Share Your Stories and Ideas with the Online Learning Community

SFU OLC: Our Learning Community (OLC) is a dynamic space for students, alumni, employers and SFU staff to share their experiences, knowledge and expertise about all aspects of the world of work and personal development.

Why should I write for the SFU OLC?

Writing for SFU OLC is a great opportunity for you to share your stories, experiences and advice with our audience of readers. Whether you are trying to decide on which degree program to concentrate on, getting ready to apply for your first, or last Co-op work term , looking for professional development opportunities or if you are already a seasoned industry insider, your contributions belong on the Online Learning Community!

If you are a student looking to build your portfolio and manage your online presence, having an article or blog posting published on the OLC is a great way to get more exposure and impress potential employers should they choose to Google-search your name.

On the OLC, we've published a wide variety of topics from varied perspectives and in many different styles. One of the unique features of the OLC is that we grow and develop through user-generated content and expertise from different points of view. Keeping that in mind, we do follow a few tried and true methods for writing for the web.

How long should the story/blog posting be?

We recommend writing a story or blog posting around 500 700 words in length. Because some of our contributors find that the relatively short length will not do justice to their story, weve also had writers break up their article submissions into several pieces, which make for great series of articles.

Check out some good examples of article series we've had in the past:

• Postcards from Botswana Series
• Working with Grace Series
• Dave's Diary

What should I write about?

Maybe its an experience you had on a Co-op work term, something valuable you learned during a volunteer role, a story you want to share or advice that would be valuable for others we welcome any article that will help to provide insight for members and readers of the OLC.

Although standard advice says to write what you know, and who knows your own experiences better than you, why not try writing for the OLC as an excuse to explore a topic that you are interested in but may not be as familiar with?

Once youve decided on your topic or topics, remember to keep the tone conversational, yet professional, when you're writing your article. Because of the dynamic nature of the web, a conversational tone is more appealing to most readers.

Check out some good examples of conversational tone:

• Memories of Boot Camp
• Just Like Bunko - Part 6: Leaving an Imprint
• Co-op Japan: 9 Month Internship at NTT, Yokosuka, Japan

What about structure?

In addition to trying to keep stories or blog postings at a certain length, consider using some of these additional ways of structuring your item for ease of online reading. Some of these considerations include:

• Concise writing, with shorter paragraphs and, in some cases, bulleted lists, to help make the copy easier to read on screen
• If it makes sense, consider using meaningful subheadings to help break up the text and guide scanners who may want to jump to the section that interests them the most

How do I get my article online?

Create a blog posting online: Login > Me > Add New > Blog Posting.  Alert us when it is ready for publication at olchost@sfu.ca.

Once youve completed your article, submit it as a Word document directly to olchost@sfu.ca along with any of the photos that you would like published with the article. Please ensure that the photo proportions are at least 471 x 314 pixels. After you submit your article, our team of editors will look through it and make any recommendations or tweaks to prepare it for publication.

We look forward to hearing from you soon!