Final Entry: Why Blogging and Face-to-Face Classes work together

This week marks the end of the AY2009/10 curriculum. This week also saw the last seminar for GEK1036 Cross-Cultural Communications and Discourse, a module I took for my GEM. I said it in my first blog entry and I'll say it again in my last blog entry: I believe that I made a great decision selecting this module among piles of other possible modules for my GEM. GEK1036 (specifically Dr. Deng) also gave me an opportunity to tap on a hobby that I've been meaning to start on: blogging. Blogging is a hobby that is perceived differently by many people, but I'd argue that blogging is generally treated for either two purposes:

1. Hobbyist diaries - posting photos, random rantings, casual socialising, etc. Think Xiaxue's blog, for one example. I find her blog loathsome because it has no values for reading. That's why I don't follow it at all. She is right about something: people hate her because they care enough to do so.
2. Critic columns - making provocative/controversial statements that matter to people, posting constructive criticism, forming visceral theories, etc.

I'd say that as a blogger (or prospective blogger), I lean closely towards the second category, and I have a strong view why blogs is more valuable if treated like the latter category. You see, blog is generically a medium for communication. For me, blog is another channel to reach the masses readily. For blogs to catch the attention of the readers, it SHOULD (I won't say MUST) be based on content that sets people thinking. This type of blog has information that is potentially or perhaps even more valuable, than the information you can study from a textbook or institutionalised teaching. What drives the latter category of blogs is opinions. Opinions speak for themselves, and they make lives more controversial, emotional... and interesting. Opinions are valuable assets in life itself  for me, because that's how I form an impression of people.

Think about it from this perspective: I recognise a person from his/her looks, but that's about it. Looks can be forgotten very easily, anyway. What makes a stronger impression on me is that person's opinions. Opinions colours the person's personality and the moment I can remember that person for his/her opinions, is the moment I actually start respecting him/her. Opinions are feasibly shared to other people through blogs, and I respect people who actually blog regularly on matters that stir people's emotions.

Then, there is the former category of blogging: The hobbyist diary. People who blog as hobbyists are not necessarily bad, but I believe that blogging is undervalued if used in this way (please note that I do respect that people are entitled to how they want to treat their own blogs eventually). It's because blog is communication, and communication is not really highlighted if the blog is used as a hobbyist diary. Chances are, people would just drop by the blog and give some superficial comments about posts. To me, it's fine but it doesn't justify the amount of effort I usually put in my blog entries, if any. For people who have been following this blog (including Dr. Deng), they would know that I'm naturally verbose, and to me this is a good thing. Typing doesn't hurt my fingers as much as writing, so I have the liberty to be verbose. I am not necessarily underappreciating hobbyist bloggers; I know some who really puts in insane amount of effort in making good blogs. I just find that the majority of hobbyist blogs don't fascinate enough for me to follow them as much as those who treat blogs as critic columns.

How is this tied to GEK1036 itself?

Dr. Deng stressed that he wants to see our sincere opinions on the idea of including blogging into our CA for the module. Simply put, he wants to know if it is a good or bad idea. If you must know, I'M ALL FOR IT. It's not necessarily because I naturally like blogging, but it's also because blogging is complementary to face-to-face seminars like forks to spoons. I believe that for a module that encourages INTERACTION, it's great to have a blog for several reasons:

• It's an alternative outlet for ALTERNATIVE INFORMATION

I've already explained the importance of opinions to me, so I'll further elaborate why is it important in the context of GEK1036. Here is my take on GEK e-Reflections: it's an alternative venue for people in the class to say something supplementary or complementary to what we learn in class. Whatever the students may say in the blog doesn't have to be directly linked to the topic discussed; it can also be something like "thinking along the side". Some people may have not realised this, but some of these side comments/opinions can be valuable to readers. For instance, people who have read my Men VS Women Theories may find my entry intriguing (I can't ascertain about this; hope they really do). It wasn't a significant contribution on my part; it's just something that I had been thinking about when I had a hard time sleeping at night. Seriously, that's what spurred me to write that particular blog entry!

