Questions for the class 8.19.9

How do you want to organize and archive your daily writing? In the past I've very prescriptive (or is proscriptive?) in telling students what kind of bound and expandable notebook type contrivance to use. And always 3-5% of the class would subvert the paradigm, bringing about the chaos described in my first blog.

The first entry in your collective daily writing journal/portfolio/notebook/blog will address the question, "Why am I in this class"? That will be on the back of the syllabus "quiz."

I like the idea of students posting their own blogs - we could create our own social network. A previous class had some success - and I learned a lot from the experience. I doubt it'd work for everyone, though I have ample evidence that blogging and the sort of web 2.0 skills that come with it are necessary for sucess in the workforce three years from now. Employers are going to demand it. and there are so many

So who should make the decision, teacher or students? regardless it needs to be convenient for review. Think not only of the categorical imperative but of the greg imperative (ie what would the greg's life be like if everyone did what I do?).

Accessing ANGEL

ANGEL is our online course management system. It is required for college excellence whether you're taking distance learning courses, hybrid (with reduced seat time) or traditional 'sit and get' courses.

ANGEL tutorials provide detailed video re: how to login and use the system. Check 'em out. To find the site and login go to https://dl.jccc.edu/. Many people prefer to just go, mess around and figure it out on their own. You can't hurt anything. Check it out.

Course Policies - filling in the gaps

In case you missed it in class discussion, there are some issues not addressed in the official course policies that might be of interest.
You are the best judge of whether you need to use the bathroom. I may have shared the experience of a former classmate who was denied access when he had explosive diarrhea. It doesn't have to be medically validated for you to leave the room. Most people tend to get real gassy when they need to move their.... Remember the categorical imperative. What would happen if everyone did, or did not do, a behavior? That said, if you can't go 75 minutes without a nicotine break, quit the habit.

And again, if you have a fever stay home until you go 24 hrs - drug free - without a fever. I don't require explanations for absences - after the fact - unless you think you might have the swine flu. In fact there are certain personal details I don't enjoy, including that mentioned above.

Use your classmates as resources. Every college teacher I know has a major issue with students who miss class and say something like, "I missed class. Did you say or do anything important?" Teachers tend to think everything they say is important and can be real touchy given their inflated sense of self worth, but fellow classmates can a better judge of what happened in class. Consulting classmates has the added benefit of not reinforcing for the teacher that you missed class. By Friday I'll have a course schedule/ daily lesson plan up on ANGEL. I'll also post a forum for what we did.

Information and communication is important - but not more than honesty. Again, don't kill off relatives or say you're sick if it is not accurate.

Need to discuss acceptable/ appropriate language