Whatever bug was trying to take over my body yesterday is starting to diminish.
And as for my presentation today, I'd have to say it was one of the best.
I can be funny, sometimes.
I felt delightfully ready even though I was exhausted.
Blogging rejuvenates me. Not even sure if I spelled that word correctly.
AND Amy Ruly showed up too;
she probably doesn't remember that I watched her
basketball practices for my coaching experience class.

Sidenotes:
Keynote by Logie from the U of M was AWESOME.
Innovative PPT techniques, yet
Melissa and I frowned when he said that blogging was "old school."
Is it? Huh. In comparison to Facebook & MySpace, it is a grampa?
And Schnell should've attended my session;
students don't use "texting speak" in my class blogs...
Lastly, the only "bad's" to blogging I've come across in these sessions,
as far as questions from people, is the fact that someone could find
everything I've written online.
Now that I think about it, what I have written is truly what I think.
My thoughts. Myself in thoughts. ONLINE.
Should we edit ourselves THAT much?
And who's going to take the time to find all my "stuff"?
Just some things that I wonder about...

So, what am I doing blogging on a Sunday?
Well, I have a blogging presentation Tuesday.
Blogs have no limitations, people.
They are always there for you.
(I also just checked my school email; how many instructors do that?
On the weekends? And my online classes still see icky evals? Huh.)

Look out! CRAZY weeks ahead...

This week:
1. Monday - classes: introducing the last paper in 10am's 110, workday for the GBP in 11am's 120, & introducing the PPT MusicVideo in 3pm's 110. (St. Patty's Day!)
2. Monday evening - head to Fargo w/completed blogging presentation.
3. Tuesday - attend Social Media conference at NDSU.
4. Tuesday evening - lil' sis is having a purse party.
5. Wednesday - head back to Wahpeton, meet with Tina at 10?, class at 3pm (workday for PPTMV).
6. Thursday - classes: WC review & lots of readings to cover in 10am's 110, Peer Review in 11am's 120, & Literary Journalism "workshop" in CW
7. Friday - hair appointment? or head back to Fargo for trip to ____ with ____?

Next week:
1. Monday - 8 weeks from the Fargo Marathon Relay! Britney is on How I Met Your Mother?
2. Tuesday - classes: 10am Team-Teaching, 11am Chapter 26, & massive WorkShop in CW.
3. Tuesday evening - head to UND to hear/see Salman Rushdie.
4. Wednesday - attend Writer's Conference at UND.
5. Thursday - classes: 10am Writing Conferences, 11am Chpt 28 and last essay intro, and final Mini's due in CW.
6. Thursday evening/Friday morning - head to Fargo for Red River Graduate Student Conference.
7. Friday - RRGSC at NDSU.

So, I started my own media memoir yesterday. I thought it would be about blogging AND fashion, but it's turned out to only focus on blogging and how that part of the internet has affected my life. I was hoping to incorporate how, once I watched Sex and The City, I went from not caring about fashion to wanting to suck it all in, learn about it all. But it's not going to fit; I only have 1000 words.

Sidenote: Now, I even watch Project Runway although I have no idea how they do it (design from scratch, without patterns)... I may soon learn the whole "sewing machine" bit though since I got one from my parents for my birthday. I was telling Cheryl that I just want to know how to use it RIGHT NOW. I have to be patient. I have to allow myself to screw up. It's going to be hard, but I am excited. Plus, it's something on my Life List too.

Besides the media memoir, I've used my lil' bit of spare time to create a template for my syllabi. Yes, that's very dorky (geeky, nerdy), but I enjoy document design. And this way, I can utilize the very cool syllabus I created for Creative Writing. I'm using almost the same design for 110 and 120; I just really like how I laid all of it out.

Lately, I've been REALLY REALLY REALLY trying to focus on those students who "get it" and "show up" and listen and all that basic stuff (I mean, I had lunch with Richard yesterday; he's one of those students who has to have a 115% or he's in my office all flustered). But once in awhile, I have to rant. Vent. Get it out. This morning happens to be one of those moments:

After I assess/grade the online sections, I've always gotten students' emails asking why they got a certain grade, etc. Now, typically, I leave a comment in the Gradebook (which shows up in blue to them) that explains it (This was late, etc.), but sometimes I forget or assume. Yea, that last one is a bugger. I assume they've read the rubric or the syllabus or the directions. My Class Blog grading is rather simple: make sure you have the posts you should (is it three this week or two, which is explained), make sure to comment/respond on what you are supposed to respond too (this article, not that one, etc.), and make sure to at least have 10+ sentences of quality thought in the response. Oh, and they can't be late (Saturday at midnight is the deadline, except for Finals Week). I understand why more of them have questions when it comes to the papers & their grading system because my rubric (yes, I even give them the rubric I'm going to use - How many of my teachers did that? Um, none.) is complex. But it's all there. Chopped up into a table. Yet, some students don't print it off when it's on the "stuff to print off this week" part of our semester's chart.

