It's been a crazy busy semester this spring, and I'm in the middle of final grading right now...which explains why I'm posting, right? Some spring semester notes (teaching related primarily, but also a bit of a hodge-podge): Never, ever, ever will I ever agree to multiple independent studies in the same semester; I ended up... Continue Reading →
Blendkit2012 week 5: big picture thinking
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 →
#Blendkit2012 week 4: Blended Content & Assignments
The first part of the reading for Blendkit week 4 reminds me of something I was told as a first-year graduate student T.A. ten years ago: I was in the middle of teaching my first ENG 101 class (Composition I) at the University of Kentucky and one of my office-mates, another new T.A., told me... 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 →
#Blendkit2012: week one
I am participating in a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) out of the University of Central Florida for the next 5 weeks: the course is Blendkit2012, and the focus is blended learning. (This is actually the second MOOC I've participated in, the first being a "Power Searching With Google" course I completed this past summer).... 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 →
The greatest invention in the world?
As an icebreaker in my comp II class this semester, I asked students what they considered the greatest invention in the history of the world. I was inspired by this guy, who believes the greatest invention is writing, which I discussed with students after we shared our answers with each other. My answer to the... Continue Reading →
essaying the plains 