Introduction: How to Join and Contribute

As a member of Mr. D'Amato's Senior Capstone: Gunpowder & Pandemonium it is your responsibility to join this e-journal blog and, crucially, to participate throughout the first two trimesters. You will do this in three ways: (1) by submitting your journal entries as comments to posts in a paragraph of at least 250 words, (2) by following the prompt's directions, and (3) by turning-in these assignments before the class period in which they are due.

Importantly, this site will also serve as a message board from me to you and you to me. I will most likely have to pass on important information regarding class meeting times, assignment deadlines, changes in the syllabus, etc. throughout the term. Therefore, be sure to check this site frequently, especially on days before and after we meet for class, to be sure you are current with the goings-on of the course.


Okay, so what's next?
Below I am going to detail how to join this blog and how to contribute. If you are unfamiliar with using blogs have no fear, Blogger is quite user-friendly and you should catch on quick. Remember, you can always email me with questions and you should email me immediately if you are having trouble with the site. For those who are quite internet savvy, you may wish to glance in brief, however, to see how things will specifically function on this site.


How to Join & Email Requirements
Immediately email me at my fancy blogger email prof.damato@gmail.com from the email address which you are associating with this class. In your email simply include in the body "Hi Mr.D! This is ___(name)____. Please add me to our Senior Capstone Blog." I will then invite you to join our private online forum!

It's required you associate an email address (one that is a Google account preferably) that is active and checked daily. While this may be a personal email account, it should also serve as an academic account. You will find as you progress in your academic and professional lives that you will need to separate your personal life from your work life. To this end, having a separate email account which is entirely devoted to academics and professional matters has myriad benefits.

A quick note on the format of your academic email... While I'm sure your Fortnite handle of Destroyer_of_Worlds718 is super cool, or your Snapchat nickname FoodieGurrlSuga matches your passion for snapping pics of food... your teacher or professor is not going to easily link that handle to your person. Therefore, make your academic email clearly identify your name. So, barackobama@gmail.com, or goldman.matt@gmail.com, or j.winter83@gmail.com are all effective email addresses.

If you need a Google account, they're free to create and obtain. Simply follow this link to create a new Gmail account. Remember, if you already use Gmail, you can use your existing account log-in information without having to create anything new.

Once you have emailed me, you'll then receive a link allowing you to gain authorial access. Follow the link and you'll have the opportunity to use your Google username and password and officially join Blogger and the Capstone's e-journal.

From now on you'll use the username and password you select or create to log into this blog before you add a comment or a post. So write it down or email it to yourself so you do not forget this information!


How to Comment and Post
First, you must log in.

To comment to any post click on the post's title or on the "## comment" link at the bottom of the post. You can also click on the post's title found under the archived posts on the right side of the site. At the bottom of the post you'll find an editable text box. Remember to write at least 250 words! You can offer something in response to the main post thread, or you can reply to a comment written by another student. If the debate gets intense enough then you, or I for that matter, may decide to move the discussion into a new thread (i.e., post) all its own.

To post a new topic or thread once logged in, go to the top of the site and at the right of your email address/username on the navbar you'll see a link titled "new post". This is your ticket. Once you've arrived at the post-editing screen you'll notice it's a bit more complicated than the comment box; yet, think of it like a word document screen and you'll catch on quickly.


More Editing and a Vital Disclaimer
If you happen to know HTML and/or JavaScript you can use these to edit your posts to a greater degree---adding images, video, links, and more.

If you should desire to add media to a post, keep in mind that inappropriate material and language will be subject to immediate removal. Depending on the level and degree of inappropriateness, the student faces disciplinary action such as receiving a zero on the assignment (minimum) or being reported to the Dean of Student Affairs (maximum). Please see the Division of Student Affairs website for information concerning such disciplinary processes.


In Closing...
Be sure to bookmark this site on your personal computer so that you can check the blog frequently. As I recommended above, nearly once a day you should be visiting our e-journal. While you are required to only submit one writing per e-journal assignment, you may write as much at you wish on this blog. Contributing more with extra effort certainly weighs positively on your overall class participation!

Remember, the point of this blog is not only for me to impart important class announcement nor for you to just submit a weekly journal entry; rather, it serves as a birthplace for written ideas. The things discussed and argued here will undoubtedly come up in class, and should, so feel free to reference the blog's content while we are in the classroom. Paper topics and cites of argumentation will also present themselves here. This is a vital component and goal of this site: for as we test and share ideas with one another, we further understanding of specific subject matter, thereby developing and deepening our ability to discuss the course's texts and topics to a greater degree.

I hope to get an email from you as soon as possible so that you can join your classroom e-community by contributing commentary and content to what is now your Senior Capstone course blog!