tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55366258278335195522024-02-21T02:50:54.520-05:00English 100 at AshlandCurtis Allen's English 100 class at Ashland UniversityCurt Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18203733991359074096noreply@blogger.comBlogger45125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5536625827833519552.post-20656474017075438252022-10-21T07:00:00.001-04:002022-10-21T07:00:00.181-04:00Our Future Word Processors<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs8qc5808siPWNrPND38xYzP6oWCcx772kLstu0KRskbH9Zx_Y6kMZk81Mli4EY39p33wuJvlTHZ6I8IV0xa6Cx4sycTf0z9pvECgko71MfLdEeIDvIS2My5EajgpjZ-oOkknyHN8MM-_ToXwOM1CzXuxen2Sb_sn1ya5766T1IO9GuNo652KiBpp4/s256/WordPerfect-1.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="256" data-original-width="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs8qc5808siPWNrPND38xYzP6oWCcx772kLstu0KRskbH9Zx_Y6kMZk81Mli4EY39p33wuJvlTHZ6I8IV0xa6Cx4sycTf0z9pvECgko71MfLdEeIDvIS2My5EajgpjZ-oOkknyHN8MM-_ToXwOM1CzXuxen2Sb_sn1ya5766T1IO9GuNo652KiBpp4/s320/WordPerfect-1.png" width="320" /></a></div><p>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.
</p>
<h2>Google Docs was always “word processing lite”</h2>
<p>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.
</p>
<p>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.
</p>
<p>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 Docs, so you’re not learning a skill that you can transfer instantly. I don’t think moving away from Google Docs will be a great tragedy.
</p>
<p><b>Special Note:</b> Anyone who has a Gmail account can use Google Docs, so even if the University stops supporting it through your @ashland.edu account, you can keep making Google Docs documents on your own.
</p>
<h2>Is Microsoft Word in our future?</h2>
<p>As I write this, Microsoft has announced major modifications to their online version of Office, which will roll out in November and December. I have no idea what these changes will look like, but I <i>hope</i> they will fix a major problem: the awkward and confusing file directory structure. We will wait and see.
</p>
<p>I assume that the student product will be the online version of Microsoft Office, which is <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/education/products/office" style="text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">already available free</a>. It works pretty well and has several advantages over Google Docs, but it’s not perfect.
</p>
<ul>
<li>It lacks several features of the version you download and pay for, and it’s different enough from the downloaded version that you will have some learning to do when you move from one to the other.
</li>
<li>Microsoft has an ugly habit of changing things around, so you may be in for a surprise the next time you open it—functions and features may be moved to a new location and have new names.
</li>
<li>Unless the new version fixes things, basic functions such as renaming or deleting files or organizing them into file folders are very hidden. You may assume that it’s impossible to do these things because there is no obvious path to get there.
</li>
<li>There are some days when some functions just don’t work. (I assume it’s because someone at the other end is revising things.)
</li>
<li>Like Google Docs, this version of MS Word needs an internet connection. If yours is down, you don’t do any work.
</li>
</ul>
<h2>My personal advice</h2>
<h3>Apple Users</h3>
<p>Take some time to learn how to use <a href="https://support.apple.com/pages" style="text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">Apple Pages</a>, the word processor you paid for when you bought your new Apple computer. It’s far better than either Google Docs or the online version of Microsoft Word.
</p>
<h3>Windows Users</h3>
<p>If you haven’t yet started to figure out Microsoft Word online, this is a good time to begin. It’s free and chances are excellent that the new product will be very similar.
</p>
<h3>Chromebook Users</h3>
<p>Past experience with Chromebooks trying to use MS Word Online hasn’t been good. If you don’t want to stick with Google Docs, our Distance Education people (who deal with a lot of Chromebooks) speak very favorably of <a href="https://www.libreoffice.org/" style="text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">LibreOffice</a>.
</p>
<h2>Two free gifts</h2>
<ol>
<li>I have written an new <a href="http://www.allenenglish.me/computer/how-make-apa-mla-paper.html" style="text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">How-To Page for writing a school paper</a>. I hope it’s easier to understand than the previous attempt. Apple Pages users get new template files.
