The semester is over. Freedom is once again in our grasp. But there's still a little last minute business.
For those who are turning in an essay revision, you have until midnight of the day of your final exam to do so. For those people, it will take a couple of days for me to grade the work and post grades to the college system. For those who are not turning in any work, your grade has already been posted.
Please don't email me asking for your grade. Your grade can be accessed through the college's My Maricopa site.
Enjoy the summer!
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Crw special class
A reminder that a request has been made for all students in my Crw 150 class to bring a pillow and a blanket for class tomorrow (3/8).
Friday, February 10, 2012
Eng 102: Grammarly Is not a Formality
For the 102 students, and others required to turn in a Grammarly report, these reports are not a formality. It is not enough for you to simply hand in a report along with your assignment. The Grammarly report must meet the scores I've outlined in your handout packet and here: Grammarly.
If your assignment does not meet those scores, I do not accept it. Period. For Responses this means that it is simply voided and given back. For essays, I may ask you to resubmit the assignment but you will suffer a penalty to your score. It is your responsibility to submit your assignment to Grammarly and then revise the work until it meets the score requirements before handing it in to me.
If your assignment does not meet those scores, I do not accept it. Period. For Responses this means that it is simply voided and given back. For essays, I may ask you to resubmit the assignment but you will suffer a penalty to your score. It is your responsibility to submit your assignment to Grammarly and then revise the work until it meets the score requirements before handing it in to me.
Monday, February 6, 2012
Myth: Change of plans
Due to unforeseen illness, our guest speaker for tomorrow has asked to reschedule. So we are going to have our guest speaker on 2/16.
For tomorrow, please read the hero handouts and the primer on the Iliad and the Odyssey found in your packet.
For tomorrow, please read the hero handouts and the primer on the Iliad and the Odyssey found in your packet.
Monday, January 30, 2012
Due Dates
All due dates have been set. You can find them in the Google Calendar for your class, or in the appropriate course documents folder. If you did not fill out the due dates form or filled it out incorrectly, I have assigned your due dates.
Notice that you are now bound to these dates regardless of what occurs. If you marked the wrong date or have a project from another class moved to the same date, you must still turn in the assignments for this class by the due date. The only exceptions to this are using days from your extension bank (where applicable) or for documented medical issues.
Notice that you are now bound to these dates regardless of what occurs. If you marked the wrong date or have a project from another class moved to the same date, you must still turn in the assignments for this class by the due date. The only exceptions to this are using days from your extension bank (where applicable) or for documented medical issues.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
URGENT: Franchise Response
There has been a mix-up with the barcodes. The ones I passed out on Wednesday for the Franchise response were actually slated for my mythology class. Consequhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifently, the due date is incorrect, and the url will not take you to the correct response.
The response is due on Monday, January 30th when we will be discussing the story. To get the response, you can go through the course documents, or click on this link.
The response is due on Monday, January 30th when we will be discussing the story. To get the response, you can go through the course documents, or click on this link.
Monday, January 16, 2012
The First Day
The first day of class. Mostly it will consist of locating classrooms, finding seats next to students you believe share common interests, obtaining syllabi, and go through the "getting to know" activities.
No matter what your reaction to that first day, there's something else that should go on, and not just paying attention to syllabus policies. The classes you are in, the teachers in them, are all there for a purpose. The wildcard, though, is you.
Why are you, as a student, in the class? What are your goals? What do you hope to obtain from this class? What are you willing to do in this class? How important is one class related to another?
These are important questions. They deserve answers right away. The answers will shape your entire semester. Sit down. Give it some thought. Find your answers before the semester takes on a life of its own.
No matter what your reaction to that first day, there's something else that should go on, and not just paying attention to syllabus policies. The classes you are in, the teachers in them, are all there for a purpose. The wildcard, though, is you.
Why are you, as a student, in the class? What are your goals? What do you hope to obtain from this class? What are you willing to do in this class? How important is one class related to another?
These are important questions. They deserve answers right away. The answers will shape your entire semester. Sit down. Give it some thought. Find your answers before the semester takes on a life of its own.
Friday, December 16, 2011
Grades Posted
It's the end of the semester, and final grades have been posted. You can find them through the college's website (not Blackboard). Please do not email me asking for your grade. Contact the school for that. The contact form will be disabled as I begin renovating the blog for the next semester. If you absolutely need to contact me, you may still do so through the gmail address.
I hope you all have a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Merry Kwanzaa, Joyous Saturnalia, or whatever holiday you celebrate.
