EOF -- The End!

Anyone who believes they have completely finished revising Essay #3 should show a copy to EdWay. If it agrees that you have revised to a satisfactory degree, it will give you back Essay #4 in case you would like to begin revising it.

Essay #3 Revisions are due tomorrow in class.

In class, tomorrow we will discuss essays #4 & 5.

Due on a rolling basis anytime this week, and by Wednesday: Your four journals, typed and presented in your best hand. Special consideration will be given to those who hand in this assignment earlier as opposed to later.

Wednesday: We will send Essay #3 to contest.
We will collect final assignments. We will have a final family show-down if time.
We will say good-bye! You will miss me. I am delightful. I will miss you. You are delightful...as hell!

Stockton Freshmen Essay Contest as Posted by Prof Lenard

ESSAY CONTEST

“This I Believe”

Write your own “”This I Believe” essay.  Read the Freshman Common Reading for this year (This I Believe) and write your own “This I Believe” essay, following the format on pages 247-48. But instead of sending it to the This I Believe project website, send it to Georgeann.lenard@stockton.edu no later than 14 August 2012.

EOF Class #12, July 19, 2012

Module: Testy Poo

Assignment: Essay #5: Find an article...from anywhere...credible, or not, that takes the opposite opinion of an issue you are passionate about. And write a well-researched, well-organized rebuttal of three or four pages. Use my essay as a model if you need help (with, well, less sarcasm). I want one of your sources to be scholarly. Be sure you are following all of the tenets of good writing discussed in our course. Be sure to have an interesting, divisive opening, an implicit but clear thesis, good paragraph development, a good mix of direct quotations and summation, concrete examples and sound mechanics and grammar. Due Monday.

EOF Class #11, July 18, 2012

Class: Finish text quality activity (20)
Rhetoric lecture and activity (20)
This I Believe discussion... 38 & 88 (20)
Finish Research lecture

Module: The last family read & discuss....proctored by EdWay. The essays: 41, 47, 82, 227 & 230 

Stockton Writing Institute Goals Report

Hi everyone! Sorry I could not make it to our session...I am the only one available to take my son Finn to his weekly appointment today. My wife and I have four kids, so the appointment schedule is pretty ridiculous. Actually, EVERYTHING about life with four kids is pretty ridiculous.

Here's living proof of my gaggle. Finn's the one on my head. I always keep one on my head, cause, you know, I only have two hands. Duh.

Back to class...I hope everyone did their homework. I know I would NEVER be caught without my homework, right Professor DiGiorgio?

So here's a quick summation of how I fulfilled (or almost fulfilled) my goals. Please click on the links where applicable for examples of my findings or my work.

W.I. Goal #1: I will update my start-of-term, student learning assessments by switching to a more comprehensive, digital model. 

I did some research on ready-made digital learning inventories that would help me (and you?) start the year with some good information about my students' learning capacities.

For EOF this summer, I used a test from "The Personality Lab" (click on the link and check it out). It has lots of cool quizzes worth looking at. I used the "Which Hogwarts House are You" (I couldn't resist). The experience was "just ok." It was easier for me to distribute because all I had to do was drop a link on my blog and the students filled out the survey. The results were tallied, and most of personality lab's results can get e-mailed right to you. Definitely saves trees and class time. However, I thought the results were a bit too narrow for my needs.

In the Fall, I plan to try "The Big Five Personality Traits" (thank you, Sara) to see if that fits my needs any better.  

W.I. Goal #2: I will research ways to enhance my smaller written assignments through the use of social media by creating an exclusive Twitter account for my Stockton courses, designing and implementing a FB group for discussions and researching other social media methods for complementing my blog.

Ok, so I started with Twitter. I went to all the trouble of creating an AVATAR account (a fake identity to use the networking site for a specific purpose) so my students could "follow" me without actually "following" ME. I even found an Osprey dripping with awesome to use as a persona. See?

But then I quickly realized that I didn't need all that jazz. I got my students to communicate reactions and analysis via twitter feeds by using a common hash tag for each assignment. (i.e. #eofco) This made it super easy for me to check and grade. It also made it super easy for them because they didn't need to follow me or each other. And they didn't need to direct their comments at anyone in particular. They just attach the given hashtag to their comment and BOOM! Twitter class discussion time! 

I didn't need a separate account. I didn't need to get the kids to follow me. It was easy and effective. I pasted a screen shot below of one such assignment (just in case you guys don't want to bother logging into Twitter). If you'd like to check the feeds out live (one assignment was due today!) Feel free to log on to Twitter and search the following hashtags: #EOFCo or #EOFCo2...and go ahead...leave a post. It's fun for everyone.

W.I Goal #3: I want to find an application and learn how to more effectively use voice recordings as not only a feedback tool, but also for presentation purposes (i.e. record sound and post podcast supplements to my blog).

Ok, so I did not master podcasting this summer, BUT in the pursuit of podcasting, I realized that my blogging software (Shhhh! We're using it right now, but I'm gonna talk garbage about it, and I don't want it to turn all HAL 9000 on me, "I can't let you disconnect me, Joe.") is not equipped to handle the upload of audio files. Before I can integrate podcasting onto my blog, I need to change blogs. So...I set my sights on the much more capable, but much more complicated WordPress software.

My wife has wanted to start a blog about autism (our son Finn is on the spectrum), so I talked her into using WordPress instead of Blogger (it's just better...graphically, functionally, etc). Over the past week, we have been teaching ourselves WordPress (and it's haaaaaahrd, wicked haaaahrd as Marky Mark or Wade Boggs might say). The hope is, once I master designing my wife's blog, I'll move this blog to WordPress (Shhh). Then my Stockton courses will be podcast-ready. Word.

