important links for this class:
my english 120 syllabus,
the ndsu's homepage as well as
the ndsu library homepage,
the best site ever (not super important but cool), and
my xanga teaching blog.
archive
a class blog for freshmen students to discuss controversial issues online...
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Posted
3:03 PM
by Sybil
Stay tuned for which group won the "Most Creative" Utopia and "Most Likely to Live There" Utopia.
Have a great summer all!! This was definitely one of the best semesters for me. Thanks a ton!
:-)
Posted
8:04 AM
by Sybil
Things I am Glad about: (p.s. That adjective isn't cool enough, I think, to be one of J.Lo's in her most recent song.. "I am glad about being with you errr whatever"... I don't think that quite fits. She's going downhill in the lyrics dept. Wait, was she ever uphill?)
=Having my big huge '60s Literature class paper DONE! (like I told Mark: 15 pages of brainfarts.)
=Having a $20/hour job to look forward too even if it is editing/formatting for a big conforming corporation.
=Having a rainy week because I sleep better, and yea, staying indoors to read/do homework isn't so horrible.
=Having everything finalized this week.
=Wearing my NDSU tee today because it's comfortable.
and...
=Having cool students. (That is a BIG bonus in my life.)
Posted
5:54 PM
by Sybil
I am 3.2 pages away from being done with my 15 pager for my 60s/70s literature class. Ugh.
The end of another semester. Sheesh. This time next year, I'll be graduating... or something like that. Wow. Boggles my mind. What will I do then?
I hope everyone had a great time in this class. I really do. And even if you didn't, well, I did - so BUGGER OFF! :-) hee hee. But seriously, I look forward to hanging out with all of you in the computer lab next week.... it'll be a laid back atmosphere (wait, isn't that how the classroom atmostphere should be too?). I might even bring treats (or is that illegal?). And what's nice is you could blog right there about what you are doing/thinking or do other homework if you finish up the portfolio. After thinking about it, I figured that maybe Paper #5 (reflecting on the semester, reflecting on how you did) should be handed in separately since I will need time to look at that in more depth... the portfolios won't be handed in, just looked at suspiciously :-) Remember: IACC 114 both days.
Good luck to all of you on your finals. Take it easy and try not to stress out too much!
Posted
11:56 AM
by Sybil
Wow. So much to comment on...
First off: I apologize for not using some of the movies you all mentioned. The reason I didn't get those movies was I though maybe if you saw something (like today's movie) that you hadn't seen before, you'd have a first-time gut response to it. After I first watched it for the first time this weekend, I thought WOW I don't want anyone's life in this... but after having watched it with all of you, my response has changed. I didn't want to have you rethink on a movie you had seen before. I think better responses will come from that.. instead of: "I watched this with my friends and THEY thought blah blah blah..." I hope that point got across.
Secondly: You are welcome for the day off last Tuesday. I just think having class with five people (unless the class total is 5) is silly.
Thirdly: The Real World. Yea... the reality show stuff is getting old. But then again before this all started we had shows like Seinfeld, etc which really try to be about life and how it is about nothing... So, would you rather have characters or "real" people? I liked The Real World thing due to the different issues it brought up: AIDS, non-conformists, stereotypes ("the ghetto queen"), what should be public vs. private, racism, violence, etc... Today's movie (Short Cuts) I liked due to showing controversy in families and in everyday life.
Lastly: I will be printing off all of the blog entries probably next Friday, so get on here and make sure that you have blogged at least once every two weeks.. or make up for it and write about something on here. Possible topic: How is this war against Iraq the same or different from the Vietnam war?
Posted
10:59 AM
by Sybil
The computer lab we will be in May 6 & 8 is IACC Room 114.. the one in the hallway where we've met before.
=As far as Thursday goes... be ready to share Paper #3.. bring all three main papers for peer revision too...
=And then, as far as the portfolio goes: Make sure to make those three papers better.. tweak them... add to them... clarify within them, etc.. look at the comments I made on them and maybe take them into account as well. Besides Writing Assignment #5 being due Thursday, all we have left is the portfolio and Paper #5 which is designed to be somewhat of a reflection paper on this semester and these papers/assignments. Paper #5 needs to be 2-3 pages and is due Thursday May 8 in class, preferably. You must show me your finished online or paper portfolio by the end of class on May 8 as well. This way, we are all finished on that day. Yea!!
{I will have to read the entries below later today... I need to keep up on what is happening. I'll respond to what's been said soon. Thanks for continuing blogging all! I hope you've enjoyed being a little online-interactive. ;-) }
Posted
6:38 PM
by Sybil
Wow, so glad to see everyone on here since the last time I posted. And people who haven't blogged in awhile are popping up too.. could it be that they realized they get points for this! I hate having to "require" certain things, but that's class.. and that's education. Would we still learn without requirements: tests, papers, projects? Good question, eh?
These utopia projects are great. All I wanted was for all of you to think, have fun, and CREATE. Oh, and compromise too. Those are four pretty good goals, I think. Anyhow, we've had treehouses, motorhome communities, and islands for the old separated from islands of the young. Very interesting stuff. I have been blown away with many issues and ideas brought up in each utopia presentation. It's not that I didn't think you all had these ideas in you, it's that you are all articulate with how to explain them and why they will and won't work. I am really impressed, and I am not just saying that. Seriously.
