Please post your critiques of Mr. Kefors Blocks B and F Blogs. Remember that you should be providing constructive criticism, aspects you liked, and general comments regarding the Sudanese Crisis.
I think that the F Block blog provides interesting information about Darfur.
Without having read "What is the What," I can't judge responses relating to the book. However, I found that the posts were meaningful and informative. Some interesting parts of the blog are the variety of subjects, the shocking statistics, the excerpts from the book, the links to articles, and the visuals. I especially liked the slideshow. I was disappointed that many statistics lack sources. Also, I think that adding some sort of organization or sorting system apart from date posted (if it's possible - I don't know) would be helpful.
I think that this blog presents a simple, straightforward way to raise awareness about Darfur and to possibly help refugees.
I thought that the blog for Mr. Kefor's B Block was good. Over all I would give it an A. The background made it look very professional/ sharp. The Videos were good and were easy to find, which was helpful, and so were the links to other sites. The blog presented a lot of good questions for people to respond to and ponder. The photos helped me to see the destruction happening there and made me want to help. Also it was good that they provided other websites because then the viewer can find a way to help. The blogs were very specific so someone could find or post information very quickly if the needed to. The posting time for the bolgs said like 5:30AM so I am assuming they are a long time ahead of us, and that it was today because it didn't say 5:30AM 2 years ago. So, basically it looked organized, up to date, and it made me want to help the genocide victims.
I thought that the F block's blog overall was pretty good. There was a large amount of information on the history of Sudan and the genocide, and I thought that some of the questions posed were interesting. The pictures and links were easy to find, and very relevant. My only criticism would be that a bit more organization would be nice. The description of the book is at the bottom of the page, and so it's difficult at first to really make sense of all the information. Also bits of information and questions about the book are mixed with historical facts so it makes them a bit hard to find. I also would have liked to see more about how the book ties in with the history. I saw lots of bits of this around the blog, but I think condensing it more would be nice.
Overall however, this was a good blog. It was really informative and straight forward. I liked to see how kids were replying to blog posts encouraging their classmates to help out with Darfur, it was really positive and constructive.
The B block blog was very informative and interesting. The colorful layout and presentation caught my eye right away. The images served as an immediate attention grabber, as they really gave a picture for what all the words on the page were describing. Although i enjoyed the easy access to the links, i felt a little overwhelmed by so many links and pictures.
The site was organized and up to date, as well as very informative regarding the crisis in Darfur. I enjoyed the links, the slideshow, and stories that the site provided.
I really respected and appreciated Mr. Kefor’s B block blog. I thought it was informative and inspirational. It was good to see this many people caring so much about the Sudanese crisis.
I realize that this blog is for the benefit of the students who are presently learning about Sudan, so they already have an understanding the happenings in Sudan. I personally know what any other kid knows about Darfur, but I think that if the students want other people to read and learn from their blog, it would help if they wrote some kind of introduction for it, giving some background on the topic for those who have no clue.
I thought the visuals were great – but perhaps a bit too bright for the subject maybe. The videos and pictures on the blog were terrific and really made an impact. I think “blog management” is not too important on this blog as long as the information is correct and appropriate. Which, it was.
i really appreciated the effort put into Mr. Kefor's b blog, the site itself looks professional and the pictures are offer deeper insight to the issue while not being overly distracting to the written content. it was also well maintained with frequent and new posts. Speaking as one who has read most of "What Is The What" however, i believe that some posts failed to delve deeper than what was said exactly in the book, rather than deeper research. but that was only a few posts, other than that. most of the posts shared excellent information on the crisis in Sudan. All around A grade
I believe that the F blog has the best information on Darfur. To begin the F blog in general seemed very professional and complete. It looked like it had a lot of time and effort put into it, and therefore came across as a very sofisticated, organized blog. Furthermore, blog F was very robust to many kinds of people, including visual, and auditory thinkers. It was also a very interesting blog and had many outstanding facts in it. However it could have used more sources in it as proof of information discused, this could have been resolved possibly with a bibliography.In conclusion, blog F was very informative, and organized and was a real great way to give people a reality check on the troubles in Darfur.
I really enjoyed reading the F-Block Blog. I know very little about the crisis in Sudan, so I was a little confused until I got to the "History" section. That was by far my favorite part; it was very informative and well written. However, I would've liked perhaps a more introductory paragraph or something at the beginning. I also liked the pictures - they were so moving and horrific. It's insane to look at them and see how very good we have it.
I think the B block english class put together a well-constructed blog. There was great visual presentation through providing photos, slide shows, and videos on the site. The links were helpful to find more information on how to support the cause. The discussion, history and genocide number were great to have at hand. The expression of the horrible things happening in Sudan through the poem and photography that I found captivating. It was well organized and everything was easily accesible. Overall, I would give the blog an A for being informative and and engaging.
The blog done by F blog is very complete and insightful. They did a great job making the page fun to read as well as very informative. For their efforts I believe that they deserve a 98. They did an excellent job with the pictures as well as the righting and overall management of the blog. Great Job!
I think that the F block class has a very interesting site on the issue. I really like what they have up there and how they talk about the book WHAT IS THE WHAT. I think it portrays that this is not ok what is going on in Darfur. I think that the pictures in the blog are very scary, in a good way so that when people vist the site they can see the very graphic things happening in the country.
I liked the slide show alot, I do think that the statists should have links or stated where they came from in some sort. Over all I thought the blog was a complete way to show the people who look at this blog what is happening over there.
