10 Ways To Instantly Make Your Blog Better! (Morris, 2018.11.12)

Medieval Writing by Hans Splinter, 2013.06.02
Attribution-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic
(CC BY-ND 2.0)

Edublogger Kathleen Morris presented:

10 Ways To Instantly Make Your Blog Better! Want to build a more active and engaged audience for your blog? Here are 10 simple tips that you can start implementing today to make your blog instantly better!

(https://www.theedublogger.com/make-your-blog-better/)

Survey findings: Best comments on essays

Here is a snapshot of findings from the survey today about comments from classmates on your essays (2-02a).

Screenshot of digest, 2014.11.19, 18:50:27:
Click for a closer look.

Thank you for your cooperation!

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How to learn a new language: 7 secrets from TED Translators

In a recent post on the TED Blog, Krystian Aparta digested numerous volunteer TED Talk translators' language learning strategies "into seven basic principles" (Aparta, 2014, ¶1). The first was realistic goal-setting, the seventh was not being intimidated by the possibility of making mistakes , and there were several other goodies in between.

Reference

Aparta, Krystian. (2014, November 4). How to learn a new language: 7 secrets from TED Translators [web blog post]. Retrieved from http://blog.ted.com/2014/11/04/how-to-learn-a-new-language-7-secrets-from-ted-translators/

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Mind-Maps for University Life Essay Prep.

Please click on the graphics below to get closer looks at the various topics that the collective mind-maps from last week covered.

University Life (1C, 2014.05.14)

University Life (1A, 2014.05.14)

Please feel free to write about topics from either map in your essay prep. (free-writing) posts. Ideally each main (blue) branch will serve as the basis for one or more paragraphs.

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"Five secrets to revising that can boost your grades" (Stafford, 2014)

In a Guardian Students series article, Five secrets to revising that can boost your grades (Education, Advice for students, 8 January 2014), Tom Stafford provided "evidence-based tips" for students who want to learn effectively (¶7). Among other points, he asserted, "Merely memorising the material is not enough" (3. Practice the thing you'll be tested on, ¶1).

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Design 101 for Educators: 5 Simple Typography Tips (CranfordTeague, 2013)

It's high time to return to blogging after an extended summer recess. To get rolling on this blog again, I'd like to point out an Edutopia post in which Jason CranfordTeague (2013.08.13) provided page design tips that may serve students as well as educators:

• Design 101 for Educators: 5 Simple Typography Tips

CranfordTeague focused on font styles as a typographical equivalent to voice, as well as on simplicity, contrast, column width, and my overall favorite–space. As I often tell students, and as a reminder to all who read this blog, "White space is golden!"

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A Couple More Model Book Reviews

Check these out to get a good idea of how to compose book reviews.

• Rick's KGU Writing Blog: BR 1-01: Pinocchio (2013.04.15)
• Rick's KGU Writing Blog: BR 1-02: The Little Red Hen (2013.04.15)

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Satoko's Blog*: Advise for my kohai

I found this in my feed reader today. It's full of good advice from one of your predecessors.

• Satoko's Blog*: Advise for my kohai (2013.04.03)

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My Start-Up Labels (2013)

This post is a derivation from a previous post on the Writing Studio Blog, Start-up labels (2012), April 22, 2012.

Here are labels that you will need to use for required posts on your blogs:

• books, brainstorms, drafts, essay prep., essays, fiction, free-writing, graphics, links, media, mind-maps, movies, non-fiction, outlines, quickposts, references, reviews, revisions, typing, websites (20)

For example, on book reviews, you will need to use at least four (4) labels, including:

• books, references, reviews, ... (all comma-spaced values [CSVs]); plus:
• fiction, OR
• non-fiction.

The label "references," and the minimum number "four (4)" for book reviews (above), are new for 1st semester this year. All book review posts will need APA-style references, for which your instructor will provide models and templates, from 1st semester onward.

Please feel free to use other suitable labels, as well. For example, genre labels like "adventure," "biography," or "history" (one or another, without quotation marks) are welcome. That is, as long as they reflect the content of individual book review posts.
For details on how to use other required labels, please see Sheet 1 in the Labels and Links page on the Writing Studio Blog.

Now, to jump-start your labels collections, please:

1. Copy and paste the 20 labels in the first list above into a new draft post on your own blog;
2. Entitle the new draft post, "My Start-Up Labels" (in title case, without quotation marks);
3. Copy and paste the labels in the list above into the Labels field on the draft start-up labels post;
4. Publish the start-up labels post on your blog; and then
5. Add a labels gadget to the sidebar of your blog.

____________________

Note: At present, the maximum number of labels that you can put on a post is twenty (20).

Once you've published your start-up labels posts, with 20 labels in the label field as well as in the body of the posts, the labels will show up in your Labels gadget. Then, when you compose new posts, you will be able to choose appropriate labels for required posts, rather than having to type them in by hand.

