This online platform showcases the initial writings of the freshmen BS Development Communication students enrolled in DEVC 11 (Introduction to media writing for development) U1 for the Fist Semester, AY 2021-2022.

As part of the lecture class requirements, the students are tasked to write weekly entries on the topics assigned.

Why Blog 6050?

6050 is the course code for BS Development Communication in the list of UP Los Baños undergraduate degree programs in the University of the Philippines College Admissions.

Weekly Writes is part of the course initiatives to let students practice online writing on a more regular basis.

From September to December 2021, the students will be submitting 16 posts for Blog 6050 covering the following topics:

- Week 01 (September 13-17) “What is development communication?” Our student writers draft their own definition of development communication. [Deadline: on/before October 1, Fri, 11:59pm]
- Week 02 (September 20-24) – About the author presents a concise (2-3 paragraphs) profile about our students as a media writers. The entries discuss the students’ topics/fields of interest, skills, and/or aspirations. [Deadline: on/before October 1, Fri, 11:59pm]
- Week 03 (September 27 – October 1) – Qualities and skills of a media writer showcases our writers’ reflections on what the most important quality (nature, characteristic) and skill (competence, expertise) a media writer should have in their study and practice of development communication. Our student writers were also tasked to conduct a self-assessment (1-5, with 1 as the highest rating) of their qualities and skills as a media writer. [Deadline: on/before October 1, Fri, 11:59pm]
- Week 04 (October 4-8) – Buhay Devcom Lifehack Series: Top five must-have items/tools for development communication students Our writers interviewed upperclass devcom students to get their responses to the question “What tools/gadgets/equipment helped you the most in your writing classes?” [on/before October 29, Fri, 11:59pm]
- Week 05 (October 11-15) – Buhay Devcom Lifehack Series: Surviving the remote class setup One month into the semester, our student writers offer a glimpse of what it’s like to study from home. Our writers share their study station, daily schedule, and tips on how to maintain their physiological and psychological health. [on/before October 29, Fri, 11:59pm]
- Week 06 (October 18-22) – On gathering data presents the insights, reflections, and/or lessons learnt by our writers from their laboratory exercises on retrieval, interview, as well as how they were able to use observation during the conduct of the exercises. [on/before October 29, Fri, 11:59pm]
- Week 07 (October 25-29) – For The Development Beat, our writers identify a specific development beat/topic that they want to focus on or specialize in as media writers, justify why they opted to focus on that particular beat/topic, and share how they were able to decide on selecting that particular beat/topic. [on/before October 29, Fri, 11:59pm]
- Week 08-09 (November 2-5; November 8-12 [Nov. 2-8 Reading Break]) – Buhay Devcom Lifehack Series: Five things to remember in preparing for Devcom activities/exercises showcases the experiences and lessons learnt (notes to self) of our media writers-in-training from the initial batch of activities/exercises that they have taken for their devcom courses. [on/before December 3, Fri, 11:59pm]
- Week 10 (November 15-19) – For Week 10 Notes to self, our student media writers share the top five tips and/or pieces of advice that they wish they could have given their old selves during the first day of classes to better prepare themselves for the semester. (Individual output: article (with photos)/AV material) [on/before December 3, Fri, 11:59pm]
- Week 11 (November 22-26) –Devcom Portraits showcases devcom alumni profiles and their accounts on how their training at Devcom prepared them for their career track/current work. The entries are composed of the following: photograph of alumni; name, designation, and agency/place of work of alumni; and alumni accounts of how their stay at UPLB Devcom prepared them for their current work. [on/before December 3, Fri, 11:59pm]
- Week 12 (November 29-December 3) – Surviving UPCA 2020 Our freshmen media writers share their UPCA stories and tips to help aspiring UP students prepare for UPCA. [on/before December 3, Fri, 11:59pm]
- Week 13 (December 6-10) – The Hometown For this week’s challenge, our student media writers individually develop content (30-60 seconds radio or AV plug) about their hometown. The post presents the uploaded plug with the accompanying details (title, objectives, credits, etc) of the media material. [on/before December 21, Tue, 11:59pm]
- Week 14 (December 13-17) – Working on the news package This week, our student media writers are tasked to prepare a news package on selected college/university events. The students will be working in groups of two to five members. This post will include two-column script and the group’s audiovisual output. [on/before December 21, Tue, 11:59pm]
- Week 15 (December 20-21) – Buhay Devcom Lifehack Series: The SAIS Experience – For Week 14’s entry, our student media writers develop individual web content (article, photos, videos, etc) based on their first SAIS experience. [on/before December 21, Tue, 11:59pm]
- The semester in review – In their Week 03 entry, our media writers did a self-assessment on the qualities and skills of media writers. Now that we’re at the end of the semester, our student media writers take a look back their old ratings and share their updated self-ratings on the qualities and skills of a media writer for their Week 15 entry . Let’s see what things have changed –and what lessons they learned in their first semester as UPLB BS Development Communication students. (Individual output: article [with photos]/AV material) [on/before December 21, Tue, 11:59pm]