Tisha+Williams

**Unfamiliar Genre Project Proposal**

 * //Genre: Blogs//**


 * Reason:** I would like to look at blogs because I believe that __students__ are using technology at a much faster rate then teachers. __Students__ use facebook, twitter, and other sources of social networking and I believe the more that I understand about blogs, the more I can relate to my __students__. __Students__ seem to write down their feelings and I believe blogging could be a way to get more students interested in writing. My showing them my own blog, it could encourage them to try a new medium and explore their own writing in their own personal space.

I know that there are literally __thousands__ of different blogs out there ranging from teenagers sharing their feelings to adults writing reviews. I would like to look at blogs that teachers do and to see the different ways that teachers using blogging.

//** Annotated Bibliography **//

http://www.chrisg.com/what-type-of-blogger-are-you/. Web. February __2012__. This website looks at the different types of blogs that you can write. It goes over the different types and gives example of these types of blogs. This is a good __start__ to show what is out there in the __form__ of blogs. In each category there could be break downs to further show more specific types of blogs.

http://girlsgodgoodlife.blogspot.com/. Web. February __2012__ This website is a blog for teenage to early 20's girls. It is an inspirational blog with real thoughts from authors and speakers who have an interest in the well being of teens. It is written directly for this population of girls. This is a good example of a blog directed at teenage girls. It has a lot of information for teenagers to __deal__ with issues they are going through. There is an inspirational __quote__ and message each day for girls. There are blogs on books that are being read for members and also open discussion groups.

http://decoder.drugfree.org/. Web February 2012 This website is a blog on the issue of breaking down teen culture, __substance abuse__, and parenting. The site deals with issues that teeangers are faced with and how parents __deal__ with this generation of kids. This blog is really dedicated to parents and how to raise teenagers. The topics that are covered give awareness to parents on what the teenage population is doing and what they are faced with in their lives.

http://www.teachingblogaddict.com/2011/06/retelling-fun.html February 2012 This website is dedicated to teacher blogs. There are several different types of blogs on this website that deal with school issues that teachers have. I think this is a good place for beginning teachers who would like to blog. There were several good blogs here that follow my users guide.

http://www.edweek.org/tm/section/blogs/index.html. Web February 2012 This website is a great website to show the different type of blogs that teachers are doing. It has many good example of blogs by teachers for teachers, blogs by teachers for students, and blogs by teachers for family and administration. One particular blog on this website caught my attention and was more geared to the type of blog that I would like to do: http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/charting_my_own_course/

//** USERS GUIDE **//

Blog writing is very much like journalism: you are writing for a specific audience and you must grab their attention and keep your reader interested in reading further rather than drift off to another site.

These days blogs come in every shape and size but the principals of what makes a great blog are common throughout. Effective writing is the key; the ability to entertain and engage your audience is what will keep people coming back to your blog week after week and will __help__ you more than anything else to build a substantial following.

//** 7 Tips for How to Write a Blog: **// 1. Express your opinions clearly and do not waste words. __Online__ users have short attention spans. 2. Make sure that you have something worth while to say. Try to update your blog once a week but make sure you have something to say. 3. Give each blog post a short and punch headline; this allows users to get an immediate understanding of what the blog is about and should draw them in to read more. Snappy headlines grab attention. 4. Make life easy for your readers by breaking up your article into short paragraphs so users can scan quickly through the content. Using bullet points is also a great idea. 5. Find a style of writing that reflects your personality and be consistent in how you use it. 6. Keywords are individual words and phrases which summarize your blog. Key words are important because search __engines__ use them to determine the topics being blogged about. 7. Make sure to check spelling and grammar, nothing will put your readers off as much as a poor spelling and bad grammar. 8. Fun, supportive pictures draw in the readers interest.

While writing in this genre I knew the direction that I wanted to go, I wanted to reach both students that would read my blog and also anyone else that would stumble upon it. By following some of the guidelines for a good blog I believe that I draw in my reader by using a a snappy introduction and also by using bold headings that stand out. I think that my blog reflects my personality and people (students) who would read this would get that I like to use humor to get to serious conversations. I enjoyed reading blogs and trying to come up with an idea for my first blog. Finding a templet to use was very helpful in the process and made the writing more enjoyable. This process took place over the two weeks and I spent probably fifteen hours or so exploring the genre and writing in it. I think that students creating a blog would be a good lesson and they could use it in so many different ways. Because I used the Wiki page, I do not have to many edits to see because I did them on here. I do have a final link to the blog that I did and you can see the different ways I changed it from the original posting.

//**(This is my first draft)**// //**My first blog:**//

//** Bathroom Blues..... **//

I have been subbing in many different schools this past year and I began to think that the schools with the best-kept bathrooms seemed to be the schools where students were most successful. Bathrooms and student success, how in the world can this even be possible?! I was reading a book recently by Tom Peters entitled, //The Little Big Things: 163 Ways To Pursue Excellence,// and a quote came to mind in regards to this very subject, "To me, a clean and attractive and even imaginative loo is the best...." Peters talks about how the best organizations have the cleanest loos. Well then it makes perfect sense why the best schools have the best restrooms.

