Thing #12 Creating Community through Commenting

This "Thing" was challenging for me since, until this project, I've been content to "lurk and learn" rather than contribute to the edublogosphere. (It was fun to write encouraging comments on my Library2Play colleagues' blogs.) One point about commenting that I learned through the discovery activities on this task is that different bloggers view their blogs and comments differently. For some, blogging is an exercise in personal reflection so comments are valued, but not a means to a further conversation. For others, a blog is a chance to publicly reflect on ideas and ask questions so comments are essential to maintain the dialogue. I feel that both types of blogs are valuable contributions to the Web 2.0 learning environment. Another point that I knew, but it was nice to reflect upon, was that comments from "Darth Commenter" are never appropriate. That point would be essential when assigning a blogging project to students.

I've left a comment on Drape's Takes blog to thank him for his insights on this challenging topic of edublogging etiquette. I've also submitted a comment on the Speaking of History blog (although at the time of this writing, it had not yet been posted--maybe he approves comments before they're posted?) to thank him for posting his presentation at NECC. The presentation was about integrating Zunes into the classroom--very interesting!