Chapter 13 Writing on and for the Web

Making a Website Aesthetically Pleasing

Use relevant photos, graphics, and font variations to give your site interest. Leave plenty of white space. A crowded web page is not inviting. Use an easily readable font and font size with ample leading. Small tight text is hard to read and many Internet searchers will skip such a site and move on to the abundance of other choices. Take care when choosing background and font colors. Make sure your background does not engulf the text making it hard to read. As a rule, make your background light and your text dark. Take care when choosing background effects. A very busy background can detract from your content.

Making a Website Well Organized

Plan for little or no scrolling. Instead include clearly marked navigation links to move to different parts of the information. Include navigation links to all parts of the website from all pages so a person never feels stuck on a page. Design an overall look that holds from page to page to give your website consistency. Use an easily recognizable format for navigation links so that they clearly stand out.

Making a Website Work Well

Use images that are between forty and one hundred kilobytes to ensure clear images that are easily and quickly loaded on most people’s computers. Since one hundred kilobytes is the maximum suggested size, you will have your best luck if you stay well below that level. Match your level of use of technology tools to your needs. Don’t add features just to try to make your site impressive. Remember that the more features you add, the more likely it is that someone will have trouble with your site. Some people’s computers will have trouble with very involved opening pages that include audio and video. If you choose such an opening page, also include an override button for people who can’t or don’t want to view the opening page. Make sure all the links and paths are very obvious and that they all work smoothly.

Making a Website Accomplish Its Purpose

Make sure the home page is uncluttered and clearly states the purpose of the website. This is the main chance you have of attracting attention. Make the website as visual as possible. The more quickly a person can glance through web content, the more likely the person is to take in the information. You can make a site visual by including subheadings that stand out, relevant images, short blocks of text, white space between blocks of text, and numbered or bulleted lists. Keep the website up to date. Depending on the content and purpose of the website, keeping it up to date could be a daily, weekly, or monthly chore. Consider that a site that is out of date ceases to be visited. Include a contact link so viewers can reach you. Remember that anyone with Internet can access your site. Take care with the information you post. Always assume that your instructors, employers, parents, or friends will see it.

The Role of Technology in Group Project Design

Technology has introduced a whole array of platforms and tools for group projects. Course management systemsA web-based learning environment that organizes the work of a course (e.g., Blackboard)., such as Moodle, Blackboard, or eCampus, tend to excel as spaces to post course materials and external links, to conduct group discussion boardsA digital space for brief posts and responses by a group of students, usually set up in a course management system by the instructor., to provide for electronic submission of essays, and to manage records like grades, calendars, announcements, and deadlines.

The following is an example of how a richer kind of threaded small-group class discussion about possible connections between video games and violent behavior can be conducted online, even in a face-to-face class. This discussion was conducted after each of the seven students in a writing group had posted their initial response to a couple of opposing readings on the subject. In order to keep the online conversation going, the students were asked to respond to at least one group member’s initial post, using the following questions:

1. What patterns do you notice about your group members’ or classmates’ responses to the readings?
2. Where do you notice differences in opinion between your responses and those of your group members or classmates, or among their responses?
3. What are any possible clarifications and interpretations of specific moments from texts that group members or classmates seem to be having trouble with?
4. Which texts (or which aspects of texts) still warrant special attention before the class moves on to the next unit of assigned readings? Be specific about what you want your group members or classmates to discuss. What additional questions do you have about the readings?
5. What ideas do you have for ways specific group members or classmates could use their responses to develop their understanding of the questions into a full-fledged essay?

Do you think the following threaded discussion opens up new avenues of exploration for the students involved? Think about how the debate progressed in this online environment, and consider how it might have operated differently if conducted face-to-face in a traditional, oral class discussion.

