DoEs BlOgGiN wOrK???

1.How easy has it been to set up your Independent Study blog and to get used to posting things on it?

Were you given enough support in doing it? What other help would have been useful?
Setting up the blog and posting up on it was very easy and simple to follow. Instructions were posted on the blog that were useful and the guidelines went setting it up were simple and posting was elementary;

2. How did the blog help with your research? Did the blog motivate you to do more and better research? How? Why?

For me, the blog was very useful for research and planning my independent study. It allowed me to post up all ma research in a coherent manner and allowed for all my work to be easily accessible. Also when writing my first draft for my study all my research was there in front of me and easy to use and apply to my study

3. Is it useful having all the Independent Study/blog tasks posted on the Macguffin blog? Does it make it more likely that you will get them done?

Having all the tasks is useful being posted up because it allowes for you to know exactly what is required to be done. Also it acts as a reminder to get the work done on time and allow for no excuses

4. How often (honestly!) do you check the Macguffin blog? (Remember, it should be at least twice/week).

I check the blog on average about 3 to 4 times a week minimum because work is always being set nearly every other day

5. Has it been useful being able to see and access everyone else’s research and planning through their blogs?

It is useful to see the amount of work other people do and the quality of their work to act as a comparison to mine

6. How do you feel about the fact that your teacher can keep a close check on your progress through accessing your blog? Is it too intrusive and controlling or is it encouraging and supportive?

I think its an effective method of setting work, because the teacher can ensure that the work is being done, independently, also if help is ever required you can ask fellow peers or teacher

7. How useful have the comments been that you received from…a. Macguffin, b. other students.

Comments have been useful from both A and B because it allowed for me to correct mistakes I made in my work and see what others thought of my work

8. How has the blog helped with your essay planning? How useful was the blog when it came to writing the essay? Do you think your first draft is better because you have used a blog?

Using the blog allowed for me to plan my work in a coherent manner and to have all my research easily accessible . When writing my easy I was able to use prior pieces of research and link them to my study. Did the blog make my essay better, maybe/maybe not but it allowed for me to structure my essay better and easily link pieces of research

9. How would you evaluate the quality of your blog? What could you have done better?

I think the work and quality of my blog has been completed to a very high standard. I always completed the tasks on time, completed extra research and spent time on each task

10. Do you think you will get a better final grade for your independent study through having used a blog?

Maybe/Maybe Not because I probably would had access to the same research I got, however the blog made it much easier to do research and access it

11. Which are the best three blogs? Why?

I’ve only really seen the blogs in my class and from them I would say the best 3 or 4 would be Sherish, Bushara, Kavita/Puja, because each of their blogs has been completed to a high standard, with tasks always completed on time and lots of effort shown

12. Do you think next year’s Year 13s would benefit from setting up an Independent Study blog?

I think next years, year 13 would benefit from blogs because it easy to set up and allows for research and completing tasks to be much easier and more accessible, also no excuses to not complete work

13. Are there any negative aspects to preparing for an Independent Study using a blog?

Completing tasks is a long process and the blog is not always reliable, sometimes crashing and not allowing you to post up which can get very frustrating.

14. What could be done to improve teaching and/or learning in future through blogs?

Allow for time to complete tasks, and complete all tasks to a high standard because it helps with you study

15. Overall, are you pleased that we used blogs? Has it been interesting and enjoyable? Why? Why not?

I liked using blogs because I viewed it as an easier method to collect and access research rather than having sheets of papers and folders which are always viable to be lost. It was different and at times time consuming but overall in my opinion a good idea to use