Online Contribution (Blog Posts)

Each week you will be assigned various readings. Please reflect on the readings to produce a blog posting each week. Postings must be completed by 8am each Monday morning. Class is on Wednesday, so this gives you two days to read the blog posts written by other students to write comments and prepare for the class discussion.

"You are not expected to write long essays but concise, relevant, and clearly reflective entries. Your posts should be brief, high quality writings rather than summary of readings or rambling statements. Critique what you read. Pose interesting questions. Draw connections between your writing and the writing of other students. Draw parallels to other material. Feel free to "trackback" to one another and expound upon another student's post. The goal is to encourage you to reflect critically on what you've read and to familiarize yourself with blogging. You are welcome to blog more often than once per class if you are so motivated." - Dana Boyd at UC Berkeley

You are encouraged to supplement the assigned reading with articles and other resources available on the internet. The assigned reading is simply a starting point for your exploration of a particular topic. Feel free to include links to current articles, blog postings from people outside of our class, and other internet resources to highlight the points in your weekly blog posts. The only "rule" for your post is that you might write about something related to the topic for that week. You are welcome to post other random ideas but these will not be counted in your grade.

Grading is based on the timeliness of your blog posts. You will receive full credit (100) for posting on time. The quality of your post will be reflected in the comments you receive from your peers. Over the semester, you will learn to write posts that make points that stimulate discussion and interest from others. You'll learn that the most valuable commentaries tend to be well supported and thought out rather than simply provocative.

Every week, I will record a score for your blog post.

"100" blog post completed by 8am on Monday
"50" blog post completed by 8am on Wednesday
"0" no blog post

One factor that will not be assessed is your command of the English language. The important thing is to get your point across and back up what you say.

Note: You do not have to include anything personal on your blog. You don't even need to include your name. You may password protect your blog so only the class has access to it. The goal is not to reveal anything personal about you but to offer a framework within which you can learn about blogging while reflecting on class material.

A Few Ground Rules:

  • Please remember that you are in a class and that you are representing yourself and AU in your posts. Keep it clean. No profanity.
  • As you take more "ownership" of your blog, you will very likely make it more personal and more your own This is great! But, remember, you are still part of a class. Don't censor yourself but do use good judgment and be professional.
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