By
now you should have completed Reading Assignment #1. This would indicate that
you have been able to log in and comment on the class blog site. If you have
not completed Reading Assignment #1, do that before you do this assignment.
What
we would like you to do now is to go to the following page and read some of the
blog posts on various types of assignments left from the students in another
hybrid class we offer. This will give you an idea of how students respond to a
variety of assignment types we will be using for the Cognitive class.
Reading
Activity:
http://www.psychologicalscience.com/history/2012/12/reading-activity-week-15-due-tuesday-3.html
Topical
Blog:
http://www.psychologicalscience.com/history/2012/12/topical-blog-week-15-due-thursday-2.html
Last
Year's Final Project: http://www.psychologicalscience.com/history/2012/12/week-16-final-assignment-2.html
After reading the posts please answer the following four questions:
1) Which posts did you like the best? Why?
2) Were some posts better than others? Why or why not?
3) Has reading these posts changed your idea of how to do assignments for a
hybrid class? Why or why not?
Thanks,
--Dr.
M
JMB
1. I liked the topical blog posts the best. I liked how they have you take material from class and connect it to things that are seen in the world around us. I think that making these connections will allow for me to make sure that I have a complete and accurate understanding of the material.
2. Some posts seemed to have more efforts put into them than others. Some used more terms from the course than others and went into detail as well as having complete explanations. The length did not necessarily mean that one was better or worse, though many of those that seemed better also were the longer posts.
3. The posts did not change my idea of how assignments are done in a hybrid class because I have taken a different hybrid class from Dr.M before. The assignments have the same basic structure as those I have done in the past.
1) I preferred reading the topical blogs more than the reading assignment blogs. To me these are a lot more fun to read because they aren't just listing off a bunch of facts that the reader picked up from the readings. Rather, they are connecting their ideas to things that are happening in the news. Like you have preached in previous courses this is what helps us truly learn because we are applying this information rather than just memorizing it and this is what makes it more interesting to read.
2) Some posts were definitely better than others, and you could tell by the amount of terms that they used, how far in depth they went with details and descriptions, and in some cases even by the length. I did see a few posts however that just seemed to ramble on and on and personally I would rather read a shorter post where the information is more to the point.
3) Reading these posts didn't really change my idea of how assignments are done in hybrid classes because I have already taken bmod and history with Dr. M and these example blogs were very similar to ones I have written in the past, although I must say some were a lot longer than I have ever remembered people writing.
KF
1) Which posts did you like the best? Why?
The posts that were most interesting to me were the topical posts when the students were asked to synthesize what they had read about a section from the text that was interesting to them. I like that idea because each student can choose a specific topic they are interested in to research as opposed to a topic someone chose for them. This format allows for much more free writing and less stress.
2) Were some posts better than others? Why or why not?
Some of the posts were much better than others, the quality of the post in many of the blogs I read depended on the amount of information. The better posts were more descriptive and detailed than others that were rushed and less informative.
3) Has reading these posts changed your idea of how to do assignments for a hybrid class? Why or why not?
Reading some of the posts gave me ideas to implement when I start writing my own blogs. However my idea of how to do assignments for a hybrid class was not changed much because I have had similar hybrid classes before.
MRG
1) Which posts did you like the best? Why?
The posts I preferred reading were the topical posts. Students seem to relate to these posts better and understand what is being asked of more. The students were able to take the classroom material and relate it to a real-world scenarios within these posts rather than using fact-based knowledge pulled from a textbook. It also makes the other students reading their post more interested in what is being said.
2) Were some posts better than others? Why or why not?
The length of the posts did not determine if one post was better than another, but rather the terms used within the posts. Posts that were more descriptive and therefore informative, seemed better than other posts that were rushed and did not tie to the classroom material. However, short and to-the-point posts captured my attention more and were typically easier to understand.
3) Has reading these posts changed your idea of how to do assignments for a hybrid class? Why or why not?
As I read these posts, my idea of how to do assignments for a hybrid class did not change. I have taken other hybrid classes before, so I am familiar with this structure. I think blogs for other classes are all in a similar format.
I.B.
1) Which posts did you like the best? Why?
The topical blogs were more interesting to read, because the students write about something that interests them.
2) Were some posts better than others? Why or why not?
The more in depth posts are better, but if i were to have to sit down and read them all I personally would prefer the shorter ones.
3) Has reading these posts changed your idea of how to do assignments for a hybrid class? Why or why not?
Not really, but that's because this will be my fifth hybrid class. If i didn't have things down by now, I'd be pretty hopeless.
M.B.D.
