English 100 at Ashland

The rumor from my secret sources is that Ashland University will soon make a transition away from Google Docs (and Google Drive, etc.) to a Microsoft product. Here are my early (and very personal) thoughts about the transition. Google Docs was always “word processing lite” Though it is getting better, Google Docs never gave much help with spelling or writing style, and its approach to page formatting was very primitive. Paragraph styles were especially weak. Docs was one of the first programs to automatically save your work, and that was a great advantage, but many other programs do that now. Its file format is unusual and hidden, so one result is that I keep getting files I cannot open from students who don’t really understand how it works. In general, Google Docs is OK if you are not too fussy about your final product, don’t want to learn how to use a better tool, and need something fast, free, and undemanding. I don’t think many businesses would use Google D

The Writing Center home page is currently under maintenance. If you need to schedule an appointment, here is the direct link to their online scheduler: https://ashland.mywconline.com/index.php You may also email them at: wcc@ashland.edu or call 419-289-5154. Tutoring Center Temporary Contact If you need to contact the Tutoring Center, email Denisia Stoops at dstoops@ashland.edu

Every semester, I have one or two students who stop attending and stop submitting papers, BUT they are still on the books as students. Because they are missing major papers, they end up failing the course. This is not good for their GPA. It takes a lot of work to overcome an “F.” What to do if you are sinking Your first step should always be to discuss your problem with your course instructor. You may have some options to save your grade. If the issue is that you simply weren’t prepared for the course, working with our tutoring center might be your best choice. Before you make any major changes, discuss things with your academic advisor. Perhaps it would be wise to withdraw from the course. A “W” on your transcript doesn’t kill your GPA, and you are always free to try the course again at a later date. While you are in your academic advisor’s office, ask the question whether you are in the r