１１月６日（水）のアクティビティー

きょうはオーラルしけんです。

Please do today's activities (3 activities as follows) before and after you take the oral exam.

1. Read the revised version of Blog Evaluation Categories Fall 2013

• Click HERE and read the revised version of Blog Evaluation Categories for Fall 2013. You will evaluate each other's blog at the end of the semester based on these evaluation categories.

2. Check and respond to the comments on the blogs. (20 minutes)

• Check the comments others posted on your blog, and also check if others responded to the comments you have posted on their blogs.
• Respond to any questions or comments.
•  If you haven't created a comment sheet, please create one in order to keep a record of your comments so that you can share it with your instructor.
• Also, keep a record of where you have commented on your comment sheet. (On the comment sheet, please make sure to put the URLs of the blogs where you post comments.)

3. Write on your own blog. (15 minutes)

• Write on your blog in Japanese.
• The topic can be anything. If you don’t have any ideas, write about what you did during last weekend and how it was. 

Revised Version of Blog Evaluation Categories Fall 2013

Here is the blog evaluation guideline you created. Based on your comments, we revised the first blog evaluation guidelines. Revised parts are written in red. Thank you very much for your contribution.

1. Language

Use of Japanese:

- transition into using more Japanese, use Japanese as much as possible

Grammar and Vocabulary:

- clear language, grammatically correct sentences, and proper spelling

- use the grammar structures and vocabulary we learned (If necessary, attempt to challenge and go beyond your language skills)

- demonstrate improvement from the previous posts

2. Content

Topic/Theme: 

- various topics that lead to good discussion (ex. comparison between two cultures)

- select topics that are culturally sensitive and target diverse population. (Topics should not be relevant only to a small community. ex. Columbia students)

Body:

- clear, easy to understand, coherent

- have a clear point if you can

- entertaining, creative, original, informative, interesting, and/or relevant to reader and writer

3. Layout

Aesthetics

- easy on the eye, visually attractive (e.g. stylish layout, effective usage of colors, uniqueness)

- utilize external resources (multimedia such as pictures, videos, links, and/or recordings)

- clear font

Organization

- user-friendly, easy to navigate, organized

4. Communication

Reply

- respond to comments (e.g. commenting on classmates’ blogs and other blogs outside the class)

- comments should be meaningful and thoughtful (e.g. constructive criticism and compliments)

- foster active discussions

- attempt to connect with readers

- interact with other blogs

Facilitate Understanding

- English translation when relevant

- attempt to be clear in your writing

5. Consideration

Politeness

- no offensive words or posts but have an opinion

- be kind, sincere, respectful, and thoughtful (should respect others’ blogs, consider other’s opinions, try not to be politically incorrect)

Language Level

- aware of the language levels of the readers, and try to post at the class’ level so that your classmates can read all the posts.

6. Frequency

- post the required number by the due date

We hope you have fun and see the blog project as less of an assignment, but more of an opportunity to improve language skills.  Try to browse other schools' blogs as much as possible so that you can learn from them!

10月21日（にじゅういちにち）のアクティビティ

This is today’s activity. If you cannot finish it in class, finish it at home.

For activity 1, make a group of 3-4.

1. Read Blog Evaluation Categories. (5 min.)

• Please read the Blog Evaluation Categories that are compiled from your comments from last week英語チェック. (If there is something you would like to add, post it in the comment of this blog entry.) If there are no additional comments, please move on to activity 2.

For activities 2-5, work on your own.

Write in Japanese as much as you can.

2. Read your last entry and comments on your own blog. (5 min.)

• Read the comments posted on your blog.

• Respond back to the people who commented on your blog.

• If you find any mistakes on your last entry, make corrections and update the post.

3. Check if your comments on others’ blogs have been responded to. (5 min.)

• Check the status of the comments you have posted on others’ blogs.

• If you think it is necessary, respond to any comments.

• Please create a comment sheet (CLICK HERE) to keep a record of your comments (where you posted comments). You will share this with your instructor. This is a part of your blog evaluation. 