B Block did a good job on thier website. I liked the viseo bar and the number of different links that were on the website as well as the visuals being very good
I really liked the F block blogs. Overall, they were very interesting. I think it was very cool how many links to articles and videos there were. It really helped with my understanding of the issue a hand. It was also very professional and to the point.
As others have said, some sort of introduction would be nice. It would make it easier to find something without having to read every piece of information. A table of contents that shows where each section of the issue is would be perfect.
Overall, it was a great blog. It was really interesting and informative, and the links were great!
All I can say about the blog after first reading it was 'Wow'. I was moved by the horrors that were depicted by the posts and I feel that this is the kind of blog that could really help to raise awareness about Darfur and the horrors going on there. I especially liked the visuals, because for me a picture is a lot more descriptive than language. I also found that the multiple links that were given through the blog made me have more fun navigating it, and those extras made the blog a more invigorating experience.
That being said, I do think that there were some technicalities about the blog that could be fixed. More example, there were very few statistic citations, and the organization was kind of random. However, I found this blog very interactive and a helpful way to show someone the terrible things that are happening in Africa.
After browsing both blogs (wasn't able to decide which one I wanted to focus more on so I looked over both of them), I think both of them are very well put together. The B Block blog is definitely eye-catching; the pictures are almost haunting, and it seems to be updated fairly regularly. However, it seems a little smashed together...could be a little more organized.
The F Block blog has quite a bit of useful information, and it's easy to follow along, regardless if one has read "What is the What" or not. This blog also has many heartwrenching photos, and offers some ways that we, both as individuals and a nation, can help with the issues in Darfur. As stated by Elisabeth, though, the sources for the information are a bit lacking.
The F block did an overall great job on their blog. Each student provided unique views and information about both the book and the general issue of the genocide in Darfur. The historical section contained facts that I had never known. However, it was a bit too long, so it was more difficult to remain focused on the important information that was in it. Throughout the whole blog, the facts were interesting and affected me greatly. All of the images on the blog were very moving and effective in drawing in my attention. It would be helpful in having more links which had information about ways that I could help improve the situation in Darfur as an individual. Most of the grammar in the blog was impeccable, but there were a few minor errors, so it might be helpful for multiple students to proofread a response. Overall, the blog provided information which was interesting and engaging, yet contained a few errors which can be easily corrected.
I think the B Block blog was very well designed and provided quality information about the genocide in Darfur. The site uses a good color scheme that draws your attention. However I don't think that the website introduces you to the main subject very well. For example the first thing you see is "B Block's Brilliant Blog", and then it starts by giving you a phone number. A better introduction into the topic, or at least some background information would be helpful for the reader.
The website was current and provided many interesting links, videos, and pictures. It was presented very well and gave the reader a realistic view of the crisis in Darfur.
I think that the F Block blog was interesting but it needs a little more information in places. I also think it could be better if there were more recent posts since the latest is from March 4th.
Overall, I think the blog is interesting and gives good information about the subject matter. The photos are shocking and provide truthful information. The links provided are useful.
Overall, I think that the blog is well put together and provides decent information.
The F Block blog shows multiple facets on the situation in Darfur. For example, without having read Dave Egger's book, I had not concidered the idea of vultures eating children alive as they trekked through the vast reaches of Sudan, or of the alligators trying to bite humans crossing rivers.
It was extremely interesting to read the opinions and Ideas on Darfur. However, the layout was fairly confusing, and difficult to understand at first.
Most graphics were incredible, and when people inserted quotes they were very usefull!! All together I thought the blogs were very well done!!
Well to shoot for the positive first, I love how they have numbers you can call, fundraisers, photos, videos, people who you can talk to, helpful links and many other things. They give amazing and informal responses to their blogs, which are extremely helpful to gather information about the topic. The blog gives your almost every piece of information that you need to do a ten page research paper. But, what i dislike is that they have not kept up to date and they don't have a large amount of responses to the blogs. The last time a blog was published was March 3rd! That is more than a month ago. Also, when the blogs don't have many responses to them it shows that it is not a big deal to many of the students. If the blogs were to have 20 to like 30 responses, it would show me that they care and really want people to know about the problem. But the average number of responses for each blog is thirteen people. So although they have lots of good information, there can still be some improvement in areas. But overall, I would give them a B+.
I agree with everyone else: the aesthetics of the B Block site are very pleasing and organized. The links were arranged well, and the slideshow and videos are really cool.
However, I was a little confused about the purpose of the site at first. I knew that they read "What is the What", and it would have been nice if they gave us a summary of the book at the top. I did not realize that it was about the book, so many of the posts were about how we Americans should send food to the child soldiers, but I was thinking, Isn't this about the crisis in Darfur?
There was a nice dialogue going on between the students, and they took the initiative to start different topics. But I saw that there were a few people who posted a lot, yet there really weren't plenty of replies. (Only 15? Is it a small class?)
Wow! Well that was a great blog. Overall the blog looked great and gave alot of valuable information that I enjoyed becoming aware of. The organization and overall effect of the blog looked very professional and I particularly liked the slideshow (though I think that it would look even better with more pictures on it). The links were very useful and helpful, I think that it helped build you guys' credibility. One thing I especially enjoyed was that after every informational paragraph was a question for the reader to think about. By doisng that, it really caught my attention and made me consider how blessed I am and how I need to help. It really encouraged me to read further and find out more.
The only suggestions that i would maked on the blog is the order at which the information was presented. I think it would've helped alot to know the book's background information first, then the statistics second, followed by then the opinions and discussion oppurtunities. Personally, I would find that more helpful knowing who people were, such as Valentino.
