Both Greene and Kleine write about research as "inquiry." Greene specifically asks us to think about how we can see research and argument as "conversational inquiry," and Kleine's article asks us to think about how we go about doing research and what we do with it once we've done it. I think it's important that we begin our class thinking about these ideas because WHY we do research is an important pre-question to HOW. Today, I'd like to get a sense of your answers to both of these questions. So, read the next paragraph and write your own response.
Certainly, we all probably vacillate between being "hunters" and "gatherers" depending on our task, but for the purposes of thinking about the work you'll do in our class, I'd like to get your ideas about how these two articles might apply to your life as a student. What's the difference between "hunting" and "gathering"? Which one are you, and does it depend on what you're being asked to do? If you're mostly a hunter for school purposes, why is that? What do you think encourages this kind of approach to research, and how might it change your life as a student if you were more of a gatherer than a hunter? What have your past experiences with research for school been like? How did you find sources for your work, and how did you use them in your writing? Try to refer to a specific experience or two and analyze these experiences in light of your reading for today. When possible, refer to Greene's and Kleine's articles, quoting or paraphrasing bits and documenting what you take with parenthetical documentation so we can go back to the articles if we want to find what you're referring to. And, once you've written your initial post, come back in later this afternoon or over the weekend and read what others have written. Respond to an idea brought up in at least one other person's post. DUE DATES: 1st post: 5:00pm Friday; 2nd post: by at least 10:00pm on Sunday.
Friday, July 15, 2011
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Questions about the Class
This is your space to ask any questions about the class after you've read through the syllabus and wandered through our class sites. I'll be in meetings most of the day, but I'll be checking in periodically when I can to see what you're up to today. If you can answer one another's questions, please do, but if it's something only I can address, hang tight and I'll get back to you.
Student Introductions
Because we won't get to see each other face to face, it is incredibly important that we take a little time to get to know one another. I'd like you to respond to this post (by clicking on the comment button) and tell us a little bit about yourself. I'm purposely being vague here because I want to see what you share (though remember we do have a public blog:)). I'm also interested in why you decided to take your ENG 1302 course online, so if you don't mind, add a bit about that as well.
As for me, I'm Jonikka, though you should feel free to call me Dr. Jonikka if that makes you more comfortable. I've been teaching for over 15 years, the last 6 here at UTPA. I direct the First-Year Writing Program, and this is my first time teaching an online class. We haven't done too many classes online because writing classes are so interactive, but I'm looking forward to seeing how we can make it work. I have two sons--Duncan, who just turned 6 two days ago, and Ian, who is 12. I'm married to Colin, who also teaches in the program, and I'll probably reference all of them at some point this semester:). I love to cook and am sad I won't be able to bring you guys cookies like I usually do in face to face classes. And I can't wait to get to know you and see what really cool work you're able to do. If you have questions about me, don't hesitate to ask. I can always decline to answer, but probably won't:)!
As for me, I'm Jonikka, though you should feel free to call me Dr. Jonikka if that makes you more comfortable. I've been teaching for over 15 years, the last 6 here at UTPA. I direct the First-Year Writing Program, and this is my first time teaching an online class. We haven't done too many classes online because writing classes are so interactive, but I'm looking forward to seeing how we can make it work. I have two sons--Duncan, who just turned 6 two days ago, and Ian, who is 12. I'm married to Colin, who also teaches in the program, and I'll probably reference all of them at some point this semester:). I love to cook and am sad I won't be able to bring you guys cookies like I usually do in face to face classes. And I can't wait to get to know you and see what really cool work you're able to do. If you have questions about me, don't hesitate to ask. I can always decline to answer, but probably won't:)!
"Good Writing": Online Discussion
As a way to begin our class inquiry into writing, I'd like to start simply. We all have our own ideas about what "good writing" is, often influenced by "school" authorities (our past teachers' expectations, standards associated with tests we've been forced to take), but also influenced by larger cultural ideas about good writing which might come from assumed workplace expectations, as well as our own expectations as readers/consumers of texts. Today, I'd like you to start thinking about where your ideas about "good writing" come from and how those ideas have influenced the choices you've made and your assumptions about what writing can be/do. Respond to this post by clicking on the comment button and address the following questions:
-What is your idea of good writing?
