The 101 on the Blogging 101

project

Blogging has helped me grow

as a writer.

I find myself reading things online all the time now and having the urge

to write about them.

Pressured with meeting deadlines, providing constant creative writing, and properly editing my work helped me completely change the way I write.

My blog has served as a portfolio, which has led to paid

writing work and to a paid internshiphalfway through the first semester

of the program.

It’s helped me to think critically

about the materialsI’m studying in the program.

Today1. How to craft it

2. How to deliver it

3. Challenges (aka what sucks)

4. Student experience (Jason Manuge)

5. Q&A

6. Create your own teaching blog

Crafting the assignment

Crafting the Assignment1. Create a WordPress blog &

get comfortable.

2. Determine the assignment’s Learning Outcomes.

3. Develop a clear and simple evaluation for you & students.

4. Develop an example-rich lesson that explains the assignment & how to achieve LOs.

Crafting—Get a Blog

Crafting—Determine LOs1. Improve grammar and good

proofreading habits

2. Learn business writing basics (formatting and content)

3. Advance critical thinking skills

4. Develop a practice of reflecting on key lessons

5. Develop a practice of citing sources

6. Learn WordPress platform (e.g. embedding media, hyperlinks)

Crafting—Assignment

• Six to eight weekly posts

• Instructor marks at random three to four blogs (first, last and one in middle)

• Students evaluate one another’s posts weekly—evaluatees assigned by you

Crafting—Evaluation

NOTE: You have a copy of this evaluation.

• Checklist or rubric?

• For use by students and instructor.

• Simple, clear expectations.

• Zeros for noncompliance related to most common errors.

• Students get a small mark each week for evaluating one another’s posts.

Crafting—Prepping the Prep Lesson

• A week before, hand out the assignment.

• Consider bringing a successful industry blogger to class to create buy-in (Skype if not local).

• Prepare to spend lots of time in class reviewing the assignment, answering questions.

• Explain how to satisfy key requirements of checklist/rubric.

• Provide examples of blogs that do and don’t work and review with class.

DeliveryHow to carry out the assignment

Delivery—Before the intro lesson

• Distribute assignment a few days/a week before discussing.

• Develop peer evaluation spreadsheet (Two sections? Evaluate across sections, not in same).

• Consider bringing in that industry blogger.

Delivery—The Lesson

• Leave 20 minutes for assignment walkthrough and questions.

• Two hours total.

• Set the stage: “When you enter each of your classes, you should be thinking to yourselves, ‘I’ve got to find a blog topic before Friday’s deadline. Could it be in Andrew’s class today?’”

Blog, blog, blogidee, blogger,

blogga, blogododee and…blog.

Encourage students to craft their own images and not

steal others’

Make images on your phone!You don’t have to be an artist

and neither do they.

Crafting—Explaining Expectations

Delivery—Evaluating• Mark tough at the start to show

expectations are high, including with peer evaluations.

• Mark all blogs in Week 1 and develop the evaluation spread sheet for first class of Week 2.

• All blog URLs must be sent to me before the first blog’s deadline.

• Peer evaluations are due weekly in second class of Week 2 (must attend to submit).

• A missed blog earns a zero (no makeups)

Hooah! Yes, sir!

I WILL cite my sources!

Options and Add-Ons• Consider side assignments:

Grammar Diaries

• Assign weekly topics

• Randomly mark two to four or run assignment six to eight weeks

• Get other profs to help with marking

• Your weekly Top 5 or 10

• End-of-semester awards

• Carry it on throughout program

Not all wine and rosesA killer learning experience, it may slay you, too

The Student PerspectiveThe Process, The Experience, The Results

According to first-year AMC student Jason Manuge

Create your own teaching blogon WordPress.com

Downloads availablePlease visit my teaching blog at

www.teachingteacher.wordpress.com

This Presentation:http://www.slideshare.net/frankarmstrong73744/blogging-pd-workshop-ppt

Blog structure slides:http://www.slideshare.net/frankarmstrong73744/edit_my_uploads

E-copies of my Peer Evaluation checklists and Grammar Diary forms (including good and bad examples): farmstrong@sl.on.ca

WordPress startup how-to video:http://codex.wordpress.org/New_To_WordPress_-_Where_to_Start