1) Which posts did you like the best? Why?
The posts that I liked the most were the ones that went into much detail about the course content. It is easy to see who reads the chapters and who can link the terms with the class content and put it into their assignments. Even if I were to simply skim trough the blogs fast, it is easy to see who does the work and applies their learnings to their blogs. I was especially drawn to the blogs that were done by “Cassidy Myers”. They were all very in depth and specific to the class material. She found ways to link in her knew knowledge and even the knowledge she acquired from previous chapters.
2) Were some posts better than others? Why or why not?
Some of the blogs were better than others. Most of them were very long and included many class terms. But some were more interesting for me to read. Others were not interesting to me at all. There was one blog specifically that stood out for me that was much worse than the others and that would be one of “jennas” blogs. The one that this person wrote under the topical blog section was very short. I instantly stopped at it and realized that she had probably not succeeded at receiving a good grade in that assignment. It was a much shorter blog and it wasn’t in depth at all. It seemed obvious that when she wrote that blog, she flew through it almost as if she was in a rush to get it done.
3) Has reading these posts changed your idea of how to do assignments for a hybrid class? Why or why not?
It has only changed my idea of this class a slight amount. I have taken a couple classes with Dr. Kim MacLin, so I kind of knew what to expect. This class seems a bit different, but I expected a lot of online blogging and research.
M.E.
1) Which posts did you like the best? Why?
I liked the topical blog post about the history of LSD the best. I liked this post because it showed how research in psychology has changed in just the last 60 years. The rights and safety of participants drastically changed research in psychology. It is interesting to read studies that were considered ethical at the time but would never be approved by institutional review boards now.
2) Were some posts better than others? Why or why not?
Some posts were better than others. Several posts just restated facts from the reading rather than discussing the reading or bringing further insight. The posts that were reactions to the reading were much more interesting than summaries of the reading. I also think good posts used terminology from the reading and used the terminology correctly. Psychology uses a lot of jargon and I think it is important to understand that jargon when discussing topics in psychology.
3) Has reading these posts changed your idea of how to do assignments for a hybrid class? Why or why not?
Reading these posts changed my idea of how to assignments for a hybrid class because I noticed that good posts discuss the readings rather than summarizing the readings. I think it is important to add to the reading or bring up related points rather than just restating what everyone has already read in the assigned reading.
N.M.S.
1. The posts I liked the best were the ones where there were one to two paragraphs answering a question in the chapter response assignment. This seemed like an amount of writing that allowed many of the students to effectively communicate what specific constructs they found interesting and why. I enjoyed the posts more or felt like I was able to understand the posts better when they were being descriptive and effectively tying in their answers/writing with the question/course related content. For me personally, I liked the posts that had answers in the same order the questions are asked in the instructions. I found that those posts were easier to follow.
2. I do feel that some posts were better than others. In some posts the things I mentioned in response to question one were not present. Some students did not write enough for me to feel I fully understood their rationale for having their interest or answer. Other times it did not appear that students had actually answered all the questions the assignment called for. Sometimes when reading posts with too few paragraph breaks, reading felt somewhat more difficult than posts that contained paragraph breaks at least separating each individual answer to the questions.
3. I do not feel that my idea of how to do assignments for a hybrid course has been changed. In a previous hybrid course I took, I tried to be sure that I adequately answered every question in terms of both quantity of writing in my answers as well as their quality in the form of relevance to the question/course material and was successful in the class. Another reason for not changing my feelings on how to do assignments for a hybrid class is that with a different instructor/class I was a TA for a hybrid class. Consequently, I have already been asked to judge many assignments in a hybrid class and have already given a great deal of thought in to what types of things make certain posts ‘better’ than others or ‘good.’ However, I do not expect the classes to be identical and will be ready for feedback/grades to show me if my strategies/feelings for how to do assignments in a hybrid class are effective for this particular course.
JMM
1)Which posts did you like the best? Why?
I really enjoyed looking at the topical blogs because it gave the students the freedom to write about something that interested them in the readings and expand on their knowledge. I personally love having the freedom to delve into subjects and people that I only know about on the surface. I also felt that the blogs that were well organized and answered your questions directly before expanding were the easiest and more enjoyable to read. They laid the information out in a way that made it easy to understand and made you more willing to take the time to read it.
2)Were some posts better than others? Why or why not?
I do believe some posts were better than others. It was interesting to me to see the difference in lengths with some posts. It seemed that the shorter posts still covered the questions but just didn't go into as much detail. I also think that some posts were just better written and had a format that made them easier to read and understand. I also think that having good paragraph structure really helps the reader separate ideas and that definitely made some posts much better than others.
