So this is “Part A” of a semester long project given to my by one, Professor Shiflet, the instructor of my online course entitled Digital Design Foundation. If you are reading this and think that I have written this just for you, you are sorely mistaken; I often times find myself recapping the events of my life and spacing out more than I care to recount. I had written over three hundred words and then deleted them, if that doesn’t tell you how eager I am to say nothing then I don’t know what is.
I have never been a fan of blogging, but because I am being graded on it I may as well participate; just know that once this is over and I never have to do this again *[DELETE]*. Personally (and this is what I hate about it), I can’t understand why people would want to share the events of their life with strangers; I mean, I can understand certain blogs that discuss the events of important projects and/or events, but then there are social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook.
Ugh! I don’t want to say anything else because I am starting to feel hypocritical.
fdarmstrong 
Please reread the guidelines! Your blog for this class is not meant to act as a journal of your personal life. It is meant for you to post on topics that are relevant to the class.
Luckily, this blog will be all about the class. I don’t like sharing too much personal information either.
A couple of pro-tips
1. Relax. Your posts do not need to be masterpieces. But there are a few things to keep in mind. Your posts must contain visual art, and it must relate to the post, and to the class. If you are ever at a loss for what to post, just post something about one of the artists on the syllabus page in ANGEL. You could post a review of their work, their life, a little history involving them, etc, just as long as it contains their art and is relevant to the class. As for the rest of your posts, they must also contain art related to both the post, and the class. To prepare artwork for a post, just follow the tutorial in project 1 (the one from lynda.com). You must have photoshop for this. There is a link in the syllabus itself to the adobe website, where you can get a free, 30-day trial of Photoshop CS6 (after that ends though, you may have to get creative…). Adjust the resolution to the level listed, and set the quality according to the tutorial, or at least to a level you are satisfied with, then save it as a .jpg. After that, open your blog. Start a new post. There is a button for inserting pictures located at the top of the page. Click it, and choose your picture(s). Note that you must have the cursor clicked where you want the picture to be (think Microsoft word). And you are done.
2. ALL of your posts must be at least 150 words long. You must create at least 3 artist posts, just like I said above. You must also post ALL of your projects (for extra brownie points, post part A, then part B as the finished product. To post the files, just use my tips above and any other instructions given with the assignment). All in all, you should have at least seven posts before the end of class, and at least one per week. And all they must be is 150 words long and have related pictures or media from assignments. Not too bad. Deep breaths…
3. You may want to post a proper introduction. A good example is mine (not to toot my own horn) at zachman117.wordpress.com. Just introduce yourself, write at least 150 words, and post some art relevant to the topic and the class. It WILL earn you some extra credit, and it is one less thing to post…
4. Get started NOW. Your completed blog is due TOMORROW, MAY 24, by 11:59 PM.
5. Delete your old posts. You are NOT allowed to post anything unauthorized (in other words, does not meet the posting criteria). Read project 1, part B…
6. Post more than you need. If it is worth doing, it is certainly worth overdoing.
7. If you have any questions, just ask me! The best way to contact me is at zachman117@gmail.com, or at zjholtzman@mymail.aacc.edu. And don’t be afraid to ask the teacher stupid questions. If in doubt, just follow my lead. I am NOT giving you permission to cheat off me, but you can certainly take notes. Just don’t expect my posts to be perfect either. That is where you come in. I it is YOUR responsibility to make sure your posts are “up to code”, so to speak, NOT mine. I am glad to help, nonetheless.
And yes, this is Zachary Holtzman from CAT-111-875… I am not some creepy dude stalking you (I have actually had that happen once, though it was not a ‘dude’). Also, for some reason, the link to my blog did not work. I’m new too, don’t feel bad.
Blogging is not something I do for fun either. I barely use my Facebook account. Yet, think of this is a great opportunity to practice some web development and design skills. You would likely use these someday for another job task or school assignment. Good luck!