Canceled!

We were supposed to have a follow-up to the Moodle conference earlier in the month this coming week, but it has been canceled by the administration. It will go on anyway, online rather than face to face.

I somehow don’t think I will be teaching on Moodle next semester! I think they are going to find a way to shut the project down. You have to wonder why. What is so threatening about Moodle?

At NWP

I am in Philadelphia at the National Writing Project’s Annual Meeting. It has been wonderful to see old friends and make new ones, to write and read and learn in the company of writers. This morning we had a writing marathon and my old friend Richard Louth from Louisiana was there to get us going. It was a great morning, and I did some OK writing.

I will try to past my thoughts on the sessions I attended over the next couple days.

Moodle Presentation

This is basically the presentation I gave at the conference earlier this month.

Using Moodle

For about a month now I have been using Moodle with my classes rather than Blackboard.  Last week I gave a talk at a small conference we had on campus to publicize the Moodle Pilot program.  You can find it here.  It was fun, and there was some interest on the part of other faculty members, so I am hopeful that we will be able to continue using it next semester and that, eventually, it may become an official university option.

I have used Moodle for a number of years now, and I am so happy to be back using it.  It has made my life so much simpler!

Excuses, excuses

There are none, of course.  I am not even sure where I have been and what I have done that I haven;t posted here for 2 weeks! Let’s see if I can do better now!

 

Finding some balance

I am one of those teachers who bends over backwards for her students.  Now that my kids are all gone, it fits into my life to do that.  My husband doesn’t object and he is big enough to take care of himself if he needs something.  But this semester I have a group of students who are extremely demanding.  They question every assignment grade.  They wanted to submit many drafts, with only the most minor of edits made.  And since I have more students than normal this semester, this has been a real problem.  I ended up spending all weekend every weekend working on stuff for school.  So I decided to make some changes.

Last week I explained to the group currently writing papers that I would look at three drafts and I would look at them on certain days.  If they wanted me to look at the draft, it had to be submitted before then.  So yesterday I looked at 20 drafts.  But that was it.  Of course, some students submitted a second draft before they read my comments, but I am ignoring those until I check drafts again on Wednesday.

I hope that this will help make the students more responsible and thoughtful about the work they turn in as well as help me find some balance between work and life.  We both need it!

The limits of a paper

In the travel literature class I am taking this semester we have read some very interesting pieces and, of course, we have written and will write a number of papers.  I love actual books, and I love writing in my notebook.  I even love composing and printing my papers for the professor.  But as I was checking ot some blogs this afternoon, I ran across a post by Graham with a video of Blue King Brown, an Australian group.  The song they are performing in the video directly applies to an article that I am reading and writing about right now.  Were my “paper” a blog post instead of 2-3 pages double spaced, I would include this song in my response to the article.

This is going to sound pretty pathetic, I am sure, but this is the first time I have really wanted to do a different kind of “paper”.  That means that it is the first time I have really understood how at least some of my students might want to do something different.  I thought I got it before, but this is absolutely the first time I have really felt limited by a piece of paper.

My challenge now, of course, is to find ways to allow, no really encourage, my students to break away from the traditional paper.

And on that note, my students in one class have been posting to their blogs again.  Some of them are really getting into this.  Links to their blogs can be found here.

Teacher inquiry

A friend and I are engaged in teacher inquiry this school year.  She is, so far at least, just looking at her classroom practice to see where it works and where it doesn’t.  I am working on differentiating instruction in one of my classes.  So what?  What makes this somewhat unusual, I think, is that she is a kindergarten teacher and I teach at the university.  But, we are both part of the High Pains Writing Project, so we know that she has things to offer me, and I have things to offer her.  We know that we can help each other become better teachers by sharing our knowledge and experience and even our questions.

This is proving to be an interesting experience.  I know that Dee has helped me see my own classroom more clearly than I was seeing it before.  My program is set up for students who are at a high intermediate or advanced level.  But this semester, I have some students who would qualify as high beginners.  I needed to do something.  I had started making adjustments a few weeks ago, but now that we have started this project, I am trying to expand my efforts and create something that I can use in the future when I encounter a similar situation.  It is exciting.  And, as always, it is really rewarding to talk with another professional about my practice.

Mid-semester break

Here we are, halfway through the semester.  I don’t remember any semester that has left me needing a break as much as this one has.  For the first time, I am thinking of imposing an attendance policy similar to what the math department has – the equivalent of 2 weeks’ worth of absences means you fail the course.  Attendance has never been a problem for me in university level ESL until now.  On top of that, simplifying my expectations for the courses does not seem to have helped.  Maybe I do need to go back and teach simple sentences.

Anyway… I am really trying to take a break from it here.  But I can’t stop thinking and trying to come up with answers.  I am hoping that I can gain a little perspective.  I need it!

Things are looking up technology-wise

I am no longer using Blackboard with my students.  I discovered quite by accident that there is a small pilot Moodle program on campus, and I have been allowed to join it.

I have used Moodle for a number of years, both in my former job and in my volunteer teaching for an overseas university.  I haven’t really had to learn how to use it, which is nice, but I have been pleasantly surprised by how easily my students have adapted to it.  They are already, after about 30 hours, telling me how much they like it.

So suddenly, I feel like a tremendous burden has been lifted from my shoulders!  Maybe I can make it through the semester after all!