3)Has reading these posts changed your idea of how to do assignments for a hybrid class? Why or why not?
After reading the posts I definitely feel I have a clearer idea of how you want the assignments to be completed. The posts were very in depth and informative. They were also well written and organized. This is my first hybrid class so I was unsure of what to expect but having read some of these assignments I feel I have a much better idea of your expectations.
JAF
1. I liked the topical posts the best. I did so because these posts were primarily more focused and concise, as they should be, because they focus on a topic. You could get a lot more from these posts and the students' writing seemed to be a lot less filler and more relevant to the topic. Also, the way the topical posts seem to be set up lets the students go deeper into a certain topic that they are already learning about. This makes it easier to synthesize the material in general by giving the student the freedom to find related topics and use information already presented and kind of relate it all together in a new topic.
2.Some posts were better than others. As the reader I could tell that:some posts were easier to understand, some were structured better, some answered the questions directly and some were more tangent filled. I don't know what ones received better grades, but for shorter writing, like journal posts, I feel more concise writing and making your case without a lot of filler is more informational to both writer and reader.
3. Reading these posts did change my expectations of how to do the journals for this class. They were a little bit longer and packed with information. They were also a bit more open ended, which I like, because a lot of the questions give the student the choice of what exactly to write about within the context of the topic or assignment given. I feel like I am better prepared for the journal assignments.
T.L.
It was weird to see some of my work from last semester. I enjoyed doing topical blogs best when I was doing blogs a couple semesters ago. I liked them better because I got to talk about what I liked the most from the chapter that week. It is easier to write about something that you are interested in. I know what it takes to do well and what makes a good post. The more that you have to say and the more effort that you put into a post, the better grade you will receive. Otto says that the more you have to write the better grade you will get, and that makes sense. The more you have to write generally means that you invested more time into the blog. I always liked doing the blogs, so it was never about that I was concerned with length because there is always more to talk about. After reading some of the other blogs I could tell that some people did not put in the time because their blogs were not as long and very concise. There is so much structured freedom in this class that if you follow the outline and answer the questions for each blog, then one should do well in this class. You just need to out in the effort!
KT
1. I liked them all. They were in depth about the subjects that were being talked about the fields that they were looking at. Each type of post has its own kind of wonder to it, so you have to wonder what each topic has to do for the author. There are many things that can be said about each post.
2. There are some posts that are better than others. Some were more in depth than others and they explained things far better than those of others. There were blogs that were more to the point of telling you things so that you could figure out things about the people and what they were studying. Some people weren't putting all the effort that they could into what they were writing and that is something that you need to do with a class.
3. Yes, my other hybrid class was much different so this seems like a fun class to try new things with. I can’t wait to start blogging about things that I learn in this class. It seems like I am in for a great semester.
SV
1) I liked both the chapter and topical blog posts, because we are able to elaborate on about what we are learning in class, as well as in my last hybrid class history and systems, we were able to take a person from a chapter or a topic and do some research on it to learn more about it. I felt this help me learn so much more from my class.
2) Some posts were better than others, just depended on the person and how well they went into detail about what the topic was.
3) I have taken a hybrid class with you before, so I know what to expect of the assignments, and I really like how they are set up. It helped me learn.
OM
1) Which posts did you like the best? Why?
I liked the topical blogs the best. When I was looking through their answers they got to write about something that interested them and they had to find information for it. They actually had to learn about what they were reading which I don't see often. Usually you are given the chapter and do nothing with it. Here you have to go into detail with it.
2) Were some posts better than others? Why or why not?
I do think some posts are better than others because of the detail factor. All those people did what they need too but they didn't put as much work into their answer as others. Them in doing this got a point out but maybe not the whole point. Just saying the answer and not describing it.
3) Has reading these posts changed your idea of how to do assignments for a hybrid class? Why or why not?
Yes, I do think it did change my idea of how to do assignments. I have never taken a hybrid class so reading these has showed me more of what is expected rather than just guessing that I'm doing it right.
SIM
1) Which posts did you like the best? Why?
I thought the topical blog posts were the most interesting to read through, because there was a larger variety in the types of answers people responded with. They had more freedom to choose what they wanted to write about and got to look for information in regards to whatever it is they wanted to learn more about. I think this is ironic for me though because, while I thought they were the most interesting for me to read, I feel as though they would have been one of my least favorite to write about. For whatever the reason, I tend to do better responding to questions regarding a textbook reading than I do researching and gathering information online to compile together and report.
2) Were some posts better than others? Why or why not?
