Getting Started 1: Registering on the Site

To get started with ENGL 421Y, you'll need to complete a few steps, which include

• Registering for the course website (here).
• Logging in for the first time.
• Editing your account for the first time.

Registering for the course website

1. Go to the course website.
2. Click on "create new account" under "User Login" in the navigation menu on the left.

   

3. Create a username that will identify you in the system and that you will use for logging in. Because this site is public on the Internet, your username should not include your last name. You are welcome to use any username (e.g., your IM screenname) that would not be offensive to others or otherwise inappropriate for a course website. Capitalize your username as you intend to use it; usernames are case sensitive.

   

4. Enter your email address. You may use your Purdue email address. If you have an alternate one, use the one that you check most regularly.
5. Provide your real name and home page URL (web address, if you have one). Note that your real name will not be visible publicly but only to students registered at the site.
6. Click on "Create new account." Registration information will be sent to the email address you listed, so check your email soon after you register. You will need the password that it sends you.

Getting Started 2: Logging in for the First Time

To get started with ENGL 421Y, you'll also need to complete this second step:

Logging in for the first time

1. You should have received an email from the system that includes your new password. With that email handy, return to the course website.
2. Enter your username and password in the "User login" box. Your initial password can be retyped or cut-and-pasted into the password box. If you cut-and-paste it, make sure you don't include any extra spaces before or after the password characters. The password and user name are case sensitive.

   

3. Click on Log in. When you've successfully logged in, you will see a block of links in the left sidebar with your username above it as a title. This is a navigation menu that provides you with links to many services and content on the site. If you are unable to log in successfully, try re-entering your password. Remember that usernames and passwords are case-sensitve, so make sure you don't have Caps Lock turned on by accident and that (if pasting in your password) that you don't include extra spaces. You may also request a new password if you ever forget yours.

Getting Started 3: Editing Your Account for the First Time

To get started with ENGL 421Y, you'll also need to complete this third step, which will take a bit more time than the previous two.

Editing your account for the first time

Once you've logged in successfully, you need to edit your account and provide some additional information about yourself.

1. Click on my account link in the navigation menu on the left.

    

   

2. On the next screen, click on the edit tab.

   

3. On the account settings screen, scroll to the Account information area.
   
4. Change your password by entering a new one into the password boxes. Choose a password that you can remember but that is secure. Remember that passwords are case sensitive.
5. Scroll to the Picture area.
   
6. Upload a picture of yourself or avatar (an image that represents you well) that you would use in a public context. You may have to find one and edit in an image editor, so you just try to have this step completed by the end of Week 2. If you need help editing an image, send a copy to your instructor for help. See Creating Avatars and Images for Your Profile for more information.
7. Next, scroll to the Theme configuration.
   
   
   
8. The default selection is will be checked. You can select any theme you like and all pages will show up with that theme. The default theme has been specially designed and will probably offer the most consistent display of all site content. The instructor uses that theme as the default and so designs pages with it in mind.
9. Scroll to Contact settings.
   
10. Check the Personal contact form box.
11. When you have made your changes, click on the Submit button at the bottom of the page.

The following steps ask you to complete information for your profile. This will enable the instructor and fellow students to learn a little more about you and help the instructor tailor this class to your background and goals, as well as arrange collaborative projects.

1. Click on the edit tab again, then on the Personal Information link at the top of the next page.
   
2. Enter the required information in the boxes. If you don't have a home page, leave that box blank.
3. Click on Submit to save.

That's it! You have completed all the steps of the Getting Started process. If you ever need to change any of the information, you can always edit these pages again.

If you have any trouble along the way, please be sure to let your instructor know.

Week 1

By Monday, January 7, at midnight

• If you have not done so already, read Welcome to English 421Y, Technical Writing (Distance Learning).
• Complete Getting Started 1: Registering on the Site
• Review carefully the Course Description, paying particular attention to all requirements. It is important that you become very familiar with the course policies so you can understand what is expected of you in this class. It might be best if you read through the course description twice; ignorance of the course policies will not be an excuse for failure to properly complete an assignment. Please do not fall behind on the first day. This course will proceed at a quick pace, so don't wait a few days to get going!
• Read Learning to Navigate the Site. Then explore the class website. Make sure that you login; some class website features are not available to guests. It'll be easier as we move forward if you take the time now to explore. Get familiar with where things are located, which links take you further into the class website and which take you outside to other resources.
• Read through the rest of this page so that you know when assignments are due the rest of the week.

By Wednesday, January 9, at midnight

• Now that you have had a chance to read the course description and explore the class website, email your instructor with a note letting him or her know that you have finished registering for the course. Your email should include a subject line, a greeting, a short message, and your real (full) name. It is important that you complete this task so that you know how to get in touch with your instructor.
• Complete Getting Started 2: Logging in for the First Time and Getting Started 3: Editing Your Account for the First Time
• Review How to Post to Your Individual Weblog and then "How to Post Comments and Replies"
• The instructor will create a post on the course home page inviting everyone to introduce themselves. Post a comment to that post in which you
  • describe where you are from
  • give your course of study and year
  • talk about your career goals
  • tell what you would like to get out of this course
  • share at least one thing personal about yourself (a hobby, your favorite sport, a favorite activity, etc.)
• Reminder: As you work on assignments for this course, always read ahead a few days to give yourself time to ask questions about future assignments.

By Friday, January 11, at midnight

• You should have purchased the course textbook by today: The Thomson Handbook (Comprehensive Edition), by David Blakesley and Jeffrey L. Hoogeveen. Boston: Thomson/Wadsworth, 2007. This book is available at local bookstores and may also be purchased online (e.g., through Amazon, here). You can buy the hardcover or paperback versions.

Reading

• Familiarize yourself with the content and structure of The Thomson Handbook. Scan the frontmatter (including the the table of contents) and the backmatter (the "Glossary of Web Terms" and the "Glossary of Usage") so that you know what the book contains.

Check out Week 2. No later than today, you should read through the course calendar for the following week. Make sure that you understand all of the assignments. If you have any questions, contact the instructor.

Week 2

Week 2

By Monday, January 14 at midnight

Employment Project

• Read the Employment Project description. You can ask questions about the project by adding a new comment to the assignment. Try to answer your own question before posting it too hastily.

Reading

• "Writing for Business and the Workplace" (TH, 217-220; TH is the abbreviation for The Thomson Handbook and will be used henceforth)
• Read the sample job ad and student response in The Thomson Handbook (p. 223-24).

By Wednesday, January 16 at midnight.

Peer Review

No peer review this week. We will begin peer reviews with the Job Ad Analysis in Week 3 , and continue with peer reviews throughout the semester.

Reading

• To support your understanding of this first major project, look ahead through Chapter 12 in The Thomson Handbook, "Writing for Business and the Workplace" (220-238). We will return to individual sections throughout the Employment and subsequent projects.
• Read Gareth's Tips on Sucks-Less Writing

Reading Response

• Post a reading response. Suggested Prompts: How might writing for the workplace differ from writing in college? Describe some of the important ways that writing functions in the workplace or other professional contexts. How do Gareth's tips help you understand these differences? Why do you think writing is such an important component of effective business practice? Since this is your first time, you'll want to follow the tutorial for using the class site software, How to Post to Your Individual Weblog. Use the tag "Reading Response" in the category field.

