Resource for Teaching Literature

I know that most of us teach composition most of the time, but if you're thinking about teaching Literature any time soon, you might consider creating a University Reader. I used one this semester for my Major American Writers course, and I'll be using their services again in the spring. It just couldn't be easier.

University Readers (UR) is a course-readers creation, printing, and publishing service. You simply select your readings, send them to UR, and direct students to the easy-to-order site. UR takes care of all copyright issues, allows you to proof all versions, and you can even design awesome covers for your reader using their (again) easy-to-use site. If you don't want to upload digital versions of your texts, UR will send you a FedEx label and you can ship hard copies of your texts free of charge. And the best part: while students are waiting for their URs in the mail, they can access the first 20% of the texts free online as .PDF files.

I swear I don't work for this company. I have just had an excellent experience and thought I would pass along the fun and frivolity. I should admit, though, that I did not discover UR on my own. Megan Griffin and Dr. Gaul both suggested the service, so I'm publicly passing on the good advice. If you have any questions or would like some more information, feel free to email me. And you can always check out the UR website: http://www.universityreaders.com/.

Happy end of the semester!!

Child Care Survey - Please Respond!

Just in case you missed the email GSS sent out recently regarding child care, I wanted to post it here as well...

GSS is trying to determine how we can best help TCU grad students who are also parents - and we know that child care is a massive issue facing this community. We have put together a very, very short survey to help us determine how we can best serve the TCU grad students/parents, and I do hope that if you are a grad student, and a parent, you take the survey:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=ncRoqlTPWm9ZSpxQ_2f5uTpQ_3d_3d


Any questions? Comments? Complaints? I'm all ears...

Senatorially yours,

Laura the Treasurer

In Which I Get All Existential and Attempt to Blog While Driving*

So I’m having my brunch and thinking about all the stuff I have to do, and I’m surfing the web as I do it. I’m multi-tasking, as they say, doing four things at one time (the unspoken one, or the warrant, as I have been attempting to teach my students, is that I’m also trying to keep crumbs out of my laptop), and I ran across this video. I’ve seen this video before, and not terribly recently, so I’m thinking it’s not super-current. The numbers, in other words, can only be higher.

I’ve been thinking (as I have also been attempting to teach my students) that words matter, and what we say as well as how we say it, matters very much.

On the Web site where I located this little gem of a video, was this short article. The interconnection I’m thinking about here is that we are generating massive, incredible amounts of information – and it all matters – and what are we doing with it? What are the repercussions of this generation of information? This is a series of questions that I’m not sure I’m capable of answering. Okay, I’m sure I’m not capable of answering them, short of slipping in the bathroom a la Doc Brown and his Flux Capacitor epiphany.

What concerns me is the short article regarding the laptop desk for the car. Now obviously this is meant for something other than laptopping while driving, and the reviewers over at Amazon.com have had a BLAST with it, but at the same time, I think it’s more important than just a desk. In a car.

I'm thinking about my syllabus for next semester, and I'm also thinking about our 20803 roundtable meeting. I am likely to cut back on my assignments next semester, but increase my focus on helping the students to really concentrate on the import of the ideas they are generating. I'd like to create some assignments that matter - although I suppose that the best I can do is come up with something that might matter.

I don't want to think that I am enabling students to go forth into the world and occupy jobs where they think that having a desk in their car is a good plan, or that working on the weekends is necessary, or that just one more raise will make their lives perfect.

How do we make our assignments matter? How do we ensure (as best we can, anyway) that we help our students learn all they need to know to best live their lives, while not making them feel like they need to have a desk in their car?

*I am, of course, driving at 88 mph.

At the risk of sounding like I am standing on my porch, waving my cane and telling those darn kids to stay off my lawn, I wanted to post this article. I remember Dr. H mentioning during the pre-semester workshop that TCU students are incredibly polite, and that at the start of each semester, I could expect at least one or two of them to approach me, shake my hand, and introduce themselves. Each semester, without fail, at least one does. One of my students this semester even stays after class and opens the door for me – without fail – each day we leave class. My students are, in general, polite, deferential, nice kids.

