Blogging with Androids

This semester you will be creating your own blog to use as a writing journal as we read our first novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick. Your class assignment (for 2/13) is to create your own blog by going to Blogger. The best way to learn your way around the blog is just to PLAY. You can customize the look of your blog with a variety of templates, pictures, lists, links, etc. Make these personal and you will enjoy this exercise more.

This novel (DADES for short) offers a confusing, even disorienting narrative, so if you're having trouble making sense of the text, you're not alone. The purpose of the blog will be to interact with the text. Like a detective, you will try to uncover possible meanings through the reading/ writing/thinking process. Please annotate your text as a regular practice. This means taking notes as you read. Since I'm giving you class texts, consider using post-its as you're reading to write down anything that grabs your attention. As you read, jot down questions, connections, definitions, and patterns. Consider the plot, setting, and characters. Developing the habit of close reading will make reading more enjoyable!

So, for each chapter, please write a minimum of three well-developed paragraphs. The range of interpretive options might include:

1) questioning text to clarify or probe
2) reflecting on possible meanings
3) making connections to other texts, to self, and to world
4) discussing literary techniques and their effects

There are no right answers, but your ideas should be grounded in the text itself. If you have trouble getting started, consider selecting three passages that you think are significant and explaining why. Be specific.

We will all link to each other's blogs so we can share our ideas. Please be mindful that this is an online classroom and language should be adjusted accordingly. Also, because we are writing for a wide audience, check your writing carefully for clarity and mechanical errors before you post. In addition, before you publish read your writing aloud. Please do not use the language of text messaging.


For homework, 2/15
Please complete the "Survey: Technology and You" on the right hand side of the screen. The anonymous results will be sent to me, and we'll discuss. Be honest! You must answer "I agree" or "I disagree" to each statement.

Have fun!