Your+Blog+Major+Semester+Assignment


 * Blogging the Semester**


 * Before you begin:**
 * **Read all of this throughly--clicking on links, following them, so that you fully understand what is expected of you.**
 * Watch the tutorials for Blogger.
 * Read this Guide for Comments and refer back to it often.
 * You can make your blog speak! Learn more here!
 * Embed a video in your blog.

The first major assignment for this course is a blog which you will create on [|Google's Blogger system] and which we will link to our class wiki.

This will be a public blog which will, besides adding to our course conversation and demonstrating your engagement with the course material, will begin to build your professional "digital footprint" as a teacher.

We'd like you to post often but will, for the sake of clarity, **expect a minimum of six blog posts**. And we'd like you to **comment on at least 12 of your classmates blogs** throughout the semester.

Now, blogging is not necessarily traditional academic style writing, but, as educators, there are communications expectations, including solidly constructed writing, citing your sources (see our citation project), correct spelling and "acceptable" grammar. We also certainly hope to see critical thought, research beyond the course readings and discussions, and your personal views.

It is important that, at least in most of your blog posts, you reflect on how the technologies you are working with/discovering would impact the students in your classrooms, connecting theory and practice.

Peer commenting is an art. It is essential that your comments on the blogs of your classmates be more than "nice job" or "I agree" or "I disagree." This may be "blogging" - but it is professional academic argument, and should be written with that in mind. Please refer to this comment guide before you dive in and start commenting on the work of your classmates.

Blogger Tutorial media type="custom" key="6970721"

The inspiration for this assignment is the work of [|Dr. Alec Couros] at the University of Regina, some of whose students' blogs are collected at the link below: [|Summer 2010 Student Blog Links - University of Regina - EDST499K] //Other resources// (re: digital footprint) [|Managing Digital Footprints] (Blog Post) Digital Footprint Tools (Blog Post) [|Your Digital Footprint] (Blog Post)
 * Note:**