4. Comment on at least 2 blogs from other sections and/or other university. (15 min.) 

• To see the blogs of students in other sections, look at the link on the right-hand side of the page.

• To see the blogs of students in other universities  (University of Notre Dame and Princeton University)", click on one of the links under the title,  "ともだちになろう" on the right-hand side of this blog. If you click on these links, it will take you to the university homepages which have students' blog links either on the right side or on the left side.

• If you think their blogs are interesting, comment on their blogs.

• To keep track of where you commented, make sure to keep a record on your comment sheet.

5. Make a new entry on your blog in Japanese. (This is due on Oct. 23th.) (25 min.)

• You can choose your own topic. For example, you can write about your school life, your summer vacation（なつやすみ, りょこう(trip), or your weekend etc.

How to make a Blog Comment Sheet

Google DocsでBlog Comment Sheetをつくりましょう。

1. Access Google Docs (http://docs.google.com).  You will be asked to login to your google account.

2. Click on "CREATE" on the upper left-hand side of the screen.

3. Click on "Spreadsheet" under the "CREATE" menu.

4. Make the four columns (Date, Blog URL, Name, and Country/School, etc.) as shown below.

5. Next, click on "File", and rename the spreadsheet. 

Make sure the title includes your name. Click OK when done.

6.     Then, Click on "File", and share this comment sheet with your instructor.

In the box "Add people", put your instructor's gmail address (NOT columbia email address).  Click on "Share & save" when done.

えぐち せんせい：shigeru.eguchi@gmail.com
まつい せんせい：kyoko.loetscher@gmail.com
ぱく せんせい：parkjisuk3@gmail.com

たつみ せんせい：naofumi.tatsumi@gmail.com

Make sure that your instructor now has the access to your comment sheet.   Then, click "Done".

7.  Move the cursor on the left of your spreadsheet title to show the arrow to go back to Google Drive.  Click on it.

8.  Now you should have the blog comment sheet in “My Drive”.  From now on, please keep a record about your comments so that you can share it with your instructor.  Also, make sure to put the URLs of other's blogs where you have made comments.

Blog Evaluation Categories 2013 Fall

1. Language
Use of Japanese:
-transition into using more Japanese, use Japanese as much as possible
Grammar and Vocabulary:
- clear language, grammatically correct sentences, and proper spelling
- use the grammar structures and vocabulary we learned (If necessary, attempt to challenge and go beyond your language skills)
- demonstrate improvement from the previous posts

2. Content
Topic/Theme: 
- various topics that lead to good discussion and/or relate to Japanese language and/or culture.
- have continuity
- select topics that students in both countries (Japan and America) will understand
Body:
- clear, easy to understand, coherent
- have a clear point (do not write like diaries)
- entertaining, creative, original, informative, interesting, and/or relevant to reader and writer

3. Layout
Aesthetics
- easy on the eye, visually attractive (e.g. stylish layout, effective usage of colors, uniqueness)
- utilize external resources (multimedia such as pictures, videos, links, and/or recordings)
- clear font
Organization
- user- friendly, easy to navigate, organized
- visually attractive (e.g. stylish layout, effective usage of colors, uniqueness)

4. Communication
Reply
- respond to comments (e.g. commenting on classmates’ blogs and other blogs outside of class)
- comments should be meaningful and thoughtful (e.g. constructive criticism and compliments)
- foster active discussions
- attempt to connect with readers
- interact with other blogs
Facilitate Understanding
- English translation when relevant
- attempt to be clear in your writing

5. Consideration
Politeness
- no offensive words or posts but have an opinion
- be kind, sincere, respectful and thoughtful (should respect others’ blogs, consider other’s opinions, try not to be politically incorrect)
Language Level
- aware of the language level of the readers, try to post at the class’ level so we can all read the posts

6. Frequency
- update regularly, avoid posting too much entries at once that has no content
- post more often than what is required

7. Others
- have fun and see the blog project as less of an assignment, but more of an opportunity to improve language skills
- try to browse other schools' blogs as much as possible so that you can learn from them.