This week, we are beginning to explore public writing, and to understand how it differs from academic writing. Consequently, it seems like an appropriate time to experiment with a different way of communicating with the public! :)
Blog writers often communicate their readers through more than simple text. They make videos, record audio commentaries, create graphics, draw cartoons, and alter images, amongst other techniques. Blogs are ultimately multimedia artifacts, and, in this prompt, you will be required to explore this aspect of them by creating a blog post that includes more than text.
Create a blog post in which you use a multimedia technique in order to explore your own relationship with or feelings about technology. For instance, you can create a collage of pictures; you can alter a photograph with text as on Post Secret; you can draw a masterpiece on paper or stick figures in Paint; you can use a webcam to record a video in which you tell a story! Be as creative and original as you can! If you need any help with the technical side of things, talk to me or to the people in the Digital Media Project.
Here are some questions to get you started . . . Do you love it? Do you hate it? Do you consider it benign or dangerous? Do you think it's had a positive effect on society or a negative one? What's your favorite piece of technology?
As always, you'll be expected to comment on three other blogs as well.
DUE DATE: FRIDAY, 19 FEBRUARY
Monday, February 15, 2010
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Blog Prompt #3
1) Pick an advertisement which you find interesting, strange or revealing. (If you're stuck for ideas, Nike commercials are generally a good place to start!) For the purposes of this assignment, it should be one which is archived on YouTube, so that you can watch it multiple times and share it with your readers.
2) Embed the video in your blog at the top of your entry. (Here are Blogger's instructions for how to do so.)
3) Write a brief analysis (200-250 words) of the commercial in which you discuss its use of logos, pathos and ethos. In other words, your analysis should answer the question of how the advertisement is appealing to logic, emotion, and its audience's perception of the speakers'/actors' credibility.
Due Date: Friday, 22 January
2) Embed the video in your blog at the top of your entry. (Here are Blogger's instructions for how to do so.)
3) Write a brief analysis (200-250 words) of the commercial in which you discuss its use of logos, pathos and ethos. In other words, your analysis should answer the question of how the advertisement is appealing to logic, emotion, and its audience's perception of the speakers'/actors' credibility.
Due Date: Friday, 22 January
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Blog Prompt #2
This blog post is designed to get you thinking about your choice of source for your primary source analysis.
COMPLETING THE ASSIGNMENT
1) Find two possible primary sources for your PSA, and post them to your blog.
Directions for how to embed pictures or videos are included in the blog set-up instructions on Carmen, but, if you have any problems, drop me a line and I will walk you through it.
If you cannot embed your source for whatever reason, simply link to it.
2) Write a short paragraph (5-6 sentences) about each source that describes what you find strange, interesting or revealing about it, and why you are thinking about using it for your PSA. Since you have two sources, you will obviously be writing two paragraphs in total.
Due Date: 15 January (so that I have time to respond to them)
COMMENTING ON THE ASSIGNMENT
For this prompt, you will be required to comment on specific blogs, so that everyone has the same amount of feedback. If you look at the list of blogs to the right, you are required to comment on the three people below you. If you are at the bottom of the list and do not have three people below you, you will simply wrap around to the top. For example, Yin will comment on Yuxi, Amanda and Cancan's blogs.
In commenting on these blogs, you will evaluate the two primary sources in light of the criteria which we went over in Wednesday's class (i.e. Is each source manageable in scope? Does it have a clear rhetorical agenda? Do you agree that it is strange, interesting, revealing? etc.). If you wish, you may suggest which source you feel will be better, although the person is obviously not obligated to take those suggestions into account.
Due Date: 17 January (so that people have time to use your feedback)
COMPLETING THE ASSIGNMENT
1) Find two possible primary sources for your PSA, and post them to your blog.
Directions for how to embed pictures or videos are included in the blog set-up instructions on Carmen, but, if you have any problems, drop me a line and I will walk you through it.
If you cannot embed your source for whatever reason, simply link to it.
2) Write a short paragraph (5-6 sentences) about each source that describes what you find strange, interesting or revealing about it, and why you are thinking about using it for your PSA. Since you have two sources, you will obviously be writing two paragraphs in total.
Due Date: 15 January (so that I have time to respond to them)
COMMENTING ON THE ASSIGNMENT
For this prompt, you will be required to comment on specific blogs, so that everyone has the same amount of feedback. If you look at the list of blogs to the right, you are required to comment on the three people below you. If you are at the bottom of the list and do not have three people below you, you will simply wrap around to the top. For example, Yin will comment on Yuxi, Amanda and Cancan's blogs.
In commenting on these blogs, you will evaluate the two primary sources in light of the criteria which we went over in Wednesday's class (i.e. Is each source manageable in scope? Does it have a clear rhetorical agenda? Do you agree that it is strange, interesting, revealing? etc.). If you wish, you may suggest which source you feel will be better, although the person is obviously not obligated to take those suggestions into account.
Due Date: 17 January (so that people have time to use your feedback)
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Class Blogs to Your Right!
I have linked all of the class blogs into this hub. You can find them in your menu bar to the right. When the first posts begin to appear on Friday, please feel free to check them out and learn a little more about classmates.
Remember that you need to comment on at least three people's posts. I, of course, will be commenting on all of them, as I feel that, if you're taking the time and trouble to write for me, I should write back to you.
I'll also be updating this blog with some fun and interesting stuff over the quarter, so I hope you'll find it entertaining as well as useful.
Remember that you need to comment on at least three people's posts. I, of course, will be commenting on all of them, as I feel that, if you're taking the time and trouble to write for me, I should write back to you.