But overall, if i had to give this blog a grade I would no doubt give it an A+. It was a very well thought-out, organized, credible, and useful sight. I think that you guys did great job about portraying the problem at hand in Sudan.
F block blog was very interesting I think that those statistics were shocking but necessary to bring across certain points. I really enjoyed the visual learning aspect the slideshow really just was the icing on the cake. I feel from that I am more aware of the genocide in Darfur. I cannot help but to have these people in my mind after your compelling points.
Mr. Kefor's B Block blog was well put together. He made his layout fairly simple to navigate, and his questions were clear as to what he was asking the students. Also, he provided varying sources about the crisis in Sudan- supplying photos, rap lyrics, videos, links, etc. His questions were trying to provoke a response in the students other than "I think this is sad". I think it was fantastic that he brought in a guest speaker. The students responded by answering specific questions, some that were asking literary techniques, while others were more subjective. I think that the variety in the blog helps make it more effective for the students in terms of provoking thought on the Sudanese crisis. The blog is simple, and it helps to encourage helping the refugees and the situation in Darfur, which is great.
I think that the F Block website was overall very good. They conveyed a good idea of What is the What is about. I also liked the visuals and links to the articles. However, I think that more organization could be helpful. Also, they could have the sources for the statistics. This website has defintley increased by knowledge about Darfur, so I think that I would give it an A+.
Overall, I thought the blog was very good. I thought that all the information was relevant, and that there was plenty of it there. The visuals were also nice, with striking images. The only real problem I feel was the lack of orginazation, and clarity of the book itself. I feel the information on the blog needed to be better orginized, with prehaps an overivew of the book at the begginging; this was the biggest problem, that I haven't read the book, so I draw a blank whenever characters or events from it are mentioned. However, I do think it is a good blog, especially with so many cooks in the kitchen, and a probable lack of experience with this sort of thing.
I thought that the B block class's blog was very informative and provided a lot of useful information, but the organization definitely needs work. For one, they should start with a summary the basic situation in Darfur and a brief outline of the book, not a phone number.
Other than that, I thought it was very interesting, especially the slide show.
I was really impressed with the B block's blog. First of all it had so many relevant pictures and videos. There were pictures of people who were in the refugee camps, the lost boys. I thought it was a good idea to put videos on there, that's not something I would have originally thought. Second, they had links to other sites. That's great because that way people can learn more about the crisis. I also thought having that phone number was a good idea, but I'm not sure how many people would actually use it, although maybe I'm wrong. I thought the best part of the blog was the prompts they had that made you think about the issue and then could respond to. Their blog was very professional looking and a great effort. I'd definitely give them and A.
To begin with i really enjoyed the blog, i found it very informational and interesting. I enjoyed how there were many different types of information for different sorts of learners or what people prefer, videos and slide shows for and reading. The blog is also interactive, which makes it a lot easier to sit though. It really makes you think about what your reading and have a deeper understanding of the situation in Sudan. In particular I was drawn to the rap because it expresses the hardship in the simplest way possible without too much explanation. The links were also great to learn more information. The one way i think it could be improved is to organize it a little better but besides that i think it is very professional and i enjoyed it a lot.
The F block blog was very informative and well written. I agree that some way of organizing the information would be helpful, but I don't know if that would be possible. For the most part, the writing and grammer was good, but there were some minor errors in punctuation/tenses etc. I think it would be more professional and easy to read if other students proofread the blogs before they were posted. The students came up with very good and insightful questions in their blogs. I enjoyed reading the students' responses because they were interesting as well as informative. Also, I really liked all the pictures and statistics the students provided. These made the blog interesting to read. I learned a lot about the situation in Darfur, and am now interested in reading "What is the What"! This blog was a good way to raise awareness on the situation in Darfur and was neat, informative, and easy to understand.
The B block has created an extremely visually appealing website, with generally good information. I give it an A.
The blog conveys much of its information through responses to the actual blog posts, presumably written by the students. This system allows the blog to give good information from many students. Having not read the book, some of the topics, such as "What do you think the 'What' is in the novel?", confused me, but that is to be expected.
The blog is very well designed, with an attractive style and many images and videos. There are also an exceptional number of links, most of which I did not have the time to follow. Apart from some small accessibility issues, the only real problem is that the blog has, as of today, not updated in over a month-since March 3rd. In general, however, very good job.
The blog for the B Block class, in my opinion, was very well done and provided information and ideas for others outside the class to ponder. Overall it would appear that the blog is up to date and that many students posted their thoughts. The blog also seemed to be very professional in its layout, as well as providing easy access to other websites and videos for the students. I found it interesting to read the thoughts of other students, especially about the poem.
However, I think that there could be some more information in addition to what is there about What is the What and the Darfur for others who are looking at the website, since I was somewhat confused at first.
The blog has made an impression on me as well as others in our class. From the slide show and the videos to the student’s ideas, the blog helps others to understand the crisis in Darfur from a different perspective and causes us to want to do something. Overall, the website deserves an A. -Hannah Russek
I think that although the blog was accurate and informative, it was a little bit disorganized. Of course, judging the blog fairly would have been a great deal easier if we had read the the book, What is the What. Also, with a multitude of information in the format of the blog, keeping it organized would be difficult. That being said, navigating the blog was confusing and analyses of the book were jumbled among historical facts. I would have gotten much more out of reading it if I had read a clear analysis and summary of the book before being bombarded with facts and statistics.
