ENGLISH 307 wiki / blogs

With others in your group, find 3 examples online of productions that represent the full range of quality in the medium (make sure these are permanently and publicly accessible): these creations should show the full spectrum of what's possible, ranging from what you'd deem excellence (with all the appropriate bells and whistles that function to enhance the users' experience/understanding) to shoddy or poor work (that perhaps use bells and whistles simply for the sake of using them or, on the other hand, don't really maximize the medium's potential for enhancing the user's experience/understanding of the message).

Discuss with your group what makes these examples excellent, satisfactory, and poor.

Once you've agreed, copy links onto this wiki page, and briefly describe just beneath the link your rationale for your assessment of each.

Excellent

http://www.newscientist.com/blog/technology/ (or any of their blogs, technology being one)

http://obscuresound.com/

Discuss: I am sorry I even considered Mr. Sun now that I found New Scientist... Also I can't believe it only occurred to me now that perhaps a SCIENCE BLOG would be amazing!!! They have blogs about several scientific topics, and they are loaded with embedded videos and links. Also, access to the other blogs from any blog is easy. Membership entails that you can SEND them a story, not publish one, so it is a limited democracy of information, both educational and entertaining. It even offers an archive of the blog, all the way back to October 2006. This is the best blog I've ever seen.

I thought Obscure Sound was awesome too, though, because it is a blog that discusses indie music and embeds sound files for readers to listen to. This makes the blog very interactive, because you read about the band, you read what others thought of the band, and then you hear the band! Very cool... -Garrett

Final Choice: http://www.newscientist.com/blogindex.ns

Rationale (for selection as excellent -- in re: other candidates for this category and examples in other two): Although I am a music fanatic, New Scientist really takes the cake, because the links are all relevant and incredibly informative, and the layout is exemplary for comprehension. Updated daily, it is highly maintained by experts. Anyone can comment on any blog, but in order to start a new blog, it has to be read and approved by a member of New Scientist, and I think that's important for what this site is.

Satisfactory

http://onliance.com/

http://coolblue.typepad.com/

Discuss: Onliance is a blog that my friend Tony is a moderator for. They discuss real issues, such as global warming and oil, and they also discuss real world topics, like lunar eclipses and the mystery of the universe. It is laid out cleanly, has minimal advertising, and has links to other informational sites embedded. Tony has told me that this blog is a great place to discuss just about anything, because he and the other moderators are very nice people, and the site rarely has any unnecessary vulgarity or argument.

The coolblue link above is for a blog called The Cool Blue Frog, and it is a satisfactory blog in that it has a relatively understandable layout, decent pictures and graphics, and offers a few links and embedded videos.

Final Choice: http://onliance.com/

Rationale (for selection as excellent -- in re: other candidates for this category and examples in other two): I choose Onliance as satisfactory because it is a relevant blog with a decent amount of hits, and offers embedded links. It is an easily navigatable site, with eye-pleasing schemes and simple sign-up.

Poor

http://www.bloggeries.com/blog/

http://perezhilton.com/

Discuss: The bloggeries site is confusing, but oddly enough its concept is great. It's a place to talk about and promote blogs. There are however very few posts, the layout is confusingly crowded, and the blogs themselves are weak. Most of the few links are to other blogs that are being promoted. I haven't yet created a blog, but I hope I will personally create a better one than this. Still, given what I have seen as examples of blogs out there, this site is very poor. However, when I stumbled across perez hilton, I almost got sick. This blog is horrible. Don't even click the link, just google "worst blog ever" and see all the hate. It features seemingly untrue and/or vandalized gossip on celebrities, and the few embedments are either grainy or again seemingly altered. I found no way to start a blog, only links to comment, and it's layout is disasterously busy.

