Category: Administrivia

Here we go!
We are inhabiting the same weblog space as last year’s delivery of ETEC540, and using much of the same technology. But where last year the weblog only cranked into motion during Module 4, this year we hope that this will be an active component of the course for the duration.
We hope you will find this an ongoing source of useful and provocative stories which illustrate just how rapidly the world of text is changing all around us. We also hope that you will post interesting websites, news stories, resources or thoughts that seem somehow relevant to the changing spaces of reading and writing. (Your account information is available in the prefatory materials of the WebCT environment — if you can’t find it, send Instructor Brian a message.)
In addition to materials that we post ourselves, we also present an ongoing feed of stories from outside sources (most of which are listed on the right-hand sidebar) — just click on the “links & resources” link above. If last year is any indication, there should be no shortage of fascinating goodies flowing through.
Now, let’s get this blogging party started!

Why a weblog?
Good question. The main purpose is to create a space to note ongoing developments in online communication, and to provide a less formal space for exploration and discussion.
The decision to run a complementary weblog is also a function of my own long-time interest in and use of the form. If you’re interested, you might want to check out my professional weblog to get a sense of why I can get so passionate about personal publishing.
Of special interest is the “links and resources” section, which features a dynamically-updated collection of pertinent links, brought to us in an unceasing flow by the miracle of RSS. We’ll be talking more about how tools such as weblogs and RSS support distributed communication as the course progresses… And hopefully you as a student will feel welcome to join in the discussion however you feel most comfortable — by posting comments to postings, by taking out an account on this weblog and posting, or by starting a weblog of your own (or with others).
I’ve deliberately started things off somewhat light — we hope that this weblog will evolve in response to the interests and contributions of our course community, and that we will thematically follow our collective muse.