Compare and Contrast Essays Assessment In this assessment, you will write a series of 4 Compare and Contrast Essays related to different technologies. Each essay is worth 4 points. These essays will be used as the basis for the Technology Plan Assessment. This document explains the requirements for the essays. For information about the Technology Plan requirements, please see the document entitled Technology Plan Assessment. Submit each essay in your Google Drive folder. Please refer to the Course Schedule for the due dates corresponding to each essay. For each essay, you are required to have a clear thesis statement and use proper citation methods. You may use either APA style or Chicago Style. The University has copies of these styles and LibGuides on how to use them so there should be no excuse for not knowing how to use the styles. Lastly, I am asking you to both Compare and Contrast in each essay. This means you should discuss both similarities and differences between the technologies under study. The outline of each essay should be thus: Introduction, Background, Thesis Statement, Point-by-point comparison, and Conclusion (with recommendation & rationale). The questions I pose in the individual essay descriptions should fit into one or another of these sections. Resources The following resources will help you write a good Compare and Contrast Essay. Basics: http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/comparing-and-contrasting/ Compare vs. Contrast: http://www.roanestate.edu/owl/com_con.html Thesis statement examples: https://www.press.umich.edu/pdf/0472031937-templates.pdf Point-by-point structure: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvmseg1s7uc
2 Essay One Explore the discussion around WordPress.org vs. WordPress.com. Example: http://premium.wpmudev.org/blog/wordpress-org-vs-wordpress-com-adefinitive-guide-for-2014/ Write a 500-word essay that compares and contrasts WordPress.org and WordPress.com and addresses the following: What are the key features that distinguish between WordPress.org and WordPress.com? Use one real system built using WordPress.org and one real system built using WordPress.com as evidence in your essay. What are reasons that the institution in your scenario would use WordPress.com over Wordpress.org? and vice versa? Make a case for either WordPress.com or WordPress.org as a content management solution for the institution in your scenario. Your are encouraged to read and cite other comparisons of WordPress.org and WordPress.com available on the web.
Essay Two Compose a 500-word essay that compares and contrasts two bibliographic management systems (e.g., EndNote/EndNoteWeb, Mendeley, Zotero, or RefWorks) according to the following: the main interface of each tool, the capabilities for import and export of citation lists, and the collaborative features available (if any) YOUR recommendation of the better of the two tools and WHY you chose that particular one What are reasons that the institution in your scenario would use one of these software? If they would not use it, articulate why is it not necessary.
4 Essay Three Explore several examples at this omeka Showcase site: http://omeka.org/showcase/ and this CONTENTdm collection site: http://www.oclc.org/en-us/contentdm/collections.html. Check out resources similar to this one that give details about each software (you can use this one in your essay too): http://oedb.org/ilibrarian/5-free-andopen-source-tools-for-creating-digital-exhibitions/ or this one http://tinyurl.com/qcd77wg Write a 500-word essay comparing and contrasting omeka with CONTENTdm that addresses the following: What kinds of sites are being built using omeka? CONTENTdm? What are the main advantages and disadvantages of each software? How does each software handle digital objects? For your scenario, which of these software would you recommend and why?
Essay Four Compose a 500-word essay that compares and contrasts the use of newer technologies like 3D printing, Scratch, and social media in the library and use the following points of comparison: Marketing and advocacy Collaborative nature of the space Patron diversity Do some of these technologies target specific groups of users? Do any of these technologies foster collaboration? Can any of these technologies have an impact on advocacy efforts? Ask yourself these and other questions to get you started on your analysis. Articulate how and why each of these technologies may be useful in the institution in your scenario. If any are not useful, articulate WHY they are not useful or relevant for your scenario.