I really don't think I have a lot of mystery to my assessment.

Heck, I had teachers who never handed back ANYTHING. {I wonder if Steve Ward still has my World Literature papers shoved in some folder; I adored his classes, so it's even tough to critique that aspect of his grading system.}

--- End rant. ---

And... while talking to Richard yesterday, I realized that the fact that I am a wee bit different sometimes doesn't help me or my students. I like to think it does, but when they've had teachers who were mysterious about their grading or about what they wanted from students, students start to not only think English classes "suck," but they start to think that writing is a mystery. A mystery they'll never solve. Then, they take my class. I throw all sorts of possibility at them, and they probably think, "No way. She wants what every other teacher has wanted. She truly does not want me to write what I want to write. She's full of it." But I am not. Not when it comes to student writing. I KNOW they have something to say, but they are the ones who have to figure out how to say it. How to write it so it works for them. Sure, I want the darn thing to be organized, but I want it to be interesting to THEM and to the reader(s).

I feel like I am constantly trying to tear down the statue that states, "Writing is punishment." It's a statue that's been built up by students ever since they got a red-inked essay back or got Fs in spelling or didn't know what a comma was even after weeks of grammar practice worksheets.

HERE is just ANOTHER reason YOU SHOULD BE BLOGGING, people! Last night, I went to my personal blog and dinked around... skimmed the early months of the year to see what I was doing at the beginning of 2007. Wow. I have come along way (baby?). In fact, I hadn't remembered that I purchased my iMac this year (feels like I've had it for forever) or that I went to the GTAO conference at NDSU and had a blast. That was this year! See! It RECORDS my thoughts, my goings-on... what would I do without MY BLOGS? I have no idea. It's like how most people feel about their cell phone; what did I ever do before having blogs? Those memories are far, far away now. Lost in the caves of my neurons.

Well, I'm wired off a delicious lunch with Cheryl, a large 1/2 diet 1/2 Dr. Pepper fountain pop, and two cups of coffee. Better continue using my hyperactivity to complete some stuff:

_x_ 2 - 120 eCollege shells
___ 120 eCompanion, print off 120 12wk syllabus too
_x_ 110 eCompanion shell, regular semester
___ 110 eCompanion shell, 12wk
___ Both 110s = print off syllabi
___ Creative Writing eCompanion shell, print off syllabus

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL; START BLOGGING AS A RESOLUTION!
You'll thank me for it in a year!

After some help from my mentors (and the wracking of my own brain), I think I've concocted a presentation for the GPACW, if they'll have me. It'll focus on blogging (duh), specifically my teaching blog & how it allows me to reflect upon my teaching theories & practices as well as how it allows for information sharing/networking. And, in the background, will be a pecha kucha PPT. Wonderful.

Notes from morning run/walk - How come people are warming up their vehicles when it's 60 degrees out? And, how come vehicles won't move over when I have no sidewalk, being forced to run on the hard street concrete? Lastly - Why doesn't this town have more sidewalks? Especially in residential areas!

People often ask me why I blog. Why I keep a PUBLIC teaching blog, for instance. And some even judge before they read thinking that I am using this thing to show my students my personal side. That's not really the case. The essay I commented on recently by Kinsey McKinney lead me to realize that I blog because I need/want to reflect. And this blog entry connects to why I just gotta blog too:

"[...] I also use this blog not only to share useful tips and information but also to keep a record for myself of thoughts on different areas of self improvement. This has been helpful to remind myself of various ideas and techniques that can help me improve my life and of mistakes that are so easy to make. [...]

9 more reasons to write [blog] things down

= Written goals are important. One thing a lot of very successful self improvement writers [...] go on and on about is the importance of having written goals. A written goal brings clarity and focus. It gives you a direction. And by rewriting your goals you not only reaffirm what your goals are. You may also have found new insights that bring more clarity and focus to your goal and life. A written goal is also a powerful reminder that you can use to keep yourself on track.

= To remind yourself to focus. [...]

= Unloading your mental RAM. When you don´t occupy your mind with having to remember every little thing – like how much milk to get – you become less stressed and it becomes easier to think clearly. [...]

= Clearer thinking. You can’t hold that many thoughts in your head at once. If you want to solve a problem it can be helpful to write down you thoughts, facts and feelings about it. Then you don’t have to worry your mind about remembering, you can instead use it to think more clearly. Having it all written down gives you an overview and makes it easier to find new connections that can help you solve the problem.