Feel free to check out my wife's blog, our maiden voyage into WordPress, here.

Thanks for your time, everyone. Happy Summer. Sorry I missed all your great work!

EOF Class #10: July 17, 2012

Class: Questions on writing/assignments & modules
Finish Reading Notes & Activity (for real this time) (1h)
Rhetoric Intro and Discussion (20)
"This I Believe..." Readings

Module Assignment: For each element, please place a smiley face : ) or an unhappy face : ( ...depending on the quality (or even the existence) of each element.

1. Has the writer created a divisive introduction? Is it effective? If not, how can the writer change it?

2. Is there a discernible thesis? Is it implicit or explicit? Either way, is it effective?
3. Does the paper contain credible research? Are sources CITED and ATTRIBUTED? Is the works cited page in proper format?
4. Does the paper CONNECT the research to the thesis? In order words, does the paper not only provide EVIDENCE from research, but also use that research to SUPPORT the thesis?
5. Check mechanics by doing a backwards peer edit of sentences.

Assignments:

1. Reading Notes Test in module on Thursday, July 19th

2. Essay #2 & Essay #4 rewrites due by class on Thursday

3. Twitter comments due by class tomorrow

EOF Class #09: July 16, 2012: Module Assignments

Class: Discussion of Essay #2 (5)
Discussion on Skube and paper, module assignment (15)
Finish Active Reading -- Evaluate for Quality (Test on Wednesday during module) (60)
This I Believe...pgs 26 & 38

EOF Class #7, July 11, 2012: Class Resources, Boolean Search Presentation

Research! Research! Research!

Cornell Method

Guess the Google

Module: Hmmm....what's that smell? Can you smell what Costal is cooking? Oooooo that smell! Can you smell that smell?!

EOF Class #6, July 10, 2012: Assignments

Class Plan:

1. Talk Intros

2. Talk theses

3. Finish Reading Discussion & Lecture

4. "This I Believe" p. 23, 59 & 224

Module Assignment: I will be present. Each family will read one of the "This I Believe" essays, collaborate on the questions below and then present their analysis to the group.

Here are the five stories, one for each family:

page 76, 112, 115, 131 & 200

EOF Class #4, July 5th, 2012, Quiz

The Quiz: To be completed on your own, quietly. On a piece of  notebook paper. Answers should be brief (a few sentences), but in complete sentences. Handed in to EdWay when done.

1. Explain the difference between connotation and denotation.

2. Explain the difference between explicit and implicit.

3. Provide the four Costal's Quays to Writing.

4. Provide a simile, then extend it into a metaphor.

5. Explain "expand the moment."

6. What's an anecdote?

7. Provide a cliche.

8. "If you build it, he will come." What is it and who is he?

EOF Class #4, July 5, 2012, Assignments

MODULE:

Then  you will take a quiz on notes/reading : )

Begin working on other assignments with whatever time remains.
Assignments: 


WRITE: For this weekend, you will write Formal Essay #2: The Position Paper. Below are three articles involving social media/technology and teens: one from The Guardian and two from The New York Times. Both of the latter are by journalist and author Peggy Orenstein, who makes two separate, but thematically similar arguments about two of our beloved, time-consuming, media-age past-times: Facebook and Twitter. 

Read all three articles, linked below. Then, brainstorm the points and attempt to SYNTHESIZE them. In other words, establish a common ground. Try recording the over-arching points about media and your generation. I see this as a crucial 1st step for writing the paper because you must be able to totally understand these articles in order to write the paper.

The Guardian article

New York Times article 1

New York Times Magazine article 2

EOF Class #3, July 3, 2012: Assignments

Tuesday Module: Welcome to your families! Eddie and Wayne will introduce you to your new families. Your first order of business as a family:

1. Create a family name. The family with the best name will be awared 10 points extra credit on their next quiz! Be prepared to present and explain the name to me at Thursday's class.

2. EdWay (Yep that's wht I decided to call them to save time, like one, two-headed monster!) will return your grammar assessments. Collaborate on the answers now, and change them accordingly. After, EdWay will review the correct ones.

3. EdWay will re-distribute the Usage Quizzes (and a blank one). You may use Hacker and the collective ability of your family. You will re-submit ONE paper with every family member's name on it.

Wednesday Module: You are working through the holidays...it sucks, but WELCOME TO ADULTHOOD!! Here's something festive:



And then for something completely different...clear your mind by listening to this symphony:



EdWay will give you guys a peer editing sheet to follow. Pair off with someone in your family. Be sure to follow ALL directions.

Any left-over time can be spent completely your assignments. All assignments must be completed for class on Thursday.

OTHER ASSIGNMENTS: 


READ: Hacker section on Commas (Chapter 32, p.292 )

WRITE: Re-write of Formal Essay #1 due to me in class on Tuesday. There MUST be a total of three drafts and the editor's marks 

READ/WRITE: 1. New York Times blogger Constance Hale writes an interesting defense of verbage. Read and write Journal #3 about verbs. Respond to the piece thematically, maybe find some Google-searched verbs of your own. If at a lose, talk about the power of verbs in your young lives. I think we, as a society, do not generally put enough into the power and plausibility of verbs, then again, maybe I'm a dork. 


2. Another New York Times blog post which discusses the phenomenon of busyness.  Read and write a response. Be sure your response both reacts and analyzes as discussed in class. This is Journal #4.