Here's my review of a blog called Neurons Firing. I guess it's meant to be for something like the on-line version of Learning or Teacher magazine or any publication whose readers are in the educational field. As many of our fellow students are themselves educators, I thought this would be a particularly relevant blog to review and get feedback on. Thanks y'all.
Democracy, as we all know, sure is a powerful idea. Take the internet. Anyone with the time and the energy can contribute their voice to society by setting up a blog. The downside to this, of course, is that anyone can set up a blog and anyone can have voice. In giving everyone a stage on which to perform, one must be prepared to watch a lot of terrible stuff.
There are, however, a few noble souls who go through the trouble of contributing a unique voice in a blogging world saturated with the ironic, cynical, self-involved chorus that characterizes the quotidian observations of so many gen-x'ers and post-gen x'ers. A site called "Neurons Firing" (http://neurons.wordpress.com), which the site's creator bills as "the graduate course I’d love to take if it existed as a program and was local to where I live," is just such a one.
Meet Laurie, a teacher who has been "teaching computer classes and facilitating the use of technology in schools" since 1982 and whose interests "revolve around the brain, graphic design, organizing and creating professional development for faculty, and changing education to make it more relevant, interesting and experiential for all involved." It's also an educational, visually exciting and easily navigable blog for anyone interested in how current neurological research can be applied to the classroom. And it's fun to read!
Indeed, Laurie's site certainly reflects the enthusiasm for learning of a dedicated educator. Her prose is simple and straight-forward without being clumsy or crudely oversimplified. Take, for instance, her posting of April 17, 2007, a posting devoted to the Cerebellum:
"Near the back and bottom of the brain, next to the brain stem, is the CEREBELLUM, a round, lumpy structure resembling cauliflower and about the size of a small fist. It handles motor patterns, coordinates muscle movement, and is responsible for maintaining bodily equilibrium such as posture and balance. It also handles cognitive patterns such as speaking, and automates certain repetitive tasks. Lastly, it is the section of our brains that responds to novelty. Like the rest of the brain, it has two hemispheres connected by a thick wad of nerves."
After reading this passage, we get a clear idea of what the Cerebellum is, what it does and a good image of how it looks, all in a clean and polished prose that gently teaches us without being overly didactic, a concern we all share in our careers as educators. Similar postings on nearly every part of the brain, from the amygdala and reticular formation to emotions and attention, pepper the blog and are always written with the same mix of easy-to-follow learnedness and bright-eyed enthusiasm. There is even a helpful link called "The Brain 101" which gives a link to all of Laurie's postings related to the brain for anyone interested in learning
But Ms. Laurie is not content to let this kind of knowledge rest on its own laurels. Between her more scientifically-minded entries, she has also posted a number of entries detailing her attempt to incorporate knowledge of the brain into her classroom practices. In a follow-up posting to her entry on the cerebellum - in which we learned that the cerebellum is responsible for motor patters and muscle movement - she builds on a quote by Robert K. Greenleaf and offers suggestions as to how we can incorporate movement into the classroom.
"Incorporating some form of movement or novelty into any presentation, especially if the audience has been sitting still for quite awhile or listening to a monotone, can be
quite
beneficial
since
movement and
novelty can wake up the brain and give it a link for remembering."
It may be cute, but it works! This is real knowledge with real application for real students and Laurie does a wonderful job of reminding us why we chose to enter this most sacred of professions in the first place.
Laurie moves confidently from discussing the latest findings of neuroscientists like Giacomo Rizzolati and V.S. Ramachandran to offering tips on classroom organization and the importance of sleep in the learning process to a quick tutorial on RSS feeds, all of which centers on one question: how can we use this knowledge to better facilitate student learning? For this is not simply a blog about the brain (there are a number of sites out there devoted to just this topic). It's a well-written, visually stimulating, informative editorial about one educator's ongoing attempt to incorporate neurological research in her approach to education.
Comments (4)
Hi Andrew,
Wow, thanks for your in-depth review! Definitely produced a smile.
I have been enjoying reading your posts and checking out those of your classmates. After reading your professor's posts about various projects, am particularly intrigued about this class, as it appears that the brain is an underlying theme.
By the way, your entries have definite intention and paint pictures. I've always felt that the best stories are those that cause my mind to create and play movies as I'm reading. I have not yet finished your story because I'm saving it for a weekend read over a good cup of hot cocoa (and not on a school night, when it won't get proper attention).
If you have a moment, I am curious how you found my blog.
Cheers,
Laurie
Posted by Laurie | November 5, 2007 9:12 PM
Posted on November 5, 2007 21:12
Hi Andrew. First, it's fantastic that you're in touch with Laurie, "Neurons Firing"'s author. It sounds like she genuinely likes your blog.
Your review is a great start. It's focused, clear, and contains some interesting information. I think it could be "meatier" though. I'm left with lots of questions after reading it.
First, I'd love to hear more about how the two elements--the sections on the brain and on education--of "Neurons Firing" work together. You allude to this, but I think it's worth more explanation.
