Student Feedback

“My research process started off slowly because there were so many different paths I could pursue with the text I chose to read for Inquiry 2.  What I soon discovered as I began to delve into the text, was that the most efficient way to sift through the possible topics was to research the various themes, as I read.  I continued to read the novel and do some research on each theme, as I came upon it in my reading.  I discovered that the WordPress blogging was an excellent method to help break up the story and narrow down my topic at my own pace, as I read the story.  I found the blogging very useful because I was able to keep my research and topic choices organized and up-to-date, by keeping each entry in its own, separate blog post.  Every time I began a new post, I could enter the information into the Internet search engine, or the Miami University online library databases and explore my options.  By utilizing this method, I knew right away whether or not there would be a plethora of resourceful information for that topic, or if the selection was limited.  I found this system of brainstorming, researching, and reading at the same time to be quite proficient, whereas I also credit it with helping me better understand the content of the story.” (Contributor)

“One thing I learned that was unexpected for, I thought, an English class was how to create a blog. I think the idea of a research blog is good idea although very time consuming. As I was preparing this paper I could really see the benefit of using a tool like a blog to help you organize your research.” (Contributor)

“In addition to hardships with research, this was the first time that I have used a blog website. Blogging presented me with a mixture of emotions. I was excited to start a project because I could include a variety of styling preferences, but also apprehensive because I did not know what to expect. The guidelines provided in the handout helped me to form my ideas to include in my blogs. In the beginning of my blogging, it was challenging to figure out the format I should write to my audience. The formality of the blogs was an obscure topic because I did not know if I should be writing informally or formally. Through this process of blogging, I learned how to navigate a blog website, how to edit my blogs, and what type of language is conducive to a blog.” (Contributor)

“Another aspect of this paper that I liked was the blogging.  At first it was a little awkward, because I wasn’t exactly sure what I was supposed to be writing, but after a few posts it became easier.  I’m still not exactly sure if I did it correctly, but I tried!  The blog really helped keep my sources organized and made the writing process alot easier and made it go much more quickly than past assignments.  I also liked the fact that we could see each other’s sources and the different directions everyone’s papers were going.  The different blogs definitely helped in the research process.”

“One thing I learned about the research process was that a research blog could be very helpful when collecting your thoughts to write a paper. I especially enjoyed the tag feature on the blog, and wish I had used to more to help organize my research. Now that I have learned how to create and make use of a research blog I will be more likely to use this skill again for other classes.”

 

 

 

** All student blogs are public domain and used with express permission of the authors.

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