The Senior Research Blog Project

All seniors at ACT are required to conduct a research project for their graduation. The following project was designed to target skills they would encounter in a college environment, especially regarding online research.

It's most helpful for me to do projects along with my students so I can catch the potential pitfalls and provide a strong model of what I'm looking for.

Here is a summary of the guidelines that the students were working with:

Goal: Your goal is to create a research blog that documents your exploration of your chosen subject area. You will not only be presenting information for your readers, you will also help them understand your topic area and why it is important to you.

Role: Your role is that of a blog writer with a passionate interest in your subject area. You want readers to care about your topic and be well-informed about how it impacts the world around them.

Audience: Your target audience is well-educated internet surfers who are interested in your topic area.

Situation: You are a blogger who is documenting their exploration of a specific area of interest. Keep in mind that although this is a web-based document, you will be held to high academic writing standards.

Product: A blog that features six 300 word posts exploring your topic area.

• Standards: Your blog will be evaluated on the following factors
• Quality of information presented, using credible sources
• Correct interpretation of information
• Quantity of information presented
• Clarity of writing, including spelling and grammar
• Originality of perspective
• Use of multimedia elements (picture, audio, video)
• Participation in blog community
• Personalization of blog
• Correct presentation of sources

All of the student projects are linked under "Scholar Links"

Objectives for today 3.16 & 3.17

By now everyone should have their first three posts completed (KWL, personal reflection, credible vs. non-credible) and have commented (using the questions I gave you) on one other person's blog.

Today you are going to have some time to work on your 4th post, which can be any of the following:

1. History—Significant history and background of your subject area. This post should feature three significant dates/events that people should know about your topic. You should have at least two credible sources for your information, and properly cite them. You can find a model of this post here. This post should have 300 words, two pictures, and at least two links.

2. Profile--Profile of a prominent figure in your subject area. This post should feature three significant accomplishments of the person who is involved with your subject area. You should have at least two credible sources for your information, and properly cite them. This post should have 300 words, two pictures, and at least two links.

3. Current Events--An informative post about a current event related to your subject area. This post should feature a summary of the event, at least two different news articles about the event, and a explanation of why it is important to your subject area. This post should have 300 words, two pictures, and at least two links.

4. Economics—An informative post about how an issue in economics relates to your subject area. This post should feature two credible sources and an explanation the issue, and why it relates to your subject area. This post should have at least 300 words, two pictures, and at least two links.

5. Your choice—An informative post about a significant and interesting thing about your subject area. This post should feature two credible sources and an explanation of why it is significant/interesting to your subject area. This post should have 300 words, two pictures, and at least two links.

If you have questions, ask them. Don't be a

Chess: Three significant dates

In order to more fully understand the history of chess, there are three important dates that everyone needs to know.

6th Century A.D.

This is the date that experts say chess developed in either China or India. Chess used to be called shatranj and was very different than the game we play today. According to an article by historian Gerhard Josten, chess wasn't just invented by one person, but was the combination of several different types of games. Josten argues chess has so many pieces that move so differently (the pawns for example, are the only pieces that can't move backwards) because they come from different games. I think the 6th century is significant to my topic because it is the point at which all of these games came together.

9th Century A.D.

Chess traveled from Asia to Europe by a group of Africans called the Moors. According to an article by Dr. Daaim Shabazz, the Moors brought the early form of chess, shatranj, to Europe when they conquered Spain. The Moors brought quite a few scientific advances with them as well and helped advance European civilization.


1475

This is the date that Queen Isabella took the throne in Spain. According to an article about the history of the queen in chess, the queen used to be a much weaker piece, but after the real-life queen came to power, the rules were changed and the queen became the most powerful piece. Historian Govert Westerveld, said that the development of chess has always mirrored real life events, which might be helpful towards finding out why the White pieces go first.

Objectives for today 3.10.09

1. Today you should already have created your blog and posted your first post.

2. You should have your second post done by the end of class.

3. When you finish that, you need to start working on your peer review assignment, which is due tomorrow.

4. If you finish all of that, you can begin working on your third post, which deals with credible and non-credible sources.

5. I've also added both the blog schedule and the blog rubric for you to look at. If you have any questions, let me know.

