Whilst searching for inspiration for this blog, I came across another blog by Ross Tucker and Jonathan Dugas, both of whom have PhD's in Exercise Physiology (a link to their blog can be found at the end of this post). At first glance, it seemed very relevant to the content that I would teach, so I decided to delve deeper into it, review it on a more detailed level.
The blog content is extremely similar to the level that I would teach my students, which they can sometimes find unrelatable. What Tucker and Dugas have done well is integrated the content into real life settings, using current news stories to give some context to their information. For example, they have written a blog post on blood doping, a topic which is covered in the syllabus that I teach. From my own experience, this can be a laborious topic to teach, as it is very heavy with physiological and mathematical terms. However, Tucker and Dugas have remedied this by using the Lance Armstrong doping scandal to give the topic some context. It makes it easier to learn about something interesting, a scandal which shocked the entire sporting world. This means that their blog moves from a content-rich prose about physiology, to an interesting piece of work on how real life affects sports science research.
Throughtout the blog, their posts are written in series, with each post extending on from the last. Their series on running shoes is one which caught my eye. The title of "Do shoes cause injury?" suggests a blog post that culminates in a yes or no answer, answering the question in the title. However, it ends with more questions, allowing for further posts to be written from it. This encapsulates the reader, and brings them back to read the following posts. I feel that this is a good technique in blog writing, to engage the reader and ensure that they want to keep coming back to read your posts.
In the critical aspect of the review, I have looked for areas in which to offer constructive criticism to. However, the blog is so well written, structured and layed out, that I can't find areas in which the blog is lacking. From the biographies of each writer which makes the blog more personal, to the slick layout that makes the blog easy to navigate, this blog is the level that sports science blogs should aspire to be.
Tucker and Dugas's Sports Science blog - http://scienceofsport.blogspot.co.uk/
No comments:
Post a Comment