Week Two Task 1

The Difference between online seminars and classroom seminars.

Personally i think there are advantages and disadvantages to using the online blogging rather than the classroom seminars.
We are in control of when we do the work and making sure its kept up to date. We have the responsability of putting the time into doing our work and how many hours we put in a day and if we find it easier to do it all in one day or spread it out over the week. I know i like to spread my work load out and often do a few hours a day then leave it untill the following day when i have fresh ideas in my mind.
In classroom seminars however we often can't do this as if we think of issues that we would like to raise about the topic we are studing and only remember them after the hour seminar then its a bit late. With the online blogging we can go to it whenever we have new ideas and people can voice their opinion on them. I would say that i put more work in with the online blogging as its written work rather than talking and having a conversation with people in a seminar. I also have more time to think so come up with more information therefor put more hours in.

With the online blogging people have the choice to say what they want as in classroom seminars peolple can sometimes be intimidated by other people and dont like speaking infront of many peolple so keep their opinions to themselves. They find it hard to talk to people face to face so blogging is the perfect oportunity to share thoughts and opinions with people without been put under pressure. I do like talking to people face to face as sometimes i find it hard to write down in words what i am thinking.

The online blogging is a new way of learning as it hasn't been done before and takes some getting used to as normally we have the tutor in charge of the seminar leading the conversation however with the blogging the students are having to lead the debates and raise issues that need to be raised. We are all equal with blogging so i don't think there is a sense of authority like there is in the classroom with the tutor. We are having to ask each other questions a lot more rather than the tutor thinking of the questions for us.

Interaction with people is slower as when you are having a conversation with somebody in a seminar you get an instant responce as it is in real time .Whereas with the internet blogging you write your opinions and dont always get a quick responce as people arn't always logged on their computer so you may not get a commont untill the day after as people choose to do their work at different times. There is still the aspect of taking turns and having a converstaion as we can respond to each others opinions. However is doesn't happen as often as people won't always comment on what you have written whereas people will always respond to you if you are speaking to them face to face.

When in a seminar and somebody is speaking you will listen to them as it would be rude not to and if u don't understand what has been said you say. However with the blogging everybody is writing their opinions each week and often can write a lot in the language they wish to. People may not always understand what they are saying and give up and not read the rest. I like to read things that are easy to understand as if the language is quite technical and i dont understand then i give up.
In seminars when somebody says something sometimes we feel the need to just say anything to stop the silence and say it for the sake of saying something. With the blog we can go away and think about what someone has said then come back to it later and comment. That way they get a more thought about and helpful responce.

The blogs make everybody put work and effort in as sometimes in a seminar you get just one person putting all the work in and talking all the time.