The final week of Blendkit2012 is upon us, and this week's focus is on "quality assurance" related to the blended course. In other words, what strategies can I use to make sure my blended course is as effective as it can be? Who can I ask for feedback and when? These are the kinds of... Continue Reading →
Blendkit week 4 activity
For week 4, we are supposed to create a draft of one module for our envisioned blended course. I chose to work with the sequence leading up to the first major project in my Comp II course--an interview write-up. The module draft is quite rough; in fact, I'm pretty sure I might have gone a... Continue Reading →
Blendkit Week 2 deliverables
They're rough, but here they are. For the record, I decided to work with a different course. I started with ENG 1113: Comp I, but I've decided to focus on ENG 1213: Comp II instead, because I'll be teaching it next semester. I'll be able to implement these ideas sooner. As always, there's more work... Continue Reading →
Blendkit2012 Week 2: How & when will students & I interact?
I'm thinking this post is a kind of response to the weekly reading question "What factors might limit the feasibility of robust interaction face-to-face or online?" Correct me if I'm wrong... An opening note: I was struck by how the "techno expression" section of the reading focused on so many rhetorical factors--audience, purpose, writer/student positioning/need.... Continue Reading →
Blendkit Week 1 DIY projects
I've finally had the opportunity to complete the DIY activities for Blendkit Week One. The activities for this week involved creating a Course Blueprint in which I identified course goals, performance objectives, and learning outcomes, and how different assignments fit into the learning objectives for "modules" within the course. I also created a "Mix Map"... Continue Reading →
Re-envisioning Comp II (again)
Okay. I think I almost have the assignment sequencing down for my Comp II classes. With some tweaking. Of course. Here's what I'm thinking (keep in mind that we're required to have 4 major projects in Comp II, at least 2 of which must be research-based): Sequence I: keep the interview write-up, but add 2-3... Continue Reading →
Today
I am lucky enough to have a comp class this semester in which the students regularly push each other to be better writers and thinkers; I often just sit back and watch what happens. They're spoiling me, and I'm grateful for the experience. I'll stop being obnoxious now.
Cell phone classroom policy
So this post from Barclay Barrios is something to keep in mind. His syllabus policy is this--"use cell phones responsibly or not at all." Given the multiple ways in which we all use our phones now--calendars, internet access, spell checkers, and so on--it does feel disingenuous of me to tell students to turn their phones... Continue Reading →
essaying the plains 