</li>
<li>I’m testing out <a href="https://www.libreoffice.org/" style="text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">LibreOffice</a>, which also runs on Windows and Apple computers. I’m pretty pleased so far, and I’ve been using another word processor which uses the “guts” of LibreOffice—with really good results. If MS Office causes grief, this might be the way to go.
</li>
</ol>
Curt Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18203733991359074096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5536625827833519552.post-87766430622421375072022-10-19T15:56:00.004-04:002022-10-19T15:56:41.315-04:00Writing Center Temporary Address <p>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: <a href="https://ashland.mywconline.com/index.php" style="text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">https://ashland.mywconline.com/index.php</a>
</p>
<p>You may also email them at: <a href="mailto:wcc@ashland.edu" style="text-decoration: underline;">wcc@ashland.edu</a> or call 419-289-5154.
</p>
<h2>Tutoring Center Temporary Contact</h2>
<p>If you need to contact the Tutoring Center, email Denisia Stoops at <a href="mailto:dstoops@ashland.edu" style="text-decoration: underline;">dstoops@ashland.edu</a>
</p>Curt Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18203733991359074096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5536625827833519552.post-21785864452308057872022-10-03T07:00:00.007-04:002022-10-03T07:00:00.189-04:00If you are in trouble in a course<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGBreBxtgs5pPMIq88Z1qX0hNSrSqIHBVQ7xIYqoqShhDXzayYn-uHRwWEdj9vOYW3OVRCqPITIr0D3cPpvpRDBjzEIpIZCyLfJPkGIb8_UYA68vWBe9uK5FmjddGwY6IjvJfW7fIyxuiN_cCYxpvYwP8TdVXipu15V0eypHauZq7cCf0fIDzZHwhB/s770/sinking-feeling.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="514" data-original-width="770" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGBreBxtgs5pPMIq88Z1qX0hNSrSqIHBVQ7xIYqoqShhDXzayYn-uHRwWEdj9vOYW3OVRCqPITIr0D3cPpvpRDBjzEIpIZCyLfJPkGIb8_UYA68vWBe9uK5FmjddGwY6IjvJfW7fIyxuiN_cCYxpvYwP8TdVXipu15V0eypHauZq7cCf0fIDzZHwhB/s320/sinking-feeling.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Every semester, I have one or two students who stop attending and stop
submitting papers, <i>BUT</i> they are still on the books as students. Because
they are missing major papers, they end up failing the course.
<p>
This is not good for their GPA. It takes a lot of work to overcome an
“F.”
</p>
<h2>What to do if you are sinking</h2>
<ol>
<li>
Your first step should always be to discuss your problem with your course
instructor. You may have some options to save your grade.
</li>
<li>
If the issue is that you simply weren’t prepared for the course,
working with our
<a href="https://www.ashland.edu/administration/center-academic-support/tutoring-programs" target="_blank"><u>tutoring center</u></a>
might be your best choice.
</li>
<li>
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.
<ul>
<li>
While you are in your academic advisor’s office, ask the question
whether you are in the right major. If your problem is that you are
burnt out because you realize you are in the wrong place, we have
<i>TONS</i> of other academic options which might fit you far better.
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ol>
<h3><span style="color: red;">Warnings about withdrawing</span></h3>
<ul>
<li>
If you are on a scholarship which requires you to have a full-time course
load, you should do your arithmetic very carefully before withdrawing from a
course. If you drop below full-time, you could lose your scholarship.
</li>
<li>
If the course you are withdrawing from is part of a sequence, you could
delay your whole academic progress if you drop a course.
</li>
<li>The deadline for withdrawing from a course is November 15, 2022.</li>
</ul>
<h2>About that “Incomplete” grade</h2>
<p>
The Incomplete “I” grade is intended for students who were doing
well until a last-minute emergency (hospitalization for example) prevented
them from finishing the last bit of work. It’s not for students who just
couldn’t get around to doing everything. Here are the rules:
</p>
<ul>
<li>
The student must request it. The instructor cannot initiate this process.
</li>
<li>
The request must be approved by the instructor’s supervisors. There
must be good reasons (beyond “I just couldn’t get it all
done”) for the request—and I suggest some sort of documentation
to help your case.
</li>
<li>
There’s a final due date for the work to be completed, and you will be
informed of the date. If you don’t get the work finished by that date,
the “I” grade becomes an “F”.
