Tools

Canvas. Our primary tool for digital interaction will be Canvas, an educational portal built to be linkable to the open web. In addition to threaded discussions and commenting, it includes calendar, assignment, and grading components. Once you have become familiar with the syllabus, Canvas will be your primary destination for class information. If you have technical problems with the site, see the Canvas support site. Email me at rorabaugh [at] gsu [dot] edu if you have problems Canvas cannot help you solve.

To enroll yourself in our Canvas course, click HERE. Register with your GSU email.

Twitter. Twitter is a useful social media tool, primarily used for microblogging. If you d not already have an account, click the link above and complete the fields for a new account. Once you activate the account, search for my Twitter profile (@gsuenglpete) and click the “Follow” button. Look for other people that you know, also look for companies, magazines, bands, or non-profiit agencies that are interesting to you. Follow them. Reading through your Twitter timeline becomes like reading a newspaper filled with the things you like. We will also use Twitter for hashtag conversations and as a backchannel. If you already use Twitter, please create a separate Twitter account for academic use. For a primer on some of Twitter’s functionality, see my Google Doc “Twitter Definitions and Functionality.” For class tweets, but please the hashtag #gsurhet.

Google Docs. If you use Gmail or any other Google cloud products, you already have an account to Google Docs, whether you know it or not. Click the link above (or navigate to docs.google.com) and enter your Google account information. If you do not have an account for Google services, click the link that says “Create an account now.” Google Docs will permit us to share and comment upon documents.

About.me. I built an About.me page for my work at Georgia State. About.me allows you to consolidate several connection points for yourself into a web page that serves the same function as a business card. It’s fun to tinker around with and easy to share.

Storify is a useful curation tool for digital and social media. You will be using Storify to collect your interactions on Twitter and to collect research from across the web. Set up an account there using your Twitter name as your log-in.