In my classroom I want to make sure that my students understand the importance of organization. To be successful most, but not all people need to find a way to organize their lives. Teaching students the importance of cleaning up after themselves and being responsible is just as much a part of my job as is teaching them literature and how that equates into their every day life.

**Take the Plunge** Teachers, students, staff go to your school bathrooms and see what it says about your school. How would a visitor view your school by the appearance of your restrooms? If we let the little things go what does this say about our school? It starts with the small things and works up to the big things. We, as a community of educators, need to make sure we start from the bottom up and impress upon the students the pride that comes with being a part of our school. Students take pride in your school, the better it looks the better you will feel about it. Next time you go to write "Reggie is hot, call him at 555-5555 for a good time" remember do you want your name in the boys stall and what does that say about the person you are representing yourself as.

**Classroom Strategies** I think in the classroom, we as teachers need to make sure we are showing our students how to maintain an efficient classroom. I have seen countless classrooms left with empty Cheetos bags, water bottles, and candy wrappers and doesn't that all just make you a little bit hungry right now. These same classrooms seems to be the ones that the students are not engaged and are off doing their own thing. Teachers need to get students to understand the importance of responsibility and that starts off with the small stuff; throw away your garbage. Now students you know I have to call you out here, don't ACCIDENTLY drop that Dorito bag in the hall way, shove it in a classmates backpack or for heavens sake throw it away!

This is the link to the blog page that I am working on(this is the first draft of the blog online) http://talkingwithswagga.blogspot.com/

this is the draft of the blog I was working on in word

**This is the link to the final online blog** http://tishawilliams37cel.blogspot.com/


 * Reflection:**

I learned a lot while writing in this genre. I did extensive research into this genre to see why some blogs were more viewed then others. Initially I looked at several different types of blogs and then I narrowed my research down to blogs that had to do with teachers, students, and administrators. One thing that I noticed that I overlooked while looking into this genre was the use of images that were on blogs. This was one of the last things that I added to my blog before finishing it and I believe it gave my blog the last little piece that was missing. I realized the importance that pictures had to do with blogs and how they told a story by themselves. The picture that I choose to use for my blog was one that I thought best represented what I was trying to say in my blog. When I went back and looked at different blogs, I realized how many pictures that I had overlooked. This said to me that sometimes the pictures just reinforce what the blog is saying and that the pictures do not need to stand out but blend in with the blog. I think that this genre is unique in the fact that depending on the purpose of the blog, which modes of writing work the best. In the type of blog that I wrote, I used a variety of different modes of writing. In the beginning of my blog I used description to draw in the readers. I also started by blog out with a photo to show readers the type of bathroom I was describing in my blog. In the picture you see one clean urinal around a bunch of dirty ones. I also used a quote from a book to describe the scene that I was setting up in my blog. Persuasion is another mode that is useful in writing blogs. In some blogs people are trying to persuade you to feel the way that they do. I used this technique in my blog by talking about the importance of a clean classroom in order to be a successful student. I believe that the power is persuasion is important in writing a good blog. The fun part of writing a blog is that you can use many different modes of writing depending on what the purpose of your blog is. I read some blogs that were all a descriptions of an activities that teachers were trying in their classroom. I also read persuasive blogs where teachers were trying to get parents or students to take the same stance the teacher was. Another interesting part of blogs is that some people use text language in their blogs. I did not choose to venture off the standard English way of writing but depending on the blog different types of language could work. If a teacher was writing a blog geared towards students, they may choose to use language that students can relate to, to draw in the students. I can invision a teacher saying, lol or brb(be right back) something that would get the students attention. I really enjoyed writing in this genre and am excited to utilize in my classroom. There are so many different projects that come to mind to use for students. I think that this mode of writing gives students an opportunity to use their voice in a unique way. The conventions of this type of writing are wide open and I think students would not feel that they have a lot of restrictions in their writing this way. Although the possibilities are endless in writing blogs, there are still rules to follow if you want others to read your blogs. Keeping the writing short, simple, and to the point is very important in blog writing. People want to read a short blurb that is concise and to the point and not waste their time reading a bunch of words.


 * Annotated Bibliography (5) 5 **
 * User’s Guide (10) 10 **
 * Several drafts + Final draft (15) 15 **
 * Reflection on the Process (10) 10 **

** Total(40) 40 ** ** I really like the final blog with all the graphic features, such as subtitles, photos and, various colors in the text. This has always been lacking in my blogs, and I am convinced it excludes readers, who are looking for an attention-grabber. The blog toggles between audiences, which is ok, but you may want to be very explicit when you are talking to teachers and when you are addressing students. The reader will realize you are not being sloppy about audience. ****The User's Guide and Reflection add to your knowledge of the genre and elaborates on the process. Very balanced portfolio.**

**Portfolio** Tisha Williams Eng 409 Professor William Tucker April 14, 2012

=**Artifacts:**= = = This is the draft This is the final piece
 * Reflection:**
 * Expressive/Reflective Piece**

This is the draft This is the final piece
 * Analyze and Interpret Piece**

This is the first piece of writing done on blog
 * Unfamilar Genre**

[] This is the first blog I put online

[] This is the final blog