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| Blogging session. |
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| On the dais with the Principal, and Convenor |
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| Poster for the event. |
Life can be documented in many ways. Blogging is one of them. To introduce the experience of blogging, I stepped into PES's Ravi Naik College, Ponda on a Monday morning.
Principal, Prof. Pissurlekar, in his opening remarks, said he had read my latest blog post on the Swedish thriller, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo - written before leaving for the session - as well as many others. He urged students to develop their writing skills in the new scenario created by AI. He was impressed by the variety of content on my blog, the posts stretching back to 2008.
Ms. Jasmine Kurien, Associate Prof., Head of Department, and Convenor said that blogging is prescribed on the syllabus of Digital Content Creation at the First Year level. It was appropriate to have a session by someone who had written more than 1000 blog posts.
Showing my blog on the screen evoked the interest of the students. I divided them into groups so that they could focus on the points discussed and participate.
I took them through the elements on the landing page of my blog. I explained terms like masthead, blog templates, search, compose, and profile. I dwelt on the various topics I had written on and which could be seen on the layout.
I asked each group to suggest 5 topics to blog about. I then asked them to make their own free blogs on blogger.com using their smart phones. However, caution is advised when posting content on the blog. I asked them not to reveal personal details, and to be aware that all content is subject to the existing IT laws in the country.
When I tried to open my blog on the laptop provided, blogger ran a 2-step verification, by sending a code number to my phone to check if it was me. This showed how blogger.com had a robust security system.
When I accessed my blog I showed how one could see how many had read each post. Blogger uses Word functions like italics, font size, typeface, and attach, to compose a post. Students could have fun trying these out and editing their posts.
As students tried to source content for their blogs, I suggested they avoid writing on cliched topics, which others have written on. Neither should they copy-paste matter - like recipes - and pass it off as their own. This amounts to plagiarism.
Blogging is a great way to store memories by uploading pictures, text, or videos. This archive can also be shared. A blog can be your best friend when you are lonely, feeling low, unable to sleep - or happy. You can post 24/7.
As I left I could see the satisfaction on the faces of students. They were now empowered through digital content creation.
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Pix taken at PES's Ravi Naik College of Arts and Science, Farmagudi, Ponda on Monday, 18 March 2024. Updated 20/3/24.
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