Waiting 2 Chat

I'm siting online waiting to chat with a couple of my classes.  No one has really come online.

Waiting to chat is like watching paint dry. <== Metaphor

Sharpening My Skills

I can see now that writing blog posts based off the weekly blog prompts for my ENGL2311 and ENGL1302 class is going to keep my writing skills sharpened.

It's hard to write a new posts each semester.

I may have to change up the prompts every two years to be able to get some fresh thoughts.

What do I do?

Week 3

 It’s Week 3.  I’m ready to go.  We’re still talking about reading in 1302.  I’m sure they’re ready to be done with this topic, but it’s so vital to their education, that I have to give them one more lesson on it.

Here’s what we’re learning about reading…

 You must read EFFECTIVELY, ACTIVELY, & CRITICALLY!

It’s important to be a Critical Reader/Thinker.

•       To evaluate what you’ve read

•       To form judgments

•       To develop your own point of view

•       To respond analytically to the ideas of others

•       To exchange ideas with others in conversation

•       To ask and answer questions

•       To develop ideas that can be explored further in your writing

Definitions

Effective Reading is reading in a way that allows you to understand the writer's message without spending too much time in the process.

Active Reading simply means reading something with a determination to understand and evaluate it for its relevance to your needs.

Critical Reading is reading carefully, actively, reflectively, and analytically to understand, evaluate, and analyze a text.  Critical reading is a technique for discovering information and ideas within a text.

Six Traits of a Critical Reader/Thinker

1. Focused on Facts
2. Analytical
3. Open-minded
4. Questioning/skeptical
5. Creative
6. Intellectually active

Reading is a two-way street.

The author is writing to teach you something, and you are reading to learn something.

You must engage with the text, and evaluate the author’s words, thoughts, and feelings; as you acknowledge your thoughts, feelings, and disagreements with and about the text.

Cheers to being an EFFECTIVE, ACTIVE, & CRITICAL reader!

Week 2

Well, here we go again.  At one school, I'll only have one class with them this week.  They'll have to do the second day of class online.  I can't crunch all this into one class period.

Week 1 Is Finished...

Week 1 is finished.  It's been tedious, fun, and different.  I only had one class this week at one school.  I had to crunch two days worth of lecture into one day.  I hate having to do that.

Well... on to week 2.

Spring is Here...

It's the Spring Semester.  I did a good job keeping up with the blogs up to Thanksgiving break.  I'm doing better and better.  This semester, I will do better.