• It's an alternative outlet for EXPERIENCE SHARING

It's somewhat linked to the first point, but I feel that this deserves to be separated for its own merit. Speaking about my Men/Women Theories, what also drove me to write that extensive entry is my personal experiences. These experiences, I'd argue, are better expressed on my blog because it's something possible since it's not something I would spontaneously recall during class. The classes can be very engaging; so engaging that I can't possible share all related experiences I have in my life. This is where blogging comes into play. Dr. Deng gave us the privilege to post an entry per week, which isn't a demanding requirement. Really, I can honestly say that I don't really feel like I put so much effort into this blog (contradictory to the entries I've written, perhaps). It's just a visual representation of what I have in mind, sequentially and spontaneously as I type. I type entries such as this as I think, and what I think include my personal experiences and how I can relate some of them to the topic of the week.

• It's an alternative outlet for RELATIONSHIP BUILDING

This is based on my personal experiences I have as a Japanese animation reviewer. Japanese reviewers are usually passionate people who follow Japanese animation closely and have very strong opinions on them (really, if you are a discerning watcher, you'd know what I mean). Their opinions and the desire to share the opinions with each other inspire them to be naturally bloggers. Here's a surprising finding: These bloggers feel like they really know each other, even though they've never met before. I submit reviews to NHRW and my moderator Sorrow-kun usually edit my reviews. We've been doing this for the last 4 years, and through his editings and opinionated entries on the forums, I feel like I know who he is. I feel that we're known each other for years, and yet we've never met each other before. He's based in Brisbane, Australia and if given the chance I'd love to meet this respectable blogger who've been buffing my writing skills and rendered me a discerning Japanese animation watcher. This also applies to the other reviewers/bloggers on my site; geographical barriers or not, we feel that we are familiar to each other because of our opinions on common interests. These interests are capable of being shared through blogs themselves (plus, forums as well).


What do I want to see more in e-Reflections for GEK1036?

Blogging to me is all about sharing (and perhaps criticising) opinions between bloggers and readers. So, the important implicit requirement for such blogging style includes receiving frequent comments for the entries. Comments serve as important tokens for bloggers because they feel appreciated that their heavily invested entries didn't go to waste (read: go unread). Eventually, people blog for others to read, and giving lots of comments demonstrates that your entries matter to the readers a lot. Blogging takes effort. Giving comments takes effort too. The longer is blog, the more effort is put. The longer the comment, the effort is put too. It's a complementary exchange of appreciation. Do you know how much I want to receive compliments to my blog? Seriously! If my blog entries don't get any comments, I feel like I'm writing for no reason. It's disheartening for bloggers like myself who writes long entries just to share my experiences and opinions, and not receive any form of appreciation from readers. It's all about communication and unity (COMMUNITY).

My last words...

Dr. Deng wanted to implement blogging/e-Reflections into the CA of GEK1036 because, as quoted from his own blog, he wants to make this module enriching and reflective for the students. Blogging is indeed a wonderful way, and I feel that this should be maintained for future students to come. Blogging is not to be seen as a chore; it should be seen as an opportunity both for Dr. Deng to have an impression of you, and for the blogger to embrace reflective thinking and opinion forming. Blogging is gone to waste the moment bloggers don't really put in much effort with their entries, or they completely ignore their readers for captivating topic discussions.

As a token of appreciation, I would like give generous compliments to Dr. Deng and the rest of the students in GEK1036 for making me a better person in terms of reflecting and sharing my experiences and opinions. This module is the one I keep looking forward to attend every week  in the semester, and it's one of those modules (along with Japanese language modules) that I don't feel like it's a drag to attend at all. I know that each time I enter the CELC building, I know that I will exit the place contented and rejuvenated with all the laughter and personally enriching learning I get. Thank you, Dr. Deng and fellow friends. I've had a blast taking GEK1036~!!!