19.11.08

Reflective Blogs

Whence am I Coming?
This paper is informed by both my participation in the Digital Information Literacy Project as well as my experience as a Theatre Studies student and a director of theatre.

Digital Information Literacy Project

  • Supported by the University of Otago Library
  • Action Research based enquiry
  • Examining how Theatre Studies and the Library can mobilise Web 2.0 technologies to increase communication.
  • From this enquiry it became clear that blogs were a good (and easy) way to increase communication.

Theatre Studies

  • For 400-level papers we were required to keep a journal
  • Most of us had very little idea about what was expected of us - and the lecturer was understandably anxious about giving us exemplars
  • We were not encouraged to share our journals and there was little incentive to write regularly

This report is coming from a student perspective; I have found blogging a useful way to informally improve my theatre practice

Blogs Provide an Alternative to Traditional Journalling
  • They have the potential to keep students more "on-track" because the lecturer can keep an eye on their posting behaviour
  • They have the potential for immediate feedback from both the lecturer and others in the class. Particularly when journalling is undertaken by a small class they can make the task seem less isolating
  • Because they can be media-rich - allowing easy posting of pictures and video - they provide a much greater range of creative potential
  • In a theatrical context - particularly when a student is creating a piece of theatre that will be shown to the public - they have the potential to heighten awareness of the audience so that audience could be much more "informed" about a production. Blogging is also a useful life-learning skill that theatre students can take with them if they continue with a theatre career.

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