Blog-REX-Forum

Creativity & Community is the first class I have taken at IPFW where I had the opportunity to use an electronic class forum, blogging, and library express (REX).
The forum is a great way for the instructor to communicate class assignments and upcoming events, and equally great for the student to post assignments and respond to other students postings. I had used "Blackboard" at Saint Francis, but it wasn't nearly as user friendly as the Creativity & Community forum. It's much more effective than e-mail, and allows the reading of other postings as well. I hope future courses incorporate this technology into their class.
It seems like I have purchased a lot of books over the years where I only had a few assigned chapters to read, and the balance of the book went unread. It always seemed such a shame to spend so much money on a book to use so little of it. The more expensive the book, the more critical I am of that practice. Last semester I purchased a hardback theory book for $94.00 and used very little of it in comparison to the $20.00 companion book that I read in its entirety. I guess that's why I am so impressed with the reserve express (REX) through the library. What a great way to access portions of a text or journal without having to pay for the entire publication. It's quick and easily accessible, and there's no expense to access it. Educators should be more "pro-student," and I think this is a case of one demonstrating that!
I have always been somewhat intimidated with doing something new on a computer. I've had so many bad experiences with faulty programs, wrong operating systems, crashes while downloading updates, and the general intimidation of a lengthy learning curve, and the fact that anything new with a computer stresses me out. I sort of felt that way when I discovered I was going to "blog." I had heard the term, but I didn't know anything about it. I managed to follow the instructions and became a "blogger" rather quickly. Once I was up and running, it was easy. I really enjoy blogging and see it as a sort of electronic journal. It's a good way to keep students writing and is a good assignment based project.
All three approaches to accessing, reporting, and responding have been beneficial in this class by accommodating both the instructor and the student and enhancing the learning experience economically and efficiently. I hope to see more use of electronic assessing and reporting in future classes.
Technology really has come a long way since its introduction as a personal computer in the early 70's. My first computer was a Radio Shack 48k that ran a business program and eliminated the typerwriter as my basic reporting instrument. It seemed like years before computer programmers created a viable application for home use. The internet became the final trilogy for the information highway: the computer, the operating system, and the internet.