</li>
</ul>
Curt Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18203733991359074096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5536625827833519552.post-51269663662998952242022-09-29T15:13:00.001-04:002022-09-29T15:24:05.116-04:00Writing Lab at a Distance<p>
Just a reminder—I’m requiring four visits to the Writing and
Communication Center (Writing Lab) this semester. If you space them out over
the 15-week semester, that means you should be scheduling your second visit
very soon because this is the end of the fifth week.
</p>
<p>
We’re really getting into winter now, and weather, sickness, and car
problems are starting to cause trouble, but fortunately you can do a Writing
Lab visit from home. Here’s how:
</p>
<ol>
<li>
<a
href="https://ashland.mywconline.com/register.php"
style="text-decoration:underline"
>Set up your account with the Writing Lab</a
>
if you haven’t done it yet. (You only need to do this before the first
visit.)
</li>
<li>
<a href="https://ashland.mywconline.com/" style="text-decoration:underline"
>Go to the schedule page</a
>
to set up your appointment. One of the possible options is to do the
appointment through the Internet (very useful if you are under quarantine,
but you don’t really need a special excuse).
</li>
<li>
Keep the appointment. The Lab people inform me by email when you have
completed a visit, and I will give you credit (up to the first four visits).
</li>
</ol>
<p>
<b><i>NOTE:</i></b> It’s always better to come in with a specific
question about something you are working on now (“I need help thinking
of a topic” or “I don’t understand this thesis sentence and
topic sentence thing” for example). This page gives you the full details
about
<a
href="https://www.ashland.edu/administration/wcc/how-use-wcc"
style="text-decoration:underline"
>how to get the most from a Writing Lab visit</a
>.
</p>
Curt Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18203733991359074096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5536625827833519552.post-78234047135603341702022-09-16T07:00:00.002-04:002022-09-16T07:00:00.184-04:00Just Your Opinion<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
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</div>
<p>Students sometimes complain that because paper grades are “Just your opinion,” they shouldn’t count. All opinions are equal, right?
</p>
<ul>
<li>My doctor has taken several blood tests and a biopsy, and his <i>opinion</i> is that I don’t have cancer. But that’s just his <i>opinion,</i> so why should I listen to him?
</li>
<li>My stock broker, with an advanced business degree and years of experience, tells me that I should sell a particular stock. But that’s just her <i>opinion.</i> Why should I listen to her?
</li>
<li>My mechanic measures the tread depth on my tires and compares it with industry standard charts. His <i>opinion</i> is that my tires are unsafe and I should buy new ones. But that’s just his <i>opinion.</i> Why should I listen to him?
</li>
</ul>
<p>If you find yourself reading these and saying, “Duh! These people know what they are talking about! Of course you should listen to them!” then you are getting my point. My doctor knows what cancer symptoms are like. He’s studied. My stockbroker has studied the markets and has a good feeling for what makes money. My mechanic is a specialist too; he’s trained and sees dozens of cars a month. His opinion counts.
</p>
<h2>Just your opinion</h2>
<p>In common talk, “just your opinion” means “you are talking about your feelings, and all feelings are equal, so I’ll let you say your thing, then ignore you.” Many high school kids (and many adults, too) believe that there are no real facts and that experts should all be ignored. They are just talking about their feelings. If your <i>opinion</i> is that the sun is a tiny thing that goes around the earth, and I believe that the sun is a Greek god who rides a golden chariot, and those stuffy astronomers (who have never actually landed on the sun) believe that the sun is a huge ball of fire that we orbit around—the high school kid approach says that those are just opinions and nobody is right or wrong. There really are no facts.
</p>
<p>That works at the lunch table, where everyone is equally ignorant. It works at the family barbecue where Uncle Herbert has had too much beer and you don’t want to get him started. It doesn’t work in situations where a genuine expert actually knows what they are talking about. Cancer. Investments. Tires. English papers.
</p>
<h2>Counting commas</h2>
<p>I used to teach at a community college where we graded English papers by counting errors. There were 38 things we looked at for each paper, and it was possible to fail English 101 by a single comma. The pass rate wasn’t too high (One student took the course 10 times before landing in my first class there.) and the writing wasn’t too good—everyone focused on hitting those marks, not on content or style. Students would stop me in the hall and ask, “I put in that comma you marked wrong. Can I have one more point?”