• Bill: In response to Amber’s post: Do you think that violence in video games causes the violent action or do you think that it just adds fuel to the fire? I play violent video games, but I don’t go around hitting people and blowing things up. I was in the Marines for the last five years and never shot anyone. So my belief is that these people are already messed up in the head. I think the lack of morals in teens comes from parents not being able to punish their children as they see fit resulting in a generation of misbehaved misfits who have grown up undisciplined. My suggestion would be for parents to monitor their children’s use of video games and explain the difference between games and real life.
• Amber: As I read other people’s posts I see most people say no. Well I still stand by my opinion on the whole thing. I didn’t say that everyone who plays violent video games will make them a violent person. I just think that violent video games have the potential to play a role in children’s minds today in the United States. Not every person who plays these violent video games will have a negative effect on their minds. I don’t think that people should stop playing violent video games, but I do think that young children today should not play them as much or until they are old enough. I will always think that violent video games will lead to violence in a child’s mind because they see it on these games played.
• Adam: Having read other students’ posts, I can tell that there are those who say yes and those who say no, but to those who say yes I have to ask, Would you rather someone release their anger and rage on real people or virtual avatars that have no feelings, have no sense of pain, feel no fear, or anything? All I’m asking is, If there are going to be people with violent behaviors, would you rather the result be virtual or real?
• Brandy: I noticed that several of my other group members noticed the lack of concrete evidence on the yes side of the argument. Two of them, I believe, brought up something that I had forgotten could be possible. It may be that violent games children play bring out the violent and aggressive side in them that already existed but lay somewhat dormant, for lack of a better description. I can’t imagine a mentally stable child being driven out of his or her balanced mind-set of some sort of common sense and morality and a distinction between reality and a virtual world simply and solely by a violent game. If anything I believe it would, as Jamal said, “desensitize a person,” but not turn that child into an aggressive child.
• Malcolm: Violent video games will be a problem when presented to individuals who already have a problem waiting to come out. A hundred years ago, without video games around, there was still influence from books to trigger acts of violence. Not everyone that read books found the desire to act violently, but some people found glorification of violence in books, enough for it to suggest to them that it was the right thing to do. This is no different from video games today.
• Jamal: As my classmate, Amber, brought up, there could be a negative impact on young children. My thought, though, is that the level of reality that the game takes on could be a factor. Games that are trying very hard to look real and have all the lifelike components of war, gang life, or even mercenaries could be a little over the top for some ages. It is the same reason you do not let an eight-year-old watch SAW or something like that. They are unable to process that kind of information without having a nightmare or at least looking under the bed.
• Becky: After reflecting more on the issue, and everyone’s responses, I’m also unable to say yes or no to the argument. I still don’t see any value to these kinds of games and think they serve no positive purpose, but I can’t confidently say that violent video games lead directly to violent actions. There are just too many other factors that require recognition. Just as the no responses claim that those committing violent acts are already “messed up” and cannot differentiate between right and wrong because they were not taught so, the same idea can be flipped to suggest that violent video players who were taught certain values will not commit violent acts. Where is the control group? I don’t see how either side can present a solid story with so many variables.

Because course management systems are not really designed for collaborative composition courses, they’re not really ideal for group writing projects. WikisAn interactive, shared website featuring content that can be edited by many users., another type of collaborative technology tool, are beginning to replace course management systems for certain kinds of collaboration because they can make group work much more convenient, visible, and meaningful. Professors can set up a wiki as a free online collaborative platform that offers workspace for class-wide group or individual projects. Within a site, individuals can have private workspaces to which other students do not have access unless the site “owner” invites them. Students can use a wiki to gather notes and compile a writing project from beginning to end. Within a wiki, students can save all versions of a draft allowing for retrieval of previous information. Being able to save different versions also allows multiple students to edit, for example, Pete’s draft so that Pete can then access all the edits and choose the changes he wishes to make.

Since each student has a private log-in and password, wikis can easily keep track of who made what changes and when the changes were made. You can even use the settings on your wiki account to have it send you an e-mail whenever someone adds something to your space. Students and teachers can also upload files and place links on the wiki to relevant materials elsewhere on the Internet, such as to an American Psychological Association (APA) or Modern Language Association (MLA) citation builder. Wikis also offer a platform for publishing the final version of a project for viewing by the instructor, other classmates, and even the general public, if desired.

Online Collaborative Sites and Group Projects

Group work is often lopsided and unfair—a few tend to do most of the work. Do your fair share. You would be ill advised to try shirking your part of the work in an online situation since the collaboration program will keep track of each participant’s contributions.

