Week 1 Assignments

Welcome to the first week of class!

There is a classroom meeting this week, so I will see you Tuesday, September 13 at 1:00PM. The room number is GDH 177.

Additionally, there's a lot of setting up to do (you may want to consult the Tools section in our class wiki for suggestions on selecting the software that is right for you--and feel free to add suggestions of your own!):

First, you should start your personal blog this week (if you don't have one already, or if you prefer to keep a separate blog for this class). Design and features are completely up to you, but make sure you choose a blog that can publish an RSS feed. Please post the link to your blog and to your RSS feed in the Directory section of our class wiki.

You should also get an RSS aggregator. Consider whether you will be accessing your RSS aggregator from your personal computer most of the time (in which case you can get an aggregator that you can install on your computer), or from a lab computer (in which case you may want to choose an aggregator you can access online).

As people start posting their RSS feed links, you should start subscribing to them in your aggregator. Try subscribing to other feeds as well (for some good ones, see here and here). You will find that this is a very convenient way of getting your daily dose of news and information.

Remember also to subscribe to the del.icio.us ccte RSS feed (right-click and copy this link and enter it in your aggregator).

You should also open a del.icio.us account. Follow the instructions on the del.icio.us site and post a couple of items. If you want to share them with the rest of the class (and the world), use the ccte tag.

Lastly, there is a small assignment to post to your blog this week: your (Techno-) Biography. The purpose of this assignment is two-fold. First, it is a way to introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about who you are. Second, it is a way for you to reflect on the role that computers have played in your life: When were you first introduced to computers? How would you describe your relationship to them? What have you been able to accomplish with computers that you think would have been impossible otherwise? These questions are just to get you thinking. You can write your techno-biography in any way you want.

By next week, we should all to be communicating online through the sharing of links marked with the ccte tag and through our blogs/RSS feeds. If you have any questions or problems, reply with a comment to this post, or email me.

Remember also to order your books and start browsing through them!