Writing in the Strings Class

I like the idea of using a blog with my students.  I use my teacher website as a blog for news, posting assignments, reminders, calendar of events and due dates, providing links to interesting and helpful websites, a storage place for copies of things I hand out, pictures and video links of our performances, course outline and expectations.  This website is on the school server, and therefore is subject to all the media expectations which govern the use of that space.  I am not sure about policy on using a site which the DOE or the school board does not have some sort of control over.  The only drawback is that not all the students check the website frequently.  I update it a couple times a month.

I have set up a Moodle classroom for students to use as a forum for their written responses including concert reflections, goal setting, reports, etc.  They will be posting their first assignments over the next week.  I am not sure yet how they will respond to seeing  each other's work, and if that will affect them in their writing.  I would hope that it will  become an asynchronous chat room in which they can ask questions of each other and write or respond for extended learning.

I hope that as the students become more used to having to write for the Strings course (formerly only a performance based course) that they will begin to become motivated to take things deeper. I organize my in- class time mainly around  rehearsing and theory instruction.  The written assignments are a chance for me to learn about the students and how they think, so that I can choose repertoire and activities which are going to motivate better and build skills where there are gaps.  Up to now, I have not marked for content, clarity or spelling and grammar. I have marked assignments on completion (or not) and subjectively on quality of response. (originality, detail, use of musical terminology, depth of understanding and making connections).

This is an evolving project with my students.  Most are receptive to using the on-line Moodle environment for handing in their assignments; several have used it in other classes, I hope it will help organize those students who can't hold on to paper and pencils.

One thing I especially like about blogging is that as you write, your ideas become clearer and you can see where you are heading with an idea.  It is a fast way of writing and it does not require an outline or a complete understanding of the WHOLE  before beginning to write your way through a problem.

Blog vs Journal Comparison

BLOG	JOURNAL
Potentially wide, unknown audience	Audience is determined by author
May include pictures, video, sound,	May include drawings, hand made art
Satisfaction of immediate publication	Choice of whether or not to “publish”
Public	Private
Subject matter usually  limited to a category: cooking, travel, group news, personal experience, family, crafts,	Subject matter unlimited
Searchable with tags and archives	Searchable by memory or skimming
Dependent on electricity	Dependent on paper and pen/pencil
Length  of post is determined more by brevity and pithiness	Length is not a consideration
May be started and abandoned	May be started and abandoned
Easy to compare one blog to another	Usually not comparable unless the journal author is deceased.
Blogs can be written by anyone; you don’t have to be an expert to sound like one.  Making sense is the purpose.	Journals can be written by anyone,  and it doesn’t matter if it is stream of consciousness writing or not.  Making sense might not be the purpose.
As a reader, blogs provide a wide range of accessible articles to follow, as in a magazine.  I follow about 15 weekly.  I always feel like I got a letter in the mailbox when there is a new post.   Some of the blog authors do not know me, some I have met. One of my favourite blogs is written by a 9 year old who is raising money for school kitchens in Malawi. Another is by a music professor who had a major stroke and is writing about music’s role in his recovery. I find I am disappointed when the authors abandon their blogs, because they have “hooked” me into their story.	The only journals I have read are my own. This is generally a somewhat painful exercise in memory. I usually just burn them after a few years, and don’t look at them after writing. The act of writing is important, however, reading what I have written is less so for me.
Uses for blogs: Best for External Notes and instructions for a choir on rehearsals and concerts “how to” do anything A place to collect quotes Reflection on anything Sharing of a sketchbook or art projects Travel diary	Uses for journals  best for Internal Record dreams Set personal goals Release strong feelings Clarify memory Analyse experience