Description
The purpose of this assignment is to promote reflection and consideration of course content throughout the semester. Using blogs allows you to gain experience with the tool as well as “think out loud” about course content. Let your blogging be a reflection of your own curiosity and ideas about our course. Follow your thoughts where they go. Work toward finding your “blogging voice.” Writing in the first person is encouraged! Ponder, for example, how the concepts you are encountering might inform your practice as a librarian or information professional. With the guided topics listed on the syllabus, your blogging reflections can ultimately become drafts of various sections of your research paper.
Requirements
You will use your blog on the Community Blogging platform for School of Information students in this class. Five posts will include substantial content, citations, and reflective thinking. Two posts – an introduction and final reflection – will count as part of participation for 200. Blog posts #2-#6 should form the basis of parts of your research paper and are worth 20 points.
Note: You will be writing on the open Web within the community blogging site. Be mindful of balanced, well-articulated arguments, statements and sharing. This assignment also serves as a way for students to find their professional, online voice.
Blog Posts
Students will author seven blog posts of 300 words minimum. The other posts have a guided topic for students to explore. For example, you will write a post describing the information community you have chosen as your focus for the semester that may become the foundation of your description in the final research paper. Other posts require you to detail further insights about this chosen community, such as use of emerging technologies, the community’s perception of information services, and the community’s information seeking behaviors. Most posts will require research. Be sure to cite your sources at the end of your post. Link out to other URLS when appropriate and add images or embed media when appropriate.
Blog Post #1: Introduce yourself. Share whatever you’d like about your goals in our school and the profession as well as your background and interests. (Participation)
Blog Post #2: Describe the Information Community you are choosing to explore for the course and the research paper. Utilize Durrance and Fisher’s definition and characteristics of Information Communities to describe your choice to the class.
Blog Post #3: Report on the information-seeking behavior and information needs of chosen community. Utilize theories covered in the lectures and assigned readings. Cite the research you’ve found so far concerning your chosen community.
Blog Post #4: Summarize one of the peer-reviewed articles relating to your information community you’ve found. Briefly describe the author’s credentials, the scope of the study, the methodology, and findings of the piece. What insights will inform your literature review and research paper?
Blog Post #5: Report on an ethical or legal issue pertaining to your information community. Use your research and the modules on ethical issues and intellectual freedom as resources to define and reflect on the issue.
Blog Post #7: Personal reflection on information communities. What are you taking away from your explorations and research? What will inform your practice as an information professional? (Participation)
Submission:
Because we use feeds and readers for this section of 200, individual post URL submissions are not required. At the end of the semester, you will submit your blog URL to Canvas for grading. Blogging is a cumulative grade. The rubric is below:
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Effective use of blog mechanism, enhanced with links and media over the course of the semester
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Blog elements demonstrate strong synthesis of your research via information gathered about the community from the literature.
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Blog elements always contain a strong personal response to issues raised in the readings, always include analysis of readings, and always supply references. Blog elements demonstrate the ability to personally reflect on course content.
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Five blog entries are submitted on time, other entries may be included.
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Delivery mechanism is error free (text, graphics, etc)
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Total Points: 20
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