Summer! Novels! Yay!

I both love and hate the summer semester. I always elect to teach the novels course during the summer. It is the one opportunity each year I have to actually teach a literature course. I really enjoy the break from composition and ALL THOSE ESSAYS! My students usually have very interesting things to say, but grading 4 essays per student @ 80 students per semester is just exhausting.

The summer lit class is also a source of frustration for me though. Most students who take this class don't want to be in it but figure it's better than a foreign language course. (If I were them, I wouldn't be so sure of that.) I have finally given up on making it a traditional literature course in favor of (I hope) novels, assignments, and topics of discussion that have actual and immediate significance to their lives. This is the first semester I've taught this course where I am happy with the outline I've made. I feel pretty comfortable with the direction I want the class to go. If we can have a little fun this summer and learn something about ourselves and the world we live in that can benefit us in our daily lives, I will be satisfied.

So far, I seem to have an interesting group of students enrolled in the two sections, one on the main campus and one in Litchfield. It's difficult to get a feel yet for how our class discussions will progress as there hasn't yet been much opportunity for that. I understand their dislike for reading and writing (sort of) and feel confident that I have done my best to select novels they will either enjoy or at least learn something valuable and relevant to their lives. I'm incorporating 2 films and possibly a 3rd. I love movies! And I think students do too. We'll see how things go, I suppose. At least they are pleased that I'm not making them read Dickens or Hawthorne. There is value in reading the "classics." Still, canonized literature is severely overrated.

Random Thoughts

As we approach midterm, I can't help but anticipate a huge sigh of relief in the near future. I have managed to keep pace with the course materials and grading, but I would prefer to be ahead of the game. I find myself struggling to keep up. I'm sure my students feel the same way. Hopefully, the mid-semester break will allow me the time I need to get at least a few weeks ahead of my students.

In the meantime, they will be submitting their first essays to me this weekend. I am really looking forward to reading them. They have all been working hard to develop their ideas. I have been really impressed with this group so far and anticipate nothing less as the semester progresses.

I am a day behind with lecture materials this week. Writing provided me a short break, but I need to get these materials posted on Blackboard. I know some of my students are anxiously if not eagerly awaiting the week's assignment materials.

Spring 2010 Semester Underway

Well, I am only teaching online this semester, and I have to say it is going much, MUCH better than last semester. The organization of the course is much more user friendly for my students if the lack of emails I have been getting is any indication. Some of my students seem very excited about the course, a fact that excites me greatly. A few even responded positively to my personality, something I just could not recreate in the online environment last semester. I am so glad that they have gotten a sense of who I am not just as a teacher but as a person.

They are getting ready to dive into the first essay soon. They have all been discussing some really interesting ideas for issues they might explore. I am really excited about seeing their drafts in a couple of weeks.

Several students let me know that they had checked out this blog. I hope some will offer feedback both praise and criticism. Since everything seems to be running more smoothly as I am getting the hang of online teaching, I will try to write more frequently.

I am looking forward to a fabulous semester.

Semester Overview

I don't think I need to tell anyone that this has been the worst semester for me since I started teaching. Revamping the entire course AND teaching online for the first time was not a good idea. The on campus section has gone relatively smoothly if not exactly how I would have liked, but the online class has been nothing short of a disaster. With the technical problems I faced at the beginning of the semester, realizing that the course was organized in a way that was confusing to most of my students, and finding that I needed to revise all of my course materials for online presentation, there is little wonder as to why I am in the predicament I am now with over 100 essays to grade in a few days. I made it through 60 in the last two days and hope I can get through another 40 tomorrow, which will leave me with only the research papers to get through.

I know that most of my online students are frustrated if not pissed. I don't blame them at all. I wish I would have been in a position to better serve them as their instructor. If I were grading myself on my performance this semester, I'd be the first to give myself an F.

With all of the online courses I've taken, I really thought teaching one would be easy. I can't believe how wrong I was. If there is a silver lining in all of this it is that I have learned more about teaching online from my complete and utter failure this semester than I ever could have otherwise. I will be using the winter break between semesters to revamp some of my lecture materials, so that next semester I can focus solely on responding to students writing in a more timely and efficient manner.

Plato's Jeopardy

I had so much fun in class today! I hope my students did too. I am definitely expanding this game for future classes.

Grading Fiasco

Overwhelmed as I have been with my online class, I have fallen severely behind on grading. As a student, I always hated when it was midterm before I had any clue what kinds of grades I was getting in a class. Those instructors pissed me off and frustrated me to no end. While my students have not quite experienced delayed grades to that extreme, I still feel like one of those instructors that I hated (I can think of one in particular). If I could just get caught up, the remainder of the semester would be much more enjoyable. But this task seems impossible. As soon as I get one assignment graded, another has been submitted. I wish I could hold off on a couple due dates, but since we began the semester at a slow pace, I can't afford to slow things down now. In fact, we need to pick it up just slightly. Corey Taylor says, "I can't be afraid of my patience." I'm generally good at having patience with my students, but I have no patience with myself. If I can just keep working steadily, I'll get through it and so will my students. It may not be an ideal semester for any of us, but things will be better next time.

Fall Semester Underway

Well today marks the end of the second week of the fall semester. It's a little odd being both a student and an instructor this semester, but I'm enjoying it. I figure that taking classes will help me connect better with my students and better understand their academic needs and concerns. My TR a.m. section of 112 is going smoothly. My only concern is the diffidence I've witnessed so far in almost everyone but the front row. It is, however, only the second week, so my hope is that everyone will become comfortable enough with me and their peers to engage in discussion.

My online section is what has been causing me the most frustration. My literacy with computer technology is above average but I've basically just learned what I needed whenever it became necessary. Teaching this course has already presented me with deficiencies in this area of my own personal education. I want to serve my students in ways that most effective and which create an environment conducive to collaborative learning. In addition to my own technological challenges, some of my students are experiencing mini meltdowns, I fear. I've been trying to assuage their anxiety, but I'm not sure how effective I'm been in that endeavor. I can only hope that as the semester progresses, I'll get better at leading a group of 60 students through the course material in this virtual environment.