Homework: Blog Post #2

Please read the following directions for writing and posting Blog Post #2.


For Blog Post #2, please think about the things that symbolize American culture.


Step 1: CHOOSE A SYMBOL

Choose one thing that you think symbolizes American culture.  This can be anything that you personally think symbolizes America, American people, or the American culture.


Step 2: SEARCH THE INTERNET

Then search the Internet to find pictures and images of that thing (remember that the google image search can help you at: http://images.google.com/ ).

Search for articles or other information about the thing you have chosen (you can use google's search engine at:  http://www.google.com ).


Step 3: WRITE YOUR BLOG POST - ADD IMAGES AND LINKS

Write your Blog Post #2 describing the symbol you have chosen and why you have chosen it.  In your post, add pictures/images to your blog to show what you are writing about.  To add an image, be sure to save the image onto your computer desktop.  Then click on the icon of a picture in the menu at the top of the text box when you are typing your blog post and you can add images by clicking on "choose files" and then selecting the picture or pictures you want to upload.

Here is a link to a tutorial on how to add an image to your blogger post:
http://personalweb.about.com/od/easyblogsandwebpages/ss/bloggeraddphot2.htm


Also add AT LEAST ONE LINK to another website in your blog.  You can add a link to a website by clicking on the word "Link" in the menu at the top of the text box when you are typing your blog post and then typing in or copy and paste the URL to the website.



The following is an example of a blog about McDonald's as a symbol of American culture.
(Because I am using it for an example, you CANNOT use McDonald's as your example!)

**EXAMPLE POST ABOUT A SYMBOL OF AMERICAN CULTURE - MCDONALD'S**:

One example of something that symbolizes American culture for many people is McDonald's.

As we have been reading in FFN, McDonald's is the original fast food restaurant and the father of the fast food industry.

See the Wikipedia page about McDonald's for its history and some business statistics:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonald%27s

People have different opinions about McDonald's and whether it is positive or negative.  Some people say that McDonald's makes people fat.

Go to this site to read an article about how some people went to court claiming McDonald's was liable for teenage obesity:
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/23/nyregion/big-macs-can-make-you-fat-no-kidding-a-judge-rules.html

In addition, some people say that McDonald's is an "evil" corporation that makes children eat unhealthy food.

 However, other people say that McDonald's provides people with affordable food and fast, convenient service.

Go to this website to read about how McDonald's is thought to be affordable and convenient in Malaysia: 
http://www.sun2surf.com/articlePrint.cfm?id=35117

McDonald's is a symbol for America around the world.

Can you recognize all of the languages above?  If so, post a comment listing each one!

Homework: BLOG POST #1 (finish by Sunday night, 11:59pm)

HOW TO WRITE YOUR FIRST BLOG POST

Your first BLOG ASSIGNMENT will be making your first blog post.

To post a new message to your blog, go to your Blog Page (“View blog”) and at the top of the page, you can select “New Post”

You can select a Title and then type up your message.  At the end, you will need to “Publish Post” so others can see it!

HOMEWORK: BLOG POST #1 - Your language learner identity

Please write your blog post about your own identity as a language learner.  You are now learning English (academic English) here at LAGCC, but you may have learned other languages in your life.  You learned your first language (mother tongue) as a child.  Did you learn other languages in school or in your community?

Your post should be written like a journal, so you are telling your story (a narrative).  It is NOT an essay format, so you have more freedom in what to write about.

Please consider the following questions/ideas when you write about your own language learner identity:

What languages have you learned?  Which ones are the hardest?  Are you still learning other languages now (besides English)?  Do you want to study another language in classes while you are in college?  Which one(s)?

How do you feel about your reading ability in each of the languages you know?  Which do you prefer to read novels in?  Which do you prefer to use to read things on the Internet?  Which do you prefer for things like Facebook or other social networks?

How do you feel about your writing ability in each of the languages.  What do you prefer to write in for emails or letters to your friends and families? Why?  What language do you prefer to use to write academic things in (essays, lab reports, business documents)? Why?  Do you think your writing ability is much better in your first language? 

