Proof of Learning Week 2

For the second week I tried to more actively engage other classmates and change my posting style. While I achieved a great deal of success I believe with my initial posts in generating questions for people to think about and reply too, my follow up posts were very impersonal and sometimes confrontational. Instead for the second week I attempted to take a few small steps that I will continue to build on as the course moves forward. Firstly, I started using peoples names when I replied to them, as that creates since of familiarity and comfort for many people. I noticed many others doing the same and would reply to me starting with my name on the discussion board as they addressed me directly. I focused heavily on trying to not confront people, but more ask them questions and invite them to respond much as I would do with my first posting of the daily discussion.

Secondly, I attempted to really get more involved in some discussion. I don't feel I was able to really catch interest in running a long debate with someone yet. I either strong agree with most of our posters or only slightly disagree with others. I tend to a heavy debater, but I need a strong counter-argument to get that part of my brain going.

Note taking in Sparklix I am finding clunky and odd. I usually take very sparse notes in class and work for reading later that will allow me to expand on idea in a few bullet points. While I am aware there is no requirements for what I take in these notes, I can't help but feel as though my notes will seem as though I did not put much effort into them.

Overall I feel as though I am doing well. But if I had to pick one Genre in which I do not feel comfortable it would be this blog itself. While I do actually maintain a blog elsewhere on the web, it is a private blog viewable only to closed online community and contains a great deal of personal day to day information. This blog is a different beast all together. I look at it as a professional but public work. This is a field I'll have to work on as I'm not exactly sure yet what to do with this genre and I am hoping for some additional feedback.

Topics Close to Home

I was forced this week to think critically about many subjects pertaining to something I spend a great deal of time invested in, mainly Online Communities and how they effect people. I would be lying if I said I've never given this subject much thought.

What was the most interesting for me was seeing how other people, especially those who know little about this subject, or those who's experience is limited to simple social networking sites view the topic. I've gotten to discuss this before at length with people who share similar views and experiences as I, but never have I been exposed to so many at once whom have never partaken in one of these communities.

I'm looking forward to seeing what more people have to say and reflecting on it as the class goes on.

I did not have any difficulties accessing any of the information, and I hope I helped a few people out who were having trouble, especially with Friday's reading as it was not as straight forward to access as some of the others.