I am so sorry for being late this week on posting your blog topic.  Since this is my fault, I will only ask you to write one free blog this week.  You do not have to write a required 5 paragraph blog this week.  You wait patiently for me to post the topic for the week and when I make a mistake like that, I have to own up to it as well.  I am going to commit to posting your required blog topic by 7 am Monday morning each week.  That is my promise to you.  If I break that promise and post the topic beyond that deadline, you will be rewarded with only having to do just one blog that week.  To recap, you will only have to do ONE blog this week, a free blog of your choice.  

Vlogs are now open to do.  If you choose to do a video blog, you will only have to do the video and will not have to write a second blog for the week.  However you have to be sure to answer all of my questions for that week.  Failing to do so will result in a lower grade.  Cell phones are fully capable of doing vlogs so you don't have to check out the more complicated cameras.  Of course you are free to do that if you want to use one of the DSLRs.  Just be sure to use a mic.  

For this week's required blog post I'd like you to write about the top three things that have given you the most problems this school year in media.  What are your top three challenges in this class up to this point?  For Evan, I know he's going to write about his website and how he's had to start over after it not working correctly.  Be specific about these three things and be sure to explain why they are challenging issues for you and finally write about how you plan to tackle them.  Good luck!

For this week's required blog topic, I'd like you to reflect on your summer project started at our annual summer camp.  Update me on your progress.  I'd like to know where you are now, what still needs to get done, and when you plan on doing it.  Remember to use the constructed response format for writing out this blog, using the 5 paragraph structure as outlined in last week's post.  Good luck!

First of all, please accept my apologies for not posting your blog topic sooner.  I know many of you have been waiting anxiously to get started on your required blog post so here it goes!

We have started not only a new school year, but also a new quarter of school.  You are either a returning student who now has to take on a leadership role in the class, or you are a new student or "newbie" that has a lot to learn.  Either way, you may be feeling excited, nervous, a little scared, elated, or all of them!  First let me say that I am happy to have you in our class this year.  I am just as excited as you are to get going and I look forward to all of the cool experiences we are going to share this school year.

For your required blog topic for this week, I'd like you to come up with at least 3 goals that you want to set for yourself in our class for this quarter.  They could be anything from learning how to edit better in Final Cut Pro, to learning how to shoot an interview, or keeping up with your blogs each week.  The cool thing is that you get to decide what those goals are and you are going to work at it in this quarter.  At the end of the quarter, I'll ask you to look back on this first blog post and see if you hit your goals or not so keep track of them!

Remember that we are writing required blog posts in the 5 paragraph constructed response format.  The first paragraph is where you will write about what the topic is and briefly state your three goals without explaining them.  Then in paragraphs 2-4, you will use one paragraph for each of your three goals.  This is where you will explain your goal and describe why you are choosing that as your goal and what you will plan to do to reach your goal.  Then for paragraph 5 you will conclude your blog post by restating your goals one more time with your topic.  

Go and check out these blogs by former students for examples on how to do them correctly.  

• ​Alaysia
• Brent
• Kolten

Finally, these blogs are going to be visible by ANYONE and so you really need to proofread your work before you post anything.  Look for spelling or grammatical errors and yes, capitals count!  Good luck to all of you in your blogs this week and I look forward to reading them!