Our Class Blog

Welcome to our class blog. It is my hope that you will visit here often and post regularly. Your participation is key to the success of this online space.

Why a class blog?
The main objective of our keeping a class blog is to extend our classroom conversations to the larger, ongoing conversations among those interested in issues related to writing and technology. Sharing your writing with a more public audience, a group of readers who will actually read what you write, respond, and give you feedback, will help you to become a more responsible, and responsive, writer. Writing in a public space - with readers that include your classmates and beyond - will help you to think more carefully about your writing and the views that you espouse. You’ll see that blogs allow a high level of interactivity – through linking to other web content such as websites, blogs, and online articles to responding to your others’ posts.

Tips for blogging success.
The requirement for your grade in the class is to write on the blog at least twice per week. A good rule of thumb is to write one post of 4-6 or more sentences and one comment of 2-4 or more sentences per week. Posts should appear by Monday of each week, so your classmates have a chance to read and respond before Wednesday evening’s class. Your posts may be related to any aspect of the course, and on some weeks topics for postings may be suggested or required. However, feel free to post more frequently if you have something to say that extends beyond this minimum requirement.

Here are some tips for blogging success:

1. Feed the blog. Remember that the success of the blog depends on its content. The number of people who regularly read, link to, and contribute to the blog depends on how frequently its authors are adding useful content.
2. Link to other web content. Connect your thoughts and added content to what is already being said and explored online. In order to link, you’ll need to know how to code a link: ENGL Course Syllabus is a link to our ENGL 532 syllabus.
3. Add value to existing content. It’s not enough to just link to other websites and/or summarize materials you’ve been reading. You need to add value to this content by expressing a well-grounded opinion or approaching it from a unique perspective.
4. Respond to comments. In order to establish a true conversation on the blog, you should read and respond to all comments directed at your posts. If readers ask a question or offer either positive feedback or a critique, it is important that you respond thoughtfully on the blog.
   

Now let’s get started with our first week of blogging!