<English 604 Assignments>

syllabus | blog | schedule | assignments | group | researching

Blog: 30% of grade
For this class, you will keep a blog. You will launch your blog during the first class session. In your blog, you will reflect on
the course readings
course discussion (F2F and virtual)
the technologies we explore
technology and education news
your progress on your assignments for this class
and/or your experiments with technology in your teaching.

One of the main questions I want you to consider is one of application: how could you use different technologies in your present or desired future teaching settings and should you? I expect you to post at least twice a week to your blog. Blog postings are typically brief and stick to one topic. You may very well have several posts a week.

You are strongly encouraged to read and respond to your classmates blogs in one of two ways. You can leave comments on their blogs responding to their posts or you can link to their post and respond on your own blog.

I will also keep a blog for this class which you can find here.

Geek of the Day Presentation: 10% of grade
Once this semester, you will take the class on a technological odyssey. You will introduce us to something we don't know we need to know, something so cool it will make steam come out of our ears. Yes, that cool. Maybe you use a program for grading and responding to student papers/projects or recording grades. Maybe you use a program for online office hours. Maybe you have a new use for something we're already familiar with (PowerPoint? Facebook?), maybe you can demystify something that seems too difficult to tackle. Or maybe you just want to report on something out there that writing teachers should know about: cheater essay sites, plagiarism detection sites, big brother.
You have 20-25 minutes. That's it. Seriously. Practice and time yourself.
You will be graded on how well you teach us about your topic (content & delivery).
If your program (etc.) is not on the computers in RB 105 and requires a download, please note that you will need to bring in your own laptop with the program (or make arrangements with me). If this is the case, we will not be able to follow along with you and try out the program during class.
(Don't know where to start? Check out this.)


Watson Conference abstract & presentation (or similar conference paper or journal article): 30% of grade
CFP
Proposal Abstract due to me: 2/21/08 or earlier, topic conferences encouraged
Due to conference organizers (optional): 3/3/08
Writing an abstract: general advice from PCM site
Sample Abstracts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Online Professional Teaching Portfolio: 30% of grade
For your final project, you will create an online portfolio. You can shape this project however you like so that you make a document that is useful for your purposes. [In fact, if you have another web-based project you'd like to create for this class instead, this can be negotiated.] My guess is that many of you may want a site for your teaching materials to use with your classes or you might want a collection of your materials online that you can point to when you go on the job market.

A teaching portfolio typically includes sample syllabi, sample assignments, sample student work, and a teaching philosophy. One thing I'd like you to write for this project is a statement of technology use--you can name it something better than that, however--some sort of document that states your beliefs on the intersections of teaching English and technology.

As your online presence, it might also include a bio, a CV, a writing sample, and a summary of your research agenda/interests. It might include a blog or a link to a blog. Since you are crafting this for your teaching or for your future job searches, you'll want to strike a balance between personalizing it and being too informal.

You might think about how you can demonstrate your skills in employing multimedia: link to a video essay you've composed, your students' multimodal assignments, an audio essay, or so forth. You should seriously consider having some (most?) of your documents available for print download as well as readable online.

I will respond and evaluate your project based on your execution of design, the functionality/usability of the site, and your rhetorical awareness.