Exactly what should I write about in my blog?

Several students have asked this. It's a reasonable question, because none of us in this class (myself included) has had previous experience blogging for academic credit. So it's important that we all have a shared understanding of what's expected.

Stay on-topic: Each blog entry is a short class presentation
Make sure that the subjects you write about on your own blog and your classmate's blogs are directly relevant to the class. Keep in mind that your course grades will be based, in large measure, on your blog writing, not on writing done for exams or papers. So when you write a blog entry, ask yourself:

"If I were given three minutes in class to make a short presentation, would I say this, or would it be considered off-topic?"

Similarly, you might ask, "Can I imagine myself writing this as a short essay answer for an exam?"

Naturally I don't expect the TONE of your blog writing to match that of a term paper of short essay answer. God forbid! But make sure that any reasonable observer would readily recognize your blog entries as strong academic work. That's what's important.

(By the way, if you want to write about certain topics unrelated to class, by all means start a second blog specifically for that purpose. That personal blog would not be evaluated for your grade in this course and you could write about any topic that suits you. Please note it should not be part of your class blog — it should be an entirely separate blog at a separate web address (URL). You can link to it from your class blog, if you like.)

Show us your best work: informed opinion and anaylsis
The thinking and writing you do on the blogs should be just as academically rigorous as what you would do in a paper or for an exam. I realize that's a higher standard than what is customary on most blogs. But if I am to fairly assign academic grades to blog writing, the blogs must exhibit informed discussion and analysis of class topics.

During this course, I expect you all to learn a lot about how the Internet operates, and how you can use it effectively. I am very curious about what kind of discussion we'll see among the students, and whether communicating daily through blogs will enhance the class experience for everyone. I strongly suspect it will.

I'm counting on all of you to help make the class blogs a success. Make them good! Make them amazing!