= A record of what you were thinking. I have already noticed how interesting it is to just go back a month to see what I was thinking then. I believe that when you have kept a record of your thoughts for quite a while you’ll have some fascinating reading on your hands. It can also show you how you have changed and improved.

= A record of your positive qualities. When I read what have written it is sometimes fuzzy and unfocused. But other times I’m kinda surprised at how clever I was. Keeping a written record could be a good way to remind yourself of your positive qualities.

= Improve long-term focus on what’s important. Reminders that I described above can be useful to keep you on track in your normal day. But you can also use a journal as a way to keep an overview of your thinking over a longer timespan and to recognize both positives and negatives in your thinking. [...]

= Become better acquainted with yourself. You may, for instance, have an image of your life where you are a positive person but discover when reading through your notes for the last month that you are negative about your job or a relationship in almost every entry. This might tell you something that you haven’t really paid much attention to about yourself and/or something about that job or relationship. This can bring clarity to your life.

= Track your achievements. If you are working out or investing in stocks it can be useful to keep written record of your results and thoughts over a longer timespan. It can not only motivate you when you are feeling down about your perceived lack of positive results and let you see how far you have really come.[...]"

This article, found on The Guardian, brings up a lot of insights into teacher blogs and teacher blogging; however, "Lectrice, in Blackboard Jungle, describes how, despite having been bullied herself as a teenager, she was unable to spot it happening in her own classroom." Now, granted, I don't know where she teaches or what level she's teaching at, but whether I was student-teaching 8th graders in West Fargo or teaching 9-12 in lakes country of Minnesota or at NDSU or here at NDSCS, I've witnessed bullying. All sorts. Non-verbal and verbal. Based on race, intelligence, gender, sexual orientation - you name it. Either she's not looking very hard (and "looking" would be a hard word to define here, obviously), or she's got sneaky students.

With that said, I haven't really known what to do with bullies and the bullied, but still, it's THERE and it sucks (for lack of a better word). I was bullied blahblahblah and at any level, what can a teacher really do but holler at the bully and then later find out that caused even more problems for the bullied person(s)? The bullied need to simply stand up for themselves (but that's a whole other opinion I'll get into later if ever).

Anyhow, beyond that one paragraph, I enjoyed the other "items to note": the blurriness of the anonymity of teacher blogs, the fact that in five years there may be blogging rules for teachers, the possibility that a blog entry could get one dismissed, the idea that the blog could end up showing more of the negative (due to the therapuetic nature of writing) aspects of teaching versus the positive... the list goes on. It's nice to see an entry about the implications of blogging after so many years of "what is a blog?" type of articles. And while this article does point out the negatives to blogging (in the teaching profession), it shows the FABULOUS USES to the activity - teachers sharing ideas with teachers and non-teachers, getting feedback, reflection on one's practices, much needed venting space (private or public), and having a place for students to go to for help/advice/feedback/announcements.

Sidenote: If your significant other was going to be on The Real World, wouldn't you just want to break up with them because they are OBVIOUSLY going to cheat on you? That show has lost its edge & meaning.

I can see the top of my desk.
It's quite a thrill, let me tell you.

Oh, and I am definitely a mix between a "Minister to the Soul" and a "Good Wizard of Everything." "Keepers of the Gate" and "Physicians to the Masses" are a little more negative about grading than I am (the former has expectations that students will never reach, and the latter feels the need to "diagnose" every student's problem when, really, they have no clue what the disease is to begin with - what's the point?). Oh sure, I was a "grammar nazi" not too long ago, but then realized that students really didn't know how to use a semi-colon, etc (and, really, it was pounded into me, so that's why I know that stuff). Many of them (many!) have been told they can't write so they really think they can't. But they have stories! They have great sentence structure when they aren't thinking about the red pen comin' at them. That's one thing I guess I can brag about - I really don't get down on students' writing... and that's also why I love to get 'em BLOGGING.

A new study on the horizon... instead of coding a community blog (where students aren't required to write), I'm going to collect Class Blog entries from a few classes (some online, some on-campus using eCompanion) as well as academic essays. I want to see how critical/complex each batch (blogs versus academic essays) will be. I'm intrigued.

"We'll see," as my dad says often.

Opening Week starts us up Wednesday with a big ol' breakfast for everyone on campus... before that occurs though, I'd like to a) get my English 110 syllabus finished & over to the Copy Center, b) get its eCompanion site ready to roll, and c) organize/file, at least, the piles on my desk so I have room.