Learning to Write Publicly: Promises and Pitfalls of Using Weblogs in the Composition Classroom

Pre-blogging Questionnaire

1. Have you ever read or written to the following Internet spaces (check all that apply):  Discussion board; MySpace; Facebook; Blog; None of the above; Other
2. How many total hours per week do you spend reading and writing to the sites checked above? Select one. 0; 1-5; 6-10; 11-15; 16-20; over 20
3. How often do you post or leave comments when you are visiting the sites you checked in Question 1? Select one. Never; Every once in a while; Sometimes; Somewhat often; Very often
4. Do you have your own blog? Yes; No
5. Do you read and/or leave comments on others’ blogs? Yes; No
6. If you have a blog, who do you think your readers are? If you don’t have a blog, who do you think would read your blog if you started one? 
7. Have you ever used a blog for a class assignment? Yes; No
8. Would you describe a blog as a public or private writing space? Public; Private; Both
9. How comfortable are you (or would you be, if asked) with writing to a blog? Select one. Very comfortable; Somewhat comfortable; Neutral; Somewhat uncomfortable; Very uncomfortable
10. How important is it to censor yourself when writing to a blog? Select one. Very important; Somewhat important; Neutral; Not very important; Not at all important

Post-blogging Survey

1. On average, how many hours per week did you spend reading and writing on your class blog? Select one. Less than one hour; 1-2; 3-4; 5+ hours (please specify)
2. When posting to your class blog, who did you consider your audience to be? Mark all that apply. Your instructor; Your classmates; Your friends and family; Other (please specify)
3. How did your understanding of your audience limit, change, or otherwise affect what you wrote on your class blog? 
4. How much did the class blogging assignment help you to feel part of a community inside and outside of the class? Not at all; Very little; Somewhat; Quite a bit; A lot.  (Explain how.)
5. What distinguishes a “good” blog post from a “bad” blog post?
6. Which of the following did you use when writing to your class blog? Check all that apply. Text; Hyperlinks; Pictures; Video; Other (please specify)
7. How often did you leave comments on other class members’ blog posts or class blogs? At least once a week; About once every two weeks; About once every month; Less frequently than once a month; Never.  What made you decide to leave a comment when you did?
8. In your opinion, what was the purpose of your class blog? How did it complement your other activities for this class? 
9. How did the blogging assignment change or help you to improve your writing for digital media (including Facebook, MySpace, discussion boards, email, etc.)? 
10. Did the blogging assignment change or help you to improve your academic writing in any of the following areas? Mark all that apply. Coming up with a topic; planning and organizing my essays; analyzing sources; writing persuasive arguments; choosing an appropriate style and tone for my writing; establishing my own credibility as a writer; blogging had no effect on my writing

Instructors’ Survey

Following our study, we asked the participating instructors to respond to these questions:

1. What were your pedagogical goals for the class blogging assignment (i.e., what learning objectives did it support in your classroom)?
2. Did you feel that those goals were met (i.e., did the assignment go as planned or did it take another direction)? Explain.
3. What was the most rewarding aspect of the class blogging assignment for you?
4. What was the least rewarding or most challenging aspect of the class blogging assignment?