T Blog

The good news: I’ve accepted a great position at Franklin Pierce University, as a full-time learning specialist. The not so good news is that this will prevent me from teaching my Thinking and Writing course, A Blog of One’s Own, in Fall 2008.

I’m excited to have an opportunity to serve academia and get benefits, an office, and a regular salary. Of course, it’s bittersweet not to get to teach the blog class or Women’s Studies–they’re both exciting and challenging courses.

At Franklin Pierce, I hope to continue to incorporate social media into my work, but am not sure yet how I’ll do that or on what platform I’ll maintain my online presence–I start the new job next week and will see then what’s in use at the school.  If they don’t have academic tech I might use Netvibes  or Pageflakes.

There’s a possibility I’ll be able to teach at Keene State in the spring or summer–we’ll see how it goes. I love the classes I get to teach at Keene.

One of the nice features of a blog is that readers can comment on your posts, and WordPress has a pretty good Comment management system. The amount of spammed comments on my blog has really skyrocketed over the summer, though, and every time I open my email I have ten emails to delete, notifying me of comments. An email from a student with the same situation prompted me to take a look at the options for these emails.

If you’d like to stop getting emails about comments on your Keeneweb blog, here’s how to do it:

Sign into your Keeneweb blog (http://keeneweb.org/wp-admin) and from the dashboard click on the Settings tab (it’s one of the three smaller tabs on the right side of the screen), and then click on the Discussion tab. The second box on the Discussion page contains the “Email me whenever” options. Uncheck the two boxes there and you’ll get no more emails.  Don’t forget to scroll down the the bottom to hit the Save Changes button.  You will still be able to receive comments on your posts, and you can manage the comments whenever you sign into your Keeneweb account.

The Keeneweb Wordpress software has been upgraded to version 2.5. There are some features of it I like already, such as the support of gravatars in the comments tool.

Here’s a link to a YouTube video about WordPress 2.5 that Russ Cobb in our IT department told us Keeneweb users about: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxZLkTnUn34&feature=related.

I think summer is a good time for me to experiment with different templates, so this blog may have a different look every time you come to it for a while.

Portfolios are in campus mail to those Blog of One’s Own students who wanted feedback on their work. I was really impressed by the general level of work students did.

Here’s a video with Joi Ito (who we’ll be reading in ITW 101 a Blog of One’s Own) explaining Creative Commons and the strength of amateur content. This should be of interest to people researching or using music file-sharing, fans of Nine Inch Nails, and folks who know that information wants to be free: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bb-S0ByUwA&eurl=http://joi.ito.com/

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For Blog of One’s Own Students students who want to know their grades for the course, you can view your scores on Blackboard. It will display what you got for the major course components, and I think your My Grades view will also display a “Running Weighted Total,” which is what your grade for the course is.

This is how the final grade is calculated:  semester-long project 40%, blog 25%, attendance and participation 25%, and drafts and peer review 10%.

As you’ll see, I’ve used the KSC grade scale (A, AB, B) rather than A, A-, B+, B, since that’s the scale that is used by the Registrar in records and transcripts. The percentage equivalents are:

A 95%

AB 90%

B 85%

BC 80%

C 75%

CD 70%

D 65%

F 0-60%

I’m pleased to say that I had to use the upper end of the grade scale much more the lower, this semester!

I understand the urgency many students feel to find out what grade they got on semester-long project or their draft, and I’m working industriously this week on carefully reading, responding to, and evaluating each portfolio.  Then I’ll be hard at work calculating those final grades, which I’ll then submit to the registrar.  These tasks are my priority this week, not, I’m afraid, answering individual emails from concerned students who want to know sooner than everyone else what they got. So to the 10 people who emailed already and the 20 who are probably about to, no, I can’t tell you what your grade is yet.

Dear Next Year’s students,Throughout the year we learned a lot from the course A Blog of One’s Own. In the beginning of the semester you spend more time doing the work, but towards the end it gets easier and goes faster. We watch a few YouTube videos in the class which are very interesting.You should stay organized and be prepared to be successful in the class. The library and the writing center are very useful for this class because we have a lot of research and writing. We learned how to use library tools and we received research tools. We also learned about different internet tools. For next years student we hope they have a different perspective on the war after reading Baghdad Burning. This course is not the hardest but it is somewhat time consuming. This is an interesting course and we hope you learn a lot.

