Blog Posts

Blog Posts Assignment Guidelines

Grading: Blog Posts (✓+, ✓, ✓- for first 2 posts)

You will be required to write blog posts throughout the semester. Each blog post should utilize the analytical, reading, and writing skills you are developing in this course. Each blog post will focus on various digital topics or technology assigned throughout the semester. The first two blog posts will not be formally grade with point values. The remaining blog posts will be. Some of your blog posts will be graded through another assignment (for example, the Technology Autobiography).

Each week, everyone will be assigned a role as either Writer, Responder, or Searcher.

  • Writer (20 points): write an analytical blog post on your blog about the readings for that week, using the guidelines for analysis and writing blog post
  • Responder (5 points): comment on blog posts from writers (use links from course blog); provide thoughtful commentary and expand the conversation; don’t just agree or disagree
  • Searcher (5 points): search for related online resources about that weeks topic and provide commentary/discussion on why these resources are relevant; post on your blog

Five Analytical Moves

For these blog posts, you should use the Five Analytical Moves discussed in Writing Analytically to:

  • Suspend Judgment
  • Define significant parts and how they are related
  • Make the implicit explicit
  • Look for patterns of repetition and contrast and for anomalies
  • Formulate questions and explanations

Utilize the various strategies in the Writing Analytically book to critically and thoughtfully analyze these different resources and provide your written response about them. Remember, writing is not about providing answers or telling me what I want to hear, but rather a means of thinking, questioning, engaging, and communicating. Your writing should reflect how you engaged with a particular resource.

 

Blog Post Guidelines:

EFF’s Blogger’s FAQ on Student Blogging has some good information. It includes information for both high school and college students: https://www.eff.org/issues/bloggers/legal/students.

A ‘very good’ blog post for this course will (i.e., what the blog post will be graded on):

  • Interesting, relevant, perhaps even funny title.
  • A strong opening with an initial argument, situation, paradox, controversy, anecdote, …
  • Brief summary may be included, but focus more on a thoughtful analysis and evaluation (react to, identify strands, find problems or contradictions with, give strengths of, explain why you agree or disagree with, etc.)
  • Synthesize (place in relation to, bring together themes with, relate to other resources) information to other topics/discussions/readings/experiences.
  • Credible and relevant evidence supporting your claims, with links to readings, articles and other sources.
  • Include relevant visual elements, such as photos/video clips/multimedia/visual representation of data or information.
  • Be presented with a clear sense of order and organization, but between paragraphs and within paragraphs.
  • Clearly written and well edited, with a focus on grammar, active voice, and the writing process.
  • This is YOUR writing and should be in your VOICE, providing a unique argument building upon your own perspective.
  • Meet the length requirement: at least 300 words and up to 750 words.
  • Utilize appropriate categories and tags.
    • Categories = ‘FYS142’ and ‘Blog Post’
    • Tags = 2 or 3 keywords that describe the blog content

Blog Post Assignments

  • For Blog Post #1, use the prompts for the Digital Activity to create your domain.
  • For Blog Post #2, use the above guidelines to write a post on the Bush reading. 
  • For Blog Post #3:
    • Using ‘Were College Students Better Off Before Social Media’ reading from September 13
      • Writers: Vanesa, Patrick, Suzane, Charlotte, Eric
      • Responders: Jimmy, Meranda, Lucas, Johannah
      • Searchers: Jay, Renee, Jonas, Kaley, Dylan
    • Using readings from September 25
      • Writers: Renee, Jonas, Meranda, Lucas, Jimmy
      • Responders: Eric, Suzane, Jay, Kaley, Dylan
      • Searchers: Charlotte, Patrick, Vanessa, Johannah
    • Using readings from September 27
      • Writers: Kaley, Dylan, Johannah, Jay
      • Responders: Renee, Jonas, Charlotte, Patrick, Vanesa
      • Searchers: Meranda, Eric, Lucas, Jimmy, Suzane
  • For Blog Post #4:
    • Everyone writes a blog post for the topic of Data Ownership & Usage
      • Due by October 11
    • Everyone should comment on 2 other posts
      • Due by October 13
  • For Blog Post #5:
    • Peer facilitation post on your topic & resource
    • For this blog post, you will meet with Ryan. Sign-up here.
    • Due by October 16
  • For Blog Post #6: Technology’s impact on learning, reading, and/or writing
    • Everyone will be writers, searchers, and responders for this post
    • Research and read articles on technology’s impact on learning, reading, and/or writing
    • As searchers, post at least 2 resources you selected. Review what should be included as a searcher.
      • DUE: by midnight, Sunday November 11
    • Write a blog post on this research (review the Blog Post Guidelines)
      • DUE: by noon, Tuesday November 13
    • Comment on others’ posts as responders.
      • DUE: by noon, Thursday November 15
  • Blog Post #7 (final blog post)
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