Our final meeting: Wednesday, December 10th 2014

Dear all,

Our final meeting will take place in E-141 Wednesday, 12/10, from 8 to 10:15 am.

I will ask each of you to step out one by one to give you your grade for the course–and you may make a follow-up appointment with me if we decide that is necessary. I will also give you the grade on your reflective essays, though I need to keep the essay itself.

The grade breakdown (which will also be visible if you log into Blackboard after today’s class) is as follows

Blog posts and attendance = 20 points

Paper 1 = 32

Paper 2 = 32

Paper 3 = 32

Midterm = 25

Final reflective letter = 10

Peer review = 15

(total possible points = 166)

Tasks to complete on your own today include,

  • removing any identifying info from your final paper and uploading it to Digication (remove your name, my name, and the section number from your final papers and submit them to the Digication e-portfolio site, following the handout I distributed last week: depositing_assessment_digication_student)
  • creating a new document for yourself in a place you will check often (digital, hard copy, or both), entitled, “What I Want to Remember from Fall 2014 to use in future semesters” (the reminders can relate to this class or any other you’ve taken; it can include specific knowledge, skills, overall study habits, or anything else you want to recall later–build on this document at the start and end of every semester!).
  • putting your name on the sign up sheet going around if you want additional feedback on your writing to prepare for future courses (sign up times are Friday 9am-5 pm and Monday 9 am-5 pm) (optional)
  • Eat and congratulate yourselves on 12 weeks of hard work! I will bring in some food as well, which you can eat while you wait to meet with me (just be sure to be very neat in the computer lab!).

See you soon,

Professor Zino

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Wednesday, November 26th in English 101: reviewing the elements of academic writing

Today in class we reviewed elements of the academic essay that you wanted more practice with, especially thesis, motive, stitching, stance, and orienting. Thanks to those of you (Steve, Sheeza, Ken, Shakyla, Mariama, and Jonathan) who volunteered your work!

We discussed the importance of formulating a thesis that has a structure built into it, so that you (and your reader) can follow that structure in the essay:

building structure into a thesis statement

Over the break: Please re-read the notes you’ve received from me and your peers on My reviewers over the Thanksgiving break to continue to revise assignment 3!

Extra credit: see this handout about generating engaging titles. Post up to three of your best titles from this exercise as a reply to this post before next class to receive extra credit. Make sure you include a title in the final version of assignment 3 that you’ll turn in on December 5th!

Finally, remember that next week we’ll compose the in-class reflective final essays. You’ll draft the essay on Monday; then, I’ll collect it and give it back Wednesday so that you can complete it and revise it. The best thing you can do prepare for this task is to review all the work we’ve done in the course on our blog, going back through each post and recall what we did each class. The blog is an archive of the work we did together over the last 11 weeks.

HAVE A HAPPY AND PEACEFUL THANKSGIVING!

Guidelines for today’s peer review (Monday, November 24th)

What should have been completed outside of class–if you have not done so, the last chance to complete the peer reviews is during today’s session: The peer review on My Reviewers is now up and running and your early drafts of project 3 (in other words, a first revision of essay 2) should be posted. THIS SHOULD BE POSTED UNDER THE PROJECT 3, EARLY DRAFT category, otherwise your peers will not be able to access it during the peer review. Each of you should have received emails from the site informing you of your groups.

In this peer review, you will focus on three categories on the “Interpreting Harvey’s Elements” sheet (on the back of your assignment sheet for assignment 3): sources, orienting, and stitching.

Go to “display community comments” and include at least 2 community comments on the paper (they may be from the focus, evidence, organization, style, or format categories). Then go to “display rubric” and answer the following questions in your overall comment:

Sources: What outside sources does this essay refer to? Have they been cited carefully? Orienting: What bits of information, explanation, and summary have readers been given to introduce the quotations selected? Refer to one example from the essay. Stitching: Where does the essay use transition words to show the connection between one part of the argument to the next (either sentence to sentence, or paragraph to paragraph)? Point out a place where this is already happening, and a place in the essay where the writer might consider doing more “stitching.”