However, I was impressed by the amount of effort and insight the blog had to offer. It was very informative and included how to help, which was a good balance and a nice thing to see. Overall, it was a great blog.
The B block's blog was really well done.I liked how they used images, and videos as well as writing to help get their points across. It had a lot of useful links, and is organized pretty well.There was a lot of information, and it was organized pretty well. It was also colorful and easy to look at.
OverallI think this class did a very good job making this blog, and I would probably give it an A.
I thought that the B block was really cool! I think that all the students did a really good job on it. I've never heard of "What is the What" so I think that maybe it would be helpful if they explained that some more. The slide show was also really neato!
I thought that Block F was really interesting also. The Pictures of the starving children are very moving. I think that they may want to fill the blank white part on the right because it's kind of boring. Really great Blogs!
I thought that the B block was overall good. I liked the layout and how it looked when i first opened that page. At the first glance there is many opinions and links to look at which is helpful to learn and understand however, was a bit confusing and overwhelming with so many choices. I liked that it not only had discussions and history but also slide shows and videos to make it more personal. This page seems very professionally done and has lots of helpful information about the crisis in Darfur. I learned a lot just from reading the links and comments. I also liked that there was posts and links to how you could help. This blog and its comments were very meaningful and thoughtful. It was nice to be informed about what is going on in Darfur and also what can be done. overall it was very good. i give it an A.
i come to say that i too have not read "what is the what", therefore have no previous background on the subject although i know a lot about the crisis in Sudan. all i have have to say is that the F block blog was well constructed and was over all well thought out and complete. it had many facts on the situation in Darfur as well as the book, although some of the information was terrifying, they were all good to know and broadened my knowledge on the topic.
The B Block Blog was really good. It looked professional and I learned a lot just looking through the different posts. The students respond, mostly, for real. I didn't see a lot of responses like, "cool," they actually had something to say. My favorite part was the slideshow, the pictures were really awesome. The videos in the sidebar were interesting and helped make it aesthetically pleasing. Overall, I would give the B Block Blog an A.
The B block blog is a solid website that spreads information in a good way. When you first go onto the site it is easy to get information about the issue and that info is good. It is easy to find the main issue of the site which is genocide in Darfur. I also like how the site starts out with numbers you can call to talk about the Genocide. The website is also very pleasing to the eye. The links on the right hand side are great and easy to access. The pictures are also a great thing and it helps you understand the topic. Finally the blogs management is outstanding. It looks up to date and the gramar is also very good. Overall the class did a great job with the blog. Ill give them an A.
I really liked Mr. Kefor's B Block Blog. Overall, they had a lot of useful links, to websites and helpful websites. They had a lot of pictures about what was happening, and showed a lot of different things. Their history section had a lot of different information about the topic, and was organized nicely. It was hard to find the information about the book "What is the What", but when I did, it did give me some insight into what the book was about. I haven't read it, so I don't know what it is actually like. The blog also hasn't been updated for about a month, which was somewhat of a disappointment, but it didn't affect much. Overall, it was a great blog, and I would award them a high B for their efforts.
I thought that the blog was pretty good. The information was very easy to find as well as the links to other sites. If I had to grade this I would give in an A to an A-. I liked all the photos that were on the website, it really made it more interesting to read and look at.
Overall I really enjoyed the site and I found it fun to read. The information was well organized and I liked how it was set up as well.
b block's website helped me understand the situation in Darfur. I liked the slide show of the lost boys. The pictures gave a more vivid view on what the lost boys are going through. The website is very catchy and the contents were very interesting. It was nice reading an actual poem written by someone from Darfur who is experiencing pain and suffering caused by genocides. Even when the information was depressing, the website was inspiring and hopeful. One criticism might be to introduce more about the background of What is What.
The F block blog on Darfur was very interesting and fun to read. I really liked the layout of the page because it was easy to navigate. I liked all the insightful comments about Darfur and about "What is the What." Overall I think the class deserves an A on this blog.
I thought that the B block gave very good information about the situation in sudan. i thought that the slide show was very well layed out and that the pictures really helped me understand what was going on. the site itself was very cool, and i'd give them an overall grade of a an A-.
i thought that the information they gave was very insightful and very powerful. i could tell that they really understood what they were talking about, and that the information was frightening although eye-opening. i thought that there blog was very good.
The bblock website is ok. I liked all the links and website adressed about genocide that were displayed, this showed me that there has been alot of reaserch done. Also the slideshow is great along with the poem which i thought to be very powerful. In the blogs the writting was very well written. It was short and to the point and again it showed signs of research but some was a little repetitve. However the website hadnt updated since March 3 and the latest blog post was March 24 which means no one has even looked at it in almost a month. All in all though i think this website deserves around a b but only for the fact that it hadnt been updated in some time because it looked good, links worked perfectly, and writing was good too.
Mr. Kefor's F Block blog really impressed me with their presentation of knowledge. The fact that the many students put together their interpretations and what they got out of the book helps, but overall, seeing so many different perspectives and thoughts at the same time is fairly astounding.
If they had better collaborated their research on the blog, that would have been great, but the way they split it up into various parts was also very organized.
After reading another freshmen English class' research, i feel much more informed about the subject than before.
The F blog to me was really good! The site was easy to understand as well as the blogs themself. They give intresting information about Darfur but I haven't read "What is What," so i cant really compare the blogs to the book.
I really liked the visuals. Its makes it much easier for a visual learner and the book experts helped as well -Hallie Wakely
50 comments:
I think that the F Block blog provides interesting information about Darfur.
