What
I would like you to do is to find a topic from what we have covered so far in class that you are
interested in and search the internet for material on that topic. You
might, for example, find people who are doing research on the topic, you
might find web pages that discuss the topic, you might find youtube
clips that demonstrate something related to the topic, etc. What you
find and use is pretty much up to you at this point. But use at least 3
sources.
Once
you have completed your search and explorations, I would like you to
say what your topic is, how exactly it fits into the chapter, and why
you are interested in it. Next, I would like you to take the information
you found related to your topic, integrate/synthesize it, and then
write about it. At the end, please include working URLs for the three
websites.
Once you are done with your post make list of the terms and terminology you used in your post.
By
integrating/synthesizing I mean to take what your read/experienced from
the internet search (and from chapter 1 if you like) organize the
information into the main themes, issues, info, examples, etc. about
your topic and then write about the topic in your own words using that
information. This is hard for some people to do - many students write
what we refer to as "serial abstracts." They are tempted to talk about
the websites rather than the topic proper. They will talk all about
website #1, start a new paragraph and talk all about web site #2, start a
new paragraph and talk all about web site #3, and then write some kind
of conclusion. Serial means one after the other...This what you DON'T
want to do!
At
first it is a real challenge to get out of the habit of writing "serial
abstracts," but I assure you once you get the hang of it it is much
easier to write using the integration method. And besides this is the
way researchers and scientists write their technical reports and
findings - many of you will have to be able to do this for other classes
and for jobs that you may eventually be hired for so now is a good time
to learn this skill. At this point don't worry about a grade, worry
about doing your best to have fun with the topic and then integrate it
into your own words to share what you found and now know. We will work
on citing the sources later....
Let me know if you have any questions.
