Personal, Professional & Academic Skills 117 SLL
A first year half module of the Multimedia BSC at Coventry University
Title: the use and abuse of research
Tutor: Andrew Mackenzie
Intended readership: The blog addresses multi-media students and supports a module at Coventry University.
About the blog
This blog is an example of the type of blog students will produce using WordPress hosting.
It is important to make a distinction between posts and pages. You can have as many posts as you like. Posts work best as short pieces of writing. Your blog will also have a small number of pages, which suit a longer piece such as an essay. Depending on your choice of theme, tabs linking to pages will be arranged at the top or in a sidebar to the right of the main text field.
I will use this example blog to demonstrate how to upload files and edit your blog. You are free to experiment with different themes and plug-ins. Generally, changing the theme re-arranges all the elements without mishap. At least as far as loss of text is concerned. Usability can suffer, but unlike a traditional website, you can change your mind about the design without the overhead of re-design and re-coding.
Writing into the web form provided by the WordPress control panel can be awkward. You can write in any text editor or word processor if you prefer. This will also give you a backup copy. Save your work in plain text or rich text format, because any text formatting which is picked up by the WordPress will be difficult to unscramble.
As we progress we will add tags and categories, so the example blog develops in parallel with your own.
This course is primarily about developing student’s analytic and academic writing skills. The blog is just a tool to encourage everyone to get started with short written pieces. I can then offer feedback and support in class.
Course resources: documents, links to websites, online video and so on, will be provided in the lectures.
Update: this module is now complete. Lecture resources are archived.