But I do see the cell phones in class, and I suspect that some of the girls in class might be headed to the gym later, judging from their attire. I see gum, hats, and once, even dip. I always see students leaving trash and whatnot behind after class. But is it as dire as Dr. Benton believes?

Apostrophe Guide

Hi All,
Just saw this great sign posted on Facebook from our own alum Drew Loewe about how to properly use apostrophes. Might be fun to pass out in class and/or post to your eCollege or course website.

The Commodification of Lore

Upon opening my Sunday Dallas Morning News, I discovered a very interesting article about the recent emergence of lesson plans for sale on sites like craigslist.com. Coincidentally enough, the article had been purchased by the DMN from the New York Times, another occurrence of purchased intellectual property. The article addresses several viewpoints in the debate: 1) should we share teaching materials with each other? 2) is it ethical to sell these materials to others? and 3) should the teacher's institution get some of the profits from selling these materials?

Obviously, I'm grateful to be at an institution that graciously shares teaching materials among peers, but at times, I do feel guilty for assimilating somebody else's assignments or exercises into my own lessons. So what do you think? In case you missed the link up top: Selling Lessons Online Raises Cash and Questions

In Which I Decry the Electronic Age and the Death of the Fountain Pen

During a (relatively) recent conversation with Sarah Jewell about students and communication, I mentioned that a friend had sent me a blog entry intended to provide pointers for effective communication with professors. Sarah said I should post it here, which I thought was a great suggestion. I then of course immediately forgot her excellent suggestion, going blithely about my day/weeks/ahem, month or so . . . until, that is, Kelly mentioned that a few Frog Blog entries might make up an hour of service time. Seeing as how I just happen to have an hour of my time freed up every week due to the season ender of “Mad Men,” I found myself hit with the dire need to blog. For approximately 10 entries.

I don’t specifically discuss Dr. Leddy’s tips during class time, although his entry does offer up quite a bit of excellent opportunity for class discussion (audience, for example, and why it matters to think about this). I have found, though, that when I bring focus to this topic, subsequent emails I receive from students are much easier to read. Having worked as an adjunct simultaneously at two different schools, teaching the same topic, it was darned difficult to know whether I was emailing with a UNT student or a TWU student, especially as so few of them used their school email account. I begged, pleaded, and cajoled my students to include their class number in the email re line (especially so that I could get those darned filters to work that I spent so much time setting up!) but had no luck. No regular luck, really, but some occasional, seriously sporadic luck. Once I brought focus to this particular blog entry, though, the students began to take some heed to what I was asking them to do.

I think what appealed to them the most was that they were getting some sort of secret information. "Here's some tips - from a professor! - about how to successfully email with professors!" I wasn't saying "Do this because I say so," but instead just put the information out there for them to make use of if they chose to do so. Obviously they didn't all do so (see? I still have bald spots where I pulled my hair out), but I got the definite impression that the students who DID do so felt like they had a leg up.

I think my next undertaking might involve another one of his entries...I'll let you know if I enjoy an outbreak of Emily Post Syndrome in either of my classes.

Questions about Professional Development

At yesterday's 20803 Teaching Roundtable, a lot of questions came up about the five professional development hours required for graduate instructors each semester. To refresh your memory about what counts as professional development, refer to your teacher's guide: it's in the appendix. Also don't forget that it is also posted on the wiki.

While the information in the teacher's guide is pretty clear, it is not exhaustive, so if you have any questions, see me or Charlotte. A couple of things came up yesterday that were not on the list. For example, 10 Frog Blog entries would count as one professional development hour. Observing a fellow GI's class and writing him or her an observation letter (this would be in addition to the faculty observation letter required for all GI's) would also count as one professional development hour; however, simply asking another GI to observe your class would not count as a PD hour. One idea - partner up with another GI and trade-off observing each other's classes.

Another important tip: continually write down what you've done throughout the semester. Life gets busy, and you are liable to forget. Some activities that you may have taken part in that count as professional development include serving on the composition committee, co-facilitating Teaching Circle, and leading a session at the pre-semester GI workshop.

Friday will be held on Wednesday this week. Got that?

Just a note to let you guys know that I'll be holding the office hours I normally hold on Friday on Wednesday. So, I'll be in my office from 10-12 on Wednesday, Oct. 28, rather than Friday.