By Friday, January 18 at midnight

Employment Project

• Step 1: Skills Inventory, Job Description and Job Ad Analysis . Start this step by completing the Job Search Activity 12-1 (p. 221) in The Thomson Handbook. In a blog post, respond to each of the questions with a few sentences or a list.
• Begin research to find two job ads in your area of interest. Internships are good possibilities for some people. Review the Job Search Resources at the Professional Writing website and the Purdue Center for Career Opportunities.

Reading

• "Networking with Others on the Web" (TH, Chapter 28 , pages 621-40).

Continue posting comments and replies using Principles for Comments and Replies. Please follow the guidelines for effective blog responding as discussed in this chapter. You need five (5) for this week, so respond to reading posts that have been promoted to our front page. For reference on how to do this, review How to Post Comments and Replies. Your posts should adhere to the guidelines for networking in online forums listed in the Project Checklist (TH, page 627).

Check out Week 3 . No later than today, you should read through the course calendar for the following week. Make sure that you understand all of the assignments. If you have any questions, contact the instructor.

Week 3

Monday, January 21 is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

By Wednesday, January 23 at midnight

Activity

Using the resources listed on page 222 of The Thomson Handbook ("Using Print, Campus and Internet Resources"), find two job ads, produce an exact copy of each, then select one that you would apply for. Put the ads in a blog post (use cut-and-paste; provide a URL also if the ad has complex components that don't copy well). In a new blog post (tag=Employment Project Step 1 Drafts), complete the Job Ad Analysis form. Copy the questions into your blog post and then answer them.

Reading

• "Reading and Writing Email Effectively" (TH, Chapter 27, 603-20)
• "Boss's Angry Email Sends Shares Plunging"
• "A Stinging Office Memo Boomerangs" (if you get the free account at the New York Times)

Reading Response

Post a reading response by Wednesday at midnight. Suggested Prompts: You might also describe one instance when you sent an email message that worked wonders or that proved to be a huge mistake. What happened? Why? Which of the "Ten Habits of Successful Emailers" seemed to be missing? How does emailing differ from text messaging, and why do you think email is used more frequently in business and industry for project management? How might Gareth's tips apply to emailing?

By Friday, January 25 at midnight

Peer Review

Write two responses to job ads and analyses posted to your peers' blogs. Respond only to posts that have no or at most one response. What aspects of the job seem most important to you? Which criteria will be hardest to meet? Does it sound like a good job to you?

Continue posting comments and replies using Principles for Comments and Replies. Please follow the guidelines for effective blog responding as discussed in this chapter. You need five (5) for this week, so respond to reading posts that have been promoted to our front page. For reference on how to do this, review How to Post Comments and Replies. Your posts should adhere to the guidelines for networking in online forums listed in the Project Checklist (TH, page 627).

Check out Week 4 . No later than today, you should read through the course calendar for the following week. Make sure that you understand all of the assignments. If you have any questions, contact the instructor.

Week 4

By Monday, January 28 at midnight

Reading

• Read about the rhetorical concept of kairos ("the right or opportune time to speak or write") in Kairos and the Cover Letter, which includes some exaggerated approaches that you should avoid in your cover letters.
• Read "Preparing the Cover Letter" and "Parts of the Cover Letter" (TH, pp. 224-225).

By Wednesday, January 30 at midnight

• Step 1 of the Employment Project should now be completed. Your weblog should contain your job search activity/inventory, your two jobs ads, and your job ad analysis.

Reading Response

• In a blog post, write a short cover letter that exaggerates an approach (or approaches), as discussed in the readings for Monday. Then write a few sentences about why this approach likely wouldn't work very well.

By Friday, February 1 at midnight

Step 2 of the Employment Project: Post a draft of your job application letter to your blog by today. Your letter should be attached to a blog post that includes a cover note that follows guidelines for Eliciting Good Response and the PDF version of the letter. (Read these directions for converting your documents to PDF format if you have any questions about the process.) Use the tag "Job Application letter." Review the sample in The Thomson Handbook, p 225. Your letter should be context-specific and should contain the required five parts (heading, greeting, opening, persuasion, closing) in the format shown.

Peer Review

As cover letter drafts are posted, complete your Peer Review of Job Application Letters using these directions. You will need to complete two reviews.

Continue posting comments and replies using Principles for Comments and Replies. You need five (5) for this week.

Check out Week 5 . No later than today, you should read through the course calendar for the following week. Make sure that you understand all of the assignments. If you have any questions, email the instructor.

Week 5

By Monday, February 4 at midnight

Reading

• In Purdue's OWL:
  • Resumes 1: Introduction to Resumes
    
    Introduction to and Expectations for Resumes
  • Resumes 2: Resume Sections
  • Contact Information Section

    Education Section

    Work Experience Section
    Resumes 3: When to Use Two Pages or More

Employment Project

Continue drafting your resume. Your printable resume (one or more pages in length, depending upon the type of job and the depth of your experience) should adapt features drawn from The Thomson Handbook and from those available for review at the Online Writing Lab. It's critical that you shape your resume to the specific job or internship you have chosen to apply for (that it's suited to the context), so be sure to include only the relevant aspects of your professional experience. As in the Job Application Letter, your writing needs to be error-free, concise, and presented in an easily readable format.

Wednesday, February 6, by midnight.

Employment Project

Post your resume draft to your blog as a PDF attachment to a blog message that explains the nature of the attachment and invites peer feedback. Read these directions for converting your documents to PDF format if you have any questions about the process. You should also review the principles, guidelines, and resume samples in The Thomson Handbook (Chapter 12, pages 226-232). Pay special attention to the Project Checklist "Evaluating Your Resume's Content" and "Evaluating Your Resume's Design" on pages 228-229. Ask yourself these questions as you prepare your final draft.

• In a reading response content type, write 300 words based on these questions. Why do you think it's important for the form and content of a resume to change for different rhetorical situations? What are the drawbacks of submitting a "one-size-fits-all" resume with every application?

Friday, February 8, by midnight.

• Post a blog about the aspects of your letter and resume that you need to update and revise for the final due next Friday. This will serve as preliminatry writing for the Project Assessment Document draft due on Monday. ** Take a look at feedback you have so far from your peers.
  

Peer Review

• Complete two Peer Resume Responses to students' resume drafts. If there are already a number of responses to resume drafts, please respond to someone whose draft hasn't gotten any responses yet -- or, if everyone's been covered, choose someone whose draft has gotten just one response.
  

Continue posting comments and replies using Principles for Comments and Replies. You need five (5) for this week.

Check out Week 6. No later than today, you should read through the course calendar for the following week. Make sure that you understand all of the assignments. If you have any questions, email the instructor.

