Why a blog for a course on keywords?
In addition to addressing new technological literacies that are becoming increasingly important in a Web 2.0 culture, a blog offers a number of benefits to a course on keywords.
- It creates an opportunity to dialogue in a medium other than just class discussion—which is especially crucial in a course that’s about exploring “living” vocabularies, situating public and popular discourses, and expanding rather than closing down debate.
- It helps you locate other peers that share your set of values in reading our texts, while at the same time encouraging you to dialogue with others who approach the course differently.
- It gives us a chance to directly practice “keywords” and see how keywords form in relation to the community of our classroom. By tagging each of your posts with your own keywords, the blog will automatically create a tag cloud—or a birds-eye view of our keywords. Thus, our blog will be an experiment in how keywords shape and define the character of local communities.
- It makes the intellectual trajectory of the class transparent to everyone, thus sharing the production of knowledge rather than limiting it to a student-teaching exchange.
How do I create an account?
You should receive an invitation to the blog to your UW email account. If you do not already have a WordPress account, you will need to create one. It should be intuitive to walk through the process and enter the required information. It’s up to you if you’d rather just subscribe with WordPress to get a username (and contribute to only our course blog), or if you’d like to create your own blog.
How can I edit my profile?
Once you’re logged in, you can edit your profile by using the drop-down WordPress menu at the very top of the screen. Mouse over “My Account” and then select “Edit Profile.” It’s up to you if you’d choose to upload a photo. It will help as we get to know one another, but it’s certainly not required.
How do I create a post?
To create a post, you must be logged in. After you’re logged in, click on the “new post” in the WordPress menu at the very top of the screen and then select “English 111.” You’ll be taken to a visual editing window where you can enter the subject line and body of your post. For those of you comfortable with HTML, you can switch to the html tab to have more control over designing your posts. Please make sure to tag your post with at least three keywords.
Why are tags so important?
Tags will are one way of navigating across each other’s posts and finding classmates who are interested in the same aspect of the course. On a more theoretical level, tags will give us an occasion to watch our own keywords take shape and develop over the quarter.
How do I comment on a classmate’s post?
To comment on someone else’s post after you’re logged in, simply scroll down to the bottom of the page, type your comment in the text box, and submit!
How should I approach commenting on a classmate’s post?
Your comments should be relevant and incisive. Suggest another passage that your peer might be interested in. Offer an alternative reading on what they’ve discussed in their post. Outline where you’re in agreement with them or where their points are resonant with your own response to the readings. Pose a follow-up question that may help them develop their ideas more, potentially even into a short paper or the final paper. Be helpful by being thoughtfully engaged.
Where can I go for additional help?
Me! Come by my office hours: Mondays and Tuesdays, 2:30-3:30. You can also consult a number of useful tutorials and FAQs online.
WORDPRESS HELP:
Introduction: http://faq.wordpress.com/new-here/
General: http://faq.wordpress.com/
Posts: http://faq.wordpress.com/category/posts/
Links: http://faq.wordpress.com/category/links/
Images: http://faq.wordpress.com/category/images/
