Blogging in Music 111

Blogging in Music 111

Note: As of this term, blog questions are worth more and fewer are required for each assignment deadline.

Due: Please see syllabus for information on due dates.

Value: Each blog post is worth 10% of your overall assignment grade.

A blog site has been generated for you since you enrolled in MUS 111. After you are notified on your Paws Course Tools that your blog is ready, please visit this link to login to your sites.usask.ca blog using your NSID login information.

Blogs allow you to form arguments and present ideas to your classmates in a more informal and interactive way. They allow you to easily use online references, link to further information, embed images and videos, and engage in a dialogue with classmates.

You may not blog (or answer a Challenge Question) more than once per module for marks. You may address a Challenge Question from any module at any time, however, unless you are highly organized, it is best to stick to the schedule laid out in your syllabus. Challenge Questions draw on their associated module material, and a lack of knowledge of the associated module material will result in mark deductions.

You will not need to post a blog for every module. You simply need to complete the correct number of blog posts prior to each deadline to meet the requirements. For Summer 2018, you need to complete two blog posts for Deadline #1, and one more blog post for Deadline #2. You can blog from any module at any time during the course.

You are welcome to respond to the posts of your classmates, and we encourage you to. This is a great way to discuss ideas from the class. Reading and contributing to the blog discussions will help solidify your understanding of course content.

Guidelines for blog posts:

• Word count: blog posts should be between 800 and 1000 words. It will be difficult to make your point in under 800 words.
• Only one blog per student per module will be counted for marks.
• Blogs must be completed prior to the assignment deadline they are intended for or marks will be deducted for lateness.
• Blogs should incorporate hyperlinks, embedded images, embedded media, and GIFs as needed to provide sufficient evidence and support for your argument.
• All blogs MUST be tagged with the appropriate Challenge Question tag – e.g. #M1Q1 (Module 1, Question 1) – so they can be easily searched and marked.
• Any researched information used directly in your blog must be cited in Chicago Style. Students are expected to use in-text citations (footnotes or endnotes) as well as source lists.
  
• Any evidence of plagiarism will result in a mark of zero for that post.
• When music is being analyzed, incorporation and appropriate use of music terminology must be present.

Pro-tips:

• Blogs should include your own personal analysis, and may be written in informal language. Feel free to entertain, but do not lose sight of your purpose.
• You may link to other student blogs or Learning Material where appropriate.

Blog Grading

You will be graded on the quality of your posts based on the following criteria:

	Not Included	Inadequate	Needs Work	Good	Excellent
Ideas	0	1 – 9	10-13	14-16	17-20
Understanding of Course Content	0	1 – 9	10-13	14-16	17-20
Writing Quality	0	1 – 9	10-13	14-16	17-20
Research	0	1 – 9	10-13	14-16	17-20
Digital Literacy	0	1 – 9	10-13	14-16	17-20
Total					/100

 

Ideas:

Blog contains relevant, insightful, and original ideas that are clearly expressed. Opinions are informed and well argued with supporting research.

Understanding of Course Content:

Blog demonstrates knowledge of and utilizes course content, including the synthesis of learned content and the construction of new meanings. Terminology from course used appropriately. It is clear the student has read and understood the textbook. Talking about the actual sound of the music is necessary for full marks in this section.

Writing Quality:

Blog is organized, well developed, and addresses the question concisely with attention to correct grammar and punctuation.

Research:

Student has incorporated solid research from strong sources.

Avoid using sites such as Wikipedia, AllMusic, SongFacts, and other online sources that are not considered credible. Use of these sources will result in marks deducted. If you are not sure if your source is credible, UBC has a great guide on how to evaluate sources found at this link.

A note about sources and our subject matter: popular music is a tricky area where sources are concerned, because quite often major developments occur in the world of popular music too quickly for academia to keep up. Compare classical music, or another discipline like Geography, and you will understand the issue. For this reason, we encourage you to seek out reputable journalism (online or in print) when researching more current music. Newspapers (Globe & Mail, New York Times, Washington Post, etc), music magazines (Rolling Stone, Q, Mojo, Spin, etc), and online music journalism sites like Pitchfork, NME, etc, are solid sources when discussing music. Gossip magazines or online sources like People, Hollywood Reporter, or TMZ should be avoided, as their purpose is not analysis or objective reporting.

 

Digital Literacy:

Use of available tools to enhance your argument such as imbedded images and videos, GIFs, and hyperlinks. Tools support the argument and add to the overall presentation of the post. In-text citations and source lists in Chicago Style for Music must be used for research included in blog. Research supports course content and the perspective being presented.

Submitting Blog Addresses for Syndication, and Assignments

Although all of your Learning Materials, student blogs, and course interaction will be found on the course WordPress site, all assignments must be submitted via your Blackboard Course Tools, which are accessible through your Paws account. Once you enter the MUS 111 Assignment Submission Tab, you will be guided through the process of how to upload your assignments. After your assignments have been marked, you will be able to see your marks on Blackboard through My Grades.

If you are blogging,  you must submit your URL in the Blog URL Submission for Blog Roll area, found via the Assignment Submission Tab on Blackboard, so that we can syndicate your blog (subscribe to your blog) on our WordPress site. This makes your blog posts visible to the rest of the class and promotes discussion of ideas. You must submit your Blog URL again each time you are ready to be graded, to open up a grading rubric for us.

 

To submit your blog address for syndication:

1. Open your Blackboard Course Tools for MUS 111.
2. Click on “Assignment Submission” on the left.
3. Click on “Blog URL Submission for Blog Roll”.
4. Paste the URL (home address) of your blog into the comments section and click submit. You will receive confirmation from your instructors once your blog has been syndicated. Please be patient – this may take a day or two.

 

To submit your blog posts for marking:

1. Open your Blackboard Course Tools for MUS 111.
2. Click on “Assignment Submission” on the left.
3. Click on “Deadline 1: Blog Submission” or “Deadline #2: Blog Submission,” depending on which option you have chosen. Students who choose options 3 or 5 will do this at both deadlines.
4. Paste the URL (home address) of your blog into the comments section and click submit. You must submit your URL again each time you have blog posts ready to mark, even if you have already submitted your URL for syndication. Doing this opens up a marking rubric for us for each round of marking and tells us that you are ready to be graded on your work. Depending on your assignment option, you may do this once or twice.
5. Please do not submit the text of your blog or documents with the text of your blog posts. We mark your blog posts as they appear online.

 

Below, a video with some tips for publishing successful blogs (and a visual explanation of submitting blog URLs for the blog roll – note that some dates mentioned in the video apply to previous terms – check your syllabus for all deadlines.):