I do believe some of the posts were better than others. Some of them were simply more interestingly reported and better in that way, but that doesn't necessarily mean the posts that were less interesting were of a worse writing quality. Most of them did seem to be fairly well reported, and written at a college standard. There were some that could have likely been improved had a bit more time and effort been put in, but these still weren't overall poor posts.
3) Has reading these posts changed your idea of how to do assignments for a hybrid class? Why or why not?
Yes, it has changed my idea of how I will complete assignments for this course. It is clear that a significant amount of thought and time is expected when working on these out-of-class assignments. As is the purpose of a hybrid course, while we will do some learning in the classroom, we are also expected to be apt enough to put in the work and be able to learn on our own time as well. After reading through these posts I will prepare myself to make sure I set adequate time aside to do a thorough job when my turn to do some of these assignments comes around.
M.S.
1) Which posts did you like the best? Why?
The posts that I like are the ones that have personal opinion in them. I think reading posts give you a sense of who that person is. I prefer the topical blog posts over the reading posts. I prefer those because the student gets to choose what they write about. I like that because when you read their post, you know that they were at least a little interested in the topic that they did their blog on.
2) Were some posts better than others? Why or why not?
Even though the posts are not always interesting, I think that a longer post is almost always better than a shorter post. The longer posts have more detail in them and there is a better chance that the student that wrote a long post understood the material better. I also thought that when the students added their own personal opinion, the post was better and more interesting to read.
3) Has reading these posts changed your idea of how to do assignments for a hybrid class? Why or why not?
Reading these posts has not changed my idea of how to do assignments for hybrid classes because I have taken two of Otto's hybrid classes before so I have a good idea of how they work and how to do the blogs. I am already aware of how much time and effort I should put in each week for this class.
JMW
1) Which posts did you like the best? Why?
I like the topical blogs each week better than the reading assignments because you could see the individual interests of each person shining through. It seemed like a less tedious task than answering questions about what material you read. I think I will enjoy my topical blogs more because I get to choose what I write about.
2) Were some posts better than others? Why or why not?
Some posts were definitely better than others. You could tell that some students were just doing the assignment to get it done, while others were actively participating in what they read or researched and were genuinely interested in the assignment. Some posts were longer than others, but this did not necessarily mean that the post was better. Some people had shorter posts that were better because they were to the point and didn't have a lot of filler.
3) Has reading these posts changed your idea of how to do assignments for a hybrid class? Why or why not?
They have not really changed my understanding. Having taken three hybrid courses in the past, I have a pretty good understanding of how the class is going to go. Nonetheless, I am really looking forward to this course to expand my knowledge of psychology.
AELM
1) I liked the topical blogs best because of the fact that there is more of the individuals preferences in the topics rather than being told that you have to write about this "said" topic. I think that the topical blogs will be something that wont be so dreadful to write about not only because its what you find interesting but also that you are able to apply it to the real world. I feel that this will make the information stick in my brain easier than the reading assignments, as they will take more work.
2) Some post were defiantly better than others, you were able to tell on some of the post that people just looked at what others may have commented above or that they are just answering the question to just get the assignment done and over with. But with others you were able to tell that they were actively engaged in what they were learning and they were trying to turn the research into retained knowledge that they could use in 5 years. Some post may have been longer than other post but this was not a given reason that they were better some people just ran on about the information and didn't actually make a point with what they were trying to say and describing what they are taking about in full detail.
3) After reading these post it has not really changed my outlook on the class but it has helped me to understand what will be expected of me throughout the semester. This is my first hybrid course as I am new to UNI this semester but I am really looking forward to learning about cognitive psychology.
JPD
1. I liked the topical blogs the best. After reading some of them and comparing them to the reading activity blogs it seemed to me that the topical blogs were written with more enthusiasm. This is probably due to the fact that the students got to choose what specific topic/person they were writing about instead of summarizing everything they learned in the chapter.
2. Some posts were better than others. The better posts tended to use more definitions were written better overall. These posts also tended to be the longer ones in the comments section.
3. Reading the posts hasn't really changed my idea of how to do the assignments in the hybrid class. This is mainly because I have taken classes with both of the MacLins before and know what is expected.
CT
I liked the topical blogs better because people were able to explore further into the topics and you can tell it is something that they are really interested in. In the reading blogs people seem interested, but I don't feel they delve into the subjects as much.
I think that the better posts tended to be the longer ones, they were also the ones that used more definitions and explained things or used examples.
Reading the posts hasn't really changed my idea on this class, because I've taken several hybrid classes from the Maclins, but it did give me a nice refresher for what is expected.