Final Choice:http://perezhilton.com/

Rationale (for selection as excellent -- in re: other candidates for this category and examples in other two): Perez Hilton's site hurts your eyes from poor (and overly bright) color selection, and also from horrible arrangement. It's a celebrity gossip blog, seemingly often untrue, with lo-fi, possibly altered video embedments, and is unclear as to how to join and blog.

List Characteristics of Exemplar

Using the above example of excellence as your model, list the characteristics of a quality production in this genre/medium on the respective page of this wiki (click on the "Sidebar" link above);

Characteristics of Excellent blogs

Easy navigation / Understandable layout
Embedded links, pictures and videos
Attention-grasping content
Easy to become a member and comment or submit
Offers access to an archive of past blogs
Offers opportunity to add blog to social bookmarking sites

[just continue to hit return after each entry above and you will continue to generate more numbers for each new line in your list].

When you are through, share this list with me to get approval before moving ahead to the next step.

SAVE FOR IN CLASS ON 4/7

Create a Rubric

Based on this work, create a rubric for all work in the medium at rubistar and save this rubric with a password and login that you note here:

Group login: G Graber (zip code 13045)

Group password: icp3232

Link to rubric:

http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php

After class, you will share this rubric with classmates working with other media to make sure that the work/expectations are equitable across media. Classmembers not working in this medium must note their approval or suggest changes by making comments by the beginning of class on 4/7.

Revise Rubric

Taking into account my and other classmembers' comments, work with members of your medium group to revise the rubric. The revised and final rubric must be completed by class time on 4/14 (after which I will check and assess it).

Blog Projects

List the name of your project and project team members's names and contact info here. Add lines to the table if necessary.

Name your project as follows: Your Project Name (medium). For example, NCLB in CNY (iMovie) or Cortland's Homeless (podcast).

Project Name	Team Member	e-mail address	Phone Number
Find your Musical Identity	Garrett Graber	BeatlezFan32@yahoo.com	607-662-4135

Links to Projects

Get out of the edit mode on this page by clicking on "Save" below. (As you work on this section, I recommend either printing this page out OR using two computers OR shuttling between two browser windows on the same computer: use one to make changes on, while reading these directions from the other).

Create a New Page

First, click on the "New Page" button on the top of this page.
The dialogue box will ask you for some information. Name the new page as follows: Your Project Name (medium). For example, NCLB in CNY (iMovie) or Cortland's Homeless (podcast).
When you click "OK," you will move directly into your Project Wiki Page.
Immediately hit "Save" and return to this page.

Create a Link to your New Page in the "SidebBar"

Staying in the "read" (not "edit") mode, activate "SideBar" in the box in the upper right-hand corner of this page.
Click on "edit."
Once you are in edit mode, add your "Project Name" to the list just as you titled your Project WIki Page. For example, NCLB in CNY (iMovie) or Cortland's Homeless (podcast).
Then highlight this text and click the "link" icon on the toolbar.
Link type: Wiki page
Link to wiki page: select your Project Wiki Page from the pulldown menu.
Click "ok."
Now this link will connect you to your groups page whenever you select it from the sidebar.

Creating a link from this page

Highlight the first mention of your project in the above table above.
Make it into a link following steps 4-7 in "Create a Link to your New Page" above.

Contents of Project Wiki Page

Copy EVERYTHING on this page from "Production Schedule" to the bottom of this page (below) and paste it onto your Project Wiki Page.

Complete these tasks in this order (to be completed by 4/7):

Customize the schedule for your group.
Pre-fill the "Confidential Peer Evaluation" forms with individual's names and tasks, based on your group's Production Schedule.

Otherwise, this page is the space and creation of you and your group member's. Use it to collaborate asynchronously. But note that if you want to have a virtual meeting, you can insert a plugin from the toolbar above to engage in synchronous chat.

Production Schedule

Working with others on your project team (most likely a subset of the "medium group," if there are several different projects being created in this medium"), you will create a Production Schedule for your project.

