Communty College Teaching

Zee Maps and Basic Writing and Beyond.

It looks like technology has finally caught up with me. I've wanted to be able to create a group map of the campus in which the students were responsible for writing, annotating photo-ing and researching the campus. All of this work would be uploaded onto a map program. I tried using Wayfaring, but it just didn't work quite as well as I'd wanted. I liked the skin, but as I recall, I couldn't have more than one person contributing to a map at a time. I'll check back with them, but I liked what I saw tonight on ZeeMaps.com There, I could select the degree of participation each person had on a private map, so that some folks would be contributors, other viewers. I think all of my students will be contributors, and I'll give viewing privileges to other faculty or student guests as we go along. I'm also interested in making it a private map until such time we decide to share it with the world.

Right now, I'm playing with the map program and creating a genealogy map that links the origins of my family. I'm thinking that I'd like to link this to a timeline in my Women and Literature class as well. Perhaps have the class work together on a group project of all of the writers we're reading.

Mapping looks like a great way to ground (no pun) visual learners when there' a lot of information to cover that doesn't lend itself to a traditional outline or list. The fact that links and graphics can be uploaded makes it just as meaningful.

The Response to Gertrude Stein

Karren asks how the post-presentation assignments went, and this brings to mind two ideas: one,that with blogging, an event  is never really over,that ideas keep tumbling along and that audience, performer, teacher, student, writer,can all engage in a discussion (or several) around specific ideas in a less formal, less time-driven manner. 

The second idea is that the students could have been encouraged to send their reactions to the presenter as well as to me,their professor.  I'm not sure why I didn't think to do that at the time since I did give out Karren's email address so that they could offer feedback about the presentation itself. 

That said, the reaction papers were good. One student did a fantastic job of imitating Stein's voice and re-vising bel hooks' essay--so good that she read it to the appreciative class. Only one student opted for the music video choice, but she came through splendidly.  Most of the class chose to write a response to the visit and to discuss whichever ideas struck them the most. I wish that I could think of specific examples, but I am too far ahead into the rest of the semester to remember.  Karren, I will ask the class to send along their responses to you.

One of the other benefits of this assignment was that it caused me to revise the course assignments so that I now get and respond to a weekly email from each student, discussing something about the class discussion that struck them as new, unusual, troubling or whatever.  This takes the place of three  quizzes that, in a class that meets once a week for two and a half hours, ate up too much time.  Also, because the class is so small, it affords me the time to give each student one on one attention to their ideas. 

Gertrude Stein, The Women's Lit Assignment

I'm sharing my assignment based on my friend, the poet Karren Alenier's, visit to our class next week.  One of the things I'm doing differently from the syllabus is to engage the students in some "creative" writing assignments and reflections.  It's a 200 -level lit class, and not all of my students are English lit majors, and  getting through literary criticism has been a difficult task.  I'm still tinkering with how I teach this course, and think that next time, I'll use a timeline to create with them online, where we can place these writers (including the critics) in historical points in time.  That'll give some context to the mix, and I'm revamping the quizzes to one each week, since we meet weekly.

So, then, without too much fanfare, is next week's assignment:

 Assignment in response to Karren Alenier’s visit: Pick one of the following activities to do for the following week (October 23). 

 

A. Write a two-page reaction to Ms. Alenier’s talk. Pick out a few things that she said that struck you as interesting, confusing, upsetting or fascinating. Explain why you felt as you did, and then relate your feelings back to the idea of women and writing.

 

B. Using any of the works we have read so far this semester, write a two page-plan in which you explain how you would create a music video using the piece. What kind of music would your video use? Hip Hop? Country-Western? Classical? Folk? Who would you have acting in the video? Where would the video be set? Be sure to use examples from the piece to support your plan.

 

 C.  Rewrite any of the works we’ve read so far in imitation of Stein’s style. Think about her use of repetition, her “scat” writing and so forth. Write for two pages, and have fun. If you need a model, don’t forget that there’s an excerpt from “Patriarchal Poetry” in the textbook, and that you can listen to Stein read out loud at Steinopera.com

Regardless of the topic you chose, be sure to double-space your writing and paper clip it together. The paper will be worth 100 points and is due on October 23.

I'll keep you posted.