Important Dates

• October 8: Draft of P2 due in class for Peer Review
• October 13, 15, or 17: Presentation Days (no grace period)
• October 17: P2: Interrogate the Interface web essay due
• October 24: P2: Interrogate the Interface deadline (end of grace period)

Today’s Work

Today, again, you will have most of the class session to work on Project 2. I’ll visit with each one of you to see where you are in the project and answer any questions that I can.

At the end of the session, please write a blog post that talks about the work you have done on Project 2 so far. Use the “What I Did” and “Why I Did It” headings.

Additional Navigation Techniques

Some of you asked about navigation among the pages for your web essay, so I wanted to provide some additional techniques you might use. Check the Project 2 Navigation Options for more details.

Homework/Schedule

W, 10/8: You’ll exchange Project 2 drafts and complete peer review in class.

F, 10/10: Fall Break. I’ll be at the 2014 Maryland Conference on Academic and Professional Writing, so response to your emails may be slow.

M, W, F 10/13–10/17: Presentations in Class. You will write a short blog post for each day, based on the presentations that took place that day. Remember to send me the URL to your presentation by midnight the day before you present so that I can set up the presentation links for the session.

You will sign up for your interface for Project 2, and then we will return to the analysis we were working on Friday.

Important Dates

• October 1: Sign up for a presentation time slot
• October 8: Draft of P2 due for Peer Review
• October 13, 15, or 17: Presentation Days
• October 17: P2 web essay due
• October 24: P2 deadline (end of grace period)

Choosing Your Interface

Once everyone appears to have settled in, I will ask you to log into your VT Gmail account. Doing so will mean you’re signed into Google Docs too and can comment on the sign up sheet. Once everyone is logged in, I will open up the Project 2 Sign-Up, and you will add your names. Remember you are governed by the Honor Code.

Analyzing WordPress.com

We will go back to the Writer/Designer Analysis Questions on WordPress.com from Friday, and work through the details. My goal is to model the process of gathering information that you can follow as you work on Project 2.

Today’s Blog Post

Write a post for today that talks about the tool you will focus on for Project 2. Explain what tool you will work on, and why you chose it.

Please focus on why it was one of your choices, what drew you to it, and why you want to explore it. Please do NOT spend this post whining about how it wasn’t your first choice or similiar misfortunes.

Homework

For Wednesday, the 24th, read all of the example web essays included in the Project 2 assignment. Be ready to talk about how they work, what they do well, and lessons you can take away as you work on your own project.

For Friday, the 26th, read the Introduction to Memes and explore some of the links on the page. We’ll discuss memes and make some in class.

It’s Talk Like a Pirate Day. Get started by brainstorming some thoughts about WordPress.Com on Padlet. Once everyone has had a chance to have a say, we will move to a more structured analysis of WordPress.com. At the end, I shall have some pirate booty for ye!

Analysis of WordPress.com

You all have experience with WordPress.com. For our purposes today, you need to think of WordPress.com’s interface and how the site works (and not at your particular blog). As you think about WordPress.com, try to separate what the overall site does and what the particular theme you chose does. They are different things.

We will consider these ideas:

1. Think through the rhetorical situation for WordPress.com: Audience, Purpose, Context, Author, and Genre.

2. Analyze the design choices for the tool: Emphasis, Contrast, Organization, Alignment, and Proximity.

3. Identify the modes of communication that WordPress.com uses as part of its interface: Linguistic, Visual, Spatial, Aural, and Gestural. You can also identify modes that WordPress.com enables you to use.

4. Determine the affordances and constraints of WordPress.com.

To make things a bit simpler, I have created a form based on the Writer/Designer Analysis Questions that you can use to gather ideas and make sure you cover everything. We will try to collaborate in one document today. I’ll have a blank copy of the form for you to copy and use next week as you begin analyzing your tools.

Homework

For Monday, the 22nd, go through the options for Project 2 and have at least three choices ready for the beginning of the session on Monday. The selection is first come, and only one person per tool. If you would like to choose a tool that is not on the list, email me the name of the tool by noon on Sunday, September 21 (to give me a chance to make sure it will work for the project).

For Wednesday, the 24th, read all of the example web essays included in the Project 2 assignment. Be ready to talk about how they work, what they do well, and lessons you can take away as you work on your own project.

For Friday, the 26th, I hope to talk about memes and meme generators. More information next week!