Week 11: Build, build, build

Today Alex is going to help us get this BECA Online Community underway — huzzah!

I've built a demo front page, just so we have something to look at and tinker with. We still have to sort out some things, including:

• What can be part of a semi-official (class-produced) site, and what needs to be "off the books". Possible problems include: commerce, creative work that contains copyrighted material, and professor/course reviews.
  
• How will the site be maintained and administered, and by whom?
• Which parts of the site will be read-only/password access/adminstrator-only access?
  

We're going to be having some interesting guest speakers in the next few weeks, so this week's homework includes some preparatory reading and writing on the topic of net neutrality. It's a contentious topic, so I'm looking forward to hearing some well researched, thoughtful argument on both sides!

HOMEWORK:

1. Read "Neutrality 101/FAQ" by Internet4Everyone and "Net Neutrality is a Civil Rights Issue" by Jeff Perlstein of Media Alliance.
2. Write a blog post about how the net-neutrality issue affects you in different ways: as an individual, as a student, as a San Francisco/Bay Area resident, as an American, as a global citizen, as a human being (or any other category you'd like to write about). This might not fit in with your blog's overall topic, but consider it a special post. You'll need to do some research and discuss/include links to at least 2 sources in favor of net neutrality and at least 2 sources against. Write at least 750 words. This post will count for twice as much as your other posts in the next round of grading.
3. Proofread and edit your blog posts dated after 2/24. I'll be grading the entire chunk starting on 4/17, and I expect every post to be written at a college level of English. Please use the Writing Mechanics handout, my office hours and the BECA Writing Lab for assistance.