martedì 23 ottobre 2007

Time flies when you're having fun...

I decided to start this post about my first two weeks of blogging quoting this sentence Mrs Guth pronounced at the end of our last lesson, while we were trying to create, modify and writing posts, challenging with Html language. As I heard her words I immediately thought that in that moment I was actually very far from sharing her opinion, but this was probably because when I have to do with computers there is always something that doesn’t work or that I can’t control and I hate when I can’t control the situation, I simply get very nervous.
These two first week of blogging have been quite demanding and I can’t say I really had fun – but maybe I wasn’t supposed to anyway. Probably at the beginning it is always hard because we have to familiarize with the programs and the blogs but once we understand how it works everything should be easier. Although we had only two e-tivities to accomplish I realized I spent a lot of time surfing the Net: writing a presentation wasn’t really demanding from this point of view, after all we had only to find a photo that suited our personality but e-tivity 2 was slightly more difficult to carry out. I think I visited a dozen blogs before finding those that interested me the most and I wasn’t even very happy with them but time was running out and could spent days exploring the whole blogospere as I had also to write a post with meaningful observations. I really don’t think that spending so much time in front of a computer might be really productive for our English, I mean, we have the opportunity to read a lot of English texts with different styles but sometimes it turns out to be boring and even frustrating, however this first semester is all about blogging so staring in front the computer for hours will be normal, that is why I’m realising that my complains just do not make any sense.
I hope that we will be able to have more conversation with our peers on Monday because so far we didn’t have the possibility to discuss a lot, we only exchange a few words and if we are supposed to improve our oral skills and speak English fluently it would be a good idea to focus on conversation, although I’m aware that there are lot of students and it’s going to be challenging.
Let me know what you think, I’m looking forward to having your responses!

5 commenti:

Alesssia L. ha detto...

Hi Giada!

I read your post and it seems to me you're a bit demoralised and skeptical about blogging...but don't worry I felt exactly the same. At first, blogging can be seen as almost completely useless as far as our learning process is concerned but actually it gives us the possibility to do lots of exciting activities.
Can you imagine how boring (and to a certain extent useless) a traditional grammar lesson can be?Well, I definetly prefer to be involved in these activities!:-)

I know that keeping a blog is time consuming and I respect your opinion but I hope you will overcome your skepticism about blogging...

That's all, I hope you'll write me back soon to let me know your impressions...

Bye bye

Alessia

Letizia ha detto...

Hi Giada!
Like you and Alessia, I feel a bit demoralised about blogging too. However I think it is a good way to improve our english. Also the speaking lessons in classroom are very useful, because we have the possiblity to speak with a person who is sitting in front of us and this is very different from the blog.
Like you I'm not very familiar with the computer and I don't like it, but I think our courseblog is an opportunity to learn loving it!!! I hope!!!
So let's start to think positive about computers!
See you soon!
Letizia

Blogger ha detto...

Ok girls I feel the same...Moreover in my room there is a connection slower than 56 KB! Can you imagine what does it mean? It means waiting HALF AN HOUR for a page to open, especially when I upload a photo on my posts. This is why this week I could accomplish last task at 1:32 AM!!!
However we have to blog and it is better do it with a better mood. For example I started use colours, modify photos and put links in order to enjoy myself while posting and blogging.
I think it is quite normal to get bored sometimes when blogging, but come on!! We passed worse moments - remember Scott's exames!- and we're still here!
So take a breath, smile and type your posts!
Bye bye!

The Ghellers ha detto...

Hi Giada!
I perfectly understand your scepticism. We have been working with first class for three years and this “useful tool” has become our personal nightmare: deadlines, marks, peer correction and so on.
Well, I think that blogging is a bit different. Of course there are deadlines and marks (we are following a university course, aren’t we?) but it’s a more involving experience.
However, I think we should say the last word at the end!
Think positively!
Stefania

Silvia Nicolini ha detto...

Hi girls!

I agree with all of you that blogging sometimes can be a little frustrating because it takes plenty of time and energy to do the e-tivities each week and with the necessary accuracy..like you Giada I don’t have a good relationship with computers and technology in general; however, these weeks of blogging have really made me change my mind, as I’ve realized that from blogs you can really know a lot of things and give your own point of view, and I think this exchange of ideas is really important to both open our mind to new experiences and improve our English as well!
So we should start thinking about the e-tivities in a positive way, as we are doing something new and exciting in spite of what we did last year..now I feel more motivated because we can interact more with each other and learn from our mistakes in a more positive and relaxing atmosphere! ;-)
See you tomorrow !