Most sites will maintain all versions of a document or file being drafted collaboratively. As a rule, you should always work in the most current version unless the group mutually decides to revert to a previous version.

Determine which group member is best able to complete different technology aspects of the project, such as scanning, uploading, and creating diagrams. If all members of the group are expected to perform certain technological tasks, make sure the learning curve is not too steep by writing explicit directions. Discussing such aspects up front will make the project go more smoothly.

Social Aspects of Working in an Online Group Situation

If the group seems to be going around in circles, consider a conference call (over the computer or by telephone). With an in-person (or at least synchronousTaking place at the same time.) conversation, you can often straighten out issues that are difficult to handle through chains of e-mails.

On the other hand, if you need to talk to only one member of the group, do so through e-mail. Save the group site for communication intended for the whole group.

Keep in mind that written words do not include voice intonations or facial expressions and are thus more easily misunderstood than are in-person spoken words. If a group member’s comment strikes you the wrong way, give the person the benefit of the doubt instead of being defensive.

General Portfolio Guidelines

As with any other kind of communication, base your portfolio planning on your reasons for building one. Run the portfolio through the statement of purpose questions from Chapter 5 "Planning". For example, you might design a portfolio to apply for admission or scholarships to colleges, to apply for a job, to network with other professionals in your field, to complete a school assignment, to collect your artistic work, or to explore a personal interest. The following guidelines are useful for all portfolios, regardless of whether they are designed to meet an academic, professional, aesthetic, or social purpose:

• Consider carefully your choices of what to include (known as artifactsAn individual piece in a portfolio.) and choose those that showcase the most impressive variety of your skills. If you are a writer, showcase different writing skills or a progression in the development of your writing skills (showing “before” and “after” drafts). If you are a salesperson, showcase different types of sales accomplishments.
• Keep the number of choices under ten in an employment portfolio so that a prospective employer could reasonably look at all the options. If you have multiple categories, such as writing samples, work accomplishments, and volunteer experiences, you could consider having up to ten items within each category.
• Read through all the choices to make sure you are 100-percent pleased about the content. Do not rely on memory to tell you that an item is OK to use.
• Label and date each selection.
• Create an explanation of each chosen item.
• Make sure all your selected items are free of errors.
• Arrange your selections from most to least impressive unless you have a reason to arrange them differently, such as in chronological order, keeping in mind that someone might start through your portfolio and not finish it.

Electronic Portfolio Guidelines

Follow these guidelines to take better advantage of the forms, functions, and features an online environment can bring to portfolios:

• Create an introductory page with linksA clickable text or image that is placed within digital text and has the ability to reroute you to another location; short for hyperlink. to the other pages. Make sure the introductory page is short enough to minimize scrolling.
• Consider establishing or incorporating some kind of social presence (perhaps with an appropriate photo or with an audio or video greeting) on the introductory page. Make sure your tone (the relationship between your portfolio’s voice and your audience) achieves an appropriate level of formality, depending on the working relationship you already have with your audience.
• Include a one-line description of each link as a preintroduction to the portfolio item when you list the links on the introductory page.
• Choose whether to include multimediaContent made up of more than one medium (e.g., text, images, audio, and video). pieces, such as video and audio clips, depending on the capabilities of the site where you are posting your portfolio.
• Convert each page or file to a PDF fileA digital file format where all components are locked in place; short for portable document file. or a JPEGA digital image format that is compatible with many software formats; an acronym for Joint Photographic Experts Group. so that you can be assured that the formatting will remain fixed. After you create each PDF file or JPEG, open it to make sure it converted properly.
• Traverse your e-portfolio thoroughly when you’re finished building it to check out all the links and make sure everything is working and looks OK. Then ask a friend to do the same on a different computer. Ideally you should road test the portfolio from both a PC and a Mac platform. By road testing, you are effectively anticipating your portfolio’s reception (the relationship between your audience and the message you are conveying).
• Include a link to a self-profile as well as a link to your résumé.
• Keep your e-portfolio up to date. This task is especially important if your e-portfolio is posted where others can access it without your knowledge.