Is Google Making Us Stupid?

Nicholas Carr writes in The Atlantic about what he fears the Internet may be doing to our brains. Read Is Google Making Us Stupid? and decide for yourself. Do the advantages of the Internet outweigh the potential dangers?

Read the First Drafts and Responses

I've already responded to a few early-bird blog postings, so be sure to read them to get some ideas for how to respond to your group mates. Remember, empty praise is useless, especially on a first draft. Offer suggestions to help them improve their second drafts. Read what everyone else has posted--even for other groups--because that might give you some ideas for revising and polishing your own draft. Also, if you're responding to drafts I've already reviewed, please don't just agree with what I said. Come up with some additional words of specific praise and advice.

Punctuation Matters

You'll understand why when you read "A 'Dear John' Letter and a Two Million Dollar Comma."

Stanley Kubrick: The Legacy of 2001

Here are the links to Part 1 and Part 2 of the documentary I told you about in class. Each segment runs about 10 minutes and will provide you with more context for the film.

Next Project: A Film Evaluation

In keeping with our general focus on technology this semester, the next writing assignment will be a film evaluation of 2001: A Space Odyssey. This 1968 science fiction film was directed by Stanley Kubrick and is considered among the top films of all time. The film is noted for its high production values and scientific and technological accuracy. It is also somewhat difficult to follow at times, so you might want to check out Kubrick 2001: The Space Odyssey Explained, which is an online flash presentation. Check out the official trailer for the film and try to watch the film on your own time. I'm going to try to show at least portions of it in class, but this is the kind of film that may go over your head the first time you watch it and is worth multiple viewings.

Alexandra, Amanda, Clarissa, and Fayeann Present: Printing at Bracken LIbrary

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yF_eGaEjQ00

Seeing as all our group members are freshman, we have found the printing process at Bracken Library to be somewhat confusing; so we made a video going step by step. It walks you through everything from logging on to turning your paper in. We hope this takes away any confusion you have had while trying to print in the library.

Glenda, Liz, Meg, and Stephanie Present: The Truth About Webcams

www.thetruthaboutwebcams.weebly.com

This is a website about the positives of webcams. There is information for parents, teens, and children. Fun videos and pictures are included with lots of other resources to link to as well.

Darryl, Natalie, Rebecca, and Tessa Present: MJ's Moonwalk

http://www.mjmoonwalk.weebly.com

Our website is about how Michael Jackson and his moonwalk changed the view of pop music.

Bobby, Ethan, Kaylee, and Palmer Present: Bracken Tag

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcoYz-9QG4w

We wanted to have fun, but more importantly make it look fun; and maybe start a new campus trend in the process.

Annah, Hayley, Lorna, Matthew, and Xuan Present: Facebook Tips

http://english103facebook.weebly.com/

We decided to make a website explaining more about Facebook. We provided information about how to sign up and use the site safely.

Thomas, Brooke, and Jovid Present: All About Credit Cards

http://allaboutcreditcards.weebly.com/

We picked the topic of credit cards because we did not know much about this topic before. It seemed like an interesting topic to research. It also can be very helpful to know. We chose a website because it seemed like the easier and more informative way to go.

What is a Reflective Essay?

When you turn in your Individual Reflective Essay for the Collaborative Multimodal Project, you will do so electronically by sending to my email a two-page, MLA-formatted paper in Microsoft Word. Included in your paper must be a link to your web site or video.

Many of you have been asking about this essay. It is not simply a report of facts that occurred, and it is not simply a ranting of your joys and griefs with this project. This is an essay that looks back on what happened and indicates what you have learned from your experience, using facts to back up what you say. A brief online search on this topic led me to "What is a Reflective Essay Paper?"which provides a decent explanation and also links to more information.

Web site tips

Conferences are underway and I already have some reminders and suggestions:

• Create an "about us" page to explain who you are, when and why you created this site, and what your credentials are to speak on this topic.
• Create a "works cited" page to list all the sources you quoted or linked to--and to give credit to visuals you used.
• Make sure the type size and general look of the layout is consistent from page to page. Use type that is large enough to read comfortably.
• Keep your information and your sentences concise. Link to more detailed information (either on a hidden page or to your sources).
• Arrange the items on your page so that the most important items appear as soon as it loads--in other words, don't make your reader scroll down to figure it out. They won't.
• Publish your page to make sure it looks and functions properly. Then do a Google search to see if it's showing up. This is where having a relevant web site name is important.
• Write a one-sentence description of any videos you post to allow readers to decide if they want to click or not.
  

More Sample Projects

Here are a couple videos I made for classes using Microsoft Moviemaker. I had never created videos before, so I was doing some experimenting, some of which was not entirely successful. I had no video camera, except for what was on a regular digital camera, and I used screen shots, my own photos, royalty free photos, and PowerPoint slides converted to jpegs. I did my own voice overs and the other audio portions were all free files from Microsoft Clip Art. These were not group projects; I did all the work myself, for better or worse. Also, they are more than a minute in length, so you might get bored before they're over.

Social New Media
History of Grading

Here is my web site, which might also give you some ideas:
http://tessevans.weebly.com

Check out last fall's group projects

Check out what students did last year for their collaborative projects. These are all web sites because I did not include the video option last year, but some of the sites do link to videos. Some of the projects are better than others, but it is interesting to see how different groups will tackle a similar assignment. One thing you might note is that some groups should have put more thought into their web address.

http://befuchs.iweb.bsu.edu/5guys1bailoutplan
http://Copyrightinfringement.weebly.com
http://highereducation.weebly.com
http://povertygroup.weebly.com
http://immigration08.weebly.com
http://energy5.weebly.com
http://goinggreeninformation.weebly.com
http://environmenta.weebly.com
http://environmentissues1234.weebly.com

Do you agree with what Mark Bauerlein has to say about Generation Y?

If you said, "Who's Mark Bauerlein?" and "What does he have to say?" then maybe we're getting somewhere with this rhetorical analysis business. In "Why Gen-Y Johnny Can't Read Nonverbal Cues," Bauerlein argues that social networking via technology has led to a deterioration in face-to-face social skills. Many of you have already told me you can't live without Facebook or texting, but did you know that sometimes you're sending out strong signals that you aren't very interested in where you are and who you're with when you use these technologies inappropriately? Did you know that face-to-face interactions require sophisticated social skills that include effectively sending and interpreting facial expressions, posture, gestures, and tone of voice?

In your groups, discuss and then respond to this article in two ways on two different posts: First, respond as if you are a person who agrees with everything Bauerlein says. Next, pretend that you are someone who disagrees with everything he says. This is the Believing and Doubting game: You try to find all the reasons to agree with someone, and then you try to find all the reasons to disagree.

Is PowerPoint Evil?

Yes, "PowerPoint is Evil," says Edward R. Tufte in this 2003 essay that appeared in Wired. What kinds of logical arguments does he make? How does he try to appeal to his audience's emotions? Who is his audience? How sophisticated is his language? Is there anything missing from his essay that would make his argument stronger? Does he avoid mentioning anything that would make his argument weaker? Do the visuals support what the text says? Who cares about this topic? Who is Edward R. Tufte?

Blogs in Plain English

What's the big deal about blogs? Blogs in Plain English gives you a brief overview.

Welcome to our class blog!

This is a discussion and journal forum based on our readings in The Norton Field Guide to Writing with Readings and our activities in class. You have been assigned 13 readings and are required to post for at least 10 of those readings to your own blog; however, you'll get more out of blogging if you are also reading what your classmates have to say and responding to their posts.

Get to know each other and have fun with this!