Sincerely,

Tau Pod

Dear students of the Fall ‘08 ITW class,

The instructor for this class is very knowledgeable of the information that is presented. She is very excited to teach the information, but if you get on her bad side watch out. Don’t arrive late to class, its only respectful towards your proffessor and classmates. Remember to turn off your cell phones because no one wants to hear your new ringtone. The professor expects you to be respectful and to partake in class discussions. By doing your homework and keeping on top of the reading, you’ll be able to partake in class participation a lot easier.

Also, for your 20 page paper you are required to go to the Writing Center with your work. At the center, students are there to help you with your new paper that you are in the process of developing. Getting another perspective and set of eyes on your paper will only help to being successful with this course and will leave you with a A+.

I wish you the best of luck!

Love,

Bryant Hoard

Caillee Maestro

Kate Kelleher

Sigma Pod

Dear Students of the fall 08′ ITW class,

Our advice for you next year in this class, is to use as many resources that you are given. The Writting Center is a good way to get the advice you need for your semester long project. They do a great job of helping you edit your paper.

The library is another quiet place to get your work done without the distractions of being in your room.

We strongly suggest for you to check these sources out, it really can make a difference in your grade as well as quality of work.

You  need to expect to put time into your work. What you put into it reflects on the quality of your work. A skill for managing your time. Keep up with your blogs. Don’t get behind. If late, it will reflect your grade.

This course is tedious work, but not hard. When completed semester long work, it pays off, just don’t leave all of it for the last minute.

Sincerely,

Rho

Dear Students of the Fall ‘08 ITW class:

There are a lot of things you need to know about this class before you get overwhelmed. Make sure you keep on track with your blogs and the readings. Scheduling and time management are huge factors in this class. Reading will take up a lot of time and never forget your book in class.

The work in this class was fairly easy, but very time consuming. Be prepared to work on your research paper as soon as it is assigned, that will be to your benifit. Make sure you keep up with all the deadlines and it should help you stay organized.

We have learned good research skills in this class. The library secessions were a big help when we were researching for our projects. We also learned about different cultures and how blogging affects many other countries. We hope that they enjoy the books and not get too stressed with all the blogs. Stay on track and GOOD LUCK!

Love, the Pi Pod

PS: Beware of Virginia Woolf.

Future ITW Students:

Expect homework for every class. These assignments can vary in length depending on how long you take to read the material. The assignments are usually not hard. If you read slowly allot more time for assignments. Pertaining to the semester long paper, if you meet the deadlines you will be fine. Do not save this paper til the last minute because you will wish you hadn’t.

You will certainly take away a lot from this class. Most people learned the most about their research topic. Then you will learn how to use a blog and post blog posts. This class also focused on politics and voicing individual opinionated responses after watching selected YouTube shorts. Next yr’s class will hopefully become more political and enjoy the class!

Dear Next Year Students,

What I learned first is what a blog actually was. We learned that blogs are important in many successful corporations. We learned from Blog! about all the different types of blogs. We learned that if you text in class you will get kicked out. We also learned from Baghdad Burning that Iraq & the U.S. are more alike. We hope that next year’s class takes blogs and pod-casting to the next level.

Visiting the Writing Center is a requirement for this course and it is in your best interest to attend. They will help to make your paper better than it was to begin with. The library can help you write your research paper. They will guide you to useful resources. When you go on the field trip to the library it is a great idea to pay attention because Deng Pan is very helpful.

Megan Breen

Meagan Bullett

Melanie Canfield

Chris Colbert

Erin Coyle

Jimmy Ahern

When taking this class you should expect to spend a maximum of about 4 hours a week out of class. This really doesn’t include the 15 page paper you will be working on throughout the semester. You also really want to stay on top of your work otherwise pulling yourself out of a hole will be hard. This course has been pretty hard because on top of your other classes you have at least two homework assignments a night. With this class using outside resources helped a ton. The Writing Center was a great tool. They helped you out so much to get a good jump start on your paper. So I would very much encourage using outside sources because they will help you out and keep you on track with your paper.

Before we started this class,

We wish we realized all the work were getting ourself into. It really never stops until the moment you leave class. We would never get behind on the work. Take advantage of the resources we have, like the Writing Center, going more than once, because you get extra credit. Always keep up to date with the blogs, because once you get behind it just makes it harder. We would also want to start researching early and organizing the research. Starting your portfolio when you start working and keep all of your drafts together.

