Grading

Grades are cropping up in your Blackboard grades list, which is exciting and frightening I'm sure! Remember, even after all those grades are filled, the percentage displayed might NOT BE your REAL FINAL grade. Attendance, cell phone usage and extra credit will all influence the final grade that I will be submitting.

You will be getting my notes on your blog essays in class on Weds. - I'm writing them out so your fellow classmates can't see your grades, good or bad. You will then have until the Weds. of exam week to revise your blog essay if you wish to improve your grade. Be sure to let me know you intend to do so, and email me once you have it posted so I know to go back in and check the new version. I won't submit final grades until Thursday of exam week, at the earliest.

Once again, if you wish to do the extra credit and have not already done so, that is also due next Weds. and you should also email me when you post it so I know to check.

Blog Checklist: Week Nine

This is the last week you need to post anything new to your blog, unless you revise your blog essay or turn in the extra credit listed a few entries back. (If you do attempt the extra credit, email me so that I know to go check your blog, in case I've done up the final grades for it before you post. Extra credit can be posted until Weds. of exam week.)

Checklist:

-Random weekly blog post
- Blog essay

'Homework' for Weds.

Finish writing your final reflection essay (pg 293 in the Student Guide) and type it up. Bring in a hard copy to turn in on Weds. I won't be writing notes or comments on it, just inputing a grade to Blackboard, and I won't be on campus next year to bring the stack in, but if you really want it back email me and we can make arrangements. Remember, it needs to be a solid 1-2 pages (double space) and show serious reflection on your work from this quarter.

What I'm looking for:

- how the concerns you had at the start of the class have been resolved/what advances have you made in your writing?
- what did you do really well in your papers/what are you proud of?
- what do you think still needs work?

Posting a Video

To Post a video:

* This is VERY IMPORTANT- make sure you post the video first if you're working through YouTube (note- you can upload videos from your own computer much as you upload pictures).

1. Find the video you want

2. Click on the Share button under the video- it has a twitter, FB etc. logo

3. Click on the Blogger button and a new window with the video will crop up- a new entry. (You do need to be logged in for this to work!)

4. Put the entry together!

5. If you publish the post, you can then go back in through the Dashboard to Edit Post and you will have all of the options you need to put in photos, etc. So don't panic!

How To- The Blogging Edition

Follow these simple steps to insert a picture:

1. Click the Add Image button (to the right of Spell Check)
2. Upload your photo (click browse then look through your files)
[you can also link to a site like photbucket, but from your computer is probably easier]
3. Select a location for the photo in regards to your text
4. Select a size for your photo
5. Click the little box saying you accept the Terms of Service
6. Hit Upload Image

And voila!

To put in a link:

1. Click the button next to the text color button- it looks like it has an infinity symbol and a globe on it

2. Copy/paste the link you intend to include

3. You'll probably be needing an http:// link, so the default setting is fine

4. Delete the http:// already provided if it's already included in the web address, if you're typing from memory, just type the address right in

5. Hit okay

For example: http://www.failbook.com

Extra Credit

Here's another opportunity for extra credit, in the form of 1% being added on to your final grade percentage at the end of the quarter. It may not seem like much, but it could be the difference between a B+ and an A-.

For the point, you must go to a blog that accepts submissions. I'll provide a few link examples- you are welcome to use one you already read, or something else you happen upon. Read a few pages and determine what kind of content they accept, then write your own. It must be at least 500 words to get the points. Type it up and post it to your blog, including a link to the blog you are writing in response to. If you feel brave, submit your piece to the blog for the publication- if you get it published before the end of the quarter (yes, I know- out of your hands on the timing, but none the less) send me an email with the link to the post showing your work and you'll get more extra credit.

A few fun examples that I know I get a kick out of sometimes: (and the sort of thing I'm looking for, so this should hopefully be a fun potential assignment)

http://www.retailhellunderground.com/

http://myveryworstdate.com/

http://myveryworstroommate.com/

Homework for Monday

Peer review! Print off copies of the papers emailed to you, read them, and fill out the peer review worksheets as you did with the research papers. Peer review in class on Monday.

A Note on the Rough Drafts

For those that haven't already sent them:

- Must be a minimum of 3 pages, double spaced, proper MLA format, etc.
- TEXT ONLY, saved to a Word document
- Emailed to me sometime Friday


ANOTHER IMPORTANT NOTE:

Email copies to your peer reviewers! You can find your peers through the Blackboard site- communication, send email, select users. Send to the same people you worked with last time.

Revisions of the research paper are also due Friday.

Blog Checklist: Week Eight

Very short- this week:

- Random weekly blog post

Conferences

Remember- these will be held in Starbucks! "Forgetting" where they are and not showing up will make me very irritated. I do them to help you, not for my own health! (Sitting in a coffee shop for hours is just an evil temptation, you see.) Missing your conference counts as missing class.

Here's the schedule- if you find out you need a different time, you can email me, but don't wait until the last minute as I won't be near a computer while I'm at Starbucks.

Monday:

11:00- Victoria
11:10- Amira
11:20- Xanthia
11:30- Sam
12:00- Ryan
12:10- Rachel
12:20- Britainy G.
12:30- David
1:00- Uzair
1:10- Shaynah
1:20- Dana
1:30- Alena
1:40- Lauren

Wednesday:

11:00- Brittany C.
11:10- Kelli
12:00- Jenna
12:10- Nathan
12:20- Sara
12:30- Elizabeth

ALSO REMEMBER: Rough draft of your four page blog essay is due Friday! Email it to me, as you did this research paper. No pictures or links here- those will be added for the final version. Rough draft should be a minimum of 3 pages, double spaced.

