Before coming to class, the whole concept of a grading contract
  was still very new and confusing to me. After talking with classmates about the
  whole concept of the contract it has now become clearer to me. I believe that a
  grading contract would be beneficial for someone like me who does the above
  amount of the work that is required, and students who do just the minimum
  amount of work deserve the “B” grade. Overall, I do agree with the contract and
  now understand why the contract equals a “B” grade, which just means I need to
  go above and beyond to get the “A” grade.

1.Share your thoughts on grading contracts. Pros and cons, general
thoughts, etc.
 Before this class, I have never heard of a grading contract or
have I ever had to use one. I am an over achiever in my classes and always
strive for the A, and I know I will get one if I do all of my work and get good
grades and participate in the class.
 With this grading contract you are guaranteed a B if you follow
what is on the contract. Personally, a “B” in my eyes is just average so for me
I will need to go above and beyond the contract to get the “A”grade that I want,
I’m not all too sure if this is a pro or con yet for myself because I always am
an over achiever anyway, so I do not think it will help or hinder me in any
way.
 However, there are some pros to a grading contract such as there
are no surprises throughout the semester for students who like to slack. They
know what is expected of them and what will get them that “B”grade. Another pro
is more for the teacher or professor, they know what they laid out for their
students so if one were to argue that they deserved a better grade, they can
pull out the contract stating that they needed to go above and beyond what was
stated on there to receive a higher grade, and this may also be a con for a
student who knows they should have a higher grade but cannot fight it because of
the contract.
 As a future teacher of early childhood students I do not think I
will be using grading contracts in my classroom simply because the students are
too young to even understand ad it might be intimidating for them. If I were to
be teaching at a higher level, maybe high school or college I might consider
grading contracts in my classroom just for the sole purpose that it may make the
year run smoother if each student knows what is expected from them on day
one.
 After reading “A Unilateral Grading Contract” I know that Peter
Elbow would argue and say that grading contracts have many benefits because it
allows you to think about your process and revisit it, rather than just doing it
to get it done. 
Overall, I think I am still indifferent about grading contracts
and don’t know how to feel about them because they are still new to me. My
opinions might change after this semester of being graded by a grading
contract.

2. Describe your online persona. How much do
you feel comfortable sharing online with your teacher and classmates. Consider
your blogs, Twitter, Facebook (& privacy), Tumblr,
etc.
 My online persona is very outgoing and open. I use various forms of online social networking
sites such as twitter and Facebook and post on them every day. I usually tweet at least 5 times a day, and feel
  very comfortable with just speaking my mind when I am tweeting. On Facebook I
  don’t really make too many statuses, but I do a lot of check ins if I am out at
  a restaurant with my boyfriend… because if you don’t post it on facebook were
  you really out?
When we are asked to use Twitter and Facebook for classes I
  feel comfortable with sharing information with my teachers and classmates, and
  always use my personal account for the assignments. When I know we are using
  twitter for the semester I try to sensor my tweets just because I know some
  things I tweet may not necessarily be appropriate, but this does not mean I am
  changing my personality. It just means that I have respect for my professors
  and classmates reading my tweets.
 All of my accounts are set to public such as my
  Twitter and Instagram. Anyone can look at my pictures and read my tweets, so I
  wouldn’t say I am a private person
online.
 Overall, I believe that my online persona is no
  different than my actual personality. I am obnoxious and outgoing in person,
  and I am online as well.

3. What makes a strong blog presence? Can you
describe a bad blog you've encountered? A good one? Consider voice, content,
style, design, etc.
 To me, what makes a strong blog presence is one
  that is very colorful and has a lot of pictures and videos to attract their
  reader. I love when the author is comfortable with talking to their audience
  rather than just stating facts and trying to sound
important. I do not really go searching for blogs, and I
never really used them until this past semester, but a bad blog in my opinion is
the academic blogs where they aren’t fancy and they are just stating the facts
cut and dry without trying to interest the
reader.
 Like I have stated, I am new to the blogging world so I
haven’t really seen a “good” blog. Perhaps, a good blog in my opinion would be
the ones that make me want to keep reading and that are colorful. I never really
used blogs until my writing arts classes but I always enjoy reading my
  classmates blog posts and they are always eye catching and interesting, so I
guess I would consider those “good” blogs!

When I think about myself as a technological writer the first
thing that comes to my mind is my smart phone and my laptop. It is now the year
2013 and one thing that I can’t seem to separate myself from is my iPhone. I
take it everywhere with me and am constantly on it scrolling through my many
applications such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, and the occasional game
of Ruzzle or “What’s the Word?” The technologies I feel most comfortable with
are definitely my iPhone, and my laptop. I usually only use my laptop for school
work when researching or typing papers, and everything else is done on my iPhone
such as the social aspect of my life, texting and emailing. Even if I have to
look something up I am using Safari on my phone rather than my laptop because it
is always in my hands. There are some people in the world who are just GREAT at
using blogs and creating them, but I am not one of them! I usually struggle with
creating blogs and making them do cool and fancy things. By being in the writing
arts major I have learned to get a blog up and running but still working on how
to make them high tech, and I struggle with that as a technological
writer.