-Where do your preconceptions of good writing come from?
-Can you think of a time when your conception of good writing didn't work or seem "right" in the context?
-Is your conception of good writing limiting in any way?
-Would you behave differently as a writer, or understand yourself differently as a writer, if you conceived of "good writing" in a different way?
Once you've responded to these questions (you don't have to write the questions out or respond to them in some lockstep way--you have the freedom to pursue them as you wish), I want you to read through what your classmates have said and respond to at least one of their ideas. This is an opportunity to practice your referencing skills by explaining who you're responding to and by paraphrasing or quoting from that person's post.
Try to get your initial response posted by 2:00pm so that you can go back in and read your classmates' responses and write one additional post by 10:00pm this evening.
-What is your idea of good writing?
-Where do your preconceptions of good writing come from?
-Can you think of a time when your conception of good writing didn't work or seem "right" in the context?
-Is your conception of good writing limiting in any way?
-Would you behave differently as a writer, or understand yourself differently as a writer, if you conceived of "good writing" in a different way?
Once you've responded to these questions (you don't have to write the questions out or respond to them in some lockstep way--you have the freedom to pursue them as you wish), I want you to read through what your classmates have said and respond to at least one of their ideas. This is an opportunity to practice your referencing skills by explaining who you're responding to and by paraphrasing or quoting from that person's post.
Try to get your initial response posted by 2:00pm so that you can go back in and read your classmates' responses and write one additional post by 10:00pm this evening.
Homework for Friday
I'm alerting you here to your homework for Friday, but you should get in the habit of looking at the calendar at the end of the day to see what's due the next. I've also added a Full Class Calendar link to the right side of the page so you can go back and look at an older calendar posting if you need to. I also added a "Labels" link on the right which might be helpful to you. You'll see one, "jonikka-class info;" I'm putting that label on all my posts which give important class info (instructions, reminders, etc.). That way, if you click on it, it'll show all the posts I ever write which are relevant to that label. It's just an easy way of searching. You can also add labels to your own posts.
So, here's the homework for tomorrow (Friday): Read the "Introduction" to your textbook (pp.1-33). This will include an intro from the textbook authors as well as a handout they adapted from John Swales' work and two articles, one by Greene and one by Kleine. Please let me know today if you haven't been able to access Google Docs since you'll need to be able to work with your individual folders tomorrow.
So, here's the homework for tomorrow (Friday): Read the "Introduction" to your textbook (pp.1-33). This will include an intro from the textbook authors as well as a handout they adapted from John Swales' work and two articles, one by Greene and one by Kleine. Please let me know today if you haven't been able to access Google Docs since you'll need to be able to work with your individual folders tomorrow.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Welcome
Hello All,
I'm trying to get familiar with this site, so sorry for the random posts. I wish everyone well in this online class!! Good luck!
Brenda J.
I'm trying to get familiar with this site, so sorry for the random posts. I wish everyone well in this online class!! Good luck!
Brenda J.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Intro to the Class-Responsibilities and Site Overview
Hi, everyone. I'm glad you found our course blog, hopefully with little trouble, and I welcome you to our main course "hub". If you're not familiar with blogs, please spend some time today learning as much as you can. Play around and see what's here and what happens when you click on things. And make sure you're able to access the materials in Google Docs. That, reading the syllabus carefully, and buying your textbook (see the syllabus) are your main priorities for today. Here's a general overview of these sites:
Responsibilities: It is absolutely crucial for participation in an online writing class that you read everything carefully, not just the articles we'll be reading, but also the class blog, the instructions for your daily activities and major writing projects, any emails which are sent, etc. It takes an independent learner to be able to survive and thrive in an online class environment, so you'll need to take responsibility for trying to find answers to your questions (by reading and re-reading instructions, finding a classmate you can ask on the blog or by phone or email, etc.) before you email me. I'll be happy to answer any questions you have, but please do everything you can to make sure the answers aren't already addressed somewhere on our course sites.
About the Blog:
Our class blog is public (which means anyone can view it), but only those who have been invited can post to it (and you'll need to be able to post to it). Please check your BRONCMAIL account for an email invitation to the blog from me.
