Read the instructions
Joella wrote on her blog that she noticed "everyone" was doing the same thing for last week's blog assignment. So she decided to be different. She analyzed the layout of the newspaper. Joella is smart. She read the assignment instructions.
The single biggest mistake that students make — all students, everywhere — is that they don't read the instructions carefully, and therefore can't possibly follow them. Every teacher will tell you that.
I didn't ask you to write about the general differences between print and online media. I didn't ask you to write about any newspaper of your choosing. I didn't ask you to compare one article in the two versions of the paper, nor did I ask you to tell me which version you liked better. In fact, late last week when I noticed some of you were obviously not following the instructions, I reposted them. And still, it looks like about half of you didn't do what I asked you to do.
I don't think it was her intention, but Joella has taught you a lesson. Learn from it — you're still going to be students for a while.
3 comments:
Apparently a majority of the class didn't follow the instructions. Well I decided to go back and take a detailed look at the directions.
"The assignment for one of your two posts is as follows: Read one day’s edition of the Mercury News. Then, read the paper’s Web site for the same day. Pay attention to the differences, and how you feel about them as a consumer of news. Blog about your experience."
You further explain in the bullets that the entry needs to be, "a well-written post (entry) that makes a point about the differences between print and online newspapers."
Based on the directions given, I believe that the criticism of our blogs by you is un-merited.
You say that you didn't want the general differences between online and print media, but the you can't deny that the general differences between online and print media are some of the differences between the online mercury news and the print mercury news. Also, in the directions you say you want a blog entry, “that makes a point about the differences between print and online media.” You could argue that many people didn’t make a point, but what kind of point were you looking for? You didn’t say. One point that could be made is whether they like the online or print version better. It may not have been what you wanted or expected, but due to the vagueness of the directions, it is a legitimate answer.
You also say that you did not want us to write about “just any newspaper.” But if we refer back to the instructions again, you first mention that you want us to read the Mercury News, but then in the bullet points you say that you want a post about “the differences between print and online newspapers.” This could cause some confusion. First you say read the Mercury News and then you say to post about “the differences between print and online newspapers.” This does not necessarily mean that we could do any newspaper we want, but you have to admit that it causes confusion. I could even make the argument that based on those directions, we should be able to read the two versions of the Mercury News and write about the general differences between online and print media because all you asked in the directions was, and again I’m quoting, “a well-written post (entry) that makes a point about the difference between print and online newspapers.”
You also criticize us for is posting whether we like the online or print paper better. I don't think it matters if a person says they like it better or not. Usually if they do so, they'll have an example as to why that is. In other words, they'll point out differences between the two versions, and state their opinions based on that. Even Joella did that in her article. The tone she takes towards the online paper is a very positive one while the tone she takes with the print newspaper is very negative, implying that she likes the online version better. I'll give you this: if someone simply says that they like one medium over the other, without giving any examples to back up what they say, then that is not following the instructions.
You did repost the directions, but they were just as vague as they were before. The only difference was that you said you didn't want us to say that the online version is on a screen and the print version is on paper. You also say that you didn't want something just as simplistic. What qualifies as just as simplisitc? Once again, that is not stated.
Don’t get me wrong, this is by no means to knock Joella off her high horse, because I read her entry thoroughly and it is a very informative and well-written entry. The point of my counter-argument is that if we are going to be criticized for not following directions, then the directions better be crystal clear; otherwise, don’t tell us, in a very demeaning tone mind you, about how we didn’t follow the directions.
This is largely a fair and well thought out critique. Point taken. I shall endeavour to be more clear in the future.
To clarify: I didn't mean to imply that the entries I'd been reading were "wrong." You weren't docked points for writing about which one you liked better; you were only docked points if that's ALL you wrote about. If you made no reference whatsoever to the specifics of one day's edition, then you obviously didn't do what I asked. Very few people did that.
Many people wrote very good pieces that included information about the things I didn't ask for -- which is fine. but I did specify "one day's edition of the Mercury News." Not one ARTICLE. I meant for you to examine the entire paper, and the entire Web site for that day, and pay attention to the differences. Too many people mistook the word EDITION to mean ARTICLE -- which it doesn't. And that's really what I meant by, read the instructions carefully.
I also stated that the entry must contain one external link. Many people did not follow that instruction.
You are right when you say "you can't deny that the general differences between online and print media are some of the differences between the online mercury news and the print mercury news," however, those who wrote ONLY general descriptions did not get full points, because obviously they didn't do what I asked them to do: EXAMINE one issue of the paper. I have no doubt that all of you can write a quick and dirty entry about the differences between online and print. That wasn't the purpose of the assignment.
Many (many) people other than Joella wrote excellent pieces. They discussed the differences in the advertising, the lack of features such as comics and crossword puzzles, the differences in photos, and the added experience of being able to comment on the online story. Those are the kinds of things I wanted you to notice.
Finally, I wasn't criticizing your blogs; I was trying to illustrate my point: the biggest mistake students make is not following instructions carefully enough. Not just my students, in this example, but all students, everywhere. I'm trying to help all of you by making you aware of this.
A corollary note that I think might make this point more effectively: I asked, in today's Kite Runner quiz, where the narrator lives. Very few people answered Freemont, even though, judging by their other responses, they had read the book. What many people answered was San Francisco -- which is where the author lives.
I understand why you needed to restate yourself and thank you for hearing me out. I'm not used to professors who are willing to do that.
Post a Comment