If you build it they will come! (50 pts)
NOTE: If you already have a WordPress blog of your own — self-hosted — you can use it as ePortfolio. You don’t have to use another blog on WordPress.com! However, you will have to structure your existing blog according to this assignment, which means you will have to separate your existing posts content from the content for your class work. Let me know if you have questions about that. In any case, many students prefer separating their class materials altogether, in which case I recommend starting a new blog and using that for your ePortfolio!
Once the blog site build put the following elements together:
- Make the first page on your blog, titled “Introduction” or something similar. It should contain an introduction of yourself to the rest of the Information Superhighway travelers. Remember, you are building your digital identity. Be careful what details you post about yourself. Tell your audience what this blog site is for, things you are particularly interested in, facts about yourself, maybe include a picture, links to web work you have already done (if any) outside of this class… that kind of thing.
- On sidebar/sidebars:
integrate with widgets:
1. your Twitter RSS feed,
2. your Diigo RSS feed,
3. and Flickr Gallery - Create a custom menu for your site containing the following menu items:
-> About/Introduction (linking to your Introduction page),
-> Cognitive Surplus linking to your Reflection 8 post — Conclusion on Cognitive Surplus.
-> Course Reflection linking to your course reflection post. See Course Reflection assignment for details.
-> Connected Scoop.It page. Here is a tutorial on how: http://feedback.scoop.it/knowledgebase/articles/653578-how-can-i-integrate-a-scoop-it-topic-to-my-wordpre
Instead of using pages, you will be using Categories to create Cognitive Surplus and Course Reflection menu items. Create categories first (for example, “conclusion” and “reflection”), assign the appropriate category to your posts, then add these categories to your blog’s menu. You can find a full tutorial on how to set it up at http://tinyurl.com/osospxp.
IMPORTANT: In order to take full advantage of all WordPress features including categories make sure you select WP Admin from at the bottom of the menu on the left:
The Categories choices will appear on the right bar:
You don’t have to stop here! But for this assignment, these are the elements I would like you to include as part of the portfolio for your class.
Submit the link to your site through this assignment and do not hesitate to contact me for help!
Reflection on Cognitive Surplus (25 pts)
On your ePortfolio blog, post a reflection about your conclusions for Cognitive Surplus. Use the following questions to guide you through reflection process:
- How would you rate this book on a scale from 1-5, with 1 being “horrible!” and 5 being “amazing!”?
- What are the three most important things you learned from (or read about it) “Cognitive Surplus”?
- What are three things you disagree with?
- Would you recommend this book to people interested in technology and culture? Why or why not?
After you make your reflection post, comment on at least one other student’s post.