What else do you think about your languages and how you use them?

PLEASE POST YOUR BLOG POST #1 BY THE END OF THE DAY SUNDAY (3-20)

How To Make A Blogger Account

1. Create an account (blogger.com)

•  You may need to first create a gmail email account (gmail.com) – if you do this, write down your gmail email name and your password right away so that you can find them again to log into Blogger later
• You will need to input your cell phone number to verify your account and receive a verification number by text.  If you do not have a cell phone that can receive text messages, please ask a friend to have it sent by text to their phone.

2. Create a blog and give it a title that has your name in it.

• Your blog’s name can be creative, just be sure you have your name in it, too (e.g., Rebekah’s Corner; Rebekah’s Café; Lemondrop Mountain (Rebekah); Rebekah’s Super Cool Party Place)
• You will also need to select your URL address – this is the address that will be at the top of the page in the URL box when you are on your page – and the address that anyone can type into the search box to go to your blog

o   A good URL will have your name (e.g., rebekah.johnson.blogspot.com) or your blog’s name (e.g., esl098lagcc-food.blogspot.com)

o   If the URL you select does not work, that means someone else is already using that address for their own blog page, and you need to select a different URL name – maybe by adding numbers to your name

o   Write down your URL address so that you can remember it and can share it with classmates if you need to

3.  Select a “template” (background design) for your blog and then go to the “Design” tab at the top to set up your blog page to set up your blog page.

• Look at the “Header” and select “Edit” – here you can add a few sentences to the top of your blog to describe your blog and you can add a picture or image to the top of your blog.  Search for a picture you like on the Internet (images.google.com) and save it to your Desktop. Then “Browse” for the picture and upload it to your blog’s header.
• Go down to the side menus and go to “About Me” and select “Edit” – here you should write a few sentences about yourself in the “Description” section.

4.  Go to my blog page at this URL: esl098lagcc-food.blogspot.com

• Look at my blog posts (under the picture of the hamburger) and post a comment for your class number (.0672 or .0677) that has your URL address in it

5.  Set up your blog to connect to other blogs:

• On the side menu, select “Add a Gadget” and add “Blog List”
• After you have added “Blog List” it will be called “My Blog List” on your menu.  If you are in “Design” select “Edit” and if you on your blog page (in “View Blog”) select the tools picture to edit.
• When you edit your “My Blog List,” you can add other blogs to follow.  Please add my blog’s URL (“esl098lagcc-food.blogspot.com) to this list. 
• Then add the URL of each of your classmates to this list (you can copy and paste these URLs from the comments for your class on my blog)

NOW YOU ARE ALL SET UP in BLOGGER for our CLASS BLOGGING!

A few more things about using Blogger:

• You can always see what your blog looks like to everyone by going to “View blog” and you can always change your blog by going to “Design”

• To change your Profile (and add a photo that will appear on your blog page), you will need to “Edit Profile” and “Edit Photo” when you first log into Blogger and are on the “Dashboard” page.

• In Blogger, you can have more than one blog!  Just create another blog (“create a blog”) when you first log into Blogger (when you are on the “Dashboard” page).

Comment on this Blog Post and add your URL - .0677

Please add a comment and copy and paste your URL name into the comment box.

Your URL is the name you selected when you created your blog (xxxxxxx.blogspot.com).

Comment on this Blog Post and add your URL - .0672

This is where I will post homework assignments for the Blog. First, create your own class blog in Blogger.  Write down your sign-in informartion (your gmail account and password or your other email account).
After you have created a blog, please write down your new Blog URL (xxxxxxx.blogspot.com).

Now copy and paste your Blog URL as a Comment to this post.

Welcome to Blogging!

Dear students,

This week, we will set up blogs and begin blogging.  You can set up your unique blog page and choose your own designs.  You will become more connected to online and social media communication through the class blog.  This blog will also be a great way to share your ideas with other students.

-Professor Johnson