AFTER COMPOSING YOUR FINAL COMMENT IN MY REVIEWERS, COPY AND PASTE IT INTO A WORD DOCUMENT, PRINT IT OUT, AND BRING IT TO CLASS ON MONDAY FOR OUR IN-PERSON PEER REVIEW DISCUSSION. You do not need to fill out the rubric. Don’t forget to save and submit before moving on to the next paper in My Reviewers! These peer reviews, like last time, will be graded. The peer review window will close on Monday morning at 10:15 am. ***

Today in class:

We will begin with group interviews about your paper:

Each person should re-read his or her draft silently in My Reviewers (log in and go to “View my uploads”). After re-reading the paper, go to your peer’s feedback to see what community comments you have received and to read any final comments on your paper. (20 minutes)

After re-reading, close the tab with your paper open. When having a conversation, minimize the tab with your paper so that you can focus on describing what you’re trying to accomplish, rather than reading your essay to your group. Choose a group member to be interviewed and ask him or her the following questions. Every group member should take handwritten notes on the writer’s response and hand the writer the notes at the end of the interview (devote about 20 minutes to each essay):

  • What “problem” or issue does your paper analyze? Why did you choose this topic? Why do you think it’s important and deserves more attention?
  • Can you describe the problem in a sentence that breaks up the problem into features or parts you want to address (your thesis)? [Note: If the writer does not have a clear thesis, you can brainstorm possible thesis statements after completing the interview.]
  • Talk us through your whole argument so far. [Note: The writer should be doing most of the talking here; listeners might respond by bringing up suggestions, possible examples that have not yet been considered, or possible counter arguments.]

After these interviews, each group member may read his or her final comment on the paper to the writer, focusing on sources, orienting, and stitching. Hand back your notes to the writer, and describe your final comment, allowing the writer to takes notes on what he or she hears across the comments and to ask any questions.

After the first writer responds to the interview questions, that writer will ask these questions to a new writer. As the next writer responds, the group will take notes on his or her response and hand them to the interviewee, then they will read their final comments and allow the writer to ask any questions about them. Repeat this process until all members of the group have been interviewed and have the notes you took on their essays!

Wednesday, November 17th: “Stitching”–Strategies for Connecting the Parts of our Essays

FIRST, we’ll check in with the sources in our collaborative annotated bibliography: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Vx-i4ocCp2vxbwzCXz4Psqy0vLhG-x3eKTcDH_zX4bc/edit

  • First, let’s organize them into clear sub-categories
  • What makes certain annotations more successful than others?
  • Do you see sources you want to incorporate into your paper?

Building on the new resources we’ve collected, we’ll review Harvey’s “elements” on the back of the assignment sheet–to understand why “sources” are only useful if we’re “oriented” toward them, and if they become well-integrated into a paper through “structure” and “stitching”

First, we highlighted types of transitional phrases you should be incorporating into your revision of essay 2 (a.k.a.: “Assignment 3”).

types of transitional phrases

Then, we spent time identifying multiple claims in a paragraph…  (thanks for letting us use your essay, Alex!)

identifying individual claims in a paragraph

… Last, but not least, we incorporated transitional phrases into actual sentences.

using transitional phrases in a sentence

(p.s. Notice my use of transitional phrases in this post!)

We will spend the last 90 minutes of class working on our papers, following exercise 2 on page 120 of the “Connecting the Parts” chapter embedded in this post.

*REMINDERS* An updated draft should be posted to My Reviewers by this Friday at midnight. Check back later this week for peer review directions for this weekend….