Without having read "What is the What," I can't judge responses relating to the book. However, I found that the posts were meaningful and informative.
Some interesting parts of the blog are the variety of subjects, the shocking statistics, the excerpts from the book, the links to articles, and the visuals. I especially liked the slideshow. I was disappointed that many statistics lack sources. Also, I think that adding some sort of organization or sorting system apart from date posted (if it's possible - I don't know) would be helpful.
I think that this blog presents a simple, straightforward way to raise awareness about Darfur and to possibly help refugees.
~Elisabeth Meyer
I thought that the blog for Mr. Kefor's B Block was good. Over all I would give it an A. The background made it look very professional/ sharp. The Videos were good and were easy to find, which was helpful, and so were the links to other sites. The blog presented a lot of good questions for people to respond to and ponder. The photos helped me to see the destruction happening there and made me want to help. Also it was good that they provided other websites because then the viewer can find a way to help. The blogs were very specific so someone could find or post information very quickly if the needed to. The posting time for the bolgs said like 5:30AM so I am assuming they are a long time ahead of us, and that it was today because it didn't say 5:30AM 2 years ago. So, basically it looked organized, up to date, and it made me want to help the genocide victims.
I thought that the F block's blog overall was pretty good. There was a large amount of information on the history of Sudan and the genocide, and I thought that some of the questions posed were interesting. The pictures and links were easy to find, and very relevant.
My only criticism would be that a bit more organization would be nice. The description of the book is at the bottom of the page, and so it's difficult at first to really make sense of all the information. Also bits of information and questions about the book are mixed with historical facts so it makes them a bit hard to find. I also would have liked to see more about how the book ties in with the history. I saw lots of bits of this around the blog, but I think condensing it more would be nice.
Overall however, this was a good blog. It was really informative and straight forward. I liked to see how kids were replying to blog posts encouraging their classmates to help out with Darfur, it was really positive and constructive.
The B block blog was very informative and interesting. The colorful layout and presentation caught my eye right away. The images served as an immediate attention grabber, as they really gave a picture for what all the words on the page were describing. Although i enjoyed the easy access to the links, i felt a little overwhelmed by so many links and pictures.
The site was organized and up to date, as well as very informative regarding the crisis in Darfur. I enjoyed the links, the slideshow, and stories that the site provided.
I really respected and appreciated Mr. Kefor’s B block blog. I thought it was informative and inspirational. It was good to see this many people caring so much about the Sudanese crisis.
I realize that this blog is for the benefit of the students who are presently learning about Sudan, so they already have an understanding the happenings in Sudan. I personally know what any other kid knows about Darfur, but I think that if the students want other people to read and learn from their blog, it would help if they wrote some kind of introduction for it, giving some background on the topic for those who have no clue.
I thought the visuals were great – but perhaps a bit too bright for the subject maybe. The videos and pictures on the blog were terrific and really made an impact. I think “blog management” is not too important on this blog as long as the information is correct and appropriate. Which, it was.
Thumbs up! Good blog =)
i really appreciated the effort put into Mr. Kefor's b blog, the site itself looks professional and the pictures are offer deeper insight to the issue while not being overly distracting to the written content. it was also well maintained with frequent and new posts. Speaking as one who has read most of "What Is The What" however, i believe that some posts failed to delve deeper than what was said exactly in the book, rather than deeper research. but that was only a few posts, other than that. most of the posts shared excellent information on the crisis in Sudan. All around A grade
I believe that the F blog has the best information on Darfur. To begin the F blog in general seemed very professional and complete. It looked like it had a lot of time and effort put into it, and therefore came across as a very sofisticated, organized blog. Furthermore, blog F was very robust to many kinds of people, including visual, and auditory thinkers. It was also a very interesting blog and had many outstanding facts in it. However it could have used more sources in it as proof of information discused, this could have been resolved possibly with a bibliography.In conclusion, blog F was very informative, and organized and was a real great way to give people a reality check on the troubles in Darfur.
I really enjoyed reading the F-Block Blog.
I know very little about the crisis in Sudan, so I was a little confused until I got to
the "History" section. That was by far my favorite part; it was very informative and well written. However, I would've liked perhaps a more introductory paragraph or something at the beginning.
I also liked the pictures - they were so moving and horrific. It's insane to look at them and see how very good we have it.
I think the B block english class put together a well-constructed blog. There was great visual presentation through providing photos, slide shows, and videos on the site. The links were helpful to find more information on how to support the cause. The discussion, history and genocide number were great to have at hand. The expression of the horrible things happening in Sudan through the poem and photography that I found captivating. It was well organized and everything was easily accesible. Overall, I would give the blog an A for being informative and and engaging.
Tommy Gebhardt
The blog done by F blog is very complete and insightful. They did a great job making the page fun to read as well as very informative. For their efforts I believe that they deserve a 98. They did an excellent job with the pictures as well as the righting and overall management of the blog. Great Job!
I think that the F block class has a very interesting site on the issue. I really like what they have up there and how they talk about the book WHAT IS THE WHAT. I think it portrays that this is not ok what is going on in Darfur. I think that the pictures in the blog are very scary, in a good way so that when people vist the site they can see the very graphic things happening in the country.
I liked the slide show alot, I do think that the statists should have links or stated where they came from in some sort. Over all I thought the blog was a complete way to show the people who look at this blog what is happening over there.
B Block did a good job on thier website. I liked the viseo bar and the number of different links that were on the website as well as the visuals being very good
I really liked the F block blogs. Overall, they were very interesting. I think it was very cool how many links to articles and videos there were. It really helped with my understanding of the issue a hand. It was also very professional and to the point.
