In addition to your personal introductions, your blog should also include a general introduction in which you explain the overall goals of your blog, its target audience, and its subject matter. This blog should orient your readers, much like the introduction page of a book. Work together to brainstorm what your introduction should include and start working on the first draft in the Google Doc so everyone can see and edit it.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Workshop: Intro Post
After everyone has pasted their intros successfully, read each of them and then re-read your own introduction. Ask yourself the following questions:
1. Do all of the posts follow the same format? Are they of comparable lengths? Do they employ a similar authorial voice?
2. Are all of the posts consistent with the blog identity you talked about on Tuesday? Why or why not?
3. Did you notice any grammatical, spelling, or formatting errors in your or any of your groupmates' drafts?
Based on your answers to these questions, take 5 minutes or so to revise your introduction on the Google Doc.
Monday, August 29, 2011
Facebook Activity
Get into groups of 2 or 3 within your regular workshop groups. Help one other person in your group find your Facebook profile. You can either friend the person so they can see all of your information, or you can leave them with only the information that non-friends can see. Once you have looked at one of your group members’ profiles, answer the following questions
Write at least four adjectives that describe this person based solely on their Facebook profile.
For each adjective, explain which parts of the profile led you to use the adjective you did.
Consider you are the administrator for a Study Abroad program trying to determine whether to admit the student. How would viewing their Facebook profile affect your decision? In this professional / academic context, do you view the student more or less favorably?
Post the answers to your questions in a new Google Doc and share it with me and the person whose profile you looked at. Title this document “Facebook Activity: [your name]”
Freewriting Prompt: Self-presentation
Though you have only begun thinking about what your blogs will look like this semester, it’s never too early to begin thinking about self-presentation. Take 3-4 minutes to jot down thoughts about how you want to come across on your author page. Try to use the same kind of adjectives we used to describe the author of the blog we just talked about. If you get stuck, consider the communication triangle. What kind of text are you writing? Who are your readers? Your answers to these questions (even if they change in the coming weeks) will help determine how you want to present yourself as an author.
Once you come up with at least 4 or 5 adjectives, begin brainstorming ways in which you can create this impression in your readers.
In-Class Work on Intro Post Assignment
In your groups, start the conversation about what you want your blogs to look like. Please brainstorm on a new Google Doc… it helps get ideas out without judging them. Here are some places you might start:
Who are you as authors? What do you and your group-mates have in common that might give the blog a coherent identity?
Who do you want to write to? What is this population like? What background information do they have? What assumptions or biases will they have?
How will you establish your credibility? Why should your audience trust you as authors? How will you convey this to your audience?
Make sure to share your Google Doc with me so that I can give you credit for the assignment
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