{possible email this week to in-person students}  Hello humans!  In order to beat the Zero Monster who will show up Monday, let’s use class time Wednesday/Thursday (and the rest of the week, etc.) to create cool things and get caught up .* This battle against the Zero Monster helps us in two ways: a) I will be able to review it and give you feedback on anything that’s incomplete faster, and b) you won’t see as many zeros in the gradebook come Monday.  With this goal in mind, Wednesday’s/Thursday's class will be run like a “study hall.” Come with your ear buds or headphones and be prepared to complete some things. You can ask me questions or chat with classmates about what they’re creating. I might even bring snacks!   After the Zero Monster shows up next Monday, we’ll probably use our last two days in this way, too. Basically, I need work from most of you, and I want to prevent future stress. By the way, I will update the gradebook Thursday/Friday of this week with ...

Ooooffff we're in the home stretch. Mile 23 of a marathon. The bottom of the ninth inning. The 2-minute warning of the fourth quarter. From here on out, I will be pointing to the schedule and the checklists I handed out about two weeks ago. So, little bloggie, I don't know if I'll write on here for a while. I will be busy making sure the gradebooks are up-to-date as much as I can... If there are any students visiting this site for information, please check the schedule and checklist. If you didn't get a checklist, email Sybil and nicely ask for one. Below is the image I plan to use for "Starter Pages" when introducing new things in classes; it shows an icon of an open book, an icon of a brain at work, and an icon of an empty page with a pencil.

I was about to tweet about the #OER I'm working on, and then when I read Jessica Zeller's post about #ungrading, I thought about tweeting, too... but I don't know how long Tweeter will be around anymore, so my itty bitty blog is a better plan. Right? Right. Before I blab about my #ChildrensLiterature textbook, here is a delicious nugget from Jessica: " As those of us involved in Ungrading understand so well, there is always more to know and do with it—to refine our applications of its principles ." This idea connects to #OER and #OEP just as much as it does to #ungrading. There is so much I want to know and understand and undo with my students and the classrooms we hang out in. When it comes to the creating and remixing of this open textbook, I have to say that if one wants to learn about a topic, create a book on the topic! My other #open textbooks for #fyw First-Year Writing courses (college composition 1 and 2) as well as creative writing did not require me to ...

Dear humans: We only meet seven more times! In English 110 (on Monday or Tuesday), we'll be doing a few things, yo:  Filling out this checklist  (I'll also check to see who didn't fill out the Google form & Google quiz last week),  Introducing/talking about   Large Project 3  - with time for a "zero draft," perhaps... And then maybe c hatting about Group 4; there will be a Google quiz for that group Wed/Thurs. I think I updated the schedule, pushing Group 4's deadline back? Remind them that they could finish up early, and that's okay in this course? - - - English 120: We watched a TED Talk for the next unit (language) and filled out a checklist for the items remaining in the course. On Wednesday, I'll conduct an introduction to Large Project 3; students voted against doing it Monday to give them more time to wrap up Large Project 2, etc. I will bring handouts of LP3 and the template for LP2. Quote by Matt Ridley says, "Innovation happens when ...

Last week's Large Project 2 Workshop didn't get completed by a lot of students, so we used class time today to catch up with that. We might have to use Wednesday for another catch-up day, too? I don't know. And in English 120, we may or may not take time to watch something for the next unit. We'll see. Image from Andrew Neel on Unsplash. p.s. Many of my images are memes without an original owner.