Week 6

By Monday, February 11 at midnight

Submit Draft of Employment Project Project Assessment (Step 4)

Readings on Metacognitive Writing

• Read the first section of "Metacognition in the Computer-Mediated Classroom" to gain an understanding of metacognitive writing
• Skim "Self-Assessment" at the University Writing Center at Texas A&M
• Read "Freewriting" at the Paradigm Online Writing Assistant
• Read "Getting Feedback" and "Procrastination" at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill Writing Center

By Wednesday, February 13 at midnight

Reading Response
Consider the role of metacognitive writing in previous writing experiences and to this class's focus on the writing process. Next, consider the importance of feedback and response in relation to metacognitive writing. Also, how can freewriting help with metacognitive writing?? Procrastination is already a topic in some of the comment threads, so this response can end with a synthesis of how metacognitive writing and feedback relate to procrastination.

Peer Review

Complete one Peer Review of Project Assessment document using these guidelines.

By Friday, February 15 at midnight

Be sure to begin completing Employment Project Posting Checklist, which is due on Monday, February 18. See Kevin's blog post on the checklist here.

Step 4: Project Assessment Document due: Submit a two-page overview and analysis of your deliverables and the process you used to complete them. Your Project Assessment Document should answer the questions in Step 4 of the Employment Project, each of which is tied to the major goals of the assignment.

Employment Project Due

By tonight at midnight, you should post ONE (1) pdf file that contains your final cover letter, resume and project assessment to the blog. Your cover note should include links to your Step 1 documents as well. Read these directions for converting your documents to PDF format if you have any questions about the process.

Continue posting comments and replies using Principles for Comments and Replies. You need five (5) for this week.

Check out Week 7. No later than today, you should read through the course calendar for the following week. Make sure that you understand all of the assignments. If you have any questions, email the instructor.

Week 7

By Monday, February 18 at midnight

Reading

• Project Two: Illustrated Instructions
• Online Technical Writing: Instructions

By Wednesday, February 20 at midnight

Reading

• Steven Johnson: Emerging Technologies
  
• Tim O'Reilly: What is Web 2.0
• Wikipedia: Web 2.0

Reading Response

In the readings on Web 2.0, follow some links in the articles to learn more about Web 2.0 softwares. With this basic research and knowledge, write about half of your response in regards to these programs and your experiences with them. (If you can't think of any, this website is Web 2.0). You can also mention any other softwares you've used or experienced that are Web 2.0. In the second half of your response, offer some ideas about what you'd like to write about for the Illustrated Instructions project. Also give some background on your software knowledge and experiences. I'll use this response to put the class into groups of two for the project.

By Friday, February 22 at midnight

Project Two

• Upon receiving an email from Kevin, make contact with your partner. Start deciding on a program that you'll write about.
• Complete a project log
  

Reading

• Bryan Alexander: Web 2.0: A New Wave of Innovation for Teaching and Learning?
• How to Write Instructions
• Forming: Structure, Group Maintenance Roles and Task Roles
  
• Project Log Guidelines

Project Log

• Complete 100-200 words about Week 7

Continue posting comments and replies using Principles for Comments and Replies. You need five (5) for this week.

Check out Week 8. No later than today, you should read through the course calendar for the following week. Make sure that you understand all of the assignments. If you have any questions, email the instructor.

Week 8

By Monday, February 25 at midnight

Project Two

Continue generating ideas for your project.

Sign up for chat conference with Kevin. Times available on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.

By Wednesday, February 27 at midnight

Project Two

• Submit Proposal to blog

Reading

• The Bioteaming Manifesto from Thompson and Good
• Online Technical Writing: Instructions
  • Example instructions 1: Using WS_FTP Pro for Windows

Reading Response

In your reading response, synthesize the readings we've had so far on group work. Write about how these readings have changed your views on group. Write about previous group work experiences. In the last part, define what roles you'll fill in the Project Two.

By Friday, February 29 at midnight

Peer Review

• Each individual should comment on two proposals. Offer feedback and advice in 100-200 words. Incorporate any of their relevant ideas or practices into your own group.
  

Reading

• From Online Technical Writing: Instructions, read:
  • Example instructions 3: Operating the Minolta Freedom 3 Camera
  • Example instructions 5: Instructions for a Simple Window Curtain

Project Log

• Complete 100-200 words about Week 8

Continue posting comments and replies using Principles for Comments and Replies. Please follow the guidelines for effective blog responding as discussed in this chapter. You need five (5) for this week, so respond to reading posts that have been promoted to our front page. For reference on how to do this, review How to Post Comments and Replies. Your posts should adhere to the guidelines for networking in online forums listed in the Project Checklist (TH, page 627).

No later than today, you should read through the course calendar for the following week. Make sure that you understand all of the assignments. If you have any questions, contact the instructor.

Week 9

By Monday, March 3 at midnight

Project Two

• Complete an individual draft of the instructions. Each group member should post their 1-2 page draft to their blog.

Reading

• Thompson Handbook: p. 557-570
  

Peer Review

• Each individual should comment on two proposals. Offer feedback and advice. Incorporate any of their relevant ideas or practices into your own group.
• Look at one draft from another student and offer 100 words of comments and responses.

By Wednesday, March 5 at midnight

Reading

• Wikipedia: Usability Testing
• Usability Testing at the University of Colorado Writing Center

Project Two

• Submit draft of Usability Test. The final Usability Test should be about a page long, with a short introduction, and can be a mix of 8 to 10 guidelines or questions. Ultimately, the document should guide your testers and elicit necessary feedback. Attach document to a blog post. Add questions about your concerns for your reviewers. In the blog post, answer these questions to help your reviewers:
  
  • What are you most worried about in your instructions?
  • What area will possibly cause confusion?
  • Do you assess that in your usability test?
  • What would you like feedback on for the usability test.

By Friday, March 7 at midnight

Reading

• Wikipedia entry on Screenshots
• From Online Technical Writing: Graphics and Tables, read:
  • Graphics — An Overview
  • Drawings and Diagrams
  • Photographs

Reading Response

For this reading response, write about your past experiences with instructions and the value of effective visual content. Then, use our readings as a reference point in genereating your own ideas on effective visual content. Finally, end your reading response with a brief list of visual content that you'll need for your illustrated instructions.

Peer Review

• Each individual should complete one peer review of Usability Test. Reply to the concerns and questions that they raised in their blog post.

Project Log

• Complete 100-200 words about Week 9

Continue posting comments and replies using Principles for Comments and Replies. Please follow the guidelines for effective blog responding as discussed in this chapter. You need five (5) for this week, so respond to reading posts that have been promoted to our front page. For reference on how to do this, review How to Post Comments and Replies. Your posts should adhere to the guidelines for networking in online forums listed in the Project Checklist (TH, page 627).

No later than today, you should read through the course calendar for the following week. Make sure that you understand all of the assignments. If you have any questions, contact the instructor.

Week 10

Spring Break 

Week 11

By Monday, March 17 at midnight

Reading

• Thompson Handbook: 723-729, 866-887 (esp. 884-887)

Project Two

• Begin finalizing Usability Test
• Continue Instructions draft

By Wednesday, March 19 at midnight

Project Two

• Submit draft of instructions via attachment in blog post. In blog post, include the text of your completed Usability Test.

Reading

• Revision Checklist for Instructions found at Online Technical Writing: Instructions.

