As the semester rolls on, I've come to realise more and more how I can manipulate blogging to my favor. Academically speaking ofcourse. I think my blog is a wonderful platform to develop my portfolio. It's wonderful that blogging has begun to prod many more people into practicing their writing skills regularly. That's right - you're writing. Like it or not, it's going to make a better writer out of you. It's not just about writing skills, it's also about communication skills. Think of it as writing an academic paper, only with lots more fun attached. You don't have to adhere to any rules, save for citing your sources, and providing links. And if you're in Dr. Jerz's class, they better be well researched links.
An unanticipated, yet very pleasing consequence of blogging is networking. Honestly, I don't think we're taught enough about the importance of networking in college. Someday, I should blog my "How I Heard About Seton Hill" story. Would you believe it was a result of blog networking? You're not just publishing posts out there - in time, you're linking to other bloggers, and developing and maintaining relationships.
A significant component of maintaining these relationships is following a basic code of ethics, which basically amounts to:
For more information, visit Amanda Cochran's blog (here). She's done a fantastic job of pulling together academic guidelines.
Posted by NehaBawa at October 7, 2004 11:03 PM | TrackBackThe primary reason I was so excited about blogging at SHU is exactly what you mentioned: the chance to pull together a more professional portfolio. I still have my personal site, yes, but the SHU site has only items which I was consider appropriate for my future employer (or future employees, as the case may be) to read.
So are you going to do nanowrimo next month? I think you should! Think of it as 1666 words a night. Surely you are writing that much in emails alone! ;c) (I'm really trying to get a bunch of people to do this.. I think it will be fun and it will make sure that -I- actually do it!)
Posted by: moira at October 8, 2004 9:53 PMIt's going to be back breaking, but I think I will do it! Maybe we should have writing sessions around campus.
Posted by: Neha at October 10, 2004 7:21 PMI agree with both of you, Neha and Moira; the weblog portfolio will surely serve some purpose in our futures, even if that is only to demonstrate one part of the wide array of writing that we've done in college courses.
Also, I posted an extended entry all about the etiquette and ethics of weblogs, so check it out if you still have questions.
http://blogs.setonhill.edu/ChristopherUlicne/005090.html#more (Click on my name, "ChrisU," to follow the link.)
Posted by: ChrisU at October 11, 2004 12:11 PM