</p>
<p>I guess one advantage of the error-counting approach is that it’s bomb-proof. I can tell you exactly why your paper got a 76 and your neighbor got a 77. Some students really like that, but it’s not writing.
</p>
<h2>So how <i>do</i> I grade a 100 paper?</h2>
<p>In the English Department, we use <i>rubrics</i> (a fancy word for “grade sheets”) to guide our grading. The <a href="http://www.allenenglish.me/100/100-rubric-fall-2019.pdf" style="text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">one we’re using for 100</a> divides the grade into five areas:
</p>
<ul>
<li>Focus</li>
<li>Content/Development</li>
<li>Organization</li>
<li>Style/Audience</li>
<li>Conventions</li>
</ul>
<p>After reading and marking the student’s paper, I write a short overall comment about what I am seeing (both the good and the not-so-good). Then I move to the rubric try to find comments which describe the paper I have just read, and I circle the comment. After this, it’s just a matter of arithmetic: There are five horizontal groups which correspond to the five possible grades (A, B, C, D, F), and a bit of work with a calculator gives me a grade for the paper.
</p>
<p>In general, this rubric works well: A student who has good things to say but struggles with awkward sentences won’t fail the paper and gets guidance about where to improve. Sometimes, however, a paper comes through which doesn’t fit the rubric: well-written but totally off the assignment or so full of grammar and spelling errors that it cannot be called a college-level paper. In those rare instances, I’ll ignore the rubric and do a holistic grade, with an explanation to attempt to describe the reason for the grade.
</p>
<h2>Conclusion of this long discussion</h2>
<p>In the real world, very few outcomes are hard-edged and absolute. (If you don’t get the <i>exact</i> numbers on your ticket, you don’t win the lottery.) Most of us, most of the time, deal in probabilities. (If you invest in this stock, you will <i>probably</i> make some money.) Most experts understand this. Your car mechanic tells you that if you don’t put gas in your tank, your car will absolutely quit running. She also says that <i>in her opinion,</i> the condition of your tires and brakes is good enough for that long trip next week. She cannot <i>guarantee</i> that you won’t have a blowout; she just knows what years of looking at tires has taught her.
</p>
<p>That’s how college grades work too. Some grades are absolute. (Name the bones in this diagram of the human hand.) Some, probably the more important, are based on a teacher’s estimate (opinion) of your level of understanding. (How does Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development affect your understanding of Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed?)
</p>Curt Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18203733991359074096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5536625827833519552.post-3016773617644670522022-09-12T07:00:00.001-04:002022-09-12T07:00:00.175-04:00Where is our Zoom link?<p></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div>
<br />I will get this question several times during the semester. “I have to be
absent on Friday. What’s the Zoom link for that class session?”
<p></p>
<p>There isn’t any.</p>
<p>
During the pandemic quarantines, we got used to the idea that “going to class”
meant turning on the computer and logging in (and often it meant turning off
the camera and microphone and leaving the room). It was pretty rare for those
sessions to be very productive or educational, and every teacher I know agrees
that those Zoom students really didn’t do too well.
</p>
<p>
Setting up a Zoom session so I can do a “talking head” presentation from home
is pretty simple, but doing a classroom session is much more complicated.
(When I taught at the University of Akron, I did two semesters of similar
teaching, and the university supplied a technical assistant to simply manage
the equipment and software for the whole class session.)
</p>
<p>
So the answer to the question is that we don’t have a Zoom session for every
class period. Almost all the material is available on Blackboard, so if you
keep up with that, you won’t suffer too much from missing a class.
</p>
Curt Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18203733991359074096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5536625827833519552.post-87946070883012151572022-09-09T07:00:00.004-04:002022-09-09T07:00:00.173-04:00Hard Skills versus Soft Skills<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<p>
<b>Hard skills</b> tend to be the things you can write in an instruction
sheet: how to change spark plugs, give an injection, or enter items on a
spreadsheet. Formal education, both in high school and college, tends to focus
on hard skills because they are easy to grade (I can quickly tell whether you
have correctly named the bones in the human hand) and because so many schools
are obsessed with propelling you as quickly as possible into a job where you
can accomplish a specific task.