M.P.
1) Which posts did you like the best? Why?
The posts I preferred to look over like what many others have stated in their blogs is the topical blogs. The reason for my choice is that the topical blogs from what you can probably guess from the assignments title “topical” it is were a person picks a topic of their own choice then they research it, and that is why I like them the most.
2)Were some posts better than others? Why or why not?
Yes, some of the posts were better than others. In both the topical and the reading activities there were some people who had gotten extensively into their topic/reading assignment, and found several different sources or used many different terms. Some of the better posts also had some personal stories of their own life experiences worked into their blogs. The other posts that were not as great as the others were not very long which in turn they did not have as much on their topic or explain terms very well as others.
3) Has reading these posts changed your idea of how to do assignments for a hybrid class? Why or why not?
Reading these posts have not changed my idea of the hybrid class, and how the assignments need to be done because I have taken previous classes with Kim and her hybrid classes are formatted very similar.
JMW
1) I liked the history, or the chapter blogs the best because I thought it was really interesting to see all of the things that the different students found neat to learn about and why they liked reading about it more than some of the other things in the chapters.
2) Yes, some posts are much better than others. I particularly like the posts that start with a little overview of their opinion of the chapter, then they go into what they found interesting. I also found that the posts that are well written are easier and more fun to read because I’m not trying to decipher what the person is talking about, I’m simply able to read and enjoy what they enjoyed. Personally I also liked the blogs that took some time to really explain why they thought things, and how they came about these particular opinions or feeling because I can tell they especially actually read the text and understood and were legitimately excited about what they were talking about, and that made it more fun to read as well.
3) Not particularly because I have taken an online class with Kim MacLin before and she really went through what constitutes a good blog post and how to use the sources we find and everything, so I have a decent handle on that already.
JMW
1) I liked the history, or the chapter blogs the best because I thought it was really interesting to see all of the things that the different students found neat to learn about and why they liked reading about it more than some of the other things in the chapters.
2) Yes, some posts are much better than others. I particularly like the posts that start with a little overview of their opinion of the chapter, then they go into what they found interesting. I also found that the posts that are well written are easier and more fun to read because I’m not trying to decipher what the person is talking about, I’m simply able to read and enjoy what they enjoyed. Personally I also liked the blogs that took some time to really explain why they thought things, and how they came about these particular opinions or feeling because I can tell they especially actually read the text and understood and were legitimately excited about what they were talking about, and that made it more fun to read as well.
3) Not particularly because I have taken an online class with Kim MacLin before and she really went through what constitutes a good blog post and how to use the sources we find and everything, so I have a decent handle on that already.
EDE
I like the topical post. what others think are interesting and when the high points are hit it really makes you think I like this and want to know more or I don't like that or I see where you are coming from but I don't agree.
Some are better to read then others, easier, more interesting, better written. some are more excited and others just want to get it done.
No not really I think that I know what is going to happen and how to do it. I am taking 3 of them this semester.
EVL
1. The posts I like the best were the topical blog posts. There is much more of a variety of information and opinions in the topical blog posts than in the reading assignment blog posts. I think this is because the topical blog assignments allow students to be more opinionated and research further into particular topics they are interested in. The reading assignment posts are interesting, though, because you can definitely tell who actually read the chapter and who did not.
2. There were some posts that were better than others. Mostly, the posts where the definitions are more clear and discussed thoroughly are the better posts. There is a very clear difference between the posts that you can tell were rushed and the posts that were taken seriously by the students. However, I do not think length always means the post is better. Some of the long posts were far too repetitive.
3. Looking at the blog posts did not really change my opinion or thoughts about how this class works. I have taken a hybrid class prior to this one, so I am mostly aware of how this class is going to work.
I like shorter posts best because I often get lost reading long posts, doesn’t matter how interesting it seems. Those short topical blog posts really caught my attention because it is easy to comprehend with only necessary details.
Posts that are not repetitive, short, and definitive are better than others that are filled unnecessary and irrelevant information
No. I have taken an online class before, so I have an idea of how hybrid class works.
1) Which posts did you like the best? Why?
I like shorter posts best because I often get lost reading long posts, doesn’t matter how interesting it seems. Those short topical blog posts really caught my attention because it is easy to comprehend with only necessary details.
2) Were some posts better than others? Why or why not?
Posts that are not repetitive, short, and definitive are better than others that are filled unnecessary and irrelevant information
3) Has reading these posts changed your idea of how to do assignments for a hybrid class? Why or why not?
No. I have taken an online class before, so I have an idea of how hybrid class works.