Reading Response

• Based on the revision checklist and the readings on sentences and verbs, craft your own guide to what makes effective instructions. Since you've completed a draft, this will be a good exercise in applying what you've learned and generating a framework to follow in revision.

By Friday, March 21 at midnight

Usability Test

• Each group should complete a Usability Test for another group. Download their instructions, work through the instructions and mark any problem areas. Answer their Usability Test questions in a reply and attach the draft you commented on.

Project Two

• Respond to any usability test replies that your may have.
  
• Begin incorporating feedback.
• Consider work plan blog post for Monday, March 24

Reading

• Thompson Handbook: 746-768
• From Bedford-St. Martin's website:
  • Incorporating Tracked Changes
  • Proofreading for Format Consistency

Project Log

• Complete 100-200 words about Week 11

Continue posting comments and replies using Principles for Comments and Replies. Please follow the guidelines for effective blog responding as discussed in this chapter. You need five (5) for this week, so respond to reading posts that have been promoted to our front page. For reference on how to do this, review How to Post Comments and Replies. Your posts should adhere to the guidelines for networking in online forums listed in the Project Checklist (TH, page 627).

No later than today, you should read through the course calendar for the following week. Make sure that you understand all of the assignments. If you have any questions, contact the instructor.

Week 12

By Monday, March 24 at midnight

Project Two

• Post a blog with a work plan of what you need to work on to finish revisions of your project. Each individual should post a blog.
• Attach final instructions and project revisions memo to a blog post from one group member. Each blog post should include:
  
  • a brief cover note introducing the project.
    
  • a link to your UsabilityTest
  • a link to your Proposal
• Email completed Illustrated Instructions Peer and Project Evaluation to Kevin

Reading

• Review readings on illustrated instructions project, revision, and metacognitive writing.

By Wednesday, March 26 at midnight

Project Three

• Read Project 3: Client-based Service-learning Project
• Post any questions or comments to the March Questions?? blog

Project Two

• Attach final instructions and project revisions memo to a blog post from one group member. Each blog post should include:
  
  • a brief cover note introducing the project.
    
  • a link to your UsabilityTest
  • a link to your Proposal

By Friday, March 28 at midnight

Project Two

• Begin Project 2 Checklist
• Email completed Illustrated Instructions Peer and Project Evaluation to Kevin

Reading

• Thompson Handbook: Chapter 29
  

Reading Response

• The goal of this reading response is to respond to the ideas in Chapter 29 and how they will apply to this project. Also, generate some ideas on possible clients and what aspects of Web 2.0 they can use. I will use these responses to put people into groups.

Continue posting comments and replies using Principles for Comments and Replies. Please follow the guidelines for effective blog responding as discussed in this chapter. You need five (5) for this week, so respond to reading posts that have been promoted to our front page. For reference on how to do this, review How to Post Comments and Replies. Your posts should adhere to the guidelines for networking in online forums listed in the Project Checklist (TH, page 627).

No later than today, you should read through the course calendar for the following week. Make sure that you understand all of the assignments. If you have any questions, contact the instructor.

Week 13

By March 31, at midnight

Project Three

• Get into groups

Project Two

• Submit Project Two Checklist

Reading

• Thompson Handbook: Chapter 32

By Wednesday, April 2, at midnight

Project Three

• Chat about clients and topics
  
• Contact clients
• Post your client contact email in a blog (AFTER your group chats with Kevin)
  

Reading

• Browse some of the websites listed on page 658
• From Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox column:
  • Usability 101: Introduction to Usability
  • B2B Usability
  • Enterprise Usability
  • Misconceptions about Usability
  • Formal Usability Reports vs. Quick Findings

Reading Response

• Respond to the Nielsen columns and how that has changed your perspectives on the project, Web 2.0, and usability studies and user documentation in general. For the final half, incorporate the readings and the chat to produce a individual brainstorm session for your clients' needs and the deliverables that you will produce.

By Friday, April 4, at midnight

Project Three

• Continue efforts to contact and finalize clients
• Begin proposal and individual usability study

Reading

• Review Chapters 10 and 12 in the Thompson Handbook

Project Log

• Complete a Project Log

Continue posting comments and replies using Principles for Comments and Replies. Please follow the guidelines for effective blog responding as discussed in this chapter. You need five (5) for this week, so respond to reading posts that have been promoted to our front page. For reference on how to do this, review How to Post Comments and Replies. Your posts should adhere to the guidelines for networking in online forums listed in the Project Checklist (TH, page 627).

No later than today, you should read through the course calendar for the following week. Make sure that you understand all of the assignments. If you have any questions, contact the instructor.

Week 14

By Monday, April 7, at midnight

Project Three

• Finalize client
• Post a draft of the group proposal
• Post a draft of each Individual's Usability Study

Reading

• Review readings in Week 12 and Week 13
• Review "Web 2.0 for Business and Professional Use (not Facebook)"

By Wednesday, April 9, at midnight

Reading

• The PowerPoint FAQ: http://www.rdpslides.com/pptfaq/
• Purdue OWL Handout on PowerPoint:
• Rhetoric of PowerPoint
• PowerPoint Presentations: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
• Avoiding PowerPointlessness

Reading Response

• In the first half, consider some of the more pointless PowerPoint (or other programs) presentations (you've encountered over the years of your education or other experiences). How were the slides designed?? All text and few pictures?? Cluttered with text?? What stands out to your as the most pointless features of pointless powerpoints?? In the next half, consider how you can use these programs in a stand-alone presentation.

Peer Review

• Post one comment on an Individual Usability Study draft
• Post one comment on Group Proposal Draft

By Friday, April 11, at midnight

Project Three

• Submit Proposal using the "story" content type

Reading

• Movies in PowerPoint
  
  • "Create great PowerPoint Movies"
  • "Create an interactive PowerPoint Movie"
• Keynote for Mac (read through overviews, starting with "New in Keynote '08")
• "Leveraging Multimedia for Learning" by Ruth Clark (from Adobe.com)

Project Log

• Complete a Project Log

Continue posting comments and replies using Principles for Comments and Replies. Please follow the guidelines for effective blog responding as discussed in this chapter. You need five (5) for this week, so respond to reading posts that have been promoted to our front page. For reference on how to do this, review How to Post Comments and Replies. Your posts should adhere to the guidelines for networking in online forums listed in the Project Checklist (TH, page 627).

No later than today, you should read through the course calendar for the following week. Make sure that you understand all of the assignments. If you have any questions, contact the instructor.

Week 15

By Monday, April 14, at midnight

Project Three

• Submit Individual Usability Study in blog

Reading

• Adobe Captivate:
• "Introducting Adobe Captivate: Beyond Screen Recording"
• "Maximizing learning using visuals, text and audio in Adobe Captivate 3"
• View examples in "Leveraging Multimedia for eLearning" box near bottom of screen on Adobe Captivate mainpage

Peer Review

• Add two (2) comments to other groups' proposals, offering feedback on their clients, softwares and work plans.
  

By Wednesday, April 16, at midnight

Reading Response

• Consider how Keynote or Captivate (or non-PowerPoint programs) can be used more effectively for multimedia presentations? Finally, how can you use these programs, including PowerPoint, for your Multimedia Presentation?