</p>
<p>
<b>Soft skills</b> are more difficult to teach: showing up for work on time,
cooperating with coworkers, treating your boss with proper respect. Few high
school or college courses focus on soft skills, yet, oddly, you are more
likely to get fired for lacking soft skills than for lacking hard skills.
Coworkers and bosses see those who lack soft skills as irritating and
disrespectful.
</p>
<h2>Applying this to the classroom</h2>
<p>
For the next few years, your main job description is “student.” Treat this
like a job you want to keep.
</p>
<ul>
<li>
<b
>Show up before your shift starts so you can be at your work station on
time.</b
>
<ul>
<li>
If you show up five or ten minutes late at most paid jobs, you will
probably get a warning the first time and your paycheck will be docked.
After about three, you are in danger of being fired. If you simply don’t
show up and don’t call anyone, the first or second offense will get you
fired.
</li>
<li>
A college class period is 50 minutes long. If you are ten minutes late,
you have missed 20% of your working day. “On time” doesn’t mean bursting
in the door at the last second. It means being ready to start real work
when the class period begins.
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>
<b>Bring the right tools and equipment.</b>
<ul>
<li>
If you are working in construction, I won’t let you start without your
hard hat. If you forgot to put on your steel-toed boots, you can’t
borrow a pair from someone else.
</li>
<li>
“Right tools” for a classroom certainly includes paper and pen or
pencil. (Yes, I know you got through high school without taking notes,
just sort of staring blankly into space. College is different.) “Right
tools and preparation” for a college class also means doing the day’s
reading before you get here.
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>
<b>Cooperate with your boss and coworkers.</b> If you are a pain to work
with, nobody will help you and you will get passed over for promotions and
the other good stuff in life. The same is true in a classroom. Teachers
cannot transfer you to a different division, but you won’t get their best if
you spend your day being irritating.
</li>
<li>
<b>Stay focused on your job.</b> If you spend your working day playing on
your phone or sending Tweets on your work computer, most supervisors will
write you a warning and start looking for ways to get rid of you. They
aren’t paying you to gossip with friends or look at porn. Think of college
the same way: You didn’t come here (and pay tuition) to chatter with
your friends, look at porn or play fantasy football. Though some teachers
confiscate phones, I won’t do that, but if you are playing on your
phone, you will lose attendance credit, and when it comes time to work on
your next paper, you won’t have a clue what is going on. I will
probably ask you to put the phone away (and that's pretty embarrassing).
</li>
<li>
<b>Lost in your own little world.</b> It’s pretty common for students
to assume that we cannot see you when you spend the whole class session
playing on your phone or studying for other courses. Surprisingly enough, we
<i>can</i> see you when you are doing these things!
<ul>
<li>
This sort of behavior is an insult to both the teacher and the other
students. (Yes, your classmates <i>do</i> complain when you get lost in
your phone.) Do you really <i>want</i> your paper graded by someone who
knows that you don’t respect the course or the teacher’s
work?
</li>
<li>
Yes, attendance is part of the grade in this course, but you need to do
more than simply occupy space and hold down a chair. Students who spend
the class session sleeping, playing on their phone, or doing homework
for other courses get 25% of the day’s attendance credit. Your
body was here, but not your mind.
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p>
I have known more than one person who lacked these skills—who showed up
late, didn’t bring the right tools, and couldn’t even be bothered
to bathe—and who complained that he couldn’t get a job because
everyone was prejudiced against him. The issue wasn’t race, ethnicity,
religion, or anything else; the problem is that people who lack these skills
aren’t seen as assets. (One clueless fellow simply didn’t show up
for a week and was astonished that the job wasn’t waiting for him when
he returned.) College students who lack these soft skills will have trouble
getting through courses because they will keep losing points for attendance,
won’t know what the material is all about (because they are playing on
their phones and not taking notes) and generally just don’t get it
together enough to be adults in an academic setting.