A Brief Note on Grades

First- the NP grade means that the essay earned a mark below a C-, and you'd be heartily advised to revise it. Yes, I have to assign a percentage to it for the gradebook, but NP stands for Not Passing, the same grade you could (but I know none of you will, right?) earn for the class.

Second- you now have a grade up on your Blackboard grade book. Do not panic if you do not like this grade! Remember, nothing else has been put in yet, and can't be as nothing else is done being graded on the grand scale. However, don't get cocky either- remember, percentage points are taken off of your final grade for missing too many classes, and other grades put in will surely lower an amazingly high percentage.

Third- keep this in mind during finals week, the grade posted to Blackboard is only the percentage for work, before penalties, or extra credit additions. You might think you have a B- there, but end up with a C+ when grades are turned in. Check how many classes you missed or how often you texted in class when this happens.

Fourth- once grades are finally submitted, they're final. I put a lot of thought into the grades I submit to the Registrar and won't go in and alter one because you aren't happy about it. Remember gang, you get out of the class what you put into it!

Blog Checklist: Week Seven

Short list, again.

- Random weekly blog post
- Why you write

Why I Write

When I see a blank page, I see both limitless possiblity- and a challenge. I know that I can write whatever I want on that blank surface, and I feel like I must write something. So I do. I write stories, to-do lists, journal entries, and thirty page letters. I write down poems I find and like, and I write down turns of phrase that crop up in my mind that strike me as beautiful. And then- then I fill the notebook, use up the pens, and feel accomplished. It is a compulsion that drives me, and it may not be entirely healthy.

I also write to tell stories. I've written and shared swtories since I was in fourth grade. For some reason, my teachers encouraged me. I have to assume they found it cute. But it made my classmates laugh, and I enjoyed having that power, timid little thing that I was. As I got older, I learned I could make them cry too- but that wasn't as much fun. I'd rather male them laugh, and my life has been weird enough to provide the material!

There's even more to it, of course. Sometimes I feel like ideas for stories fill the air around me and all I need to do is reach out and pluck them down onto the page. Sometimes perfect scenes and dialogue play out in my head while I'm walking. (These rarely make it to the page- or if they do, they are in a horribly altered form! I'd doubt my genius... but.... Well, one must be careful about doing so.) And sometime, sometimes I have to write to silence the inspiration pounding through my entire body with my blood at 3 am- just so I can finally go to sleep.

This all, of course, uses up those blank pages and proves that I've done... something...?

Homework for Weds.

Finish your short 'Why I Write' essay, type it up and post it to your blog. Also bring a hard copy to class on Weds.- we will be sharing what you've written as a group.

If you feel saucy and bold, try submitting your story to the website and see if they'll post it. The perspective of a college undergraduate is a unique one, especially in regards to writing. Email submissions to whywewrite@gmail.com.

Why We Write

An interesting blog project in which people send in their reasons for writing. In class today we'll discuss a few of these entries, and then you'll get the chance to write your own, and try submitting it for publication on the Why We Write blog (if you wish to be so bold, that is).

http://whywewriteseries.wordpress.com/

We will also discuss:

-What's the purpose of this sort of project?
- Do you think it's useful/interesting/worth the time and effort?
- How is the blogging format being used here? Do you think another format would work better? Why?

Useful Blog Articles

An essay on the basics of blogs for those unfamiliar with them:

http://www.dvorak.org/blog/primer/blogprimer1.htm


Tips on how to get people to read your blog:

http://www.copyblogger.com/why-read-your-blog/


Why read blogs?

http://redmonk.com/sogrady/2004/09/24/how-to-get-into-blogs-101/

Revisions

This is rather an important annoucement. I don't know how many of you remember my mention of the possibility of revision on our first class day, but here I'll remind you. If you are not happy with the grade you have recieved on your research paper, which, I hope you recall, is 30% of your final grade, you have the possibility to revise it just once in the hopes of getting a better grade.

You will have one week from the date that I return your papers to you to revise. Anything done later than that will not be accepted. You must also meet with me to discuss what you can do to improve the essay, or I will not accept it. I suppose it would be possible to make it worse through revision, but if somehow that is accomplished, you will still keep the better grade.

Blog Checklist: Week Six

Here's what you need for this week:

- Random weekly blog post
- Found blog evaluation homework (from Weds.)

Homework for Weds.

In preparation for our last paper, which will be a blog essay on your topic, it seems prudent to have you guys go out there and look around to determine what a blog essay might look like.

So here's what you need to do.

1. Go online and find a blog that looks promising- could be political, affiliated with a newspaper, etc. - they're everywhere, just give it a look
2. Find an entry posted in one that's a good, solid 4-5 paragraphs MINIMUM, and give favor to posts that are responding to one particular thing- say, a news article, broadcast, something specific
3. Read it! And then post the link to your blog so you can share that essay
4. Answer the following questions in your blog:
- What is the blogger responding to?
- What is their opinion on the topic? Do they agree/disagree with whatever view they're discussing?
- What are they trying to persuade their reader of? How are they doing it?
- How does this seem to be different from an essay in a book, or something you might read in class?
5. Copy and paste a hard copy of the homework to turn in to me on Weds.


One other note: ATTENDANCE- I know I won't fail you guys straight out for attendance, and I know it's beautiful weather and early mornings and spring quarter to boot, but you really need to come to class and be on time. You lose a lot of points in homework and in-class work, not to mention off of the attendance and participation grade, even beyond the percentage points docked from the final grade. Don't fail a class because you didn't want to wake up, gang.