Monday, November 17th: extending our writing from paper 2

A question many of you may be asking when reviewing the assignment sheet for paper 3 is, “HOW do we develop the discussion from paper 2?” We discussed four possible options (there might be more, but these would be the most common ways to deepen your analysis):

  • offering a counter argument (thinking carefully about whether you want to build up to the counter claim, or raise it early in order to the turn to a position you believe in more strongly),
  • adding a description of the underlying causes of this “problem” early in the paper;
  • adding more examples about the same claims you’re already making (if those claims are specific and accurate),
  • describing your own experience with the situation–be the expert.

In the second half of class, I’ll ask you to select a single paragraph of your paper to develop. Go back to My Reviewers and copy and paste a paragraph of the paper (you may have to download the PDF) into a Word document. Then, choose one of the four extension options and us it to develop your claim.

For next time, please add a second source to our annotated bibliography: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Vx-i4ocCp2vxbwzCXz4Psqy0vLhG-x3eKTcDH_zX4bc/edit?pli=1

This morning, November 12th, in English 101

8-8:15: Attendance. We’ll begin by reviewing the schedule for the rest of the semester.

We’ll review the blog posts you completed for homework, discussing your impressions of Turkle’s epilogue.

Then, we’ll discuss the “extension options” for assignment three, alongside the question sheet we will all use to set goals for the end of the semester: Interpreting Gordon Harvey’s elements. This is a good time to set a personal goal.

Break

9:15-10:15: Building a collaborative annotated bibliography

First, what IS an annotated bibliography? Why is it worth creating?

I’ll ask you to cut and paste the sources you used for your second paper into a separate Word document, composing an annotation for what you think is your most useful and reliable source.

Then, paste your source and annotation in this Google document: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Vx-i4ocCp2vxbwzCXz4Psqy0vLhG-x3eKTcDH_zX4bc/edit?usp=sharing. **Add your full name above your entry to distinguish them from others. (Remember, three classes will be adding to this document.) You may contribute more than one reliable source and annotation for extra credit.

Turn to a partner and read each others’ annotations: do you each understand what the source is about? Do you need any other information to decide whether your partner’s source is useful?

PLEASE SEE THIS ASSIGNMENT SHEET FOR WHAT’S DUE ON MONDAY:

english-101-assignment-3

Monday morning, November 10th, in English 101

(8:10 am, after taking attendance) Today, after a week of focusing on our own writing, we’ll begin by turning our attention back to Turkle’s book. We’ve been reading Turkle’s words all semester, but this is a good time to hear her voice, to watch how she expresses herself in person in front of an audience, and to listen attentively. If you have not yet finished the book, keep her voice in your mind as you move to the end.

Turkle has a pretty even and controlled speaking voice, but she does slow down, enunciate, use hand gestures, and speak loudly for emphasis when she speaks: https://www.ted.com/talks/sherry_turkle_alone_together

Before I cue up this 20-minute talk, review this handout of words used to introduce quotations (we’ll also review them together in case you have questions about what any of these words mean): http://www.ucdenver.edu/academics/colleges/CLAS/Centers/writing/resources/Documents/Resources/Words%20to%20Introduce%20Quotations.pdf.

  • How does she represent her own opinion?
  • How does she present the ideas of people she interviews? What about people who question or doubt her?
  • Throughout the talk, record any bits of language (phrases, sentences) that you hear her emphasize most.
  • After you listen, I’ll ask you to choose language from the list to introduce those bits of language and we’ll record them on the board.

HERE’S THE LIST OF QUOTATIONS, WITH EXCELLENT INTRODUCTORY PHRASES, WE DEVELOPED TOGETHER: Introducing quotes with precision and clarity

After the break, we’ll discuss the midterm and we’ll talk about the schedule for the rest of the semester and I will describe how we will extend essay 2 into a well-developed research essay for essay 3.

Question 1: Most people missed the part of the paragraph about the “triumphalist narrative” — what does this mean?  What’s the “other story” Turkle is afraid will get lost when we read online?