You should expect to spend about two hours on each assignment, due ever class. The semester long project will take at least a month to complete. The readings and writings can be time consuming, especially when you have two at once. Taking other classes, you should plan a time to do the blogs every night.

The end, good luck!

Outside of class students should expect to spend at least an hour, including reading time, on each blog. When we had different portions of our paper due, depending on length, you should expect to spend at least two hours per night, and then as the paper gets lengthy, even up to 4 to 5 hours. With our courses, it definitely was hard to handle, just because we were constantly juggling our paper, with regular writing assignments. The Writing Center was helpful because they gave you a lot of feedback, and helped with the actual structure of the paper. Next semester students should definitely consider the Writing Center, more than once, not only because it’s extra credit , but because you can benefit.Good luck to next semester students!

-Lambda Pod

For our final class meeting of the 12 o’clock, 4 o’clock, and 6 o’clock sections:

Students completed a survey on attitudes toward information literacy for Professor Yi Gong, the post-test complement to the one from the beginning of the semester. Portfolios and final instructor drafts of the semester-long project were handed in, and students did a group letter writing assignment reflecting on the course and providing advice for next semester’s Blog of One’s Own Students. (I’ll post these here on my Keeneweb blog.)  Now, students are all done with their work for the semester, since there is no final in this course–all the work is mine now, as I read and respond to final papers and portfolios.

Thanks, Spring ‘08 students, for a challenging and rewarding semester!

For our penultimate class meeting of the 4 and 6 o’clock sections, I handed out instructions for submitting essays to Blackboard for ITW submissions, answered questions about the final draft of the semester-long project, we did peer review of 15-20 page drafts, listened to the third and final podcasts by students about Baghdad Burning, and students filled out evaluation forms.

Peer Review Method: 1) Carefully read your classmate’s essay. 2) Identify two of the elements from the Grading Standards Sheet that they’re doing well with and the highlight the parts of the essay that demonstrate that. 3) Identify two of the grading standards elements that you think they could most fruitfully work on. 4) Write your classmate a half page note (on notebook paper or on their essay) explaining what two standards they’re doing well on and why you think so, and what two standards they could work on, and why you think so. Sign your name return the essay to your classmate.

In class this Monday for the 12 o’clock section, tutors Haley and John came from the Writing Center to do a workshop on proofreading and editing. Thanks, guys! They covered transitions, sound-alike words, writing formally, the importance of a polished final project, having a strong claim, and more.

I also handed out the directions for submitting the final draft to the TW Blackboard site and handed out portfolio checklists and grading standards sheets to students who didn’t get them last week. Just as a recap, you put your final draft and all previous drafts with the instructor and peer feedback in a portfolio with a printout of all your blog posts (you don’t have to print out Keene-Ning) and hand in that physical copy on Wednesday.  For Wednesday you also have to submit your instructor draft electronically to the digital Dropbox on Blackboard for this course, and submit an anonymous copy of your essay to the ITW site on Blackboard. 

Finally, we listened to the podcasts students recorded in our section for the final homework assignment, which I thought provided a perfect final discussion of Riverbend’s Baghdad Burning. I was proud of the thoughtful responses students had to the book.

On Wednesday you’ll complete another survey on information literacy for Professor Yi Gong like you did at the beginning of the semester, complete a “Letter to Next Year’s Class” assignment with your group (your choice of written or Gabcast response), and hand in your final portfolios. Portfolios are due at the beginning of class.

First of all, an alert student brought to my attention that the directions handout says that Podcast 2 is not due until midnight tonight, and of course I will honor what the instructions I gave you in writing, so anyone that didn’t post a link on their blogs to Podcast 2 yet has until midnight tonight.

In class today I handed out a portfolio checklist that tells you everything you need to hand in the last day of class, and a Grading Standards sheet that tells you how I will evaluate your final draft of the semester-long research and writing project. We went over them, then discussed the reading in Baghdad Burning, students’ impressions of it, and I asked for students’ thoughts on what it’s like reading one blogger in depth and at length, and now that you’re all experienced podcastters, I asked for students insights on how audioblogging compares to text blogging.  After the break we did peer review of 15-20-page drafts. Today’s method was to read the essay, identify two of the grading standards that it was especially successful in, highlight the parts of the essay that show that success, and then write a note of about half a page to talking about what two elements from the grading standards the essay was most successful at, and what two might be the most important to work on to create a successful essay.