Project Three

• Continue work on Usability Report
  

Peer Review

• Respond to other group members' Individual Usability Studies

By Friday, April 18, at midnight

Project Three

• Submit Usability Report
• Continue work on User Documentation Draft and Multimedia Presentation draft

Reading

• Review help guides and tutorials in your chosen program

Project Log

• Complete a Project Log

Continue posting comments and replies using Principles for Comments and Replies. Please follow the guidelines for effective blog responding as discussed in this chapter. You need five (5) for this week, so respond to reading posts that have been promoted to our front page. For reference on how to do this, review How to Post Comments and Replies. Your posts should adhere to the guidelines for networking in online forums listed in the Project Checklist (TH, page 627).

No later than today, you should read through the course calendar for the following week. Make sure that you understand all of the assignments. If you have any questions, contact the instructor.

Week 16

By Monday, April 21, at midnight

Project Three

• Continue work on User Documentation Draft and Multimedia Presentation draft

Peer Review

• Each individual should respond to one other group's Usability Report. Comment on areas that will be especially useful for the upcoming deliverables.

By Wednesday, April 23, at midnight

Reading Response

• None this week
  

Project Three

• Post drafts of User Documentation and Multimedia Presentation. In the blog, include a cover note with a few questions to guide your peers and their responses.

By Friday, April 25, at midnight

Project Three

• Continue revising final deliverables

Peer Review

• Each individual should respond to a User Documentation draft and a Multimedia Presentation draft.

Project Log

• Complete a Project Log

No later than today, you should read through the course calendar for the following week. Make sure that you understand all of the assignments. If you have any questions, contact the instructor.

Finals Week

By Wednesday, April 30, at midnight

Project Three

• Submit final deliverables
• Submit Project Three Posting Checklist (updated)
• Submit Peer and Project Evaluation Memo

Creating Avatars and Images for Your Profile

Some of you may be in search of an avatar or image to use in the profile that you created for yourself when you registered. If so, here are some suggestions:

An avatar is just an image that "stands-in" for your picture and can be an object, artwork, a photo, or something else that might convey some aspect of your identity, personality, or interests. So, for example, someone interested in biking might use an image of a bike as an avatar rather than a personal picture. The image works best if it's in jpg, gif, or png format, and the dimensions should be (about) 85x85 so that it displays correctly (and doesn't get squished when displayed, for example).

To find an existing avatar to use for free, you could look at a site like these. If you have a Yahoo! ID (free to get, if not), you can get some nice ones:

http://avatars.yahoo.com/

or try

http://www.avatarity.com/

You could also take an existing image of yourself and then create a picture by cropping out the part you don't want. If you haven't used an image editing program before, that can be a bit tricky. But if you have, just use the crop tool to draw a box around the part of the image you want to use, crop it, and then resize it so that it's about 85x85 pixels.

If you have a larger photo and would like help to make it into an avatar, send it to your instructor as an email attachment. Your instructor can help you from there.

Peer Job Application Letter Response

Peer Job Application Letter Response

1. Using the blogs
   display, take a look through the job application letters everyone
   posted to their weblog. Choose two and post a comment to each that you
   will be responding to his or her application letter drafts. In choosing
   two, try to pick ones that have not received any responses or notices
   that someone is responding.
2. Then, compose a detailed response for each that carefully addresses all of the questions below and tries
   also to address the writer's concerns. If you have additional
   suggestions for response not covered by the questions below, the writer
   would certainly appreciate the feedback; however, you are still
   responsible for addressing all of the listed questions.
3. When finished, post each response as a comment to the weblog posts you are responding to.

In composing your response, you might find it easier to first just
to go through and address all the questions on a sheet of paper or in a
document file. Your tone should be informal but professional and not
overly casual. A friendly voice in feedback is good; many writer's are
more comfortable at accepting cricitism of their work when it come from
a good-natured, sympathetic responder.

Also, when talking about specific areas of the author's text, be
sure to include specific quotation within your feedback. Take advantage
of the fact that you can easily copy and paste to point directly to
what you are referring to from the draft. (Try using Firefox or
Safari's "tabbed browsing" to keep multiple windows easily available
during this type of peer review.).

Form and Style

1. Does the letter include all the necessary components (return
   address, header, salutation, introductory paragraph, body paragraph(s),
   and conclusion)? If not, what’s missing?
2. Does the writer use block format (all text flush with the left margin)?
3. Does the style of the letter suit the occasion? Is it too informal? Too formal or generic? Explain.
4. Does the writer take the right tone? (E.g., come off as
   enthusiastic without gushing? highly qualified without bragging?)
   Explain.
5. Are there any spelling or mechanical errors? If so, identify them,
   either by listing them here or by circling them on a printed draft.

Content/Rhetorical Context

1. Does the letter speak directly and specifically to the job ad,
   using keywords to organize the discussion of his or her qualifications?
   Even if it does, what could be done better?
2. Does the writer mention specific reasons why he or she has applied for the position? Explain.
3. Does the writer identify specific skills, using terminology that other experienced people would recognize?
4. Does the introductory paragraph identify the position applied for,
   its source, and then the major reason(s) why the writer is well-suited?
5. Does the conclusion say how the writer can be contacted for further
   discussion or an interview? Does the letter end on a high note? Explain.
6. What is the most important revision the writer should make? Explain.

Creating Hyperlinks

For this class, you'll have to learn at least one HTML tag, the one for making hyperlinks.

It's easy to learn. Check it out:

1. Make sure that your rich-text editor is enabled. Click on enable rich-text below the Body box.
2. Highlight the text you want to turn into a link.
3. In the buttons below the Body box, click on the chain link button.
4. This box should appear.
   
5. In the Link URL box, cut and paste your full URL there. Then click on insert.

Your link will now show up in your test.

Here is how you make links in traditional HTML coding. Still easy, but it doesn't show up with our rich-text settings and input format.

<a href=""></a>

is the tag itself without any information in it. Within the quotes, you'll put the url, or web address, for the site which you want to link to. In between the ><, you'll put the text you want displayed on the screen.

For example, the url for slashdot is http://slashdot.org/. And if you want to make the word Slashdot a link in a sentence to the website in a blog post, type in,

<a href="http://slashdot.org/">Slashdot</a> is a well known community blog site.

To get

Slashdot is a well known community blog site.

HTML is picky and it's easy to make a careless mistake. Don't include any extra spaces in the HTML tag. Make sure that you include "http://" as a part of your web address. In fact, one of the easiest ways to make sure that you get the URL correct is to copy and paste it from the address bar of a browser window currently displaying the page.

See? Not too difficult. But there's one more thing . . . .

Avoid merely posting the URL as a link:

http://slashdot.org

Notice how this doesn't convey much information. Better to have put the page title (often found either on the page or in the window bar at the top) or link to part of your text (think of the examples in this site). At the same time, really long URL's won't word wrap at the end of a line. They may cause problems with the way that text is displayed on web pages.

For review, check out Chapter 30 in The Thomson Handbook, "The Basics of HTML Coding" (p. 664).

