A Few Tips on This Blogging Activity

I know that going to the internet can be demanding in terms of time and money. So, I've come up with a few tips to help you go about your regular blogging tasks:

1. If you are the type of writer who needs time to think before you can scribble down your thoughts,  I suggest you write down what you want to blog about before typing or encoding it. That way, you don't eat up too much of your internet time composing your thoughts. It will also give you time to edit your post before it becomes readable to the public.

2. First things first. Don't open any other social networks (like friendster or Facebook) until you are done with your blogging tasks ( you have read and posted blogs/comments). That way, you don't get distracted and spend too much time in the internet without having accomplished your blog tasks. Blogging will not consume more than an hour. So you are only to spend say 20 pesos per week on this blogging tasks. That is if you don't do other stuffs in the internet other than blogging.


3. Stay connected with classmates. If others have gone to the internet and checked on my post ahead of you,  it would be smart to inquire. That way you can prepare what to write about and manage your time wisely.

I guess that is all for now.
Remember that you do have assignments in our class apart from blogging.
Blogging is similar to journal writing only that it is more interactive and your writing may be viewed by many people.
It is more or less permanent.
Whatever you've written here, though it can be edited, stays in your blogsite for as long as you want. And years from now, people, including yourself, might still be able to read your blogs.   

Where are your blogs?

I appreciate many of you who tell me how I can find or access your blogs by providing me the links (to do that, you copy the URL address, i.e. http://writinginthediscipline.blogspot.com, and paste it on your post), while the others follow themselves so their blog sites appear among the blogs they follow and I can easily click on them.  Now for the others whose blogs I can't find,  please  make sure that I do.

Your blogging task this week is to update your blogs (learning blogs and tasks). It means, if you haven't created a personal blog site yet, you must create your personal blog site. If you haven't posted blogs, do all the blog tasks you haven't done. If you have done those I've mentioned, comment on at least five (5) of your classmates' blogs.

The next blog task is for you to blog about your thoughts on Christmas or the happenings during this season. Read what the others blogged about and comment on at least five (five) blogs on the same topic.

Make sure that you have at least 10 comments (my comments not included in the counting) on your personal blog  before 2010.

So keep blogging and encourage others to follow you.

subject predicate video

Prof. Ferdinand Nakila who is teaching integration of technology in secondary English classrooms found this funny video on writing a complete sentence. It is one criterion in making a thesis statement. Watch and learn.

Learning Blog

I am happy to read all your blogs and I am looking forward to reading more of your learning blogs. This blogging task enables me to see how you, my students, are coping with our classroom learning. It also enables me to know you better as individual learners.  I like to hear feedback from you and I am also encouraging you to give feedbacks to your classmate's post. You may agree or add something to what they've posted or you may also disagree and post your opinion on the matter.

I hope you will find this interactive blogging not only enjoyable but also enriching in your learning how to write in English. Remember that one does not solely write for the sake of writing. One writes for others to read and readers write about what they've read. Reading and writing always go hand in hand.

So keep on reading and writing blogs.

extending the deadline

I just had a full five-day travel and am now back in the comforts of my home.

I delivered a paper - a scholarly study on the effects of two types of grammar instruction on students' accuracy. There were other presenters as well both local and international. I was with three other IIT instructors from the department of English. The tri-international conference was both enlightening and invigorating. Thank God for the safe and successful travel.

So I am back. And I am very tired.

I am happy to know many of you, my students. are working on the assignments I gave. To give you enough time, I am extending the deadline on the collection of samples of the different methods of paragraph development till 4p.m. Friday this week, December 11, 2009. All other assignments on the workbook, if ever I have assigned any, will be due on our first meeting this week.

I hope this has been a helpful announcement.

Something to Keep you Busy

Like I announced in class, I shall not be able to meet you beginning today, Wednesday, until Friday, as I will be traveling to Manila to present my paper on language teaching in an international conference. Should some of you chanced upon  visiting the classroom or the office, you may see Ms. Lua Burias whom I have requested to give you the details re the next assignment on the workbook. Outlines on yellow paper may be submitted to her as well.

Why should I keep you busy? Writing is a skill and good writing does not develop overnight. Just as you never learn to swim by being in a lecture class or shoot a ball by only watching the game, so you will never improve your writing by just listening to a lecture in writing or reading about it. Organizing ideas, for example, is something you have to get used to before you can actually come up with a very unified and coherent composition. Informal writing is usually easier to organize since it is free flowing but formal writing, especially technical writing, takes time to organize and requires more precise and appropriate words. Thus, you need to immerse yourself into writing.

To familiarize yourself with the different methods of paragraph development (please see your course workbook on this), work with your partner (same partner/s on outlining) and cut out authentic samples of different methods of paragraph development. Paste each sample on a short bond paper, label it and cite the source where you got the sample. Please use APA style for citation. Make a title page for your collection and write the following criteria for rating your work:

20% correct reference citation
20% creativity
20% authentic samples (one or more of the same on each page)
20% ability to complete the task on time
20% neatness
-----------------
100%
 
Deadline is on Tuesday or Wednesday next week, Dec 8 or 9, 2009.

A few reminders: Blog tasks have to be done online. When you make a cluster, right click on it and save as picture file so you can upload it on your site.

Enjoy the tasks and keep blogging.  Merry Christmas everyone.