I like the way you begin, by differentiating Laurie's blog from the masses of cynical (and self-indulgent) blogs out there. But, there are lots of blogs that aren't cynical and self-indulgent. You have a valid point, but be careful not to over-state it. You might also be able to make this point more concisely than you do. Your introduction is pretty extended in the draft, which prevents you from getting to the heart of your discussion of the blog.
Finally, I think you should consider the following:
-going further with your general discussion of the blog--its purposes, its tone, its audience, etc. (Maybe you could interview Laurie and get a quote or two from her?)
-lengthening (a little) the discussions of the entries and passages you already discuss; I'd like to see you get a litle more analytical about them.
-including one or two more discussions of specific entries
Basically, I think the shape and tone of the review are strong, and it's highly readable. But I want more--more details, more ideas, more from Laurie, more from you. Make sense?
I'll look forward to reading the next incarnation of this--and to reading more of "Neurons Firing." Thanks for bringing it to our attention!
Posted by Jason Tougaw | November 10, 2007 8:49 AM
Posted on November 10, 2007 08:49
Hi Andrew,
I like your casual tone and your straightforward manner. It makes for an enjoyable read. You are definately off to a great start and while you may need little help from me, there were a few things I thought you could work on if you chose.
Some sentences seem a little over the top. For example, the first sentence of the third paragraph. . . perhaps I'm just burnt out, but it took me a second read just to get the idea straight in my head. It could be that your second paragraph was a series of shorter, more concise sentences, making the transition somewhat awkward. The transition in the fourth paragraph, between the first and second sentence threw me off as well. I was expecting you to continue with information about Laurie and what it is she hopes to do with the website. Instead you went back to describing the blog.
Question--At one point you refer to her as Ms. Laurie which kind of confused me--is her first name Laurie or her last name? If it is her first, it sounds a little odd calling her Ms. Laurie.
I guess overall I had a feeling that I wanted to know more. The information seemed to hover on the surface rather than digging deeper. I'd especially like to know, as an educator, why I should go check out this sight. I did look at it briefly, just to get a feel for it after reading your blog. I didn't really look any further though and wonder whether I should. I'd like to feel by the end of your review that I absolutely should, that it'd be helpful to me as an educator for x, y and z reasons; or that maybe it's just interesting if you get a spare moment. I don't know, I guess I feel like you're not making a firm committment either way. I mean, you explain what the site is, why she does it and that she does it well, but in the end I am still left wondering how it can be of use to me.
It would be great if you could include some more info on Laurie--why did she start this blog? What did she think was lacking in the blogging field? etc.
Like I said before, you are off to a great start . . . just dig a little deeper and give us a little more.
Good luck with the revisions!
Posted by Jennifer | November 10, 2007 6:04 PM
Posted on November 10, 2007 18:04
Andrew,
I think it goes without saying that you have a great voice in your writing. It’s quiet and intelligent--and makes this review succinct and very nice to read. And you use your examples well in illustrating what this blog is about. However there’s this delay before you get to your first example which fuddles the reader a bit. (Which you get away with, to an extent, because we’re all listening to the sound of your voice. But you’re not here to be Sam Elliot or Morgan Freeman.)
My particular problem is with your third paragraph. The one that begins with “meet Laurie”--right there, can I say, that little bit of trickery seems a little stale and sitcom-ish. It sounds like you’re introducing her to play Family Feud or Jeopardy. More importantly, it introduces the information of the paragraph in the wrong way. I think what you need to be doing with the information about Laurie, is to introduce us to the scope of what the blog is about--instead it seems like it’s about Laurie (which is not the blog). Suddenly (after a long quote) you give us “it’s also”--wait, she’s an “it” now? Me confused. I think you need to hold the reader’s hand and come right out and tell us that this is the scope of the blog, and not try to sneak this by us on the back of a Twizzlers truck.
I know I’ve come out and said that I love your voice but there are times where you get a little long and wordy. (We always hurt the ones we love, don’t we?) The best example of this is:
After reading this passage, we get a clear idea of what the Cerebellum is, what it does and a good image of how it looks, all in a clean and polished prose that gently teaches us without being overly didactic, a concern we all share in our careers as educators.
Wow. There’s a lot in that sentence. You might be working that one too hard. I get what you’re trying to say, but only after multiple readings and a small period of time meditating in the Buddhist monestaries in Tibet. (Surgeon General’s Warning- there may have been use of hyperbole in that last sentence.) You might need a sentence helper for that particular statement. (Otherwise known as a dash, or a semicolon if you want to be a fancy-pants--a little pacing break from the commas may be all it needs.) I think you’re most effective when you give us a little balance to your longer sentences with short sentences, like “take the internet” and “it may be cute, but it works!” Look back and see where you might be reaching the threshold and see what works.
Your review is a little on the short side (don’t worry I won’t tell anyone) but it may work well that way. I figure you can either tighten this up with just the stuff you have, or elaborate more on the type of entries there are in this blog. (Perhaps we could hear more about the educational application.) This would require you to take more examples and really illuminate the scope of the blog (that thing I keep bringing up from your third paragraph). Entirely your call.
- John Rice
PS- The Pope called, he wants you to return that white and green pen you stole from class.
Posted by John Rice | November 16, 2007 12:27 PM
Posted on November 16, 2007 12:27