Blogging Term Project

PROW 100-02 Blog Term Project
 
Total Value: 15%
1st  Blog Post: 2%
Remaining Project (including comments): 13%
Due Date: 7th December

As we proceed through the term your writer’s toolbox will grow.  Blogging for this class will help you not only keep track of what you’ve been learning but it will also give you a space to stretch your writing muscles.  Using grammar appropriately and learning different writing styles are part of this class’s learning outcomes which you can practise in your own blog posts.

This term assignment is not really about specific instances of grammar.  Rather, this assignment is an opportunity to make broad observations of writing and composition (visual too) in relation to what we’re learning in the class.  You do not have to write a blog post for every single class that we have.  You must do at least seven posts but you might choose to spread those out over the term.  There will be several instances when I do assign you a blog post topic (such as the first introductory post) – that will count as one of your seven posts – but you will have the opportunity to choose three of your own topics.  I suggest writing your posts throughout the term rather than all at once. That way you have a chance to participate in an online environment that is becoming increasingly important for the future; both in education and employment. 

At the end of the term, you will have written at least seven blog posts.  In each blog post you must:

1.    Include at least one image
2.    Include at least one external link (somewhere out in the WWW)
3.    Include at least one reference to a fellow student’s blog post (you must link to the post, i.e. internal link)
4.    Be on topic (i.e. related to our class work).
5.    Each blog post should be at least two-three paragraphs but no more than four.


Additionally, throughout the term you must comment on at least seven blog posts written by fellow students in this class.  Comments, like all the writing and interaction in this class, must remain appropriate in level (writing style, mechanics and punctuation) and collegiality.  In your final blog post for this project you will need to include links to the seven (or more) comments you made.



Mandatory Blog Post Topics:

1. Introductory Blog Post (this will be done in class) 2% of total mark.
2. Grammar Detective: Write about errors you have discovered in published material (newspapers, journals, books). Remember to include all examples (via links, screen captures, uploaded photographs etc...).
3. Word Power: Write about language and its power to persuade and bias readers/listeners.  Include quotations from “Bias-Free Language: Some Guidelines” and “The Word Police” in Exploring Language (EL)
4. Final Blog Post: This should be reflective in nature. Think about what you have covered in the term and the effect of creating an online portfolio of your writing (via the class blog). What have you learned about yourself as a writer? How do you see the role of technology in your own writing? What are your next steps? Be sure to link to all your seven comments (or more) that you have made throughout the term.
   

Important Elements to Note:

1) All related links, images, audio and any other multimodal device must be appropriate.
2) Write and save your blogs in word first, then cut and past them into your blog, or you run the risk of losing your work.  The internet and computers can have hiccups. Save, save, save your work. 
3) Use your writer’s toolbox in your blogs – there’s no excuse for forgetting to capitalise, incorrect punctuation and txt spk (unless that is part of the assignment).
4) This is an individual project.  You are to write each blog post on your own. There is opportunity to collaborate by commenting on other blog posts.

Note on Computer Access:

You will have the chance to write blog posts on your own time and by using any of the computers available at the Grant MacEwan campuses.  As a class we have several computer lab sessions booked in which there may be opportunity to craft a blog post (such as the first one).