This semester has gone by really fast, and now it's time to showcase your work. Each member of the group will turn in a paper and do a presentation in front of the class.
Here are some details/notes/tips for the blog papers/presentations.
Blog Paper
The blog paper should be two pages (minimum) in double space in a standard font and size. Do not adjust the margins to make a short paper look longer.
Although it's fine to write in first person for a "process" paper, this is a formal assignment. The paper should have structure, flow, and reflect solid writing skills including good mechanics. If you aren't using paragraphs, then you need to go back and proofread the paper and work on the organization of your materials.
In terms of content, simply overview your blog project from start to finish. Explain your basic concept, the ideas you incorporated over the course of the semester, things that went well, things that proved to be challenging, and what you learned by blogging this semester.
The paper should "stand alone." In other words, I should be able to hand the paper to another professor or student on campus, and he or she should be able to understand your blog project based on reading the overview and examples.
Blog Presentation
The blog presentation is a 5 minute (4.5 to 7 minutes expected) opportunity to share your work with the class.
Most students have taken Public Speaking. For those who may not have been through that class already (or for anyone needing a brush up), remember the following:
1. Do not simply read your paper for your presentation. This is akin to shoveling content online. You need a different format for a different forum. Create a presentation; don't read a class paper. And, don't write a script for this part of the project.
2. On the other hand, don't just "wing it." Plan, prepare, and practice. Generally an outline is critical to having an organized presentation with good flow. Work on an introduction, a keyword outline, and a conclusion.
3. Relax and talk to the audience. Know what topics you plan to cover and use keywords to stay on track, but speak directly to the audience. Don't attempt to memorize the presentation. That is a lot of work, and the overall impact is typically not good when a student gives a canned speech.
What Should Be Included in the Presentation?
Each presentation will be unique, because each member of the class is unique, and each blog is unique.
Typically, students briefly go over the blog concept and then address some of the special features used to make their blog stand out.
Feel free to talk about things you've done in terms of your blog that worked well and also things that proved to be challenging. In most cases, bloggers find success with some ideas and then have other ideas that don't work out as well. Share the experiences - both the good and the bad.
Previously, here are some things that students have shared about their blogging experiences:
1. One student went into the stats section and showed trends and how those trends related to her use of social media.
2. One of our previous class bloggers secured a $1000 donation for a mission group she was writing about. The organization was struggling financially, and a reader from Canada made the donation after reading about the plight of the children featured in the blog.
3. Several students found minor glitches in the Blogger platform and explained how they were able to work around these issues.
4. A couple of bloggers focused on monetization. They took the group into AdSense and discussed how they were able to use keywords (not in a black hat fashion) to find the correct audience to make their blogs pay off financially.
5. Sometimes bloggers focus on the future and discuss plans to maintain blogs moving forward. This is not required in the class, but some writers have continued to post on their blogs and have stopped by to give me updates (even after graduation).
From the examples, I think you can see that there are many ways to tackle this project. The bottom line is that you want to bring value to the class and your fellow bloggers. You want to showcase your hard work over the course of the semester and share what you have learned.
NOTE: Do not stop blogging if you are scheduled for an early paper/presentation. Continue the blog through the last week of classes. I hope some classes members will continue after that. Keep me posted if you do.