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WSBulletin 2-02 (Fall 2012): Book Reviews & Revised Essays

A couple of quick comments already this a.m., and follow-ups (reminders), for everyone:

pab said...  Hello R...,  All book reviews this semester need an opening quotation to spark readers' interest, and an APA-style reference at the end.  Cheers, PB  December 13, 2012 ...	Everyone: Please review WSBlog posts with the labels "quotations" and "references," especially: WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2010 Quotations and references for book reviews
pab さんは書きました... H...,  You and your group mates need to rewrite your essay in the _third person_, without "I," "We," or "You" [in main clauses]. Cheers, PB  2012年12月13日 ...	Example (from 1C, Dec. 12): Version 2-03a (draft): We chose this actress because she ... and .... Version 2-03b (revision): The reasons we chose this actress were she ... and ....

If you have concerns or questions about either the on-going book review assignment, or the current movie review assignment, please spell them out in comments on this post.

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Comments on essay prep. posts

This quick comment collection is to remind everyone what to put in their essay prep. posts, and what not to.

Numbers of movies to watch

pab2012年12月3日 13:13

Hi A...,

I suggest that you all plan to watch at least two two of the movies, if not all three of them (when you make the third choice), so you'll have a solid basis for comparisons.

Cheers, PB

pab2012年12月3日 13:48

Hi K...,

Please note, and let your teammates know, that teams of three need to watch three movies that are related either by stars in them or similar stories.

Cheers, PB

Bases for selections, foci for planning

December 3, 2012 1:20 PM

Thanks for the info., M....

Now what's the connection among those films?

Cheers, PB

2012年12月3日 13:29

Hi 'A...,

Thanks for sharing this info. Now would you please ...? You also should all plan to co-write about all three movies.

Cheers, PB

2012年12月3日 13:32

Hi M...,

I hope you'll consider not only differences but also similarities from the get go (from this early planning stage onward). [emphases added]

Cheers, PB

Too much personal info.

2012年12月3日 13:29

Hi 'A...,

Thanks for sharing this info. Now would you please trim your teammates' family names back to their initials? You also should ....

Cheers, PB

2012年12月3日 13:37

Hi M...,

Thanks for sharing this info. Now would you please trim your teammates' family names in your post back to their initials?

Cheers, PB

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A Timely Video from One of Larry's Bests Posts

Today is World Toilet Day!

The video below is one that I've just found in Larry Frelazzo's post: The Best Resources For Learning About World Toilet Day & The Issue Of Public Sanitation In The Third World. Watch and learn!

World Toilet Day 2012 - Official Animation Video

If that interests you, there are plenty of other resources you can check out in Larry's post.

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Writing Studio Bulletin: WSB 2-01 (Fall 2012) - PEs

This quick post is to advise everyone of general reminders that I've posted in Portfolio Elements workbooks (PEs) today:


2_1_Essays, Col. B

• Please use title case for titles, both here and on your blog.

2_2_BRs, Col. B

• Please include BR numbers, both here and on your blog.

• Please use title case for titles, both here and on your blog.

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Ichiro pitching!!!

Ichiro is at the Yankees now, but I like this video!

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Get a load of this video!

This is a very funny video!

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My Startup Labels

books, brainstorms, drafts, essay prep., essays, fiction, free-writing, graphics, links, media, movies, non-fiction, outlines, quickposts, reviews, revisions, typing, websites

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Three Simple Tools for Creating Strong Passwords

In a recent post on his blog, Free Technology for Teachers, Richard Byrne introduced Three Simple Tools for Creating Strong Passwords (2012.04.20). He wrote, "One of the best ways to protect your online identity is to create strong passwords containing unique characters. Sometimes it's difficult to think of new strong passwords" (para. 2). The tools he introduced can help you generate strong passwords quickly and easily.

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Flash from the Past: Book Reviews for 2nd Semester

This is a snapshot of 2nd semester book review notes from last year (2010-11). Though the due date undoubtedly will change this year (2011-12), the guidelines and no-no's remain the same.

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APA Style Blog: Punctuating the Reference List Entry

The APA Style Blog: Punctuating the Reference List Entry post by Chelsea Lee (2011.07.14) shows and tells how to punctuate the four main parts of reference citations: authors, dates, titles, and sources.

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APA Style Blog: Can You Cite Personal Life Experience?

Chelsea Lee, in the APA Style Blog: Can You Cite Personal Life Experience? (April 28, 2011, ¶1), defines "the purpose of the reference list, which is retrievability of the source for the reader." Lee goes on to explain the purpose of academic citations as consolidation of our "foundation of knowledge" (¶2), and sums up as follows: "...[I]n general, you should provide sources for specialized facts and knowledge. However, this doesn’t mean you can’t speak from personal experience or opinion in your writing" (¶3).

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