Category: blogging prompts

Blogging Assignment: CIS3810 in Memes

For this assignment, you’ll need to create a meme (specifically an image macro (see Davison)) that plays on an idea or technology we’ve covered in this class so far, share it, and briefly reflect on the experience of making and sharing it. If you have not yet read Patrick Davison’s article on internet memes, please do so. More on image macros is here and here.

Here’s the assignment in detail:

1. Create your meme: Make an image macro (a LOL Cat, Advice Dog, Philosoraptor, something completely original, anything) from scratch or with a meme generator — (memegenerator.net and quickmeme.com are good ones but there are many others — Google is your friend). Use your imagination, be creative but make sure what you create speaks to the any of the concepts, tools, or technologies we’ve focussed on in this class since the start of the term.

2. Write a blog post in which you a) embed your creation and b) reflect briefly on the choices you made and on the process of creating it. You can embed your image using code from the image generator site you used or by uploading it directly by clicking the “Upload/Insert” button above the box where you enter text to write your post. (Detailed instructions for working with images, including uploading an image from a URL are here.) If you run into trouble embedding, feel free to email me and to ask the B@B admins for help.

In your brief reflection, be sure to explain why you chose the image and topic you did and to discuss the process of creating the image macro briefly. What did you do? How did you do it? Why did you choose to do it that way?

This post is due any time before 12:00pm on Wednesday, November 21. Please post any questions in the comments section below.

Your Next Blogging Prompt (Two, Actually)

This time, you have a choice of one of two prompts. Choose one. Don’t do both. (Unless you really want to.)

1. How-To: Create a tutorial for doing something — anything you are good at. Give your reader step by step instructions for doing something, be it baking cookies, playing a game, making a computer program do something, using a smartphone app, knitting, finding information — something you know how to do well that you can teach others to do as well. It need not be related to technology or social media.

Your tutorial can be either written instructions  or a video of you going through the steps.  Videos need to be embedded in your blog post. If you choose the video option, write a few sentences explaining why you chose your subject matter. If you’re doing something computer related, use screenshots for your images. Instructions for taking screenshots are at the site linked below.

An example of a simple text tutorial that you can follow if you wish is my recent post on adding a CC license to your blog. Another simple one is here. Here’s another. There are lots of examples on the internet so do a google search for “tutorial if you’d like to see other examples. If appropriate to your topic and you choose to do a video, you can use Jing, a free screencast tool.

2. Adventures in Wikiing: Create a Wikipedia account and then do something on the site: create an article, edit an article, participate in a discussion on an article’s or user’s Talk page — whatever you want. Keep an eye on the changes or contributions you made (you can learn a lot by looking at the history of a post) and then write a few paragraphs describing what happened and reflecting upon it: what did you do on Wikipedia for this assignment? Why? What happened? Why? Did anyone respond or change what you did? Did someone comment on it on a Talk page? What are your impressions of this experience?

You may want to take screenshots of your changes or article in case they are deleted. Heres how to take a screenshot in Mac, Windows, and other devices.

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Remember to categorize your post “blogging assignments.” You may also wish to add tags to your post. And don’t forget to comment on at least 2 post by your classmates.

As always, post questions or comments in the comment section below.

This blogging assignment is due by Friday, 10/5.

Blog Post Prompt: 3D Printing Demo

Printing a classical bust with PLA, a corn starch based plastic.

For your next blog post, please respond to the 3D printing demo you saw in class yesterday. (If you missed class, take a look at this  and this one from Wired) Consider the implications of desktop 3D printing. Is this the next big thing? If so, why? Do yo want a 3D printer in your home? If so, what would you make with it and why? How might we make sense of 3D printing with what we’ve read for class so far? This post is due Friday by noon.

Baruch College students watching a 3D printer in action.

Next Blogging Prompt: Reflect on Your Writing Process

So here’s your next prompt:

Reflect on the process of writing the short paper due this Wednesday. Consider some of these questions in crafting your response. You don’t need to answer every single one in your post. rather, use them as a guide in preparing your post:

What were the steps you took in writing your paper? Did you create an outline or take notes? Why or why not? Did you write multiple drafts? Why did you choose to write on what you chose to write about? What choices did you make in constructing your argument? Was it difficult to write the piece? Why or why not? If it was difficult, what might have made it easier? Did writing the piece give you new insights into McLuhan? Why or why not? What might you say about the role of digital tools and media play in the composition of your paper?

Please feel free to post any questions about this assignment in the comments section of this post. Also, please be sure to comment on two other posts in response to this assignment. You can access your classmates’ sites by clicking on their names in the right sidebar of this site.

So You Have a Blog . . . (and Your First Prompt)

As I noted on the syllabus, the posting you do on your blog and the comments you leave on others’ posts count towards your participation grade. So, if you have not done so already, please create your own Blogs@Baruch site and share your URL with me. Instructions for doing this are here.

I am asking all of you to post regularly over the course of the semester. Please post a response to the prompt below by the end of the week. Keep in mind that your blog is your own corner of the web and you may post to it as often as you like.

I also ask that you read and comment substantively on others’ posts. The more you comment, the richer the blogging experience will be for everyone. I am not going to require you to comment a specific number of times but will suggest that you should try to comment at least two or three times a week. If you are someone who tends not to speak much during class discussion, commenting frequently is a great way to make up for that and ensure that your participation grade does not suffer. I’ll say more about commenting in class.

At this point, you’re probably wondering what it is you will be blogging about. Rightly so. So here’s our current blogging prompt:

The Prompt

For your first post, I’d like you to react to The Medium is the Massage. Find something in the text (a passage, an idea, an image, etc.) that struck you as particularly interesting or provocative or difficult and discuss it. Explain why it struck you the way it did. If you choose to write about a passage you didn’t understand, help your reader understand why you found it difficult. If you choose one that you found interesting or provocative or prophetic, be clear about why you responded to it the way you did.

Please feel free to include videos or images or other media in your post.

VERY IMPORTANT: Please be sure to select “blog assignments” in the list of categories on the right before you publish your post. If you don’t see that category, feel free to create it by clicking on “+ Add New Category.”

Before you write: Keep in mind that your post is not a term paper. It should be more exploratory and open ended (not to mention shorter). Your post’s goals are to 1) enable you and your readers to play around with new and interesting ideas and 2) to generate conversation rather than present a finished, polished argument. I don’t expect you to have all the answers, but to move towards finding them. Don’t be afraid to ask your readers questions.

I am happy to discuss post ideas with you so if you are stuck and don’t know what to post about, let me know and we can brainstorm together. If you have questions about the blogging assignment in general or any aspect of the prompt above, feel free to ask it in the comments to this post.

A Note on Blogging: A blog is a kind of online journal or diary. Blog posts are usually less formal and more conversational than the sort of academic writing you are typically asked to do. There is more room for creativity and experimentation here than in the typical academic paper in no small part due to the fact that you can easily incorporate various media — still images, video, or audio.

Your audience and purpose are different here as well. You’re writing not for a professor to whom you hope to demonstrate mastery of your subject matter, but sharing ideas with a broader audience — your “readership” — who, in this case consists of your classmates, me, and whoever happens to visit your site and read your post. Keep in mind that your writing to this blog is public — don’t be surprised if you get a comment form someone not enrolled in this class.

Try to have fun with your posts and comments. Keep in mind that your blog is your own space to publish stuff you create. Make it a home on the web. Take pride in it.