Creating PDF Files

Portable Document Format (PDF) is a file format created by Adobe Acrobat and useful for sharing printer ready versions of documents. Unlike when files are shared between different productivity applications (i.e., word processing, spreadsheet) or different versions of the same productivity software, the same layout and typographic styles are maintained regardless of the computer environment. What the author sees when creating a PDF is exactly what the receiver of the file sees and can print out on their computer. Consequently, PDFs are particularly useful for sending resumes, cover letters, and other business documents where layout and presentation is critica. Writers want all of the effort they put into formatting professional-looking documents to be maintained.

PDFs are typically viewed using Adobe Reader (which is free to download). However, Adobe Reader will not produce PDFs. As you will soon be submitting drafts of cover letters, resumes, and other documents in PDF format, make sure that you can successfully generate a PDF using one of the following means:

• Adobe Acrobat Professional, Standard, or Elements are three versions of Adobe's productivity program for producing PDF files. These programs are not free and do not generally come installed when purchasing a computer. However, some public computer labs (i.e., most of Purdue University's main campus labs) may have Acrobat Professional installed. When Acrobat Professional is available, from your word processor or browser (or any screen that can be printed), select File -> Print. On a PC, you will be able to select, under Printer Name, "Adobe PDF" instead of sending your file to a printer. (See the figure below.) On a Mac, you will see a button "Save as PDF" on the print dialog box. In both cases, you will be asked where you want the created PDF to be stored.

  

• Adobe offers a free PDF trial service online. However, you may need to produce PDF's more than allowed by the free trial.
• CutePDF is a free application which you can download and install on your home computer.
• Google Docs: You can use these free applications (word processor, spreadsheet, and more) for collaboration and, conveniently, to export a document file to PDF format. (Upload your Word document, for example, then export it as PDF later.)
• OpenOffice is a free, full-featured, open source office productivity suite comparable to Microsoft Office that has PDF generation built in. From within OpenOffice, choose File->Export as pdf

Eliciting Good Response

Imagine the following scenario:

You have a great idea for a project for your department at work. Because it will require significant resources and funding, the senior manager in your department has asked you to prepare a ten-page proposal.

After working on the proposal for a while, the senior manager sends you an email requesting to see your draft in progress. The proposal is far from complete, but you fire off a reply saying "Here is my working draft," and attach it. The next day, you receive another email from the senior manager full of feedback which you are obligated to take. However, the feedback asks you to revise your proposal in new directions, quite contrary to what you had planned, effectively taking over the direction of the proposal. You now have to discard many good ideas you had for development. Those sections where you knew you needed the most help--they were not addressed at all.

This happens all the time in getting response to our writing. We get proofreading corrections when we need ideas; we get heavy revision suggestions when the draft needs to be proofread to meet a deadline.

To elicit useful and focused responses from readers (during peer review, for example), we must solicit good response. In the above scenario, if the writer had explained to the senior manager where she needed help in the draft and what her plans were for further development, it's quite possible that the feedback would have been more focused and helpful. So when asking for feedback on a document, explain to the responder

• your concerns about the current state of the draft (i.e., where, specifically, you need help)
• where you are in the process of drafting (i.e., ready to polish to meet a deadline, planning to do more revision)
• your target audience
• any plans you might have for further development of the text

Once you've defined your needs, your reviewer is more likely to shape their feedback effectively for you. As a reviewer, it's much easier to address the writer's concerns than to try to guess what might or might not be useful to the writer.

Five Steps of Storyboarding

1. Find or create a storyboard template that you can use to draft your outline, like the one attached to this post..
2. Each frame of your storyboard should represent a unique page, a step in a sequence, or some other individual component of your work (such as a PowerPoint or Keynote slide, a keyframe in Flash, or a Web page).
3. In each frame, identify your content. Use shorthand to describe the content (including images and audio) that you want to include and approximately where it should be placed, as in the example below.
4. Add notes to each frame in your storyboard on design, source files, material, and anything else that will help you remember what each frame should contain and how it should be presented.
5. When you have completed a rough draft of your storyboard, read back through it to see whether it has an order that makes sense and includes the multimedia you want to use. Move frames around as necessary.

How to Post Comments and Replies

Posting comments, as you will soon see, is easier than creating and sending an email.

1. You must be logged in to the site in order to post comments.
2. While you can click on the add new comment link on any post from the course home page, instead, first click on the title to access the full post and all comments. Always make sure you view the full post first. There may already be a comment conversation thread begun about what you are interested in discussing. Rather than starting a new thread, join in the existing one.
3. Choose add new comment to reply directly to the main blog post and start a new thread or reply to respond to an individual comment.

   If you don't see an add new comment link, you are most likely not logged in.

4. Enter a title for your post in the Subject field. Your title should describe the content of your post. If you do not enter a title, the system will automatically use the first few words of your comment post.
5. Enter the text of your comment in the Comment field. You may use plain text or some HTML. Some people may have the "enable rich text" link visible. If you use that feature, Drupal will give you a set of buttons much like a word processor's to help you input your message. Be careful to review your input, however, since this feature will do some strange things with your text on occasion.
6. Click on "input format" to learn about your formatting options. Drupal will use a filter to convert line breaks and URLs when you select "Filtered HTML." If you want to format your posts nicely, include images, or insert more sophisticated HTML, then choose "Full HTML." Generally speaking, leave the Input format on Filtered HTML unless you have used HTML tags other than those allowed.
7. Select Preview comment at the bottom of the page.
8. Always review what you have written in preview mode. You will not be able to edit your comment once you have posted it.
9. If you are ready to submit your comment, select Post comment at the bottom of the page. Don't forget this step! The most common way people lose posts is by forgetting to submit after previewing their comments or blog entries. If you have made changes to a post, preview it again.
10. Verify that your comment has been posted. It should be visible on the page. If something went wrong, try using your back button to get to the input screen. Review and resubmit if it's still there.

Note: You can use the Comment viewing options to change the way that comments are displayed on the page. Experiment with this feature and see which configuration works best for you.

How to Post to Your Individual Weblog

Posting to your individual weblog is a little more complex than posting a comment, but after a couple of times, you'll find it as easy as email.

1. You must be logged in to post to your weblog.
2. From any page on the site, choose the create content link in the main navigation block on the left hand side. That will bring you to the create content page. [You can also click on the blogs link and then the "my blog" sublink.

   

3. The first time you visit the create content page, read the descriptions under personal blog entry and story.
4. To post to your individual weblog, choose blog entry. This will bring you to the Submit blog entry page.

   

5. Review the Project Checklist in The Thomson Handbook on "Networking in Online Forums" (p. 627) to refresh your memory on posting successful weblog messages. (All of Chapter 28 would be a good review at this stage.)
6. Enter a good Title for your post.
7. Choose a Category tag for your post. You can use a standard one (like "Reading Response" or create one suggested in the prompt or that suits your content. You may use multiple tags.
8. Enter the text of your post in the Body field. You may use plain text or some combination of HTML in creating this post.
9. Leave the Input format on Filtered HTML unless you have used HTML tags other than those allowed.
10. Under URL path settings, you can give your post a short and unique URL alias. For example, you might want to use "team3projectlog" to identify your team's project log. If you use that URL, the full path would be something like http://digitalparlor.org/up07/420Y/team3projectlog.
11. Optional: If you need to attach a file,
    • Click on the File attachments link.
    • Use the Browse button to locate the file on your hard drive.
    • One you have located the file, click the Attach button.
    • A bar will show the progress of the upload . You should then see your attachment listed.
12. Choose Preview.
13. Review your post. If you make any changes, preview it again.
14. When ready, select Submit to post.

