Today in class I will be briefly reviewing project weblogs with project groups/individuals to give you some feedback. You should also be doing some examination of your project weblogs yourself. Some things to look for:  read more »

• Two entries per week from each participant, beginning with the week we returned from break. (At this point that means around 8 or 10 entries per person, including specific assignments.)
• Entries should be your original writing. Quotes and sources must be indicated. I'm mostly interested in seeing that you are "thinking out loud" with blog entries.

To begin our discussion of participatory journalism, please take 10 minutes at the beginning of class to write a brief entry (about two paragraphs) answering the question, "What is journalism?" In your response, you might consider things such as: why (or whether) journalism is important; how we rely on journalism (or not); who is a journalist, and why, and so on.

Submit your entry on your Wordpress weblog, and leave a link to your entry as a comment on this entry. (If you do not finish your entry in class, be sure to go back and finish it later.)

In class today we looked at a few weblogs, examining their characteristics, content, and so forth. We also looked at a couple of tools (Wordpress.com and Google Blog Search) that can be used to search for weblogs.

Before class Thursday, please complete the following assignment:  read more »

1. Locate a weblog that is interesting to you. It doesn't matter what the topic is. It can be newsy, humorous, personal, or something else. The important things are that it is a weblog, and that you think the weblog is interesting.

This is intended as an in-class assignment. If you do not finish in-class, however, please complete the assignment before the beginning of the next class session.

In class today we will begin the process of setting up a weblog at Wordpress.com. To begin, each student will set up an individual weblog. The purpose is to introduce you to the Wordpress system.

Wordpress will become the platform you will use for your group projects, but before you can run a group site with Wordpress, you need to know the basics of Wordpress individual sites.  read more »

Today in class we will have time to work on your project sites. Our focus today will be on building your community of readers by promoting your site. The internet is a big place and you will need to put some attention into building your profile in order to make it easier for people to find your site.  read more »

• From your WordPress dashboard, look at “blog stats” to get an idea of who is using your site.

Two reminders about your group weblog projects:

1. Each member of the group must write a minimum of one substantial entry per week. Be sure you are logged in under your own account when you do this.
2. I noticed a few people now have entries on their individual weblogs (not the group weblogs) that sound like what you were planning to write on the group weblog. Please check to be sure the writing you intend for the group weblog is actually appearing on the group weblog, not your individual weblog.

Post your links to your group projects and the names of your group members as a comment on this entry.

Your NITs final project assignment is to create and run a group weblog on a topic of your choice using Wordpress. Think of this as an opportunity to create an online publication on any topic that interests you.

Once your weblog is set up, each group member will be responsible for posting one entry to the weblog each week for the length of the project. (Each entry should be approximately two paragraphs of your own writing.)  read more »

In class today we will work with your Wordpress accounts to set up a group weblog site. Please go to your Wordpress dashboard. We will set up practice group sites in preparation for your final group projects.

For your group projects (due at the end of the term) you will form groups of between three and four students each. Your project will be to set up a group weblog which you will use to explore an issue of your choice (think of it as an online publication). More details will be posted later this week.

Tasks for today's class:  read more »

• Set up the group weblog

We are beginning to look at weblogs and also to use your Wordpress weblogs. For next class, please locate one weblog we have not discussed in class and write a two or three paragraph review of that weblog.

The weblog you choose can be on any topic or in any style. Your review should tell us something substantial about the weblog and also provide some evaluation of the weblog. (For example, tell us whether and why you find it interesting or not, useful or not, entertaining or not, and so on.)  read more »

Post your links to your group projects and the names of your group members as a comment on this entry.

Your NITs final project assignment is to create and run a group weblog on a topic of your choice using Wordpress. Think of this as an opportunity to create an online publication on any topic that interests you.

Once your weblog is set up, each group member will be responsible for posting one entry to the weblog each week for the length of the project. (Each entry should be approximately two paragraphs of your own writing.)  read more »