Sample 1

When thinking of technology, we don’t often think about one important thing; the anxiety given to us by them. Technology has taken away certain “old school” things such as books. People now prefer to go online to read rather than opening up a book and reading from it. It’s thought that reading online is better, but in reality they don’t completely tell you the whole thing. When reading online, there’ll be links or easy access to pages such as Facebook, or other social media in which you can get distracted. There’ll almost never be a link relevant to what you’re reading; therefore the temptation to drop what you’re doing is always there, leading to anxiety. Reading a book however challenges the mind, helps you stay into the work, and helps you better stay on task. With the increase in technological use, books will soon be a thing of the past while things like eBooks or other online book sources will dominate, creating more and more distractions.

Question 2–How did you approach a big question like this?

Advice: List what kind of intimacy is present. Then list what’s lacking or artificial. Or vice versa. Then identify what feelings of connectedness are described in these sections when people are alone? What feelings of solitude can come up when people are connected? Don’t lose sight of the prompt. Keep re-reading it as you write your response (this goes for your papers as well).

Sample 1

    In “A beautiful thing”(116) and “temptation”(224) Turkle illustrates stories where humans find intimacy with people who we “imagine as things”(224). The intimacy displayed in “A Beauiful Thing” for example shows Edna, an 82-year-old great grandmother who when presented with a My Real Baby becomes nurturing towards the object. She relates it to one of her children who would say “banky” instead of blanket; Edna according to the researchers who observed her behavior with the My Real Baby conclude that she “gives the impression of wanting to be alone—“together” only with the robot”(116). Turkles claim that “in intimacy, [we find] new solitudes” is exemplified here because Edna’s new connection with the robot baby brought an intimate moment where she would have seem to want to be alone with this robot.

           In temptations, Turkles claim of “in solitude, [we find] new intimacies” is exemplified when she tries out “ChatRoulette” for the first time. She noticed also here that we objectify people as things. We judge them by appearance and next them if we don’t like them. I think turkle here displays that when we are alone, ChatRoulette can provide intimacy when we are alone, providing connections when we are missing it.

Sample 2

In the section, A Beautiful Thing, the type of intimacy that is being described is the need to fulfill our craving to have someone/something to care and confide in. By caring and confiding for a robot, the demands are less and there is no judgment. The person feels as though they can do no wrong and can continue to do rote activities with the robot without hearing any complaints. With a human or living thing, there are certain demands and expectations to be met, all at a constant inconsistency. For example, in the context between Edna and Amy, “the young child likes different types of toys, changes her snack preferences even over the course of the visit, and needs to be remembered on her birthday (Alone Together, 119).” It is hard to keep up with important dates, especially an evolving appetite of a child. Despite knowingthat it is inanimate, Edna begins to show attention to the My Real Baby as if it was a living thing, and less attention to Amy. Amy begins to whine and beg for her attention leaving everyone in the room in a feeling of uneasiness. However, for Edna, “My Real Baby gives her confidence that she is in a landscape where she can get things right (Alone Together, 119).”

In Temptation, it is a different kind of intimacy described. In this passage, we get a sense of intimacy through connectivity. “Connectivity becomes a craving; when we receive a text or an e-mail, our nervous system responds by giving us a shot of dopamine (Alone Together, 227).” We turn to computer generated programs for life and lose ourselves in it. There, we can be who we want to be and it is easier to attain our goals online than real life. However, we can still have the best of both worlds by having a separate life online and still function in real life. Websites such as chat roulette or even as simple as constant communication through email and text, it allows us to be by ourselves and still be connected to others. Both passages however lack emotional development in being able to personally socialize with each other. We prefer to be in connection to technology to give us a feeling of fulfillment rather than confide in each other. We lack in acceptance of criticism and flaws.

