Blog assignment 3

Dear students,

Thanks for yet another round of stimulating reading! Once again, we encourage everyone to read a lot more peer entries than the ones you actually comment on. Below is the third and final blog assignment for English for Science & Technology I:

• Write a reflection (a coherent line / coherent lines of thought) on the book that you've chosen to read for this course (at least 100 pages of fact or fiction published in English, remember).
• The starting point for your reflection could be anything in or about the book that has had some sort of impact on your thinking, whether it’s an overriding theme or a particular passage, line, detail, aspect etc. Taking it from there, you're welcome to extend your reflection far beyond the confines of the actual book (through parallels and contrasts, for instance).
• Your reflection should not take the form of a review (in other words, we're not asking you to assess and rate the book and/or its author[s]) but you may want to start off with a very brief summary of/introduction to what we need to know about the book to better understand and appreciate your reflection.
• If you decide to quote something from the novel you must quote it verbatim, use quotation marks (or a block quotation) and provide the page number.
• Word limit: 500 (Use >80% reflection and <20% summary/introduction as a guideline.)

• Posting deadline: Wednesday 22 December
• Tip: think of the reflection as a golden opportunity to ask intriguing questions that you’re not responsible for answering. :-)

Enjoy your reading and subsequent blogging!

Andy

Time for more peer-to-peer feedback

Dear students,

Once you've completed and posted your own blog assignment 2 entry, browse those of your fellow students and then, no later than Thursday 2 December, complete another round of peer-to-peer feedback according to the 2+1 system prescribed for the first round. (Please note that new next-door neighbours may have emerged since then and that you should go by the current list.)

Keep sharing your thoughts and opinions out there and Susan and I will keep reading them - with gusto!

Andy

Blog assignment 2

Dear students,

It's time for the second out of three blog assignments:

- Point your browser to http://www.storyofstuff.com/,
- click on the ► button in the video clip box,
- give Annie Leonard's presentation 20 minutes of your undivided attention,
- comment freely on what you've just heard and seen (as a whole or in part, and in as much detail as you like), and
- post your entry by Thursday 18 November.

Enjoy your viewing and blogging,

Andy

Next, read and react to peer entries!

Dear students,

Thanks for the interesting thoughts you've shared with us so far - keep them coming!

Your next e-mission is to browse blog entries on the "snooping" theme via the 'Blogging students' section on the right and then comment on the thoughts of your next-door neighbours (that is, the one listed right above you and the one listed right below you) + at least one other listed student of your choice. You're free to comment on whatever aspect(s) you want (including linguistic ones if you feel competent/confident enough) in as much detail as you like.

If your next-door neighbour(s) should fail to meet the posting deadline, it's no longer your duty (but still your right) to comment on their work. As long as you comment on at least three blog assignment 1 entries in total by Thursday 21 October, you can safely choose to ignore overdue ones.

Susan and I will take turns reading all your blog entries + comments even if we're unable to actually mark and comment on anything besides your regular coursework.

Enjoy your reading and commenting,

Andy

Blog assignment 1

Dear students,

For the first blog entry assignment you're asked to read and reflect (that is, develop a line of thought that the rest of us can follow) on the article 'Snooping Bosses' and then comment freely on the tendency towards closer tracking, monitoring and surveillance of people in contemporary society (not only in the workplace) and on the issues of security and safety versus integrity on the part of both the “snoopers” and the ones being “snooped on”. There’s no upper or lower word limit for your blog entry, but you should post it by Thursday 7 October if you want to be guaranteed some feedback on your thoughts from fellow students.

'Snooping Bosses’ is meant to inspire/provoke you to think about the issues it touches upon before you start typing away, but you’re of course more than welcome to take your blog entry far beyond the scope of the article. You could for instance reflect on the relationship between the security industry and our fears/suspicions, or discuss to what extent a member of the public can claim the right to privacy and anonymity outside his or her home.

Finally, don’t forget that blogging is a golden opportunity to ask intriguing questions that you’re not necessarily responsible for answering. :-)

Susan and I look forward to reading your blog entries,

Andy

How to get started

Dear students,

This is just a quick entry to start the ball rolling. If you already have a blog account up and running, please send its address as a comment on this blog entry (don't forget to state your name unless it's evident from your user account) and I'll link to it in the 'Blogging students' section on the right. Thus, by the time you're looking to read and comment on each other's blog entries, these will only be one click away.

If you don’t have a blog account yet, I suggest you create one at www.blogger.com (especially if you already have a Google account) or ask your fellow students if they can recommend a particular blog host. Whatever your choice, please make sure that I can link to your blog and that your readers are allowed to post comments on your blog entries.

That's all for now. See you online and in class,

Andy