Welcome ESC Students in the US and Abroad!
Introduction to Blogging
Writing in a journal is a fun kind of writing. In part, this is because a journal gives legitimacy to our own voice and frees us from the tyranny of formality. Most of us have probably written in a journal at some point in our lives. Today, many Americans spend their creative, journal writing energy on social networking sites, writing in a much more public way.This assignment builds on the traditional concept of journaling and puts it into the 21st technological format of blogging. Just as European and Native contact led to a mixture of culture, so will the combination of academic journaling and blogging in this course.
Remember, the point of journaling is to convey your ideas about what you are learning, but since you are in an academic format, it should be substantiated by the information that you are exposed to in this course. It does not matter if you like or dislike something; what matters is why you feel the way you do and what lead you in the sources you reviewed to feel that way.
1. Write a 250 word minimum piece of writing that can be used in a blog post. Your writing must document and describe one of the web resources in your current Module (this will vary depending on the course you are enrolled in) and tell us, the reader what you have learned from it. Do not assume that all of your readers are familiar with the resource. Here is a good link for composing a quality academic journal post: http://faculty.weber.edu/kmackay/academic_journal.htm
2. Sign up for Blogger account, Blogger is a very easy blogging service for beginners. To access the blog, you will need to find and follow my Blogger account: SUNY ESC International Immigration Experienment. Once you have a Blogger account, follow me, Dr. Rhianna C. Rogers.
Discuss and establish guidelines for students going public with their writing. Suggested readings, I would suggest reading John Essid's Writer's Web: Effective Academic Blogging article here: http://writing2.richmond.edu/writing/wweb/blogging.html
Here is the discussion point questions (you must answer both for full credit):
1) Write a 50-100 word bio about yourself stating where you are from, what you study, and has immigration impacted you (familialy, culturally, regionally)?
2) Trace a cultural group that has immigrated to your area and explain how immigration impacted the "native" people in your area. Please post a response, and remember to respond to two other people's postings from the American Immigration: A Love Hate Relationship. Your post should be a minimum of 200 words with citations related to your readings and course resources. Then be sure to respond to a minimum of two other posts.Provide at least one specific example and citation from the Module 03 online resources to support your opinions.
Examples: Model blogging
What makes a good blog? Review the blogs below and you will begin to see a pattern of clarify, effective content dissemination, and opinion inclusion. Some of the blogs below have done it effectively, while others have note. Use these examples and the guidelines above to help you construct your own blogs.
It is important to note that these blogs do not reflect the ideas of Empire State College, its faculty, staff, or employees.
Here are some effective and ineffective blogs (can you tell the difference?):
- Froggie’s Lilypad
- The very official best worst blog ever
- Damn I’m cute
- Pie of the tiger
- silver in sf
- my life in food
- readings becoming writing
What to Review before Submitting
Before final submission of your blogs for grading, make sure you check over these fundamentals of blogging:
1) Make sure that you edit and proofread you blog for grammar, punctuation, clarity, visuals, audience, and voice. You need to make sure that your ideas are clear to a broad audience (you are not just writing for me!)
2) Consider adding images to your post. Sometimes visuals can convey your thoughts just as much as your words.
3) Consider adding links to text. Sometimes having further research is helpful for your readers to understand your perspective and ideas.
3) Consider tagging content for organization purposed and dissemination of your information to a broader audience.
4) All students are required to leave comments on the posts of their classmates posts. Remember the purpose is to engage in conversation, not just make statements.
This assignment was modified from a template originally created by Dr. Irina Gendelman and Dr. Nathalie Kuroiwa-Lewis.
Blog Post Rubric:
In my mind, studying means learning to learn from every possible source -- from your readings, your peers, your life experience, your professor, your research. Participating in discussions online/blog postings are one of the best ways to learn. You are expected to contribute to discussions by providing thoughtful questions and insights to the class via this Blog. The culture of the class will, I hope, be a congenial one for self-expression.
Prof. John DeLuca and myself will work to maintain such a culture by swiftly countering displays of contempt and by practicing principles of pedagogical equity to the extent possible. I cannot help you learn if you don't participate in discussion, however. Doing excellent written work is not enough to demonstrate adequate performance in College.
So show a little backbone, organize yourselves in whatever way you need in order to ensure broad participation in the discussion, and whatever you do, don't suffer in silence. Say anything you can defend against reasoned argument. Treat your colleagues' contributions with respect (which means taking them seriously and challenging them as well as extending basic courtesy).
Additional help can be found at this website: http://www.elearners.com/online-education-resources/online-learning/how-to-write-an-a-discussion-posting/