Both context together exemplify the main claim of “in intimacy, [we find] new solitudes,” and “in solitude, [we find] new intimacies,” because in A Beautiful Thing, although people have the convenience of human interaction with friends and family member, they find themselves to prefer to be with a robot instead. The evolving and constant demands of human and living things are hard to keep up with unlike a robot, you can never be or do wrong. “Jonathan distrusts people; it is easy for him to feel humiliated. Edna is a perfectionist who knows that she can no longer meet her own standards. In both cases, the robot relaxes them and prompts remembrance (Alone Together, 119).”  Temptation in my opinion, shows that through being solitude, we find new intimacies. Online activities such as Chatroulette, World of Warcraft and Second Life, allow us to be alone yet still be connected and able to communicate with each other and meet more people due to the convenience of global network. You are able to be who you really are or whoever you want without feeling insecure. “In the flow state, you have clear expectations and attainable goals. You can concentrate on a limited field so that anxiety dissipates and you feel fully present (Alone Together, 226).”

For Wednesday’s class, please respond to this post with a comment of about 200 words that responds to the following prompt in a well-developed paragraph:

Review how Turkle describes the idea of writing letters (rather than emailing or texting) on pages 270 to 271. Then, read the epilogue. Why does Sherry Turkle insist on presenting this book as “a letter”? What does she want her readers to take from the experience of giving and receiving letters and apply to the experiences of daily life? If you were writing a book as a letter, to whom would you address it and why?

Please make sure your paragraph does all of the following:

  • quotes from Turkle’s conclusion or epilogue at least once, introducing that quote by using the best possible term from the list we looked at in class (see the top of this post for that list)
  • includes an in-text citation in MLA format
  • includes a clear topic sentence

On a cold Monday morning in C 708 (November 3rd)

Today in class, we began by discussing successful aspects of this model draft — please open the document to see versions of the comments we made about it:

essay 2, sample draft, with our comments

Here’s an improvement we made to the introduction:

improved statement of problem, 11 3 14

paraphrasing model

Next, you all signed up for one-on-one conferences with me. Some of you met with me during Monday’s class:

monday 11 3 sign up

The rest of the members of the class will meet with me on Wednesday:

wed sign up 11 5 14

Please remember: your final revised draft is due no later than midnight on Friday, November 7th. Please upload it to My Reviewers under “project 2, final draft.”

**For next class–please read through the end of Alone Together.

Today’s midterm

**We will begin the exam at 8:15**

English 101, Section 0974

Midterm

October 29, 2014

Part I.

1. Open the paraphrasing method document we created. Go to page 242 and paraphrase the second long body paragraph (be sure to read the notes in the back of the book as well).

2. Re-read the section “A Beautiful Thing” (116-120) and the section “Temptation” (224-228). What types of intimacies are described in each passage? What’s lacking in each of these examples of connection and intimacy? Citing evidence from both these passages (in MLA format), describe how, read together, they exemplify the main claims of Turkle’s book: “in intimacy, [we find] new solitudes,” and “in solitude, [we find] new intimacies.” Do this in two to three brief paragraphs.

**Reminder, create a new Word document, cut and paste the prompts above into the Word document, and save it as “[first name, last name] Midterm.” When you have finished, upload your Word document to this folder in Google Drive: https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B3uXJQfYlBX4eUdNeTZyclZ3WXc&usp=sharing   If you have any trouble accessing this folder, simply copy and paste your response into this document: https://docs.google.com/document/d/137fS6bNXHNJio1KMiXvFZVWmmhSeeP4POiPRjLQnR7U/edit?usp=sharing

Grading: Part I of the midterm will count as the equivalent of two out-of-class blog posts.

For next class, please do the following:

1) Read through the end of chapter 14 in Alone Together.

2) Keep revising paper 2 on your own (see the revision task I left you in My Reviewers) and bring a copy of your paper with you to the next class: bring a hard copy if you prefer revising on paper and a digital copy if you prefer to work on a laptop. Also, if you have not yet incorporated an outside source into your paper, please come to next class with a reliable source you plan to cite in the second essay.

Monday and Wednesday’s classes will be working sessions devoted to writing, revising, and conferencing with me about your paper. Your revised paper is due, uploaded as a PDF to My Reviewers, no later than Friday, November 7th at 5 pm.