Week 4-Response to readings: Why Does Audience Matter?

Many thanks to Joanne for her "trailfire" on blogs and blogging. I found the article by Dean Shareski, "Why Audience Matters", particularly thought provoking. He begins by quoting a Hugh McLeod cartoon: "the good news is they're hyper-connected, the bad news is, that's all they are." This cartoon reflects to a tee how I often feel when observing my children on Facebook. Is it all about the number of friends? What is the actual quality of these relationships? If you wouldn't call someone up and chat with them on the phone, why, in heaven's name, would you want them as a Facebook buddy? I myself feel vaguely uncomfortable at the number of people I've responded favorably to on Facebook. Shouldn't we actually call it "acquaintancing", rather than "friending"?

Because of my internal struggle with "the shallowness and fluff" of many tech relationships, I was very interested in what Shareski had to say about the value of audience when it comes to classroom blogging.

I have never seen blogs in action in a classroom environment. I wish I had some solid experience to back up many of the online examples I've reviewed today. This said, I can certainly imagine that getting beyond the "Audience as Eyeballs" stage would be very important in order for classroom blogging to reach its full potential as a rich learning opportunity. I'm not sure, however, that I agree with his statement that it is "unlikely" that an "authentic exchange between interested learners" can happen uniquely in the classroom and that it requires "an audience from the outside". I think this position does not consider the importance of relationships. Would we not be more motivated to be thoughtful and creative in our learning when we have a relationship with those in our audience? This is not say that someone unknown can't provide interesting insights and perspectives but would this feedback be given more or less weight than were it to come from a fellow student with whom I have a physical/emotional connection? I'm not sure. I soon hope to have the opportunity to address these questions by "doing". I do, however, entierly agree with the statement made by Chris Lehmann at the onset of the Shareski post:"When having an audience is no longer novel, simply having one is no longer motivating. We must still help kids have something powerful to say."