"House Cleaning"
Out here in the etherworld where this Honors English class takes place, we have a tendency to lose touch with those who are not as aggressive in their blog posts or as active on the discussion boards. With that in mind, this blog is dedicated to a little "house cleaning," a few reminders and suggestions to keep things real even though we are working in a virtual world.
Some of you may have noticed that I have begun to disagree with some of the material that gets posted by the class lately. If you are one of those that I have disagreed with, you should be proud of yourself for saying something that bugged me enough to get a response. I hope these "conversations" ("debates"?) will grow into wider forums for discussion. Because I am not physically there to correct every grammar error or quibble over every logical inconsistency, you are responsible for your own learning in this "class." I hope you will learn from each other. For example, if after doing the comma tutorial, you notice that half the class is still misusing commas, I hope you will resolve to not make those same mistakes yourself. That doesn't mean you have to criticize those who are still making the errors, but you should commit to yourself that you will no longer make them. That sort of commitment is the most lasting form of learning. (Anyone care to say why?) Remember that as an online class using blogs and discussion boards as our meeting places, we are part of the great experiment of online education. There are no hard and fast rules (yet) for how an online course should run. It is my hope that our experience with these new technologies will not only provide opportunity for more people to earn honors credit, but also prove that online interaction can be educational (and even genuinely social).
If you haven't looked at the general discussion forum on the discussion board, you don't know that it has turned into a student-directed conversation. I hardly ever contribute to it, and sometimes I even go more than a week without reading it. (I figure Trey can take care of most problems in that arena.) Granted, much of what is being "discussed" there is not strictly educational, and most of the conversation is being carried by a small handful of folks, but isn't that just like a classroom? Haven't you noticed that in a classroom, most of the class is fairly quiet and well-mannered, but there are always a few people that aren't really paying attention to the direction of the class? Sometimes these folks will pass notes to their friends; sometimes they will go so far as to actually converse with each other across the room (without regard for the people they are speaking over) about whatever non-class-related issues pop into their heads. In a traditional classroom, it's annoying. In the online environment, it's encouraged! Why? Because, like it or not, it is part of education. It's also an opportunity for "good students" like Trey, Brittnie, Mitchell, and Angela (who never make a sound in traditional classes) to get to be the big mouths. (They share because they know they aren't bugging anyone by doing so.) That said, it still drives me insane when there are five pages worth of posts that constitute only one line each ("I love cheese and crackers"?!?), but I did say you could talk about whatever you wanted.
There are also other types of online personalities that are coming through to me. If you look at Brooke's blog, you'll notice that she always posts an intelligent, grammatically correct piece that meets all the requirements, but she doesn't get too involved in other people's worlds. This is somewhat how she is in the traditional classroom; in fact, one reason I am glad Brooke is in the Honors class is because I get an opportunity to "hear" more of her personality in her blogs than I do in the classroom. (She's too busy tearing up the basketball court with our Falcon b-ball team, who will probably take the district championship!)
No one has taken to blogging with a thesis like Kelsie; she's has discovered that it is often easier to make a series of small posts during the week than to try to come up with all 500 words at one sitting. This of course requires her to log on more often, but it is a method I might recommend to many of you who are struggling to get out of the "here's what I did today" sort of journals.
Shaylee was the first to discover that you can kill two birds with one stone in blogs. She posts practically every writing assignment she does in her blog. Want to see a research paper? A short story? An essay? There's a sample of them all in Shaylee's blog. Others have recently followed her lead, an example of how this online environment can, in fact, result in learning that is not teacher-directed.
Aaron's blogs often border on poetic. No wonder he's the studentbody president. Can anyone really be this thoughtful? (If only all of our political leaders were so in tune with the people they represent!) And where did he get that freaky discussion board avatar?!
And no one can compete with RaeAnne's sheer enthusiasm.