Hi, everyone,

I'm back from the Feminisms and Rhetorics conference, where I gave my paper on Frances Power Cobbe, Harriet Martineau, and Maud Gonne, all women writers commenting on the Irish Question within the Victorian periodical press. Michigan was very lovely, with all the fall colors, and I left even more convinced that I want to get back to the upper-Midwest as soon as possible.

Highlights of the conference were panels on feminism and writing program administration, and visual rhetorics in the Victorian press, two topics very close to my heart. Not a lot of big names this year, but the event featured a lot more diversity.

I highly recommend the Feminisms and Rhetorics conference to anyone interested in women and communication: one needn't be a composition and rhetoric scholar to fit in with this crowd. And it's a very friendly atmosphere, not at all agonistic. I got good advice about the job hunt just by striking up conversations with people at lunch, in the airport shuttle, etc. The next conference will be held in 2011 at Minnesota State University Mankato. (Hopefully, by then, I will be close enough to drive ;)

Oh, and to somewhat make up for my absence last week, I'm holding office hours today. I'll be here until 11, and then back from 1-2.

Hey everyone,

Just a reminder that I'll be out of the office starting Wednesday and for the rest of the week due to the Fems and Rhets conference in Michigan. I'm looking forward to some authentic fall weather, not this 80-degree faux autumn business we get down here. I hope I don't get snowed in though; in Michigan, that could definitely happen.

Have a great fall break!

The next step in digital

It seems to be generally acknowledged (if not embraced) that digital media are worth some mention in the comp/rhet classroom. The next question then is "What about the rhetorics of wearable technology?"

"sixth sense" wearable tech

I don't buy the slogan of this micro-computer as a 6th sense. (I'm holding out for being able to see dead people.) But this video clip is an interesting comment on where things may be headed.

Unclutterer

Do you all know about the website Unclutterer? If you don't and you have any organizational issues, time management issues, or, ahem, problems motivating yourself to work on comps or your dissertation, you'll want to check it out. This past week in particular addresses the latter issues and has some advice you likely already know but might find it useful to be reminded of (I feel ending a sentence with a preposition in a blog is just fine, thank you very much).

Instead of a Powerpoint...

...I dare you to assign this as the presentation tool:

http://www.vuvox.com/


Fun stuff. But is it sustained rational discourse...?

No one likes me

Hey, guys (or y'all),

Just a reminder that your friendly Assistant to the Director of Composition has office hours in Reed 309 A from 10-2 M,T, and H, and from 10-12 on F if you have questions or just want to chat. I'm very, very nice, most of the time.

National Day on Writing

Did you know the first NCTE National Day on Writing is happening on October 20? Stay tuned for ways you can involve your students and other campus events. Mark your calendar, think about submitting your own writing, and learn more about it here.

eCollege Anonymous

Not that I'm addicted to eCollege [shudder], but I could use some group therapy about Gradebook. I've never used it before, and I'm finding it just as miserable as I feared it would be. Does anyone have tips for minimizing the pain?

In exchange, I'll swap ya for a suggestion about using the assignment sections for general feedback---I'm experimenting with posting my observations about the general trends right on the assignment page. (Then I let the class know about it via e-mail.) I'm hoping that this will be a way to better support students who want the feedback, w/o losing too much time on students who are less interested.

Graduate Student Senate

Hi everyone!

I wanted to post some of the upcoming Graduate Student Senate activities that are on our September horizon (where hopefully there will be a little less brutal heat, please!!) so that you can get them to your planners. We hope to see you there!

--Library Orientation: Thursday, September 10 from 12-1pm (held in library conference room)

--Back-to-School Social Event: Friday, September 11 from 5-7pm (Blue Mesa Grill @1600 S. University Drive)

--GSS Meeting - Thursday, September 17 from 11-12pm (Beck room on 3rd floor of BLUU)

I hope that I don't need to remind you that there will be FREE FOOD at the Blue Mesa Back to School event. No, no indeed, I do not need to remind you of that. I hope to see you there!

What's Your First-Day-of-Class MO?