I want to reply to so many of the comments below, but I don't have the time right now. Just know that I read everyone's things.. good and bad.. crappy or happy thoughts. I appreciate the time you all take to let us know how your papers, and lives, are going. We are our own little class utopias, you know. I'd call the 8am class utopia calm, serene, and quiet thinkers.. whereas the 9:30 utopia is more amusing, blunt, and outspoken. It's an interesting combination for a teacher to deal with twice a week, let me tell you!!
Okay- for those of you those e-mail addresses are not liked by my address book, here's the latest e-mail-
These portfolios (online or paper) are collections of your papers and any other writings you'd like to include from this semester. The last week (we'll be in a computer lab) of classes (May 6 & 8) are designated for you to use as time to revise these papers.. make them visually pleasing (highlight interesting parts, rearranging odd organizations, add information, redo confusing sentences, etc) either on paper or online. Those of you from last semester, please take into account that I will not allow you to just put your papers on a weblog, etc. This is why I am giving the paper portfolio option. Sometimes web sites get too confusing or too overwhelming. If you start online and then get confused, you'll have to go to the paper portfolio option.
I like to use portfolios because they are a good way for students to see just what the HECK they've done over the semester PLUS get a chance to revise (since if you revise them, you'll get a better portfolio grade). Another added bonus to having a portfolio of work done is that in the future, you'll have these revised and well-done papers at your disposal for other classes and projects. Say later on you end up having to research music in conjunction to culture in an anthropology class, etc.. you could use parts of your paper #2. Many former students tell me they use bits and pieces of papers in 120/110 later on even though they didn't think they would.
Also- May 1st: Be prepared to share a part of one of your papers (probably this definiton one, #3 or the music one, #2).. some of you have written awesome papers, and I think the class deserves to see/hear what everyone else wrote for some of these assignments. You won't have to share the whole darn paper, just a piece of it. After we share papers (heck, I'll even share a paper from this semester if you want), we'll do some revising and end with Class Evaluations.
Wow, I was long-winded today. See you all Thursday with the last of our presentations!
Posted
5:54 PM
by Sybil
[I e-mailed this to all of you too.] Just dropping a note to tell you what we'll be doing tomorrow. For some reason, I feel like I don't do much when you are all working on these group projects.. but maybe that's a good thing that you all learn from each other instead of me (do you learn from me?) for awhile. Anyhow, tomorrow we'll have our last day of group work time, you'll be able to have people look at your Definiton paper, AND in your groups, I am going to have you think (and write up) of how you want to be graded on for these papers and presentations. Since there aren't many groups, maybe I will allow the grading to be individualized. If one group wants me to grade more on mechanics and another wants me to look more at how well it is organized (the paper, that is), then that's cool with me. I believed I placed 100 points with each part of this group project. 100 for the paper and 100 for the presentation.
For April 10th, we don't have an entire day planned in either class yet so let's return to the book for that day. There are a few essays I would still like you all to read. For the 10th, read 385-394 (9 pages!!) and we'll talk about those essays after whoever presents.
Also, later on in the semester we have Group Chapter Presentations again.. I may cancel those and do something more fun for an assignment. Any ideas??
Post questions to the class blog as you have them.
Ok. Diana- that's great that you are finding tons of information. It's up to you to filter through and find what will pertain to what you REALLY want to say. Brady- there is a LOT of stuff out there about hippies. You'll find good and bad definitons I am sure. You may want to use stories about them to show their lifestyle versus the "hippies" of this generation. Eric- I would define a slut as a girl that goes home with a different guy every weekend and probably doesn't know his name. A girl with low self esteem and a girl that needs attention paid to herself because of that low self esteem. Oh- here's another definiton: someone who has to mention in her group of friends (close friends or not) that she's not wearing underwear or that she loves glow-in-the-dark condoms. I HAD a friend like that. Wait, do sluts have "friends"? You have a good survey set up below.. hopefully you'll get more responses!
Keep up the great work with the Utopias!! I am excited to see what is developing!
Posted
11:58 PM
by Sybil
It's a nice feeling to know that all of you are enjoying these projects.. I never know how a project's idea will pan out in the classroom. Sometimes it's like throwing darts and hoping to hit a bullseye (which is how I play because I stink). When the idea was brought up to me by Katey Ehrenberg (some of you may have had her last semester) and her office T.A.s, I thought for sure it would make everyone think because immediately I THOUGHT about it. So, hopefully everyone learns and has fun with it (my big goals in any class or project).
As far as these visual presentations go, I am thinking that I'll give each group about 20 minutes to show us the visual and explain it and then sort of sum up what their utopia is all about (plus give reasons why it'll work, etc). After that, the class can ask questions and we'll have a low-key, informal discussion about the utopia being presented. I am going to shoot for 2 groups to go per day. On Tuesday, I'll have a sign up sheet for both the presentations (the day your group presents= the day your paper is due) and the conferences to take place April 8-9. The conference with each group should take maybe 20 minutes.. does that seem like too much or not enough? Does anyone forsee needed class time on April 8th so far? Are groups getting things accomplished at a good pace??
My Thoughts on the War: "Freedom of Speech" is a tricky thing. I still don't get why people condemn others that have opinions that are opposite to them. If that's what they think, then that's what they think, right? I go back and forth on the issue of war all the time. I am told I am a "hippie" when it come to most things, but somedays I just want Saddam gone. Maybe I am a "hippie with attitude"... Someone has to stand up for those people he beats on... but, then again, why does it have to be US all the time!? I am glad I don't have to write a paper about this.