Discussion-You'll see that here in the middle will be our main discussion place. This is where I'll put specific discussion questions or directions for activities that require you to post to the blog. You can post your own new posts by clicking on "New Post" in the top right corner of your screen, and you can post a comment to an existing post by clicking on the "X Comments" link at the bottom of the post.
Search Feature-At the top right, you'll see a search button you can use for our blog. That will come in handy as our discussions get archived and material you may want to access again is not here on this main page anymore.
Calendar-Below the search feature, you'll see our calendar. That's where I'll post what we'll do each day and what you need to do for homework.
Class Documents-Here, you'll see links to any class documents you might need (syllabus, handouts, major project assignments, etc.) as well as other useful links (UTPA library, Purdue's Writing Center site, etc.). If you find a useful link you'd like to share with the class, run it by me, and, if it looks good, I can always add it for you.
About Google Docs:
There's a link to Google Docs here on the blog, and there's a pretty good description of how we'll use it in the syllabus. You need to make sure you have access before the day is through, so please check your BRONCMAIL account for my invitation to this site. You will need to create a Google account if you don't already have one, but you will not be required to use a Gmail email address. Do some troubleshooting on your own and ask questions on the blog if you have any trouble. Maybe someone else in the class can help you.
NOTE: I will be at a conference from Wednesday through Sunday, so I will be checking in on our class during short intervals throughout those days and again later in the evenings. Please bear with me if you have questions; I promise you that I will get back to you as quickly as I can. If at all possible, use the blog to write a post and ask your questions, and if someone else in class knows an answer to your question(s), please post a comment to answer them. We'll be relying a lot on one another to make the class run smoothly, so there's no better time to start that than now!
Responsibilities: It is absolutely crucial for participation in an online writing class that you read everything carefully, not just the articles we'll be reading, but also the class blog, the instructions for your daily activities and major writing projects, any emails which are sent, etc. It takes an independent learner to be able to survive and thrive in an online class environment, so you'll need to take responsibility for trying to find answers to your questions (by reading and re-reading instructions, finding a classmate you can ask on the blog or by phone or email, etc.) before you email me. I'll be happy to answer any questions you have, but please do everything you can to make sure the answers aren't already addressed somewhere on our course sites.
About the Blog:
Our class blog is public (which means anyone can view it), but only those who have been invited can post to it (and you'll need to be able to post to it). Please check your BRONCMAIL account for an email invitation to the blog from me.
Discussion-You'll see that here in the middle will be our main discussion place. This is where I'll put specific discussion questions or directions for activities that require you to post to the blog. You can post your own new posts by clicking on "New Post" in the top right corner of your screen, and you can post a comment to an existing post by clicking on the "X Comments" link at the bottom of the post.
Search Feature-At the top right, you'll see a search button you can use for our blog. That will come in handy as our discussions get archived and material you may want to access again is not here on this main page anymore.
Calendar-Below the search feature, you'll see our calendar. That's where I'll post what we'll do each day and what you need to do for homework.
Class Documents-Here, you'll see links to any class documents you might need (syllabus, handouts, major project assignments, etc.) as well as other useful links (UTPA library, Purdue's Writing Center site, etc.). If you find a useful link you'd like to share with the class, run it by me, and, if it looks good, I can always add it for you.
About Google Docs:
There's a link to Google Docs here on the blog, and there's a pretty good description of how we'll use it in the syllabus. You need to make sure you have access before the day is through, so please check your BRONCMAIL account for my invitation to this site. You will need to create a Google account if you don't already have one, but you will not be required to use a Gmail email address. Do some troubleshooting on your own and ask questions on the blog if you have any trouble. Maybe someone else in the class can help you.
NOTE: I will be at a conference from Wednesday through Sunday, so I will be checking in on our class during short intervals throughout those days and again later in the evenings. Please bear with me if you have questions; I promise you that I will get back to you as quickly as I can. If at all possible, use the blog to write a post and ask your questions, and if someone else in class knows an answer to your question(s), please post a comment to answer them. We'll be relying a lot on one another to make the class run smoothly, so there's no better time to start that than now!
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