I've learned something about all of you by reading your blogs, and although I don't have time to respond to everything you say, be aware that you have an audience. Most of you have a wider audience than you know because I see evidence that you are reading each other's stuff, too. And that is the whole point of this experiment! Language arts curriculum is all about communication. Honors English focuses on written communication (because you are already so adept at the spoken kind). You are becoming better and more confident communicators, and if you keep practicing, your communication skills will take you far. So, even though many of you are with Tyler when it comes to why you are taking Honors English, and some of you may not see the point of all this, trust me: You are learning. Maybe you are learning different things than you would if the class were taught during the school day, but you are learning things that will make high school, college, and Life easier for you. Don't give up!
Finally, there are a few of you that just don't seem to have time for any of this extra-curricular honors stuff, but you still want the honors credit. (Or your parents want you to have it.) I've been asked a few times recently how, exactly, credit is awarded. It's all in the contract you signed at the beginning of the year. The assignments you complete for this class are not reflected in your English grade; but if you complete them all to an acceptable standard, your English class becomes "Honors English" at the end of the year. This method of offering honors credit does not sit well with those who prefer a competitive learning atmosphere, complete with scored assignments and grading curves. This method, however, is more true to how the world really is. In Life, you will not often be asked to pass a test on a bunch of facts you have memorized (and which you will forget within hours of finishing the test); you will, however, be required to communicate effectively, learn from peers, and set your own honorable standards. So, the point of all this is simple: You know whether or not you are doing honorable work. You don't need me to tell you that with an artificial motivator like a grade. If you get all the way to the end of this year and can honestly say that you learned nothing worthwhile from this honors class, then I guess I have failed you. But I might also suggest that, if that is the case, you have also failed yourself. I don't suspect most of you will feel that way. I hope not!
Blog on!
Some of you may have noticed that I have begun to disagree with some of the material that gets posted by the class lately. If you are one of those that I have disagreed with, you should be proud of yourself for saying something that bugged me enough to get a response. I hope these "conversations" ("debates"?) will grow into wider forums for discussion. Because I am not physically there to correct every grammar error or quibble over every logical inconsistency, you are responsible for your own learning in this "class." I hope you will learn from each other. For example, if after doing the comma tutorial, you notice that half the class is still misusing commas, I hope you will resolve to not make those same mistakes yourself. That doesn't mean you have to criticize those who are still making the errors, but you should commit to yourself that you will no longer make them. That sort of commitment is the most lasting form of learning. (Anyone care to say why?) Remember that as an online class using blogs and discussion boards as our meeting places, we are part of the great experiment of online education. There are no hard and fast rules (yet) for how an online course should run. It is my hope that our experience with these new technologies will not only provide opportunity for more people to earn honors credit, but also prove that online interaction can be educational (and even genuinely social).
If you haven't looked at the general discussion forum on the discussion board, you don't know that it has turned into a student-directed conversation. I hardly ever contribute to it, and sometimes I even go more than a week without reading it. (I figure Trey can take care of most problems in that arena.) Granted, much of what is being "discussed" there is not strictly educational, and most of the conversation is being carried by a small handful of folks, but isn't that just like a classroom? Haven't you noticed that in a classroom, most of the class is fairly quiet and well-mannered, but there are always a few people that aren't really paying attention to the direction of the class? Sometimes these folks will pass notes to their friends; sometimes they will go so far as to actually converse with each other across the room (without regard for the people they are speaking over) about whatever non-class-related issues pop into their heads. In a traditional classroom, it's annoying. In the online environment, it's encouraged! Why? Because, like it or not, it is part of education. It's also an opportunity for "good students" like Trey, Brittnie, Mitchell, and Angela (who never make a sound in traditional classes) to get to be the big mouths. (They share because they know they aren't bugging anyone by doing so.) That said, it still drives me insane when there are five pages worth of posts that constitute only one line each ("I love cheese and crackers"?!?), but I did say you could talk about whatever you wanted.
There are also other types of online personalities that are coming through to me. If you look at Brooke's blog, you'll notice that she always posts an intelligent, grammatically correct piece that meets all the requirements, but she doesn't get too involved in other people's worlds. This is somewhat how she is in the traditional classroom; in fact, one reason I am glad Brooke is in the Honors class is because I get an opportunity to "hear" more of her personality in her blogs than I do in the classroom. (She's too busy tearing up the basketball court with our Falcon b-ball team, who will probably take the district championship!)
