Fishbowls, Discussions, and the Blog: Parallel Practices?
from mediadriving.com
We recently engaged in a unit where we participated in fishbowl discussions in order to develop our ability to converse using connecting phrases, pose and answer interpretive questions, and practice general speechmaking skills in a smaller environment. Now we are about to participate in a blog. What similarities and differences do you expect between large-class discussions, fishbowls, blogs, and speeches in general?
(Please reference the qualities of good discussions and expectations for good blog posts in your response. Also incorporate questions to keep the discussion moving.)
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Ms. Kline
I can definitly see the smilarities between fishbowls and blogs. You have a bunch of people in a group sharing ideas. So many different point of views can be expressed. Someone can sit back and watch two bloggers discuss something between comments and jump in here or there. Both experiances make discussing interactive for everyone and it seems like everyone is itching to make their own comment!
Both blogs and fishbowl discussions are ways for people to express their opinions or views of a situation. Though fishbowl discussions are a great, interactive, in person and in real time way to discuss a subject, there are aspects of blogs that make them more usable. For example, people will often be more bold and state their true opinion in a blog where they don’t have to face other readers in person. Also, it is more difficult in a fishbowl discussion to word perfectly what you are attempting to say. When a new idea pops into your head, you have tothink it through and exactly how to say it before expressing it to a group. Though this is true for blogs as well, one can go back, edit, and change things said in a blog, as well as delete them from the history if necessary. Fishbowls give a better sense of reality and saying exactly what comes into your head at the time, and they can also be more interesting to listen to. Blogs are often more nicely worded, clear, and concise, but the tone of the blogger is difficult to interpret.
Our fishbowl discussion holds some similarities with blogging, however I believe that there are a greater number of differences. In a fishbowl discussion, it is important to keep the conversation moving to avoid awkwardness and create debatable statements. In order to do that, often you have to just say exactly what pops into your mind at the moment. In any verbal speech in general, it is safe to assume that you don’t have as much time to really think about what your diction and syntax. In blogging, you have the ability to think through exactly what you want to say and how you want to say it. Also, verbal speech requires confidence and appropriateness in public appearance. When you blog you are completely unto yourself, and don’t have to worry about what you look like or anything pertaining to appearance.
I think that there are definitely similarites between large-class discussions, fishbowls, and blogs for the simple reason that the entire class is interacting with one another with one topic in mind. Fishbowl discussions are like class discussions, but more organized. Blogs are like fishbowl discussions online because everyone has the opportunity to state his or her own opinion, as well as respond to others’ comments. I think that speeches, overall, differ from these things because a speech has one person mainly talking, whereas everyone has opportunities to talk in the discussions.
I think there are deffinatly diffrences between bloging and a live fishbowl in class. Because in class its fast and you can like see how people use tone , and things. But online things take time and not everyone is on the computer at the same time.
Blogs and large class discussions are very similar. Everyone sort of pitches in and replies to what other people said and also throw out different ideas and comments about the topic. I like blogs better though, because I have more time to think about what I want to say and I get time to write it out and elaborate on my thoughts instead of throwing them out on the spot, which I’m not very good at. This is similar to fishbowls also because as people comment, other people have time to analyze what they say and eventually give their own thoughts also. In a speech though, there are expressions that come with it and you can not really do that on a blog.
There are a lot of differences between blogs, fishbwls and class discussions. With the blogs one can not show true emotions with facial expressions and bodylanguage, and this is one thing that is important when sharing ideas and comments. The simmalarities are agreeing and disagreeing, asking questions and sharing one’s personal opinions by making them personal. Since blogs are online in written form, one can not understand the actual point that the author was trying to make because different people percieve words differently, like in Sophie’s World it stated that many people rely too much on senses and sometimes create biases on certain words that will make you take action in a certain way, but one hears a speech with passionate words and tones of voice which express the true goal that one is trying to make and one can sense the feeling of the author. All in all the rest is the same between them all.
Large-class discussions, Fish Bowl discussions, blogging, and speeches are all ways to communicate with others. They are ways to share information, opinions, and thoughts with others. These are all ways to think through problems, and find the bigger meaning. In both fish bowls, Large-Class discussions, and blogs a question is asked and others can agree, disagree, or give their input. Fish-Bowls and blogs are much smaller than Large-Class discussions and I believe people are more willing to open up and join in. In a blog however you cannot here the person stating their opinion, you can only read it. I wonder how this will effect our discussions? I believe it will be a good thing to see opinions and statements written out. I know sometimes I cant get all my thoughts out in a discussion. Being able to collect thoughts and write them will make for a better discussion. Blogs and speeches are alike in that way. Research and time is allowed while blogging and getting ready for a speech.