As others have said, some sort of introduction would be nice. It would make it easier to find something without having to read every piece of information. A table of contents that shows where each section of the issue is would be perfect.
Overall, it was a great blog. It was really interesting and informative, and the links were great!
All I can say about the blog after first reading it was 'Wow'. I was moved by the horrors that were depicted by the posts and I feel that this is the kind of blog that could really help to raise awareness about Darfur and the horrors going on there. I especially liked the visuals, because for me a picture is a lot more descriptive than language. I also found that the multiple links that were given through the blog made me have more fun navigating it, and those extras made the blog a more invigorating experience.
That being said, I do think that there were some technicalities about the blog that could be fixed. More example, there were very few statistic citations, and the organization was kind of random. However, I found this blog very interactive and a helpful way to show someone the terrible things that are happening in Africa.
After browsing both blogs (wasn't able to decide which one I wanted to focus more on so I looked over both of them), I think both of them are very well put together. The B Block blog is definitely eye-catching; the pictures are almost haunting, and it seems to be updated fairly regularly. However, it seems a little smashed together...could be a little more organized.
The F Block blog has quite a bit of useful information, and it's easy to follow along, regardless if one has read "What is the What" or not. This blog also has many heartwrenching photos, and offers some ways that we, both as individuals and a nation, can help with the issues in Darfur. As stated by Elisabeth, though, the sources for the information are a bit lacking.
The F block did an overall great job on their blog. Each student provided unique views and information about both the book and the general issue of the genocide in Darfur.
The historical section contained facts that I had never known. However, it was a bit too long, so it was more difficult to remain focused on the important information that was in it. Throughout the whole blog, the facts were interesting and affected me greatly.
All of the images on the blog were very moving and effective in drawing in my attention. It would be helpful in having more links which had information about ways that I could help improve the situation in Darfur as an individual.
Most of the grammar in the blog was impeccable, but there were a few minor errors, so it might be helpful for multiple students to proofread a response.
Overall, the blog provided information which was interesting and engaging, yet contained a few errors which can be easily corrected.
I think the B Block blog was very well designed and provided quality information about the genocide in Darfur. The site uses a good color scheme that draws your attention. However I don't think that the website introduces you to the main subject very well. For example the first thing you see is "B Block's Brilliant Blog", and then it starts by giving you a phone number. A better introduction into the topic, or at least some background information would be helpful for the reader.
The website was current and provided many interesting links, videos, and pictures. It was presented very well and gave the reader a realistic view of the crisis in Darfur.
I think that the F Block blog was interesting but it needs a little more information in places. I also think it could be better if there were more recent posts since the latest is from March 4th.
Overall, I think the blog is interesting and gives good information about the subject matter. The photos are shocking and provide truthful information. The links provided are useful.
Overall, I think that the blog is well put together and provides decent information.
The F Block blog shows multiple facets on the situation in Darfur. For example, without having read Dave Egger's book, I had not concidered the idea of vultures eating children alive as they trekked through the vast reaches of Sudan, or of the alligators trying to bite humans crossing rivers.
It was extremely interesting to read the opinions and Ideas on Darfur. However, the layout was fairly confusing, and difficult to understand at first.
Most graphics were incredible, and when people inserted quotes they were very usefull!! All together I thought the blogs were very well done!!
Well to shoot for the positive first, I love how they have numbers you can call, fundraisers, photos, videos, people who you can talk to, helpful links and many other things. They give amazing and informal responses to their blogs, which are extremely helpful to gather information about the topic. The blog gives your almost every piece of information that you need to do a ten page research paper.
But, what i dislike is that they have not kept up to date and they don't have a large amount of responses to the blogs. The last time a blog was published was March 3rd! That is more than a month ago. Also, when the blogs don't have many responses to them it shows that it is not a big deal to many of the students. If the blogs were to have 20 to like 30 responses, it would show me that they care and really want people to know about the problem. But the average number of responses for each blog is thirteen people. So although they have lots of good information, there can still be some improvement in areas. But overall, I would give them a B+.
I agree with everyone else: the aesthetics of the B Block site are very pleasing and organized. The links were arranged well, and the slideshow and videos are really cool.
However, I was a little confused about the purpose of the site at first. I knew that they read "What is the What", and it would have been nice if they gave us a summary of the book at the top. I did not realize that it was about the book, so many of the posts were about how we Americans should send food to the child soldiers, but I was thinking, Isn't this about the crisis in Darfur?
There was a nice dialogue going on between the students, and they took the initiative to start different topics. But I saw that there were a few people who posted a lot, yet there really weren't plenty of replies. (Only 15? Is it a small class?)
Wow! Well that was a great blog. Overall the blog looked great and gave alot of valuable information that I enjoyed becoming aware of. The organization and overall effect of the blog looked very professional and I particularly liked the slideshow (though I think that it would look even better with more pictures on it). The links were very useful and helpful, I think that it helped build you guys' credibility. One thing I especially enjoyed was that after every informational paragraph was a question for the reader to think about. By doisng that, it really caught my attention and made me consider how blessed I am and how I need to help. It really encouraged me to read further and find out more.
The only suggestions that i would maked on the blog is the order at which the information was presented. I think it would've helped alot to know the book's background information first, then the statistics second, followed by then the opinions and discussion oppurtunities. Personally, I would find that more helpful knowing who people were, such as Valentino.