I'll also be updating this blog with some fun and interesting stuff over the quarter, so I hope you'll find it entertaining as well as useful.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Customising Your Blog
In this post, I'm briefly going to describe how you might use a third-party template (in case you grow tired of Blogger's defaults or put more of a personal stamp on your space). Please read through all the way before experimenting!
Blogger allows you to create your own templates, which isn't a good idea, unless you're a super programmer. However, you can import third-party blog templates, many of which are available for free on sites such as BTemplates or Deluxe Templates. In fact, I used a template from there to customise this site.
Take a stroll on the BTemplates site and browse through their free layouts. When you arrive at a layout that you like, click on the bright orange download button. Download the zip file onto your desktop:
Unzip the file. You should now have a folder that (typically) contains two files -- a read-me file and an XML file. The read-me file contains some simple installation instructions. You probably don't need to follow those as they're virtually mimicked here, but it might be helpful.
The only file that matters for installation purposes is the XML file. You don't need to open this at all (unless you're curious... or nerdy). Make sure you're logged into blogger. Once there, click on the Layout tab and choose Edit HTML.
Right here, I'd recommend clicking on the Download Full Template link. In doing so, you'll save all of your hard tweaking work from your previous blog layout, just in case this new blog layout turns out to be fouler than you'd imagined. Save this file (also an XML file) in a safe place on your computer. You might need it someday.
Now onto the new layout! Under Backup/Restore Template, click "Browse" and find the XML file for the new template you downloaded. Then, hit "Upload."
You should now have a new design! "Should" being the keyword.
What the read-me file doesn't tell you is this: there are quirks in the system. When you go to upload your XML file, for instance, you might be prompted with a warning message: sometimes, you have to delete some of your gadgets and then reinstall them for the template to work. This means that you might have to delete a link list and then re-enter the whole thing. And, of course, this can be time-consuming.
Also, sometimes the template just doesn't look like it did on the preview page. These are third-party layouts, so designers might not keep the templates current with the blogger software.
Hopefully, though, this will provide you with some scope for imagination. Have fun experimenting with your blog's look!
Blogger allows you to create your own templates, which isn't a good idea, unless you're a super programmer. However, you can import third-party blog templates, many of which are available for free on sites such as BTemplates or Deluxe Templates. In fact, I used a template from there to customise this site.
Take a stroll on the BTemplates site and browse through their free layouts. When you arrive at a layout that you like, click on the bright orange download button. Download the zip file onto your desktop:
Unzip the file. You should now have a folder that (typically) contains two files -- a read-me file and an XML file. The read-me file contains some simple installation instructions. You probably don't need to follow those as they're virtually mimicked here, but it might be helpful.
The only file that matters for installation purposes is the XML file. You don't need to open this at all (unless you're curious... or nerdy). Make sure you're logged into blogger. Once there, click on the Layout tab and choose Edit HTML.
Right here, I'd recommend clicking on the Download Full Template link. In doing so, you'll save all of your hard tweaking work from your previous blog layout, just in case this new blog layout turns out to be fouler than you'd imagined. Save this file (also an XML file) in a safe place on your computer. You might need it someday.
Now onto the new layout! Under Backup/Restore Template, click "Browse" and find the XML file for the new template you downloaded. Then, hit "Upload."
You should now have a new design! "Should" being the keyword.
What the read-me file doesn't tell you is this: there are quirks in the system. When you go to upload your XML file, for instance, you might be prompted with a warning message: sometimes, you have to delete some of your gadgets and then reinstall them for the template to work. This means that you might have to delete a link list and then re-enter the whole thing. And, of course, this can be time-consuming.
Also, sometimes the template just doesn't look like it did on the preview page. These are third-party layouts, so designers might not keep the templates current with the blogger software.
Hopefully, though, this will provide you with some scope for imagination. Have fun experimenting with your blog's look!
Getting to Know You . . .
According to the professionals, it's a good idea to introduce yourself in the first entry of your blog.
So . . . I'm Karen, your instructor for English 110.01. That's me with my fiance in the picture to the left. (Helpful hint: I'm not the tall guy in a tux.) I'm originally from sunny South Africa, and have been living in Columbus for about a year now, which means I still feel like a foreigner quite a bit of the time. I'm a graduate student in the English department, and I study medieval literature, which means that I mainly focus on writing produced in England in the 8th-9th and 13-14th centuries. I'm particularly interested in issues of rhetoric, gender and disability in those periods. Perhaps fortunately for this course, though, I have a ton of more modern interests.
Random facts:
So . . . I'm Karen, your instructor for English 110.01. That's me with my fiance in the picture to the left. (Helpful hint: I'm not the tall guy in a tux.) I'm originally from sunny South Africa, and have been living in Columbus for about a year now, which means I still feel like a foreigner quite a bit of the time. I'm a graduate student in the English department, and I study medieval literature, which means that I mainly focus on writing produced in England in the 8th-9th and 13-14th centuries. I'm particularly interested in issues of rhetoric, gender and disability in those periods. Perhaps fortunately for this course, though, I have a ton of more modern interests.Random facts:
- I read a lot of books, normally more than one at a time. I tend to have a skyscraper of them next to my bed.
- I am a gamer.
- I love science-fiction of all kinds. I am currently addicted to Battlestar Galactica and Fringe.
- I love going to watch big Broadway musicals, and am a huge Gleek. I can't wait until Chicago and Wicked come to Columbus this year!
- I do karate, and am a big fan of MMA. I worship at the shrine of Lyoto Machida, who has done much to erase the shame of Fred Ettish's fetal fighting. (Yes, I am aware he drinks his own pee. That's just a sign of how hardcore he is.)