No one has taken to blogging with a thesis like Kelsie; she's has discovered that it is often easier to make a series of small posts during the week than to try to come up with all 500 words at one sitting. This of course requires her to log on more often, but it is a method I might recommend to many of you who are struggling to get out of the "here's what I did today" sort of journals.
Shaylee was the first to discover that you can kill two birds with one stone in blogs. She posts practically every writing assignment she does in her blog. Want to see a research paper? A short story? An essay? There's a sample of them all in Shaylee's blog. Others have recently followed her lead, an example of how this online environment can, in fact, result in learning that is not teacher-directed.
Aaron's blogs often border on poetic. No wonder he's the studentbody president. Can anyone really be this thoughtful? (If only all of our political leaders were so in tune with the people they represent!) And where did he get that freaky discussion board avatar?!
And no one can compete with RaeAnne's sheer enthusiasm.
I've learned something about all of you by reading your blogs, and although I don't have time to respond to everything you say, be aware that you have an audience. Most of you have a wider audience than you know because I see evidence that you are reading each other's stuff, too. And that is the whole point of this experiment! Language arts curriculum is all about communication. Honors English focuses on written communication (because you are already so adept at the spoken kind). You are becoming better and more confident communicators, and if you keep practicing, your communication skills will take you far. So, even though many of you are with Tyler when it comes to why you are taking Honors English, and some of you may not see the point of all this, trust me: You are learning. Maybe you are learning different things than you would if the class were taught during the school day, but you are learning things that will make high school, college, and Life easier for you. Don't give up!
Finally, there are a few of you that just don't seem to have time for any of this extra-curricular honors stuff, but you still want the honors credit. (Or your parents want you to have it.) I've been asked a few times recently how, exactly, credit is awarded. It's all in the contract you signed at the beginning of the year. The assignments you complete for this class are not reflected in your English grade; but if you complete them all to an acceptable standard, your English class becomes "Honors English" at the end of the year. This method of offering honors credit does not sit well with those who prefer a competitive learning atmosphere, complete with scored assignments and grading curves. This method, however, is more true to how the world really is. In Life, you will not often be asked to pass a test on a bunch of facts you have memorized (and which you will forget within hours of finishing the test); you will, however, be required to communicate effectively, learn from peers, and set your own honorable standards. So, the point of all this is simple: You know whether or not you are doing honorable work. You don't need me to tell you that with an artificial motivator like a grade. If you get all the way to the end of this year and can honestly say that you learned nothing worthwhile from this honors class, then I guess I have failed you. But I might also suggest that, if that is the case, you have also failed yourself. I don't suspect most of you will feel that way. I hope not!
Blog on!
posted by MRT at 8:21 AM
5 Comments:
Mr. Thompson, I think I'm kind of part of the problem on the discussion board. I'm sorry, I'll try and start so more educational posts. It really is easier for me to write smaller posts and just do more on my blog. I've also notcied all those people's that you talked about and how good they really are. It is really true that people are reading you blogs. Even if people don't comment they still may be reading them.
Kelsie,
I don't think there is a "problem" on the discussion board. I was just commenting on the fact that some people have really turned on to the informal discussion. And my comment about your blogs was, of course, a compliment! Just keep doing what you're doing. If the urge to be more active in the discussion stikes you, great. If not, no big whoop. (That's how it is in classrooms too!)
Thanks for reading the teacher's blog!
MRT
Trey,
Yeah, you are the unofficial (but incredibly helpful) Honors TA. Thanks for the help!
MRT
I'm just very suprised at how much I actually talk on the disscussion board. If this class was in a classroom, I don't think people would really see the side of me that is actually somewhat social.
So there's one advantage to this online way of doing things: The "quiet" people in the classroom are not necessarily the quiet ones online, and vice-versa.
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