Writ 121 Online Activities for Week 7

(Tip: the tables below are to help find your way around these assignments and to other pages and places related to the course.  I suggest you read through the page first and use the links when you need to review a specific section.)

As your Syllabus states, ten percent of your grade is based on the online activities  and practice writing that we'll call Online Activities/Writing Exercises.

You might also review "Why are we doing online activities?" on the chat session page.

For week 7, we're going to include

Blackboard Discussion Board online conversation

a chat session

an Online Activity letter.

Do note that the order I present these may vary from week to week, depending on what we're doing. 

Step 1: Post a response to the Blackboard Discussion Board:

Use the week 7 online conversation forum.

As your Calendar notes, you should have read Gavin James Campbell's "I'm just a Louisiana Girl: The Southern World of Britney Spears" (244-56) and Gary Burns's "Marilyn Manson and the Apt Pupils of Littleton" (278-83).

Please post a response to the articles on the Blackboard .

1. Start off by picking out one point that Campbell or Burns makes. You can
   • quote the point, using quotation marks to show us you're using his words or 
   • paraphrase, using your own words to express the ideas he is stating.
   • In either case, note which page number it's on in parentheses after the quotation or paraphrase.

Here's the catch--you cannot choose the same passage that another class member has chosen.

No surprise, huh?

2. Explain what you think about the point the author makes.

You can explain why you

• agree with the point,
• disagree with it,
• question whether it is so with yourself or people you know,
• extrapolate what he says to a different set of citizens--

• whatever catches your attention or imagination.

• Notice that my request includes explain.

• In other words, you need to point out something specific from your observations about

• music,
• your life,
• your friends,
• connections to the other author we read,
• other articles or books you've read to support your response.

• Also, please avoid saying that everything the writer says is stupid, unnecessary, insignificant, incomprehensible or such. Or that the writer must be brain dead, an idiot, a fool, and so on. In other words, avoid personal attacks.

• No, I'm not concerned about Campbell or Burns and whether or not he would feel insulted.

• However, insulting an author in a public, academic setting can indirectly insult those in your audience who may agree with the writer. 

• Consequently, such responses are conversation stoppers, not to mention really boring.

• If you think such, that's fine. But for this discussion, keep it to yourself.

• Instead, pick out a specific point the author makes and show us--with the type of support noted above--that what he says in that point is unnecessary, insignificant, incomprehensible or such.
• You will more likely be heard if you treat the authors--and consequently your audience--as reasonable, thoughtful people. They may be mistaken, but they have good reasons for thinking as they do.

 Step 2: Post another response to the Blackboard Discussion Board:

Again, use the week 7 online conversation forum.

As your Calendar notes, you should have read one other article.

• First: Summarize the article in Common Culture in chapter 4 that we're not all reading or an article from an outside source on popular music.

• Your summary should be complete in expressing the supporting points that the author uses in backing up his or her thesis. Therefore, it should be a substantial paragraph.

• Second: Evaluate the article, explaining what you found effective, what you found ineffective, and why.

• Third: Respond to the article, explaining your views on the topic based on your experience and observations.

Here's a link to Google, if you want to search the web for an article:

And click here to try several others. Kartoo is particularly cool, though if you have a slow connection it might not work very well.

Step 3: Also in the Blackboard, share a web URL about a musical artist that you really enjoy.

• And briefly tell us what is interesting about the site.

• Below is an example:

• Here's one of my favorite bands, Yes: http://www.yesworld.com/

And do include http:// before the web address. That way, Blackboard will make a link so we can click on it and view the page if we want to.

Step 4: Read other comments about the music articles and to them.

• You can agree, disagree, question, qualify what your fellow class members say.

• However, you also need to explain why you think so, again with support from your own experiences and observations, or from the authors we read this week.

You will need to respond to other class members at least twice to fulfill attendance requirements. 

Though you may enjoy responding more frequently.

And you will likely find yourself writing a stronger letter with fuller participation.

Step 5: Attend a scheduled chat session (a schedule is available under chat in the table of contents above):

Use the Blackboard Chat.

However, I suggest for a back up that you all have at your disposal AOL Instant Messenger. If you don't already have it, you can download it at http://www.aim.com .

You do not need to be a member of AOL to use Instant Messenger and it's free.

• Email me your user name, and I'll add it to the Scheduled Chat Times page, if you haven't done so already.

Again, your chat will be moderated by a class member rather than by me. See the scheduled chat session page in the table of contents above.

• If you moderator doesn't show up on time, decide among yourselves who will moderate; whoever does will earn extra points on his or her  activity letter, as long as it is mentioned.
  • See the chat session page for moderator duties.

1. Share a song that has been important to you in some way during your life. It can be a song from ten years ago or ten days.

2. Share ideas you're considering for essay three.

• If you have a working thesis, share it with your chat partners. And ask them if it is SWWC or not.

Step 6: Write Online Activity letter:

Tell me about your experience with the online conversation on the Blackboard discussion board and your chat session discussing our reading, work, and leisure.

And choose one response on the discussion board from another class member that you think was particularly interesting, thoughtful, or insightful, and explain why you think so.

• It can either be an initial response, or a reply.
• Make sure to include the class member's name.

I would also like you to include quotations from the Blackboard discussion board and/or your chat session.  You should be able to copy text from Netscape or Internet Explorer from the Edit pull down menu.

• And make sure to use names, so it is clear whom you are talking about.

Step 7: Email online activities letter

• These letters will be e-mailed to me at dholt@lcc.edu, single spaced, though I suggest generating the letter first in your word processor as a TXT file, then pasting into or attaching onto your e-mail as a safety precaution (plus you can use your spell check, which I strongly encourage you to do).

• If you want to keep any formatting, such as italics or bold, save your files as rich text format (RTF) and attach to your email.

• Please use the following format for the Subject heading of your e-mail writing exercises:

• writ121weekX--topic

• Example: writ121week7--activity letter

Note that writ121week7 is all one word. Please do the same so that my email software will know where to put your work.

And--do not send the letter and prewriting for essay 3 under the same email. Otherwise, I may miss one or the other.

These letters/writing exercises are due by Saturday midnight, 2/28/04.

• It is true that you have a 24 hour grace period for the letter (see the syllabus about our late policy) but this doesn't extend to the online activities. The discussion board activities and chat cannot be completed past Saturday midnight. Otherwise, you will be counted absent.

Also, I will be available during my office hours by phone, in person, through email, and on AOL Instant Messenger (my user name: profdan1032)  if you want to talk about the assignments. (If you want to meet at some other time, contact me and we can arrange such.)

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Created 10/6/1997
Revised 24 Feb 2004 12:28 PM -0500