Students will

1. Synthesize information from a variety of sources and then present this information in a logical, linear written format;
2. Post material on class weblog, click on time stamp, print post only;
3. Construct a mini-research paper with supporting statistics, facts, and expert quotations in proper format;
4. Set up weblog account, taking note of password, url, blog title, and privacy settings;
5. Use sufficient and concrete details to fully support thesis and topic sentences;
6. Upload word file into e-mail; download from e-mail into word file and from PC to mac; from word file to blogger and from PC to blogger; save and publish in appropriate formats;
7. Demonstrate ability to summarize and/or evaluate author’s thesis, major premise and support, avoiding plagiarism at all costs;
8. Set up links effectively, writing code if necessary, and checking to make sure they work, so that references, abstracts, and templates can be linked;
9. Demonstrate active and appropriate use of quotation, paraphrase, and citation conventions, documenting sources and avoiding plagiarism at all costs;
10. Use browsers to best advantage, knowing when browser-computer combination causes problems and when to switch;
11. Incorporate awareness of audience into writing, such that papers speak to all English speakers, as opposed to only the teacher;
12. Manage a computer’s ability to connect to a printer, setting paper size, responding appropriately when jammed or having wrong settings;
13. Effectively utilize a variety of test-taking strategies, including preparing and writing full-length supported essays with a time deadline;
14. Put essays and research papers online, formatting and linking references to sources; put all work in portfolio format, making best of work available on front page, presenting header information appropriately;
15. Demonstrate awareness and active successful use of writing conventions, i.e. thesis, topic sentences, introduction, and conclusion;
16. Use clues such as URL trunks, logos and links to determine site owners, publication dates, etc.
17. Refer to sources appropriately, finding author's name; putting it in order; distinguishing publication date from retrieval date; finding publication name and including volume and issue when appropriate; including URL only when necessary;
18. Use Google and databases appropriately; choose online sources effectively, distinguishing and discriminating among kinds of articles found in Google, databases, etc.;
19. Demonstrate ability to use grammatical forms correctly and effectively, combining sentences to best advantage;
20. Manage weblog accounts to best advantage, using privacy settings, notification features, aggregation, etc.;
21. Understand and respond to class-specific paper requirements including margins, headers, titles, page numbers, titles, fonts, etc.
22. Use Google and Wikipedia effectively, culling best sources from each, yet knowing when certain sources, reference or information is inappropriate;
23. Find author, title, subtitle, publication name and date among other necessary reference information; put it in appropriate format, demonstrating awareness of difference between APA and other convention systems, for example;
24. Incorporate awareness of online audience into writing, so that the possibility of exchange on a given topic becomes a prevalent concern;
25. Internalize editing processes, in order to be able to check and edit all writing in high-pressure situations; use spell-check effectively;
26. Demonstrate awareness of self-protecting strategies for dealing with e-mail, weblogs, social networking sites, and chats effectively;