Blog assignment

DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS:

 YOUR TEAM & TOPIC: You will be assigned to a team of 4-6 members. Each team will have a general topic (Sports, Animals, or The Brain). Each team member will select one talk from a list of 16 choices available for that topic (list is located in the team’s Group folder on eCampus under “File Exchange”). All team members must select different talks to write about; no duplicates are permitted

 WATCH your chosen TEDTalk as soon as possible; take notes of “hot spots,” those points in the talk that stand out for you. Using the technique of double-entry research notes (objective summary, subjective strong response) is effective here.

 GATHER all your materials in a location that you have ready and available at all times, in class and outside of class. This will include your notes, written work, photos, graphics, URL links, etc.

 WORDPRESS BLOG SITE: You and your team members will be Administrators on the shell blog site that I have set up for your team. We’ll be using the free version of the WordPress.com platform, which is adequate for our purposes. WordPress has tutorials if you’re interested, but we will go over in class the basic functions you will need.

 You will each receive an emailed invitation to the site with the URL for the blog site.

 ACCEPT this invitation immediately or you will not have access.

 As Administrators of the site, you have the ability to change anything and everything -- DON’T, please! I will be going over what to change and how to do that. Also, keep the “Private” setting on the blog site (except for your team members and me). At the end of the semester, I will close down the blog sites.

 TASKS: Your team will collaborate in class (maybe a little outside of class) to create the blog site.

 Your blog site will contain 3 sections or pages: (1) Home page, (2) About Us page, and (3) Blogs (one entry written by each team member) - see “Parts of the Blog Site” below.

 Your team will post all the headings, content, images, and links for your blog site, which should demonstrate cohesive design and good collaboration.

 Your blog site should hook the reader’s attention with appealing design and appropriate titles and subtitles. Use creative design features throughout, including fonts and images, but remember that your viewer must be able to read the text. Some fonts and styles are too decorative to read easily, such as:

My BLOG

 You may use more open-form prose in your text portions if appropriate to your audience and purpose, but don’t get too “casual” in your word choice, style, and structure -- general grammar and punctuation rules still apply!

 COLLABORATION: I will be observing each team member’s individual efforts to collaborate, resolve differences of opinion and find consensus, and follow directions. Every team member must participate and contribute to earn the collaboration points for the assignment. Help your team members by encouraging everyone on the team to express their opinions and by listening to their ideas.

PARTS OF THE BLOG SITE:

HOME page:

 Hook with an appealing and appropriate visual image. Add attribution at bottom of page.

 Also hook with a creative, relevant title. Add a subtitle if team chooses (“nutshell” or “take-away”). Choose font and color appropriately.

 Provide a short introduction describing what the blog is about - 4-8 sentences  Include a link to the ABOUT US page.

ABOUT US Page:

 Team collaborates on text that provides reader with a general profile for your team in a introductory paragraph that consists of at least 6-8 sentences.

 Add individual blurbs for each team member, including a photo or avatar, to introduce the individuals whose ideas the reader will be encountering. Each team member decides what online persona he or she wishes to convey.

 Aim for consistency in size of pictures and length of profiles.

3. BLOGS Pages: (One individual blog entry written and posted by each team member)

 Use visual images, such as photos or graphics (charts, graphs, quotes, cartoons) and consider linking to other appropriate content, such as websites and videos. Definitely add a link to the TEDTalk itself.

 Each individual blog entry should consist of around concise 400 words. Follow the form of an opinion article:

Introduction: In a few sentences, state the specific purpose of your blog and include a thesis statement or thesis question that introduces the TEDTalk and its significance for you (the “So what?”). As always, a hook is effective, especially in online writing.

Supporting paragraphs:

1. As always, orient the readers in your topic first. Proactively supply information that they may need.

2. Provide supporting evidence for your thesis, such as quotes, facts, statistics, studies, graphics, etc., as appropriate to the talk. To avoid plagiarism, you must informally cite this information. (MLA citations are not required, but you still must tell your reader where you got your material when it is not your own - links work well, but you should still provide attribution signal phrases/IDs.) We will NOT be using a formal Works Cited page for this project.

3. Remember that logos, ethos, and pathos persuade well - have you used them?

4. Evaluate the TEDTalk: Major strengths (ideas, rhetorical features in audience-friendly terminology); possible weaknesses (your angle of vision in a recommendation should not dwell heavily on these, but if you do have a comment on one or two things that you consider weaknesses, feel free to include them).

Conclusion: Echo the introduction and provide closure for the discussion. You may include a call to action or give the readers additional resources to pursue as they leave your blog and go back to their lives.

 Edit and proofread your writing carefully just as you would with an important essay. A sloppily written and punctuated blog will be judged negatively by readers and they may decide not to waste their time on it.

 Post to the WordPress team blog site in the BLOGS pages as directed by your instructor.

Participation: This project requires your participation as a team member, which means you must be in class. Failing to participate in team sessions due to absences or to complete your individual tasks will result in point deductions and potentially a zero for the assignment. Always be in communication with your team on your individual progress.

Link of the Tedtalk:

https://www.ted.com/talks/dee_boersma_pay_attention_to_penguins