WEEK #14: SUPERBLOG

WEEK #14: SUPERBLOG 

(for 5 blog points, which is equivalent to five weeks of work).

Complete the prompt.  Post by Friday at midnight.  No peer comments necessary.

Mini Proposal: Complete a 700 word (120 words per paragraph, 5 paragraphs) proposal for making improvements to the blog component of the course before I use it again.  For the intro describe the problem.  For the thesis, tell me what the solution is (its fine if it is a list that represents the topic sentences of the three body paragraphs). 

Here are the parameters for making an argument that your audience will find reasonable:

Not willing to budge on	Things that are flexible
Use of an online discussion forum	Different blogging service? Moodle discussion threads instead? Facebook page for class? Google + for class? -           You will have to think through/write about pros and cons of these, and explain how any proposed change of forum would be better than the current one, specifically.
Used to discuss readings that give us ideas/subject matter for writing	How we discuss the readings -           Less question answer format? -          More group brainstorming? -          Let students decide what about the readings they want to write about -          Connect them to class activities better? ·         Be clear about your suggestions for change here; be able to explain why the current system isn’t working well, and prove that the new system would solve the issue
Student posting	Timing,  days of the week frequency, (is every week too much?  Longer blog every two or three weeks? ) amount of text required (would you be willing to do more here if the journal component of class was nixed?)
Students responding/commenting	Timing of this Groupings What kinds of comments/make them more useful than just “good job”

      You may choose to propose changes on other areas that aren't defined here, but these give you an idea of what will definitely be kept in as a part of the blogging component of the class.

QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSION ABOUT PROPOSAL ARGUMENTS (blog 13 below)

Comment here in order to ask questions about this paper.  I will give answers and classmates may have insight too.  You all can use this space to compare notes on how you are structuring your arguments.  Whenever someone comments, I get an email, so be assured that I will come here and reply as soon as reasonable possible. 

Have a good weekend, next week is a short week, remember that there are many materials to look over that explain how to do this assignment, so try to just stick to the format and don't psych yourself out.  Think about the discussions we have been having in class and keep asking yourself the negative and positive effects of what you are proposing.  And if there is a cost involved, you are going to have to work harder to convince the university to enact on that proposal, right?  Write this paper with a naysayer on your shoulder so that you can anticipate how your audience might try to save themselves the work/money involved in what you propose.

Remember that the writing center will have a short week next week because of the holiday, and that they are closed during finals week.  Some of my office mates work in there, and they have lt me know it is starting to get packed.  If you want an appointment, go by there ASAP or give them a call Monday at 9:15 or so.  The number is on the syllabus.

WEEK 13: Your Intro Paragraph

This blog doesn't call for any "extra" work.  Paste your introduction paragraph from your Proposal Argument here.  Remember to look to the three possible organization schemes if you need help structuring your intro.  But basically, we need to know:

• What is the problem
• Who is affected
• What will happen if it goes unsolved       (these three are context)
• What is the solution you propose for the problem  (this is your thesis)

So post this by the due date, remember we voted to move the dates up this week so we wouldn't have to work on Thanksgiving.  Your post is due Monday, your peer comments are due Wednesday.

For your peer comments DO THIS:

Ask THREE questions about the context part of the Intro.  This should help your peer work on areas that are vague or confusing.

Rate the thesis:

• very interesting and arguable
• an argument that they'd have to work really hard to convince their audience
• an argument that may not be complex enough to get 4-5 pages out of.

and then give one or two sentences to explain why you rated it this way.

WEEK #12: “A Week in the Life of a Part Time Teacher”

WEEK #12:

“A Week in the Life of a Part Time Teacher” by Diana Claitor The Reader p. 302

I like this story.  It is short, to the point, and relevant.  This teacher describes problems she has encountered working at Austin Community College, and there are probably some teachers here at this school who have complaints about things outside of their control and the effects that they have on students.  Besides those points, the essay is hardly 2 pages long.  Bonus for you!  Most of the work on this blog will involve thinking about the text, since it will be a pretty quick read. 

Here are the questions to answer; they reflect the beginnings of working out our proposal-making muscles, since the Proposal Argument will be introduced Friday.

1.      

In paragraph 8, Claitor writes, “The other teacher acted like an ass”.  Could this be because the other teacher was mismanaging his frustration that stemmed from dealing with the same problems affecting Claitor?  If these teachers were to get together and propose that the university make some changes, what do you imagine the changes would be?  Specifically:

a.       Thing one they might propose

                                                               i.      And the chances of it actually happening with regard to cost, time frame, or other considerations

b.      Thing two they might propose

                                                               i.      And the chances of it actually happening with regard to cost, time frame, or other considerations

2.       How do the problems that Claitor describes about her work affect the students that she teaches?

3.       If these students were to get together and propose that the university make some changes, what do you imagine the changes would be?  Specifically:

a.       Thing one they might propose

                                                               i.      And the chances of it actually happening with regard to cost, time frame, or other considerations

b.      Thing two they might propose

                                                               i.      And the chances of it actually happening with regard to cost, time frame, or other considerations

4.       What are the causes of the problems that Claitor describes? 

a.       What other causes might there be for the situation?

b.      What arguments might be made by someone opposing Claitor’s argument (Rebuttals and backing)?

