In return, it may have been a different group member that really knew the background of the next topic, and was able to then pass that knowledge on to others. This created a great atmosphere for learning from one another.

Overall I really enjoyed the structure and layout of the class, and had a very positive semester learning about and discussing current event topics. While some of the reading choices could be updated to mesh more closely with current trends, everything else in the course worked very well to meet the learning objectives outlined for the course. Blogging provided the perfect opportunity to share thoughts with peers, and created a foundation for positive discussions in the classroom. I would definitely take a course structured in similar fashion again.