Items on this list are subject to how much time we spend on each item.
1. Take attendance with PeopleSoft printout.
2. Show this teaching blog.
3. Ask if they've seen any arguments or controversy since our last class time.
4. Questions about the two pages in the syllabus that they had to read?
5. Look at the first mini-arguments; the topic was "Write a bad argument." Share in groups maybe and then have them share a few with the whole class.
6. Show eCompanion and how to change email addresses.
7. For next Wednesday: respond to first Class Blog question - What makes you controversial? [Show my video in class?]

I'll save the Syllabus/Book Quiz for Wed (due Thurs) and the Chapter 1/5 readings for Thurs? just in case students don't have the books yet. And, hopefully, by next Wednesday, I'll have an updated chart to hand out to them with more of a day-to-day schedule (instead of weekly).

In trying to look through all my little notes to myself, I've come across some possible revisions to my English 120 Shortfolio. I wrote down that maybe it should be split into two parts... and that maybe the 4of8 goals (Part 1) could utilize Glogster or Animoto. These are things to think about for sure. And, well, this popped into my head too - what if I just asked the student what they'd like their last project to be? Would that be too crazy of an idea? I don't know. If I told them I wanted it to be brief, yet complex, would they come up with something cool and interesting? Maybe.

This image will indicate that the blog entry is about the English 120 On-Campus class. Hopefully, my online students won't confuse it with their list of activities, etc. nor will my English 110 students think these entries are about their class either. Yep.

Okay, so today in class, I started off with Lady Gaga's "The Fame" and told them I'd give 'em all 10 million dollars. DJ and So got into it right away, arguing money and fame. It was awesome. As they argued, and as I asked the other students questions, I used clips from The How of Happiness to ask more questions. Then I asked them to connect what I did (the song, the book) to the class; from there, we looked at how many things in the classroom were arguments. Then, I sent around the very pink sign-in sheet and handed out the syllabus. I think I pointed out the main stuff, like I did with the English 110 class this morning. We ended with 5-10 minutes to spare, and I assigned the "bad" argument, two sheets in the syllabus, and the attempt at eCompanion for tomorrow's class.

It's a good group of students; I know about a third from last semester, and while it was at 29 students for awhile, it looks like it'll be a more manageable 24-25 students.

  I asked students, for half of their required discussion board entry/class blog entry, to find an image on Flickr (again, hopefully from the Creative Commons area) that related to something in our reading this week (out of the book: everything's an argument) and then place a quote they liked on the image using Pixlr.com. Here are a few neat ones.

If Men Got Pregnant*
Maternity leave would last two years . . . with full pay.
There would be a cure for stretch marks.
Natural childbirth would become obsolete.
Morning sickness would rank as the nation’s #1 heath problems.
All methods of birth control would be 100% effective.
Children would be kept in the hospital until toilet trained.
Men would be eager to talk about commitment.
They wouldn’t think twins were so cute.
Briefcases would be used as diaper bags.
Paternity suits would be a fashion line of clothes.
They’d stay in bed the entire pregnancy.
Restaurants would serve pickles and ice cream as the main entree.

*I stole this from a student who did his Global Blog Project on Men & Pregnancy.

Hmph. Caught up on grading (for now), so... what to accomplish before the campus holiday party around 3pm? I don't know where to start. Seriously.

I guess the big one would be getting Creative Writing settled. Looks like I'll be teaching that as an overload since my English 120 Online will be splitting into two classes. With that said, I'll have four English 120 sections... two on-campus and two online. Whoa. Add to all that a second 8-weeks English 105! Not a ton of preps at least! And I think I have nothing on Fridays (the on-campus 120s are MWTh) until that second 8-weeks. I may end up running/training for the Marathon on that day. Do my longest runs... boy, is this a stream-of-consciousness blog paragraph or what? Sheesh almighty.

So, yea. Speaking of the Fargo Marathon... I have until December 30th (I think) to sign up at a reduced price. It gets more expensive after that. Hmmm... as my dad says, "We'll see." And with the possibility of doing a Biggest Loser Challenge on campus, that'll add to my motivation to run run run, right? One can hope.

All My Damn Requirements: The Online English 120 Version.
- Read up on all the details about a MONTH before its due; there are tabs in eCompanion/eCollege about it, PPTs too, and then a handout AND example in Doc Sharing.
- Topics include: arguing about a stereotype you've been placed in... or about the language around you...
- Follow the outline of what to include in each paragraph from the handout.
- Draft, revise, edit, after conducting peer review online with at least one other classmate.
- Email me the paper the week before its due (this is optional); I'll review it like a f2f conference.
- Double-check the paper against the rubric before submission: MLA formatting?, got all the sources necessary?, correct amount of words or pages?, and sources are cited correctly in the paper? Don't use "you" too much? Jazzy title?

So, I guess there's a lot to do? I don't really ask them to argue anything without laying out what would work (outline found in handout). I give them the opportunity to show me what they have before it's due via email (although only about 5% of the students use this option). Yet, it's not like this is even close to real-world situations. When have I had a month to write a 1000word anything? Yea.

But, you know, I am demanding. Apparently.

Oh, wait, they are never going to use the skills I teach them anyhow. I forgot that part.

I was thinking of other metaphors for the details I require. Like, the Works Cited page... the teeny use of "you"... a fun title... Well, I immediately thought of when I get my hair colored. The guy I go to does a fabulous job, but what if he just left out one detail? Left the stuff on a few minutes too long? Used the wrong amounts of color? My hair wouldn't look that fabulous. I probably wouldn't go back to him. If he missed the details more often, more people would stop going to him. DETAILS matter. Students like to say, "Well, I was ONLY missing that." "Okay, yea, but you knew it was a requirement; there are like five places online telling you the requirements. There were student essays that you just peer reviewed that had all the requirements; didn't you catch that you needed X?"

Plus, um, there's this thing called the rubric. I don't assess their papers secretly or use a dart board. All the points are broken down into categories for the 100pt papers: Weak title = -10pts, weak argument = up to -20pts deduction, spelling errors galore = up to -10pt deduction, etc.

 The anti-bell curve??

*Last column = Ds and Fs.

And a better view:
English 105 (first 8-week class) final grades charted...

And just for the "shock" of it, a glance at the English 110 class's current grades...

As well as English 120's (online & on-campus combined)...

... it's just a random Friday, or is it?
... created my very own "the week at a glance" handout. It's got my "listen to george" quotes on it & little boxes for daily lists of what to do before/in/during class. So helpful. So aesthetically pleasing.
... yesterday Wade found this crazy Current Slang book in Errol's desk from way back in '69. Yea. The glossary will be printed off and used in my English 120 class (as I may have them create entries for our very own Texting Slang Dictionary activitiy?); before I have 'em look at it though, Allison, my trusty workstudy, will have to go in and censor some of the derogatory entries. Who really wants to see all the different terms we whiteys have given Mexicans and Blacks? Ick. Focus on the positive (and funny), I say. Did you know the term "scum bag" has changed in definition, for example?
... how is it possible that a child who listens well can come from parents with very small attention spans?
... when we joke around, how much of that is the truth? [See The Sweetest Thing for details on this theory.]
... do parents get jealous of their children's fame or beauty or smarts?
... are random thoughts really all that random?
Happy Friday all.