Notes:

• The system will not offer you a Submit button if you do not give your post a title.
• Choose story on the create content page to post to the course home page. The rest of the procedure is the same as for creating a personal blog entry.

Learning to Navigate the Site

For the first day of class, you'll want to explore some of the features of the site. This document gives an overview of a few features you might want to take a look at that will help you to navigate the site.

Navigation

In the header visible at the top of every page, you'll find one row of links:

• The first four take you to important sections of the course guide.
• The others take you to useful resource sites at Purdue.

Once you've logged in to the site, directly beneath the header on the left, you'll find the main navigation block, accessible from every page:

The navigation block is your gateway to many areas of the site useful for creating and viewing content and managing your work. For example,

• blogs
  Lists all the blogs on the site and includes a direct link to your blog in its submenu.
• create content
  From here you can post to your individual weblog or the front page (see How to Post to Your Individual Weblog).
• image galleries
  These are useful for uploading screenshots and other images that groups need to review and discuss.
• members
  Need to find out someone's email address? Use the members list. You can also click on any username to access the personal account page. Only registered users have access to the private portion of account pages.
• my subscriptions
  Our site allows you to "subscribe" to blog posts and other content so that you can keep tabs on follow-up responses. You can set your default subscription settings in my account > edit.
• recent posts
  This display allows you to access all of the recent content posted by everyone. Note how it provides red astericks to denote pages you have yet to read and notices of new unread comments.
• search
  Search the content of blog posts, stories, book pages, and galleries; also search for users by name or username
• my account
  Links to your profile information, site settings, and more. Adjust your account profile here.
• categories
  This function allows us to categorize all of our posts. By the end of the semester, there will be literally thousands of posts, and these allow some degree of organization. Later in the semester, we will use this same function to organize group spaces for Project 2 and 3.
• log out
  Use this to log out of the website, which is recommended after each session.

Book Navigation

All of our course materials on the site are integrated into the course guide:

The course guide is a hypertext with many levels of pages.

• You can use the book navigation links that show previous and next pages below the main text or use the breadcrumb navigation at the top.
• Use the printer-friendly version link beneath any page to get a text-only version of that page and all of its subpages collated into one. For example, if you go to the top page of the guide and click on printer-friendly version, you will see the entire course guide, including the calendar, on one screen (a very long one).

Peer Resume Response

Peer Resume Response

1. Using the blogs display, take a look through the resumes everyone posted to their weblog. Choose two and post a comment to each that you will be responding to his or her resume drafts. In choosing two, try to pick ones that have not received any responses or notices that someone is responding.
2. Then, compose a detailed response for each that carefully addresses all of the questions below and tries also to address the writer's concerns. If you have additional suggestions for response not covered by the questions below, the writer would certainly appreciate the feedback; however, you are still responsible for addressing all of the listed questions.
3. When finished, post each response as a comment to the weblog posts you are responding to.

In composing your response, you might find it easier to first just to go through and address all the questions on a sheet of paper or in a document file. Your tone should be informal but professional and not overly casual. A friendly voice in feedback is good; many writer's are
more comfortable at accepting cricitism of their work when it come from a good-natured, sympathetic responder.

Also, when talking about specific areas of the author's text, be sure to include specific quotation within your feedback. Take advantage of the fact that you can easily copy and paste to point directly to what you are referring to from the draft. (Try using Firefox or Safari's "tabbed browsing" to keep multiple windows easily available during this type of peer review.).

Questions for Response

1. What can the writer do to make the resume better tailored to the specific job being applied for?
2. Is the layout and design pleasing to the eye? Make at least one suggestion for improving it.
3. Does the resume fit comfortably within the page (as opposed to being squished in or stretched out)? What can the writer do to improve it?
4. Is it easily readable (no confusing fonts, clearly marked sections)? What improvements can be made?
5. Does it use typography (including headers and bold and italics) appropriately and effectively?
6. Is the most important information located on the left side of the page and near the top whenever possible? Identify at least one part that could be better placed.
7. Does the content of the resume support the objective (if there is one)? Explain.
8. Is the resume too short? Where can it elaborate? Job skills? Responsibilities? Education?
9. Is material sequenced in order of importance and relevance?
10. Do bulleted items begin with action verbs? Are list items ordered in terms of importance?
11. Does the resume avoid generalities and focus on specific information and professional terminology?
12. Does the resume pass Evaluation checklists on 228-229 of The Thompson Handbook?
13. What other observations can you make about the resume?

Principles for Comments and Replies

Because there will be no face-to-face meetings in this class, posting comments and replies to the reading responses and drafts of others will be the primary means of class interaction and discussion. Each time there is a reading response, the instructor will promote at least two blog posts to the front page of the course website. There, everyone will respond to and discuss the readings, drafts, or other work posted to our course website. The course description explains the purpose of this coursework:

You are required to post five (5) comments and replies (e.g., follow-up responses) each week to the blog posts (reading and other responses posted by others) appearing on our course's front page. Your comments and replies should be spaced out over at least three days. Each should be, at minimum, 100 words each.

All comments and replies to another's blog post should follow effective rhetorical strategies for networking with others on the Web. (Readings from the course text provide guidelines to follow.)

• Keep threads alive and relevant.
• Follow-up comments with further discussion.
• Think of your comments and replies as part of a lively class discussion in which everyone participates.

Our activity online substitutes for in-person discussion in interesting (and sometimes deeper) ways. Of course, you are always welcome, and encouraged, to post beyond thsese minimum requirements. The course calendar includes reminders about meeting this ongoing obligation for participating in class discussion.

When commenting and replying to blog posts on the course's front page, you are required to

• Read through the posts on the course home page referred to by the assignment.
• Before using the comment and reply features for the first time, you might want to consider reviewing How to Post Comments and Replies .
• Strive to be thoughtful and analytical in your comments.
• Try to find something new to say instead of saying what has already been said in the original post and in other comments already posted.
• Feel free to share personal experiences which shape your views on the topic discussed.

You should also

• Provide links to additional resources on the web which would better inform the discussion. You should always link to any other texts on the Web you mention, even those on the course website.
• Contend with and/or support the original blog post. If you are criticizing what the blogger has said, remember to do so respectfully, which encourages further dialogue. "This sucks" would not be an appropriate response. Neither would "That's great!" if you don't explain what you mean.
• Direct attention to related and relevant issues. You may find that none of the posts on the class website about a particular set of readings confront what you feel is an important issue on the assigned texts. As long as it is related to the general topic of the readings or the topic of this class, feel free to post a comment which turns the conversation in a new direction (use the subject line to clearly specify this new direction).
• Occasionally post to blog posts not on our front page. If you like, you may choose to post three of your comments or replies to any other recently submitted blog posting on the class site from the instructors and/or other students, whether or not those posts focus on the topic up for discussion.
• Use emoticons and acronyms to convey additional information (such as tone and intonation).
• Review Chapter 28, "Networking with Others on the Web" in The Thomson Handbook (p. 621)

For those of you wishing to do more than the minimum requirements of the course, you might visit the class website additional times per week and post new comments and/or replies to any of the blog posts.

