What is this course blog thing?

Hello, PSYC 210 students in my Spring term, and welcome to my course blog.

A blog, short for web log, can be many things. The blog I maintain for my courses provides an opportunity for students within and across my courses in a term to share ideas and debate on topics in psychology, philosophy, and the cognitive and brain sciences, as well as investigate further statistical concepts and analyses. It functions in many respects like a discussion board.

One is no longer limited by the spatial and temporal confines of a classroom, with a blog. Ongoing discussions are possible, and with threaded comments enabled, it is easy to reply to a specific comment or start a new line of discussion on a post, as well as follow specific topical threads. (I need to stress here that the blog is a professional and scholarly blog. I do not and do not want you to prattle on about random happenings in your life. Let’s stay on topic.)

Psychology is a research discipline and—as such—requires avenues of communication (like this blog) to be effective.

Putting one’s thoughts, arguments, and evidence in print is the surest way to determine if one’s thoughts, arguments, and evidence really measure up to one’s uncontested confidence in them.

It is too easy and unacceptable scientifically and philosophically—even morally—to sit silently, if one really has something to say. It is hardly a victory to reassure oneself in the veracity of a claim. Science is a public enterprise. Indeed, education is about communication, and there is often a dissociation between the comfortable, private feeling that one is correct and the truth of the matter should one open his or her mouth. One is not entitled to a position that is never voiced and opened to opposition.

There is an important element to underscore here: I do not want you simply to open your mouth in my courses or turn on your word processing program when you have an assignment and expect that you have fulfilled your obligation for the course and your duty to psychology and cognitive science. Having and voicing a position alone is insufficient. One must be open to opposition. Without this qualifier, one is simply being dogmatic, a loud-mouth, a general pain at parties. By hearing one’s formulation in words and reading in print one’s argument, one has the opportunity of being an ‘impartial’ spectator and judge to what has been proffered. It may surprise you just how wrong you are once you see it from another’s perspective.

True scholarship lies in the presentation and defense of ideas, as well as the humility of recognizing when those ideas are not supported or argued well. In my courses, I challenge my students openly—interrupting when necessary—in order to stress that positions are won and lost on arguments and evidence. Matters are also not settled by merely agreeing with the professor, a practice which will not by itself gain you favor. One must be open to some molding and evaluation. Part of my love of teaching is to help you understand the craft of communicating more effectively. To do so, one must exercise clarity, concision, and scholarship. An excellent opportunity to practice this scholarship will be on this blog.

In order to participate on the blog, you will need to obtain a free account from WordPress.com or here. (As you’ll see, you can also interact by way of your Facebook or Twitter account.) When you go to the WordPress site, you will be prompted as to whether you want a username alone or a blog of your own, as well. You are not required to obtain or maintain a blog of your own for my courses. You can just select a free account. You will also need to upload a picture for your gravatar, or globally recognized avatar. (This is not the same thing as your profile.) This is a picture that can then appear across many different programs, should you visit many different blogs and comment. No comments will post without getting a WordPress account and being first approved by me, so make sure to upload that pic! BMP files do not appear to work, so go with JPG. If there is a problem, please notify me or your TA immediately. In addition, for convenience, you can also post comments on the blog if you are already logged in to Twitter or Facebook in your browser. More later on that.

Your first homework assignment is to post an introductory message right here on this post. Say hello to your fellow students. Who are you? In what course are you? Why are you interested in that course? Etc. Follow the example of the students who have already posted, remembering to sign your name and course number at the bottom. Make sure to sign in to WordPress (or use the Twitter/Facebook option) before leaving a comment so that your lovely profile pic will appear.

This assignment is due for all students by Friday January 20, 2012, at noon.

And now you’re done!

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