Wikitravel Place Ideas

First of all, I know that I will not be adding a new article because I haven't been and don't know about many different places. I will be adding to an already existing article.

My first choice would have to be Coventry, RI. This is the town I live in. I think it would be easiest for me to find places that aren't mentioned and add them to the article. It is the town I have the most knowledge on.

My second choice will have to be Bethany, CT. This is where my grandparents live and it's my namesake. This article seems scarce so it might be easy to add things to it.

My third choice would have to be Warwick, RI. I work there during the summer and I might know some ideas to add to that site. The Warwick, RI article seems very full, though, so I'm not sure I could figure out many things to add to it.

Wikitravel - Reflective Post #1

After reading and poking around Wikitravel, I am impressed by the idea of the website. It seems like such a helpful means of finding attractions or planning a trip. I would definitely refer back to it if I were planning to take a trip. I'm skeptical about it's reliability, however, the About section let me know that, like Wikipedia, they edit and distill information before the public can view it. I would still probably look into and research the places Wikitravel tells me about before I just packed up and went there.
I'm not all too excited about this project because I don't travel very much and I'm not aware of many attractions. I'll have to think of some things that I could add to my hometown or towns around me, which might be difficult because it seems like finding something to do has always been difficult for me and my friends in the state of Rhode Island (lol). I wouldn't know enough about any other states to add to their pages, so I'll have to stick to Rhode Island.

Wikipedia Video

I used to rely Wikipedia all the time. I loved it and thought it was a quick and easy way to find the information that I needed for school assignments. I still use it today, but not nearly as much. I remember in high school some teachers would specify that we should NOT use wikipedia because it wasn't a reliable source. They would say that since anyone can edit the information, it can't all be accepted as true. I had held this belief until the video told me that nothing is posted on wikipedia before the "community" of core workers approves it. I was also suprised that they save every version of each page so that they can have it ready to replace vandalism or inaccuracy. It makes wikipedia seem completely reliable to me now and I'm eager to use it more often.

The creation of Wikipedia has made writing in electronic environments even more remarkable and advanced. Wikipedia can be viewed and even edited on mobile devices and makes information readily avaiable at all times.

The writing that occurs in a blog is much more casual and versatile than the writing in a wiki. A wiki needs to be written in a more formal voice and is viewed as a source of information. A wiki is meant to be a recreated book or information source, while a blog is typically an individual's thoughts and opinions. I personally feel like it's okay if a blog isn't completely reliable, because people don't use blogs as serious resources, however, a wiki can be used and cited for academic purposes.

Enthusiast Blog - Reflective Post #3

Wow, I've found some pretty interesting information about dance in Rhode Island. I'm so glad that I included the Providence Dancing Cop. My dance teachers always told us about him and I definitely wanted others to see how funny and interesting he is. Also, when I found that article about minors being strippers, I was shocked!!! It wasn't the type of "dancing" that I necessarily wanted to discuss in my blog, but it was too juicy of an article to pass up. I think these two posts can appeal to more people, rather than just dancers. The last post about the SBRI event can appeal to essentially anyone, as well. I honestly wasn't aware of the SBRI (State Ballet of R.I.) so finding that website proved to be really fun and helpful for me. I was skeptical about this project from the beginning, but I'm surprised to say I've found it very fun and enlightening! It's also fun to look at the other student's blogs. I never knew I could be interested in blogs.

Enthusiast Blog - Reflective Post #2

I'm glad that the professor showed us how to include hyperlinks, pictures, and videos into our blogs. I had the idea of putting a youtube video of the Providence Dancing Cop in my blog but was intimidated by just the thought of it. After being shown, it seems sort of obvious... Though, I wouldn't have known to copy the "Embed" link next to the youtube video. Pictures and videos are interesting to look at and it makes this project more fun for me to create. I feel like I can develop more of a variety of posts with the help of pictures/videos.

Enthusiast Blog - Reflective Post #1

I am so happy that I chose to blog about dance. I don't think I could manage keeping a blog about something that I'm not entirely passionate about. Narrowing it down to "Dance in R.I." makes me a little nervous about how much information I can really find, but it had to be done. I think it's a broad enough topic for me to have some freedom about what to write about and I'm not too restricted. I'm happy with my topic but I wish I could come up with a more creative title and description. I'll have to keep working with new ideas for titles.

My Credibility

As the author of my new blog, Dance in Rhode Island, I would like my audience to classify me as a credible source. I believe that I'm more than qualified for this title because I was a dancer for ten consecutive years at Legein Dance Academy in Coventry, RI. I participated in multiple competitions and won special awards and I also recieved the Dedicated Dancer award at my studio. I participated in a 3 year program, Dance Teacher's Training Course, in Randolf, MA to acquire my certificate to teach dance. This program consisted of dance performance tests and written tests. The first year I won the Highest Average for all disicplines of dance. The second year I won the Highest Average in Ballet. The third year I won the Highest Overall Average for all 3 years and also the Teach-In Award (which was a class in which each student picked a dance step out of a hat and taught it to the class, right there on the spot). I think these awards and experiences show that I am extremely passionate about dance and that I can recognize what is valid and true about dance 'news' in RI.

Enthusiastic Blog Topic

The topic I would like to blog about is Dance in Rhode Island. I believe this is specific enough because, for example, "dance" would be far to broad of a subject, but narrowing it down to dance in Rhode Island makes it just specific enough. I could organize my blog entries by apparel, shows, dance stores, local studio news... etc. I think I could attract audiences who are interested in dance and even non-dancers living in Rhode Island. People can find out useful information about dance and might even find something that sparks their interest (a store which interests them, a show they might want to see...). I would also show pictures that I find which support my blog entries. I will probably write this blog in a casual style, not too formal and not too informal either. I would probably make the blog include pink colors, since that's usually the first color which comes to mind when thinking of dance. A few potential titles could be... "Legein Dance Academy Chooses New Location for Recital" "Best Dance Stores in Rhode Island" "New Pointe Shoes".

Blog Project Ideas Cont.

To elaborate on my last post, the reason I would enjoy doing a blog about celebrity news is because I love watching E-News and it's interesting to discuss people that everyone knows of. I think celebrities put their lives out there, on display for the public, mainly to have people talk about them.
The reason I might enjoy doing a blog on animals is because that is a topic that I do care about. I mostly love dogs (I have a rottweiler, named Moose, who is the sweetest dog) and I've recently become fond of cats, since getting a kitten a few months ago.
Since I've only named four topics that I would enjoy doing, I think that if I had to pick another idea I might pick attractive hiking locations in America. I love hiking and walking in the woods, so maybe I could find a new spot to focus on each time I write in the blog and include a picture. It might inspire others to want to go to these places, or it might even inspire me to go!