But overall, if i had to give this blog a grade I would no doubt give it an A+. It was a very well thought-out, organized, credible, and useful sight. I think that you guys did great job about portraying the problem at hand in Sudan.
F block blog was very interesting I think that those statistics were shocking but necessary to bring across certain points. I really enjoyed the visual learning aspect the slideshow really just was the icing on the cake. I feel from that I am more aware of the genocide in Darfur. I cannot help but to have these people in my mind after your compelling points.
Nice Job!
Mr. Kefor's B Block blog was well put together. He made his layout fairly simple to navigate, and his questions were clear as to what he was asking the students. Also, he provided varying sources about the crisis in Sudan- supplying photos, rap lyrics, videos, links, etc. His questions were trying to provoke a response in the students other than "I think this is sad". I think it was fantastic that he brought in a guest speaker. The students responded by answering specific questions, some that were asking literary techniques, while others were more subjective. I think that the variety in the blog helps make it more effective for the students in terms of provoking thought on the Sudanese crisis. The blog is simple, and it helps to encourage helping the refugees and the situation in Darfur, which is great.
I think that the F Block website was overall very good. They conveyed a good idea of What is the What is about. I also liked the visuals and links to the articles. However, I think that more organization could be helpful. Also, they could have the sources for the statistics. This website has defintley increased by knowledge about Darfur, so I think that I would give it an A+.
Overall, I thought the blog was very good. I thought that all the information was relevant, and that there was plenty of it there. The visuals were also nice, with striking images. The only real problem I feel was the lack of orginazation, and clarity of the book itself. I feel the information on the blog needed to be better orginized, with prehaps an overivew of the book at the begginging; this was the biggest problem, that I haven't read the book, so I draw a blank whenever characters or events from it are mentioned. However, I do think it is a good blog, especially with so many cooks in the kitchen, and a probable lack of experience with this sort of thing.
Rick Schader
I thought that the B block class's blog was very informative and provided a lot of useful information, but the organization definitely needs work. For one, they should start with a summary the basic situation in Darfur and a brief outline of the book, not a phone number.
Other than that, I thought it was very interesting, especially the slide show.
I was really impressed with the B block's blog. First of all it had so many relevant pictures and videos. There were pictures of people who were in the refugee camps, the lost boys. I thought it was a good idea to put videos on there, that's not something I would have originally thought. Second, they had links to other sites. That's great because that way people can learn more about the crisis. I also thought having that phone number was a good idea, but I'm not sure how many people would actually use it, although maybe I'm wrong. I thought the best part of the blog was the prompts they had that made you think about the issue and then could respond to. Their blog was very professional looking and a great effort. I'd definitely give them and A.
To begin with i really enjoyed the blog, i found it very informational and interesting. I enjoyed how there were many different types of information for different sorts of learners or what people prefer, videos and slide shows for and reading. The blog is also interactive, which makes it a lot easier to sit though. It really makes you think about what your reading and have a deeper understanding of the situation in Sudan.
In particular I was drawn to the rap because it expresses the hardship in the simplest way possible without too much explanation. The links were also great to learn more information. The one way i think it could be improved is to organize it a little better but besides that i think it is very professional and i enjoyed it a lot.
The F block blog was very informative and well written. I agree that some way of organizing the information would be helpful, but I don't know if that would be possible. For the most part, the writing and grammer was good, but there were some minor errors in punctuation/tenses etc. I think it would be more professional and easy to read if other students proofread the blogs before they were posted.
The students came up with very good and insightful questions in their blogs. I enjoyed reading the students' responses because they were interesting as well as informative.
Also, I really liked all the pictures and statistics the students provided. These made the blog interesting to read. I learned a lot about the situation in Darfur, and am now interested in reading "What is the What"!
This blog was a good way to raise awareness on the situation in Darfur and was neat, informative, and easy to understand.
The B block has created an extremely visually appealing website, with generally good information. I give it an A.
The blog conveys much of its information through responses to the actual blog posts, presumably written by the students. This system allows the blog to give good information from many students. Having not read the book, some of the topics, such as "What do you think the 'What' is in the novel?", confused me, but that is to be expected.
The blog is very well designed, with an attractive style and many images and videos. There are also an exceptional number of links, most of which I did not have the time to follow. Apart from some small accessibility issues, the only real problem is that the blog has, as of today, not updated in over a month-since March 3rd. In general, however, very good job.
The blog for the B Block class, in my opinion, was very well done and provided information and ideas for others outside the class to ponder. Overall it would appear that the blog is up to date and that many students posted their thoughts. The blog also seemed to be very professional in its layout, as well as providing easy access to other websites and videos for the students. I found it interesting to read the thoughts of other students, especially about the poem.
However, I think that there could be some more information in addition to what is there about What is the What and the Darfur for others who are looking at the website, since I was somewhat confused at first.
The blog has made an impression on me as well as others in our class. From the slide show and the videos to the student’s ideas, the blog helps others to understand the crisis in Darfur from a different perspective and causes us to want to do something. Overall, the website deserves an A.
-Hannah Russek
I think that although the blog was accurate and informative, it was a little bit disorganized. Of course, judging the blog fairly would have been a great deal easier if we had read the the book, What is the What. Also, with a multitude of information in the format of the blog, keeping it organized would be difficult. That being said, navigating the blog was confusing and analyses of the book were jumbled among historical facts. I would have gotten much more out of reading it if I had read a clear analysis and summary of the book before being bombarded with facts and statistics.
However, I was impressed by the amount of effort and insight the blog had to offer. It was very informative and included how to help, which was a good balance and a nice thing to see. Overall, it was a great blog.
