I'm back, and checking out the syllabus for my English class

To me, a community college student, this seems a bit excessive.
Student Union at Oklahoma State University - Stillwater, the largest student center in the world. Photo taken April 22, 2006. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I've just been on Blackboard, looking at the syllabus for English 102.  The first class is this coming Friday, and I wanted to get an idea of how much work this is going to be.  It looks like a lot-- six projects, including a research paper.  At least I've got the course schedule now, so I can do some planning, which I hope will help.  I'm really tired of falling behind and having to work on stuff for school in marathon sessions (bingeing on homework?  Not fun).  
The first project is a blog, so this one should work.  I hope it'll meet all the requirements.  I'll check back Monday to see if anything else is on the Blackboard for this class. 

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Janine is Green!

Image via WikipediaI'm supposed to be looking at possible thesis statements for my two profiles of Janine in this entry (the assignment was to write 2 profiles of the same person, but for different audiences).  I've figured out what to do for the one directed at the state department of education:  I'm focusing on how community colleges need to offer courses for students like Janine, who are interested in careers that deal with environmental problems and issues.  It's perfect for her, and I can work in stuff about her volunteering to inventory trees.
The other audience is potential community college students, who are probably trying to get a feel for the school and the students before they commit to going here.  So, I'm going with "You'd never know that Janine is headed for a career in environmentalism by looking at her."  Yeah, it seems kind of a cliché, but it's really helped me organize the essay (and it came to me from reading that profile of Johnny Depp).  I got some good feedback during the peer review (plus a couple of comments I didn't understand at all).

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"Dr. Toffee's" Introduction to Her Own Research Project

NOT my school!  Students at a table in Muscatine Community College courtyard (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I teach first-year composition at a community college in Illinois.  My students in English 102 (the research paper course) have to keep a research journal all term, and I've given them the option of doing this as a blog for a few points extra credit.  Few of them blog, so I got some requests for examples.  Unfortunately, when I searched, most of the research blogs I could find were by experienced researchers, not first-year college students.  I'm kind of surprised by this, since I know instructors all over the world are giving this kind of assignment.  My guess is that most of the students who are blogging on assignment are just doing as much as is required, and they are not going in for frills like pinging Google.  As a result, searches tend to ignore them.

The way this is going to work is that I will be writing as a fictitious student developing an English 102 research project.  Yes, I'll actually be doing the work, which I am sure will be good for me, sort of like eating your vegetables.  At the very least, it'll keep me humble.  I may occasionally add comments as an equally fictitious teacher (hence the "Dr. Toffee" pseudonym) from time to time.  Keep in mind that all opinions expressed are Rhonda's, and she is NOT based on a real person.  Rather, she is a composite of hundreds of students I have taught over the years.

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