Steps:

Find at least one internet source that discusses production in the medium (e.g., "blog production," or "web production"). Post the link [here and remove all the text in between theses brackets -- ONCE YOU'VE COPIED THIS TEXT ONTO YOUR PROJECT WIKI PAGE, THAT IS].
Using the information from this source, along with the criteria from your rubric, create a list (on your wiki page) of everything you will have to do in order to achieve an "A" on the project. See "To Do List" below.
Agree upon what a midterm "draft" of the project will be (ie., what the project will look like when it is halfway finished) and get my approval on this. If you are working with any form of digital storytelling (video production or podcasting), plan to be finished with shooting and/or recording by this date (i.e., by midterm, you should have all the raw footage of your piece completed and have only editing and post-production left to do).
Plan to have that "draft" completed by the beginning of class on April 21. This week you will also plan to meet with the technology trainer to follow up on the project, anticipate next steps, and possibly revise your plans. Add this meeting (and scheduling it) to your "To Do" list.
Assign tasks to particular people in the group in order to meet that April 21 deadline, using the "Person Responsible" line, as shown in the Production Schedule below. Make sure that the workload is evenly distributed amongst all group members. Assign these tasks using the "Production Schedule" below.
Using your list from #2, figure out what tasks remain after April 21 to complete the project at the "A" level by May 5. Assign tasks to individuals, using the same principles you used for #5. (If you are doing a video or a podcast, you will publish your piece to the appropriate web community ON MAY 5 -- or as shortly thereafter as possible --, but ALL production will be complete by this date.
Revise your Project Proposal accordingly and plan to submit a final version of it on the wiki, along with your group's Production Schedule (see below for where you should attach the revised proposal -- use the "Attach File" icon on the toolbar above to upload the document).

TO DO LIST (See #2 above)

[just continue to hit return after each entry above and you will continue to generate more numbers for each new line in your list].

MIDTERM DRAFT

(See #3 above)

PRODUCTION SCHEDULE

M March 31 (PREPRODUCTION)

To do: Schedule group a) training and b) a "midterm"/follow-up meeting with Tera Doty-Blance (type dates of meetings below).

Person responsible: _________________________

M April 7 (PREPRODUCTION/PRODUCTION)

Deadline: Project Proposal, Rubric, Production Schedule, and pre-filled Peer Evaluation forms

M April 14 (PRODUCTION)

Deadline: Have met with trainer

M April 21 (PRODUCTION/POSTPRODUCTION)

Deadline: Draft of Project due

M April 28 (POSTPRODUCTION)

M May 5 (PUBLISH)

Deadline: Final draft due

Revised Project Proposal Attached Here

Weekly Peer Reflection

Pre-fill "Confidential Peer Evaluation" forms

Once you are finished with the Production Schedule, copy and paste from it in order to pre-fill the weekly "Confidential Peer Evaluation" forms and attach the completed, pre-filled form beneath the appropriate date below.

Pre-fill it by following these directions:

Open this form Eval Form
Type your group's name in "Group" blank on the first line
Type "4/7/08" in the "Date of Meeting/Assessment" blank
Type the names of individual group members and the tasks assigned to them to be completed by April 7 on the appropriate blanks on the form (cut and paste from the Production Schedule)
Save this form and attach it in the blank beneath April 7 below, so that individual group members can individually dowload and complete the form before class on April 7
Repeat steps 1-5 for April 14-May 5

Be sure to divide this inputting among group members so that the work is equitably divided amongst group members. DUE: April 7

WEEKLY: Complete the "Confidential Peer Evaluation" forms

Each week, each group member will download one copy of that week's form, evaluate each group member's performance (including him or herself) BEFORE class begins, and submit the confidential form to me at the beginning of class. Forms not completed before class will not be accepted, and the indivdiual will receive "0" points for that week's assessment.

If individual tasks have changed since the form was first pre-filled, be sure to note these changes on the wiki no later than Monday at 8am for that day's evaluation.