After the first day of classes I asked one of my professors how she felt about her courses and students, to which she replied, "I think I scared off the requisite number of them. I tend to be stern on the first day." As an instructor, I am completely opposite (though envious of the ability to be stern enough to make students fear me!). In fact, my first class meeting recruited another student. I tend to allow my policies and syllabus to do the regulating on the first day, while my demeanor is more friendly and fun (I think--it's difficult to self-evaluate).

How do you approach the first day of class? Are you stern and "scary" or more laid back and welcoming? And, for more experienced teachers, how does the instructor's demeanor on the first day of class tend to affect students' perceptions of how serious they are expected to be about their work?

Let the surfer beware.

You've heard of "caveat emptor" of course, but buyers aren't the only ones who need to beware. A friend of mine who studied Latin for a bit suggested a phrase you might use for warning students about relying too heavily on suspicious Internet material:

Caveat Surfor - Let the surfer beware.

Note: The possibilities for bastardized (illegitimate? hybrid? cyborg?) Latin warnings abound, and The Frog Blog cannot be held liable for diseuphonious combinations---caveat illegitimor Latinus.

Fall's First Week

So tomorrow another semester begins, and your students are in capable hands with each of you. Have a wonderful first week of classes!

GI Meet & Greet Breakfast

All GIs got to meet and mingle and hear from campus resources while enjoying burritos from Tres Joses, though they sadly forgot to label the different flavors. Oops.

Three new GIs--Kristi, Meghan, and Marie, with now-veteran GI Sarah, who graciously lent her camera at the last minute.

Alyssa, Laura, and Joel are smiling--perhaps forced to by photog Amanda, or thrilled by their mystery burritos?

Putting your blog on eCollege

During one of those brilliant Koehler workshops on eCollege, I learned how to put my blog on eCollege. I wish I knew this during my summer course. For those who are interested, I've included some directions.
From whatever unit you please (like "Course Home"), click on "Author view," then "Course Items" and then "Add Items." From there you will create a name (i.e. "Class Blog") and the "Item Type" should be "Text, Multimedia." Click the "Add Item" box at the bottom, and click on the item (to the left). Type your hyperlink phrase in the new screen (you should still be in "author" mode); for example, "Click to view class blog" or whatever. Highlight it and click the hyperlink icon on the tool bar (next to the "redo" icon--hover the cursor over it and it should read "add a link"). Link it to website and type in the phrase you chose and post the web address and "add link." Now right click on the link, select "Properties," and under "Target," select "Same window." Click "OK" and be sure and click "Save Changes" on the eCollege window (bottom right). Go to "Course" view and click the link--the blog should appear in the shell.
In reflection, I think I might like this better than Google Reader (www.google.com/reader) because you can leave comments and you cannot on Google Reader. It is a lot easier than it sounds. Hope this works for you! LD

Steppin' Out

All,

We are public! So set this blog and other faves up on your own Google Reader account, and subscribe to this blog; every time you check the site it will let you know if there's a new entry and you can read it from the Reader page, too.

So delightful to see you all today!

To doodle or not to doodle, that is the question!

I have been decidedly anti-doodle as a teacher. Whenever I look out on my class and fingers are flying I assume that at least 25% of the time, students are not taking notes (I am not that interesting). Between facebook, twitter, texting, and old-school doodles, it is hard to compete. My recourse has been to impose a "no doodling" policy, which basically consists of the "Please pay attention" teacher glare to the "OMG if you go another entire class period without even making eye contact with me I'll lose it" inner-rant.

However, oh happy day, recent research has proved me wrong. I will now not only NOT be offended if I catch students doodling, I may require it. I am now decidedly pro-doodle.

http://jezebel.com/5161407/doodling-improves-memory-reduces-daydreaming

Entire MIT Course Catalog Free Online.

Am I the only one who didn't know this? It's all there: syllabi, assignment sheets, supplemental materials for every course offered at MIT. They even have videos of lectures for many courses.

One can see everything from the Writing and Humanistic Studies program they offer. Very cool.

MLA Updates 2009

Did you know that in April 2009 new MLA formatting and citation changes went into effect?

You can get some good information about that here. This will no doubt confuse your students and perhaps us, too, as these guidelines are newer than any textbook or handbook you likely have.