The B block's blog was really well done.I liked how they used images, and videos as well as writing to help get their points across. It had a lot of useful links, and is organized pretty well.There was a lot of information, and it was organized pretty well. It was also colorful and easy to look at.
OverallI think this class did a very good job making this blog, and I would probably give it an A.
I thought that the B block was really cool! I think that all the students did a really good job on it. I've never heard of "What is the What" so I think that maybe it would be helpful if they explained that some more. The slide show was also really neato!
I thought that Block F was really interesting also. The Pictures of the starving children are very moving. I think that they may want to fill the blank white part on the right because it's kind of boring. Really great Blogs!
~Evie
I thought that the B block was overall good. I liked the layout and how it looked when i first opened that page. At the first glance there is many opinions and links to look at which is helpful to learn and understand however, was a bit confusing and overwhelming with so many choices.
I liked that it not only had discussions and history but also slide shows and videos to make it more personal.
This page seems very professionally done and has lots of helpful information about the crisis in Darfur. I learned a lot just from reading the links and comments. I also liked that there was posts and links to how you could help. This blog and its comments were very meaningful and thoughtful. It was nice to be informed about what is going on in Darfur and also what can be done.
overall it was very good. i give it an A.
i come to say that i too have not read "what is the what", therefore have no previous background on the subject although i know a lot about the crisis in Sudan. all i have have to say is that the F block blog was well constructed and was over all well thought out and complete. it had many facts on the situation in Darfur as well as the book, although some of the information was terrifying, they were all good to know and broadened my knowledge on the topic.
The B Block Blog was really good. It looked professional and I learned a lot just looking through the different posts. The students respond, mostly, for real. I didn't see a lot of responses like, "cool," they actually had something to say. My favorite part was the slideshow, the pictures were really awesome. The videos in the sidebar were interesting and helped make it aesthetically pleasing. Overall, I would give the B Block Blog an A.
The B block blog is a solid website that spreads information in a good way. When you first go onto the site it is easy to get information about the issue and that info is good. It is easy to find the main issue of the site which is genocide in Darfur. I also like how the site starts out with numbers you can call to talk about the Genocide. The website is also very pleasing to the eye. The links on the right hand side are great and easy to access. The pictures are also a great thing and it helps you understand the topic. Finally the blogs management is outstanding. It looks up to date and the gramar is also very good. Overall the class did a great job with the blog. Ill give them an A.
I really liked Mr. Kefor's B Block Blog. Overall, they had a lot of useful links, to websites and helpful websites. They had a lot of pictures about what was happening, and showed a lot of different things. Their history section had a lot of different information about the topic, and was organized nicely.
It was hard to find the information about the book "What is the What", but when I did, it did give me some insight into what the book was about. I haven't read it, so I don't know what it is actually like.
The blog also hasn't been updated for about a month, which was somewhat of a disappointment, but it didn't affect much.
Overall, it was a great blog, and I would award them a high B for their efforts.
I thought that the blog was pretty good. The information was very easy to find as well as the links to other sites. If I had to grade this I would give in an A to an A-. I liked all the photos that were on the website, it really made it more interesting to read and look at.
Overall I really enjoyed the site and I found it fun to read. The information was well organized and I liked how it was set up as well.
b block's website helped me understand the situation in Darfur. I liked the slide show of the lost boys. The pictures gave a more vivid view on what the lost boys are going through. The website is very catchy and the contents were very interesting. It was nice reading an actual poem written by someone from Darfur who is experiencing pain and suffering caused by genocides. Even when the information was depressing, the website was inspiring and hopeful. One criticism might be to introduce more about the background of What is What.
The F block blog on Darfur was very interesting and fun to read. I really liked the layout of the page because it was easy to navigate. I liked all the insightful comments about Darfur and about "What is the What." Overall I think the class deserves an A on this blog.
-Jordan Firstenberg
I thought that the B block gave very good information about the situation in sudan. i thought that the slide show was very well layed out and that the pictures really helped me understand what was going on. the site itself was very cool, and i'd give them an overall grade of a an A-.
i thought that the information they gave was very insightful and very powerful. i could tell that they really understood what they were talking about, and that the information was frightening although eye-opening. i thought that there blog was very good.
The bblock website is ok. I liked all the links and website adressed about genocide that were displayed, this showed me that there has been alot of reaserch done. Also the slideshow is great along with the poem which i thought to be very powerful. In the blogs the writting was very well written. It was short and to the point and again it showed signs of research but some was a little repetitve. However the website hadnt updated since March 3 and the latest blog post was March 24 which means no one has even looked at it in almost a month. All in all though i think this website deserves around a b but only for the fact that it hadnt been updated in some time because it looked good, links worked perfectly, and writing was good too.
Mr. Kefor's F Block blog really impressed me with their presentation of knowledge. The fact that the many students put together their interpretations and what they got out of the book helps, but overall, seeing so many different perspectives and thoughts at the same time is fairly astounding.
If they had better collaborated their research on the blog, that would have been great, but the way they split it up into various parts was also very organized.
After reading another freshmen English class' research, i feel much more informed about the subject than before.
I Made A Blog!!
Thanks for all of your feedback! We'll spend some time reading it, and we appreciate you taking the time to check out our work.
The F blog to me was really good!
The site was easy to understand as well as the blogs themself. They give intresting information about Darfur but I haven't read "What is What," so i cant really compare the blogs to the book.
I really liked the visuals. Its makes it much easier for a visual learner and the book experts helped as well
-Hallie Wakely
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