Also, congratulations on putting together such excellent looking blogs! You all have me hyped to hear more about your topics now that I'm starting to see more of a vision of what you're going to be doing. A couple tips:

- Make sure I have your blog address. If you don't see your name listed in the links on the left, than I don't have you yet. Post a comment here with your first and last name, blog title and subject. Ms. Arbeiter or I cannot give you credit if I don't have your website.

- Be sure to save your work as you type. The computer will automatically save for you, but make sure you do it yourself. If you want to be extra careful, save it in a word document before you post it on your blog.

- You all have some great images with your posts. Make sure the images are properly sized and that they fit what you're talking about.

- Remember that every post should have at least two pictures and one link.

Once you have read all of the above, leave an "I understand" comment.

Post #3: Credible versus non-credible sources

This assignment (Due 3.12.09) will require you to identify two credible sources and two non-credible sources for your research. In this post you will need to do the following:

-Title your post "Credible versus non-credible sources"
-Give two examples of credible sources and two examples of non-credible sources, with visuals and links to the pages.
-Explain, using the source credibility checklist, the three ways you made your determination about your source. You can use my post as a model.
-Post your post

Peer Review Assignment: Due 3.10.09

Objective: Complete a peer-review of a classmate’s blog post.

Instructions: You will read through one of the first two posts of a classmate and give typed feedback in the comments section of their blog using the criteria below.

1. Is the post the appropriate amount (300 words)?:

2. Rate (10 highest, 1 lowest) the clarity of the overall topic of research.

3. Rate how well the visual illustrations add to the topic of the post

4. Rate how well the post conveys what the author knows.

5. Rate how well the post conveys what the author wants to know.

6. Offer two or three written positive (specific) comments to the author

7. offer two or three written constructive (specific) criticism or questions to the author.

Check out my reflection post to see an example.

Also, if you don't see your blog on the blog list, leave a comment to this post with your first and last name, the name of your blog, and your blog address.

Credible versus Non-credible sources

Non-Credible sources

#1 Non-credible source:

I know it is a non-credible source because:
1. The website has a ".com" address, which means that anyone could have purchased that website.
2. There are more than five ads on the page.
3. The website is not focused on my topic, chess history.
4. The author does not have a degree or credentials in chess, so I don't know if I can trust his opinion.

#2 Non-credible source.

I know it is a non-credible source because:
1. The website has a ".com" address, which means that anyone could have purchased the website.
2. The description of the website at the top of the page tells me that it's purpose is to get people to play games online and to join their website.
3. The section that's marked "learn" on their website has just a little paragraph about the history of chess and it doesn't tell you where it got any of it's information.

#3 Non-credible source.

I know this is a non-credible source because:
1. Most of the information on the page is not footnoted or doesn't have a source, so it's hard to know where the authors are getting their information from.
2. Wikipedia pages can be edited by anyone and that means people can add or delete whatever they want, so there's no telling what is correct or incorrect.
3. The webpage has a ".org" website domain, which means they are a non-profit, but they still are not as reliable as a ".edu" address.

Credible Sources

Credible source #1

I found my first credible source by searching Google Scholar. The source is a book all about the history of chess.

I know this is a credible source because:
1. The book has one author, Gerhard Josten, and after I did a quick Google search of his name I found out that he is a historian and author of chess books.
2. The book has footnotes and references that let me know where the author is getting his information.
3. The book looks like it has been carefully edited and there are no noticeable grammar or spelling mistakes.

Credible source #2

I found my second credible source by checking the "notes" section at the bottom of the Wikipedia chess page. I saw an article about the history of chess.

I know this is a credible source because:
1. It's written by one author, Dr. Ricardo Calvo, who I did a quick Google search on and found out was an International Grandmaster and chess historian.
2. Even though the website has a ".com" listing, I did a Google search of the title of the article and found it on a more credible website.
3. The description of the website that I found on the top of the page said that the purpose of the website was to explore the history of chess. Also, it doesn't look like the website is really trying to sell anything.

Credible source #3

I found my third credible source by typing in "chess origins" in Wikipedia. I ended up finding an article from encyclopedia Britannica that talked about the history of chess.

I know this is a credible source because:
1. According to the "about us" section of the website, Enyclopedia Brittanica has been around for many years and is the oldest printed encyclopedia in the world.
2. The website gives a thorough history of chess, covering a lot of different types of topics
3. The website has a professional layout and is free of grammatical or spelling errors.