5.       How do looking at the causes individually (analyzing part by part) help you think (or rethink) about what to propose to the university:

a.       On the part of the teachers?

b.      On the part of the students?

(add any additional thoughts here, rather than going back to revise those sections)

Shout out to the Super Bloggers

Here are some classmates that have blogged regularly throughout the course of the semester.  This blog serves as a way to shout them out, or congratulate their efforts, and it also serves as an opportunity for folks who may be in need of more people to comment on. 

Remember, long ago, I said I was willing to help folks out with doing some group restructuring if need be, in order to ensure that everyone had access to enough posts to comment on.  Several students have asked for assistance with this, and I was able to provide them with more leads.  It has occurred to me that other students may be out there who are relying on the "excuse" of not having enough blogs to comment on as a reason for being "unable" to take responsibility for completing their own work.

If this is you, and you'd rather not contact me for more blog leads that may help you be a more active participant during the last 4 weeks of the semester, check out the links below and consider following these Top Blogs so that their posts will show up in your dashboard and you can have more fodder for comments each week.

http://jessiesblog101.blogspot.com/

http://brichardsonblog.blogspot.com/

http://brookelfontenot.blogspot.com/

http://youngragin.blogspot.com/

http://tierrawilsonenglish.blogspot.com/

http://shawnabanana2.blogspot.com/

http://shaylinlenay.blogspot.com/

Congrats on all your hard work ladies and gents!

Week #11: Testing your Definitions against Scenarios

Week #11:  Testing your Definitions against Scenarios:

                We will do this week’s blogging the same way we did last week’s; post your answer as a comment under the topic post I have created, and also on your own page.  That way, people who share your topic can find see your post, then find your page to comment on it.  So, I have added some scenarios to each topic post (go back to the topic post that you commented on last time and reread it, because the scenarios have been added right into my original topic prompt).

                BY WED:  Please respond to the scenario based on the criteria for your definition that you are using in your paper.  This is exactly like the exercise from class on Friday (what is “courage”? and the burning building scenarios) but now you will be working through scenarios based on your paper topic and your own definitions.  Remember back to our definition of “courage” on Friday on the board, and the ways that we ended up adding some criteria to it, or even qualifying some other criteria.  This exercise is designed to help you test out your definition and criteria and adapt them if necessary to make your argument stronger.

                BY FRI: comment on three classmates’ posts.  Create a full paragraph in which you engage with some of their ideas from their scenario responses.  Agree, Disagree, a little of both, add more thought to what they have already commented.  Remember to be respectful of ideas, be relevant (stay on topic) and constructive (thoughtful in ways that promote more brainstorming).  Your help with brainstorming is a sort of peer review of their ideas, which are designed to help them think more deeply about their definitions in their papers.

                Thank you for submitting awesome scenarios for the blog discussion this week.  I couldn’t post them all, so sorry if yours didn’t get picked, but on the other hand, if I had posted them all, there’d be a lot more work involved.  J

Follow Directions in order to get credit for this week's blog brainstorm session

    i.      Post your claim and reason.  “Yes (blah blah) because (blah definition blah).”

Notice that your reason is based on your definition.  If you don't define your terms, your classmates have nothing to work with to provide grounds and rebuttals for your argument.

    ii.      Post your warrant.  (Make the logical connection.)

 

This needs to be explicitly stated, also.  Be sure to read the instructions below carefully.  

You do not need to create a full paragraph for this post.  

We do not want superfluous information, only what will appear in your Toulmin Schema.

If you have already done your post and need to go back and edit it to reflect assignment instructions:

Go to New Post

Click Edit Posts (top right) 

Here is an example of what I'm looking for based on the exercises we have done in class:

 

Claim:   Lil' Wayne is a "skater"

Reason: because he is a male who wears sneakers, such as Vans or Airwalks, likes rock music, skateboards frequently, wears chains on his jeans, and features visible tattoos.

Warrant:  American media, as it portrays our culture, confirms that these traits and characteristics are typically attributed to skaters.

Again, your initial post must contain these parts of your argument so that your peers can come to your page and provide you with grounds to support and rebuttals to challenge your argument.  This will help you create the Toulmin Schema on which your paper will be based.