Principles for Posting to Your Weblog

You'll do a lot of the writing for this class in your individual weblog space on the course website. You can access your weblog via your my account page.

One way to think of a weblog or blog is as a journal. However, unlike a journal that you might keep at home (as well as most if not all of the writing you have done in school before), your blog space is public. Your fellow class members will be invited to read your blog. Classmates will respond to your posts with comments and replies. Group members will review notes you take when doing research. And, of course, since it's on the Internet, other Web readers may encounter your writing and take a look at what you have to say.

There are many uses for weblogs, but we'll only use them for a few things here. During this class, you'll be asked to use your course weblog to

• share drafts of your work-in-progress for peer review
• keep a project log during Projects 2 & 3
• post research notes for Project 2 & 3

In addition to the individual weblog space that everyone has, the home page of our course website is a community blog space where anyone can post. While most of your blog writing will be posted to your individual weblog, we'll use the home page as a place to promote discussion among all class members. For example,

• When there is a reading response assignment, your instructors may promote someone's post to the front page for community discussion.
• Groups may be asked to lead discussion by posting their reading responses or blog posts to the course home page instead of to their individual weblogs.
• Groups may be asked to share proposals and progress reports with the entire class during Project 2 or 3.

Good Blogging Practices

• Titles for blog posts should reflect the context of what you have written, not merely restate the name of the title of the assignment or reading. Interesting and informative titles draw more interesting responses from others.
• Blogs should demonstrate the principles of writing for the Web as they are covered in this course.
• Bloggers link. Use hyperlinks when referring to another post on the public Internet and follow good attribution practices. Hyperlinks mean converting text to a link, not merely cutting and pasting in an URL. To do so, you'll have to know a little HTML for creating hyperlinks.
• People visiting the course website from the Internet won't know what you mean if you just mention "the reading assignment for today." Since PW Online is password protected, others on the Internet cannot access it. Treat it like a printed text. At minimum, you should mention the name of the text and the title of the chapter or section you are referencing.
• Good bloggers always keep in mind that they are writing for a public audience.

To Learn More

• To receive credit for your work, be sure to follow the course requirements for reading responses and project logs.
• Read Chapter 28, "Networking with Others on the Web" in The Thomson Handbook (p. 621)
• Optional: Read Meg Hourihan's What We're Doing When We Blog for a brief description of weblogs. For further reading on weblogs, take a look at The Weblog Webliography on Kairosnews.

Principles of Reading Responses

Each week, you will be responsible for creating a reading response. Each reading response should be specifically focused on the reading and the prompt provided on the calendar, clearly indicate that you have read and thought seriously about the reading, and be sufficiently developed. Reading responses should be 300 words or longer. Post your reading response with the "reading response" content type.

Sometimes, you and each of your group members will be assigned to post your reading response to the course home page by submitting a story. The posts on the course home page will then be the focus of full class discussion. Selected reading responses will also be promoted to the front page for more lively community discussion.

In composing your reading response you should:

• Be sure to focus your response on the subject of the prompt.
• Link your response to recent class discussions online, your current project work, something you might have read elsewhere, and/or previous professional, academic, or personal experience writing and communicating in other contexts.
• Discuss how the reading contributes to your understanding of the current project, expands your understanding of recent discussions, or suggests ideas for your work in the class.
• Be sure to properly cite the original reading and any other sources you might mention. Good citation practice is critical in all writing and especially so on the Web.
• You can apply the rhetorical considerations discussed in Principles for Posting to Your Weblog to your reading responses.
• When it is your group's turn to post reading responses to the course home page, consider that the goal of these blog posts is to share new information and stimulate discussion. If your group is reponsible for posting about an assignment, check to see if anyone has already posted a response on the reading. If so, read through it. Shape your blog post to take the conversation in different directions.

Project Assessment Peer Review

Find one of your peer's drafts of Step 4: Project Assessment
Document (Employment Project Assessment Document Draft). Download it,
and use the questions below to review the drafts. You can make comments
directly on the drafts (using comments on Microsoft Word, Adobe Reader
or Acrobat) and you can answer the questions by using the "add new
comment" function on their blog post. Be sure that you attach their
updated file to their blog post. Please refer to the guidelines in Step
4 of the Employment Project.

1. Did your partner use headings in their document?? Headings are an
important part of business writing, and you should being developing
better skills to use them in your own business writing.

2. Shorter paragraphs are another important aspect of business
writing. Are their paragraphs 4-8 sentences long?? If not, mark a new
paragraph within the existing paragraph with a comment.

3. Active verb choice is another important aspect of business
writing. Underline any good examples of active verbs. Circle any
weaker, passive verbs, like "to be" forms (is, was, are, were) and do,
does, has, have, etc.

4. Do their sentences have varied beginnings?? This is the easiest
way to achieve sentence variety and complexity. Bracket sentences that
you think can be more varied and complex.

5. Finally, review the questions for each aspect of Step 4. Did they
answer each one equally and fully?? Here, mention any that can be
better, more detailed, and more developed.

Project Log Guidelines

During Projects 2 & 3, you are required to keep a weekly project log and post it to your weblog on the course site.

Purpose

Because you will have a weekly record at the end of the project, your project log will help you to complete the Peer Collaboration Evaluation Form due at the end of each project. Project logs also provide evidence of each group member's contribution to the project. And detailed project logs lend more credibility to your evaluation of others in your Peer Collaboration Evaluation Form.

After college, you may find keeping a project log useful in your professional career:

• In the busy life of a professional, it can often be difficult to remember all aspects of a project when compiling monthly or quarterly progress reports.
• Consultants can use project logs to provide supporting evidence of work done on a project in preparing invoices or in case a client questions billable hours.
• Once a project is completed, a project log can be useful as a record for planning similar, future projects that will be completed by others.

Requirements

At least once a week during projects 2 and 3, post a short report to your weblog covering all of the following:

• Use informative titles (e.g., Project Log for Week 5: Project 2 Takes Shape)
• Tag your post with "Project Log"
• Report on the status of the project: Is it in early drafting? Is it production ready? Is your group conducting research? Etc.
• Record your contributions to the project that week.
• Record the contributions of others in your group.
• Record the time and date of group meetings and communication and describe briefly what was accomplished. Did the group have a large email discussion? Did you IM with another group member? Etc.
• Report on any scheduled plans for completing specific tasks in the project. What group members have taken on which specific tasks? What are the prospective deadlines?
• Plan out ideas for completing the project, including ways to collaborate and communicate more effectively with your group.
• Reflect on any lessons you have learned about collaboration and electronic communication.

Remember. Your project logs are public and can be read by other group members. Be diplomatic. Do not write about what other group