How this works is for now and could change: I'm open to suggestions - but not bound to following them.
To post or even comment on posts, class members have to join what blogger.com refers to as the "team" and become blog members. Feel free to start your own blog and link to the class blog.
Your role and participation expectations:
Posting is optional but encouraged. Expect me to nudge you with exhortations to post and participate. However, I do expect you to comment on posts. This does not require a lot of writing. Often a sentence or two will do. Your comments should be relevant, well thought out, and contribute to discussion.
What you will see here:
My rambling essays - some on learning English and other language learning in general, others on literature, reading, or whatever strikes my fancy. Consider it reading practice.
Questions that I expect answers to and comments on. I'll try to close even essays with a question for you as I did with "Getting Started."
Getting Acquainted - I know each of you (some better than others) but you do not know each other. So post intorductions and take the time to get acquainted. I may post a questionnaire to facilitate the process.
Learning related topics - metacognition, linguistics, how the brain processes language, learning styles, cognition, study skills, learning practices as culturally determined.
Language topics - literature, reading, poetry, and so forth
Links - learning, reading, ESL, lessons, activities - but not just that. Post links about your home, your country, your interests, and so on.
Topical subjects - avoiding, of course, extreme positions while maintaining openness to discourse on a wide variety of topics.
And more - post on anything you want
Needless to say, we will observe basic netiquette
Hello Vanessa,
ReplyDeleteThank you for invinting me here.
By now I do not know what topic should be posted. I think I would like to know about classmates before I can decide to post something. I am going to take a look first.
Tai
Tai
ReplyDeleteIntroductions are a good place to start. I'll blog it and try to get the ball rolling.
I already know more about you since I now know your nickname. ;)
It will take a while to engage the rest of the class in this project. It's student (and maybe human) nature to hang back and let someone else test the waters first. That may have been a good survival strategy back when we were hunter gatherers on the savannahs of Africa, but it gets in the way of class participation.
You and Sadamu are being the trail blazers and setting an example for the rest of the class.
Hi teacher Vanessa,
ReplyDeleteI think it will be useful if you change the template of the blog to another one where we can see at the margin the recent comments.
what do you think?
Khadija
ReplyDeleteIt might be a good idea if changing the template were not such a time-consuming nuisance or if someone else were doing it instead of me ;)
In general, I am usually not in favor of ideas that make more work for me.
On the other hand, I doubt that catering to laziness is really a good idea. The titles of each post are listed on the right. It's not really asking too much to expect students to scroll down the page or click to individual posts to check for comments.
Besides, although that is a feature on some blogs (such as Typepad & Live Journal), I don't think it's a feature on Blogger.