What do you like / dislike about leaving comments? How did you feel when you received your first comment? Why do you think commenting is so important in online communities? What might this mean for students who share their writing online?
Leaving comments - just like posting to a blog in general - is a little bit scary. A lot of things ran through my mind as I wrote: What if my comments are really trivial? What if someone takes my post the wrong way? Do I have anything worthwhile to contribute? It seems harder to comment when the blogger is a person unknown to you. People do get to know one another communicating through blogs so maybe "conversations" will be easier once a dialog is established.
I am slowly coming to the realization however, that posting to a smaller, defined community rather than the world at large also makes a difference. If I talk to people through a blog who have a common interest and experience, it's much less daunting. I may never be comfortable posting to a YouTube site that is viewed by thousands of people ... but I could easily post to a blog with comments for teachers and media specialists who share some of the same issues as myself. That's probably an obvious thing but it really helps me feel less intimidated.
I've only gotten one comment other than the 23 Things moderators. It was nice to think that someone read my blog but it makes me even more aware that I need to be coherent and try to say something worth reading. That's an important concept for students also who struggle to develop writing skills in any venue. Knowing that there is an audience besides the teacher might just be the thing to help them focus more on the quality of their writing.
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