Final Reflections on Digital Citizenship in Runner's World

This experience of participating in an online forum taught me a great deal about online communities and digital citizenship. I was fascinated to find the wealth of information available about a hobby I truly love, and I was even more excited to see that this information was formed through the participation of other running enthusiasts. I feel that online communities are a testament to the strength in numbers, and to the beauty of this digital age. Before the internet and other technological developments, this type of community would be impossible. It is highly unlikely to find a group of people with a similar hobby who can truly commit to a community and live meetings; we all are busy with our own schedules and priorities. However, with the ease of communication these days, an online forum can become an encouraging community one can participate in with very little commitment or effort. 

I was very pleased to find that the digital citizenship in my forum was very positive for the most part. I never came across hostile comments, the only veering from positive digital citizenship was toward arrogance. In general, I would say that the forum was full of encouragement for all runners involved. I found that there were definite frequent users of the forum that I saw commenting in almost every thread. These all stars of the forum could be a bit intimidating to newcomers like myself, who faced difficulty receiving responses at first. However, I found that the best way to get participation in the forum was to pose a question to my fellow runners who are full of their own experiences and willing to give advice. This forum had countless advice for runners in all different sections, and I learned more than I ever could from a personal trainer or a book. I was able to feed off the advice of hundreds of successful and passionate runners. 

I feel that participating in an online forum was a crucial experience as a high school teacher. I used to look at online forums with suspicion and some fear. Now I realize that when approached responsibly, they can be excellent resources. However, the maturity of a graduate student and a high school student are very different. I feel that if one were to encourage students to participate in such forums, there would need to be an ongoing conversation about safety on the internet and digital citizenship. However, having successfully participated in an online forum, I feel I am more prepared to educate my students about digital citizenship and online safety. As an English teacher it is my belief that any type of writing can help one become a better writer. One of the beautiful things about forums is it gives participants a chance to express themselves in as concise or expanded ways they choose. Any activity that engages a student in writing is a step toward developing their writing skills. This is why I think class participation in a forum or blog could be a great way to encourage informal writing. The other great thing about a blog or forum is that though it is informal and can be creative, it is published to the internet. This encourages the writer to be careful about their writing and take pride in it, more than a typical free write or journal. I feel that the possibilities presented by online forums and blogs for encouraging both student writing and digital citizenship are endless. 

I am pleased with my successful participation in an online forum this term. I feel I will likely stay in the forum and visit it occasionally to get ideas and tips about running. I also know that my fears about online forums have been quelled. At least in Runner's World, I was pleased to find that the participants did not consist of angry people smack talking one another from the privacy of their computers. Instead it was a community of support and encouragement, which gave me a little more hope for the world in the digital age. Despite being complete strangers from miles apart, we can all act like civil and kind humans trying to build community. 

Finally! Some Responses to My Post!

This past week I posted into my running forum in the beginner section, but this time I started my very own thread. I had recently started back up taking spinning classes and I decided to pose a question to my fellow runners about the helpfulness of spinning in training for races. My post read:

Happy New Year Everyone!

I have recently started going to spinning classes again and I was wondering if anyone had thoughts or suggestions about how well spinning fits into training for races? I am planning to do Ragnar in the spring and want to start my training plan and I'm hopeful that spinning can fit into the plan in some form. Any suggestions?

This post went up on Thursday, Jan 2nd and as of Sunday Jan 5th I received 6 responses! (Although all of these occurred on the 2nd, it seems posts on this forum have a short shelf life)

I was very pleased by the range of responses I received and I am happy to report that each one showed positive digital citizenship. Most of the responses were personal testimonies about other runners' experiences with spinning classes or cycling in general. For instance, one member responded:

Spinning is good because it adds an aerobic element to your workout, without the impact of running.  I spin as a warm up on my weight-training days, and find it helps tremendously with fitness and weight management.

Posts like this ranged from those who do use spin, to those who don't but have in the past. In fact, I also received a response from a fellow runner that is trying spinning out like I am. He wrote:

I'm trying to get into spinning but not sure it'll stick.  Even after having the bike adjusted to fit me, I found it bothered an old back injury.  Riding my bike outside doesn't seem to cause it I might have to keep messing around with the settings.  I also found it to be boring even tho there was plenty of activity going on in the class.  I figure I'll try it a couple of more times before I throw in the towel.  Worst case I'll just ride my bike outside.

His honesty about his own experiences with spin were helpful, and different than my own (I loooove spin!), but he still remained respectful and demonstrated positive digital citizenship. It was nice to see a range of opinions, and also that other runners are trying similar methods to my own. Finally, I received a response that cited an expert resource. One of the members responded:

The first edition of Run Less Run Faster recommended spinning for the non-running cross-train days.  The authors also recommended maintaining at least 90 revolutions a minute.

This member relied on the advice of professionals, rather than just on personal experience. This response was especially helpful in validating my question about spin as a form of training. 

I am glad to see that I have found a way to receive responses in the community. Questions to community members clearly need to be posted separately to receive attention, since it seems that most members only respond to the first post, rather than the posts of other responders. I am also pleased to have experienced very strong digital citizenship from my fellow runners in my first solo post. Maybe this forum thing will be something I keep doing, we shall see!

Another Try at Posting in the Forum

Happy New Year Everyone!

Back before Christmas I posted in my running forum once again, this time from an "expert" perspective. In the Beginners section of the forum their was a question from a fellow beginner that read:

Do any of you guys intentionally take a week off or more from running?  Just for mental and physical recovery reasons?   I'm thinking of doing so but somehow feel really guilty over it and think I'll become a fat slob. 

There had been several responses to this post, most agreeing that taking a week off is a great and necessary thing to do. A few intense runners said instead of taking a week off they just cut back on mileage (crazies!). I have actually had this conversation with personal trainers and physical therapists before so I chose to respond, since I felt I had some authority on the topic. I wrote:

I have had several personal trainers advocate for taking a whole week off intentionally.  One suggested that if you feel the need to work out still you could take walks, swim, or do low impact yoga. These activities can help heal injured muscles and give you the mental release of exercise. While my week off usually coincides with a vacation or a minor injury, I do hope to truly set an intention for a week off. As difficult as the return to running can be, doing these light exercises can support your fitness In the long run. 

I have waited this long to comment on my post in this blog because I was waiting to see if I anyone would reply to me. Instead, I realized that most posts in this thread were only in response to the original writer, with only a few people responding to others suggestions. I also found it interesting that I was the third to last person to post on this thread. Soon after my post, the thread sort of died off, unlike other threads that people frequently write to, like the one I posted in previously about running 10ks. 

I found that once again the forum showed positive digital citizenship. Most people posting in this thread were encouraging to the original writer, telling her that rest is important and her body needs it. With the competitive nature of many of these runners it was nice to see that people were responding with compassion and encouragement to this runner's desire to take a bit of time off. I think for my next post in the running forum I will take a page from this writer's book and post my own question in a separate thread to the beginner's forum to see if I receive support and suggestions from my fellow runners. Stay tuned to see if I receive any responses this time :)