Annual Beloit Mindset List

The annual Beloit College Mindset List came out today, and you can find it here. It helps remind those of us teaching first-year students about the context they are coming from, having been born in 1991. (Gulp.)

I think this year's list is a bit disappointing, frankly, in terms of what they selected.

The Blog Blog

I'm getting sick of that title already. It sounds a bit too much like Bob Loblaw, for you Arrested Development fans :)...any suggestions?

I enjoyed coming to the pre-semester workshop. The link to the resource/discussion blog is bloggingfyc.wordpress.com. Please let me know if you'd like to be an author and let me know what you think would be helpful to add (send me an email to a.sowa@tcu.edu)!

YouTube Posts to Complement Assignments.

I learned today in the "Beyond the Basics" eCollege workshop that we should not have blank pages on our eCollege unit tabs. I confess I was guilty of having a blank page on each unit tab, which I labeled "Portfolio One," etc. Therefore, I decided to post YouTube videos on each of those units (listed below). I chose to embed my videos within the page. To do this, you simply click on the "Author" view of the unit, post your heading, then scroll down and change the view to "html" and paste the Youtube embed code and "save." The YouTube code is to the right of the video. If you click the star next to the code, you can choose the color of border--make sure you unclick "Include related videos," as you cannot be sure what will pop up afterwards.

Personal essay
Discovery essay
Profile essay
Argument essay

The Personal Essay video--make sure to watch it until the end.

Texting in Class

I've been hemming and hawing about how best to deal with the now-epidemic texting and Facebook phone and laptop issues in class. We don't have an official program policy (and likely won't, as this is up to folks' discretion), but I'm going to try a new one this year and wonder what y'all think or if you'd be willing to share what you have in your syllabus (either in the comments here or in your own post).

Here's what I think I'm going to try this year:

"Technologies: Please turn cell phones and any other electronics off during class. You’ll be notified in advance if you should bring laptops to class for work; otherwise, assume you won’t need them. Texting, checking Facebook, etc. from your phone or computer means you’re not engaging in the daily activities of our course. If you are using your electronics during class, it will be marked in the gradebook and I’ll notify you after class or via email; two violations will equal an absence for the course, and each additional violation will accrue another absence. Thus, failure to adhere to the technology policies can impact your final grade."

Here's my thinking: I had sometimes been calling students out, even making them put their phones on my desk if it got bad or after a warning or two, but that felt too much like policing. What I like about this policy is that it's not about disrupting class, and since I'll notify students, it's not something that would shock them at the end of the semester. It also seems a policy one could use at their discretion (for example, my husband asked if I meant if I ever see their phone, and I meant more when I observe prolonged use [meaning, to my mind, more than the cursory check of who just made one's phone vibrate--as they never do really turn them off]).

I don't think this policy is without drawbacks, it's something to work with. What have you tried that works well? How might you tinker with this one and why? Or should there be no policy in our syllabi at all on this?

First Week of College

So I found this link giving advice to students for their first week of college. Might it be something you'd want to post to your eCollege course? Check it out and see; there are some good ideas there.

Stop! GrammarTime!

My husband sent me this link today called "10 Easy Secrets of Good Grammar" (which I think should be entitled "Ten Easy...," but let's not quibble). Some of you might find it a bit loosey-goosey for your tastes (she says at the outset you can split an infinitive), but it's a conversational, laid-back approach to some common grammar issues students might find less daunting. Thought it might be something you'd want to post to your webliographies if you don't find anything in here too disagreeable.

Distracted!

Did y'all see the article in the LA Times by an avid reader who confesses how hard it is to simply sit and read these days? Might be good fodder for discussion with students.

Check it out here.

Web Star

Have you seen the new AddRan webpage? It's been spruced up, and our very own GI Peter is featured on the site. Check it out here.

The New Wiki is Here! The New Wiki is Here!

Hi All,

Make sure you log into and check out our new TCU Comp Program Wiki: http://compprogramtcu.pbwiki.com/

You should have all received invitations by now to the wiki, and you should see our very own Frog Blog on the right hand side access bar. If you don't have contributor access to our blog, let Megan know, and she'll get you set up.

Hope your semester is going smoothly so far!