I hope you all have a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Merry Kwanzaa, Joyous Saturnalia, or whatever holiday you celebrate.
Friday, September 23, 2011
Word Processor Skills
Like it or not, we live in the electronic age. This brings with it certain advantages and disadvantages over what college writing was like in the past. Gone are the days when the only means to type an essay were on bulky electric typewriters in library basements because of the intense noise they produced. Typing on one of these machines was tedious. There were no font choices. The only extant font was courier. All formatting had to be done manually: Headers typed on every page, page numbers, and word wrap did not exist (though the better typewriters would beep to let you know you were near the edge of the page so you could move to the next line or quickly hyphenate your word). If a single mistake was made, you had to rip out the sheet and type it again.
Today's computers, internet, and printers come with their own challenges: Document file formats, too many font choices, document styles, images, graphics, watermarks, tables, charts, and endless numbers of features can overwhelm. And let's not even mention printer and email difficulties.
Unfortunately, there's a harsh truth in all of this. As students, it's your responsibility to learn your word processor. You are responsible for completing assignments as instructed, and difficulties with the technology are not a valid excuse. So in addition to learning how to write, argue, and analyze, you must also learn how to use your word processor. Many of these features actually make essay writing easier, taking the hassle out of such tasks as headers and page numbers. Below is a list of features you must know how to use.
I strongly encourage everyone to experiment and search out how to do employ these features before you have need of them. Trying to figure out these features in the late hours of the night before an essay is due is not the time to learn about your word processor.
Today's computers, internet, and printers come with their own challenges: Document file formats, too many font choices, document styles, images, graphics, watermarks, tables, charts, and endless numbers of features can overwhelm. And let's not even mention printer and email difficulties.
Unfortunately, there's a harsh truth in all of this. As students, it's your responsibility to learn your word processor. You are responsible for completing assignments as instructed, and difficulties with the technology are not a valid excuse. So in addition to learning how to write, argue, and analyze, you must also learn how to use your word processor. Many of these features actually make essay writing easier, taking the hassle out of such tasks as headers and page numbers. Below is a list of features you must know how to use.
- Line spacing
- Page spacing
- Insert a page break
- Disable widowing/orphaning
- Margins
- Font selection
- Hanging indent
- Headers
- Insert footnote
- Page numbers
- Word count
- Spell check
- Save as different file format
I strongly encourage everyone to experiment and search out how to do employ these features before you have need of them. Trying to figure out these features in the late hours of the night before an essay is due is not the time to learn about your word processor.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Dropbox
Ever forgotten to print out an assignment the day it's due? Ever meant to print it on campus but forgot your flash drive or to email the file to yourself? Ever had your computer completely crash and be unable to access that research paper on the hard drive?
Just like the dog eating your homework, these are not valid excuses as to why you cannot turn in your assignment. Technical problems are part of every day life, and if you fall victim to them, there's nothing any of your teachers can do about it.
However, there's a way to plan for these eventualities, with a file-syncing service. I give you Dropbox. Dropbox automatically synchronizes files online so you always have an up-to-date copy accessible at any time. It can be accessed anywhere there's an internet connection, and you don't have to be super tech savvy to use it.
Go to their website here to find out more information about dropbox. New users start with 2 gb of storage space, but if you use this link you will receive an extra 250 mb of space. It doesn't end there. Check out this article at Lifehacker for many other ways to gain free space at Dropbox.
Dropbox isn't the only file-syncing service, but it is probably the easiest and friendliest to use. You are free to use whatever service you like, or none at all, but when one of the above situations happens to you, you must live with the consequences.
Just like the dog eating your homework, these are not valid excuses as to why you cannot turn in your assignment. Technical problems are part of every day life, and if you fall victim to them, there's nothing any of your teachers can do about it.
However, there's a way to plan for these eventualities, with a file-syncing service. I give you Dropbox. Dropbox automatically synchronizes files online so you always have an up-to-date copy accessible at any time. It can be accessed anywhere there's an internet connection, and you don't have to be super tech savvy to use it.
Go to their website here to find out more information about dropbox. New users start with 2 gb of storage space, but if you use this link you will receive an extra 250 mb of space. It doesn't end there. Check out this article at Lifehacker for many other ways to gain free space at Dropbox.
Dropbox isn't the only file-syncing service, but it is probably the easiest and friendliest to use. You are free to use whatever service you like, or none at all, but when one of the above situations happens to you, you must live with the consequences.
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