</p>
Curt Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18203733991359074096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5536625827833519552.post-44353296327109252472022-09-08T07:00:00.001-04:002022-09-08T07:00:00.171-04:00Submitting for other courses<p>Just a reminder—Blackboard didn’t set up the Drop Box format for our course, either the appearance or the location, so if you are in another course which requires written submissions through Blackboard, nothing will look like our course. Be sure to ask the teacher how to submit things!Curt Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18203733991359074096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5536625827833519552.post-39820987492517566262022-09-07T07:00:00.001-04:002022-09-07T07:00:00.181-04:00Did we do anything in class?<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<a
href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivOu1kJRhmAP8JNP0NAiEThZWGL4NKmewfaLhR7yQS-CRiqmPm_DLIlb5f2haeWBFFLo_ZjplKcK7Ftvy89xTD3OdNcHuC6Ya-b38u8VLYP8LlPhTyPLPTxYD4rc05KfHn1YHyXECRNB4TNhoWGi3Lyorl_hPEFWFHaVsif3oSUHZFUOkem5POQvZI/s2000/do%20nothing%20in%20class.jpg"
style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "
><img
alt=""
border="1"
width="320"
data-original-height="1333"
data-original-width="2000"
src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivOu1kJRhmAP8JNP0NAiEThZWGL4NKmewfaLhR7yQS-CRiqmPm_DLIlb5f2haeWBFFLo_ZjplKcK7Ftvy89xTD3OdNcHuC6Ya-b38u8VLYP8LlPhTyPLPTxYD4rc05KfHn1YHyXECRNB4TNhoWGi3Lyorl_hPEFWFHaVsif3oSUHZFUOkem5POQvZI/s320/do%20nothing%20in%20class.jpg"
/></a>
</div>
<p>I often get questions phrased like this:</p>
<p align="center">
<b
>“I have to be absent Friday. Are we going to do anything?”<br />
“I was sick yesterday. Did anything happen in class?”</b
>
</p>
<p>
Teachers do not react well to questions like these. We’re tempted to
say, “Nothing happened at all. We sat there counting our fingers as
usual.” But that wouldn’t be helpful.
</p>
<h3>Where the question comes from</h3>
<p>
I have to assume that the student asking the question is genuinely interested
in keeping up with the work. That’s good.
</p>
<p>
I suspect that some high school teachers don’t have enough material
planned, so they simply tell you to do your homework in class (so nothing
really did happen—it was just an empty hour). I also suspect that some
high school teachers do not publish lesson plans or assignment schedules, so
every day is a surprise to the students (and possibly to the teacher as well).
If a high school kid misses a day of class, the reading assignments, homework
assignments, and major paper assignments also get missed.
</p>
<p>
Neither of those is true in college. We only have three hours per week to work
with, and we’re very conscious that we can’t get everything done
in that time, so you’ll never have a “homework day” in
class. We also must give our supervisors a planned-out syllabus at the start
of the semester, so you will probably never arrive in a college classroom
where the teacher hasn’t a clue how to fill the hour.
</p>
<p>
The bottom line is that yes, we are going to do something in class. Every
single time we meet.
</p>
<p>
I suspect that the students who ask the question that way aren’t trying
to be insulting. They are simply used to an education environment in which
many classes are time-fillers, not places to actually learn anything.
</p>
<h3>Figuring out what we did in class</h3>
<p>
A surprising number of my students don’t realize that our Blackboard
site (including the links to the daily schedule included in each week’s
folder) lists all the readings we do. Start there.
</p>
<h4>Let’s not forget friends</h4>
<p>
One of your best resources is a smart pal who can tell you what happened in
class. You want the attentive person, not the goof-off who is sending Tweets,
looking at porn, or sleeping. You don’t even want the person who spends
the hour studying for the Principles of Marketing test that’s coming in
the next hour. You want someone who is actually paying attention to English.
If someone asks a good question in class or the teacher gives a memorable
illustration, your smart pal is your best hope for getting the information. If
you’re <i>really</i> lucky, you can find someone who takes notes!
</p>
<h3>Why I won’t type out my notes for you</h3>
<p>
After only a couple of classes, you should have realized that I am not reading
from a typed manuscript. I don’t even use a detailed outline very often.
Much of the time, I’m using the material on the screen as my outline,
and the extra comments and illustrations are impromptu. That means that to
give you my entire lecture, I would struggle to remember, type the whole thing
out, and hope that I had included everything. That sounds like a couple of
hours of work.
</p>
<p>
Did your high school teachers <i>REALLY</i> type out their notes for you if
you missed a class??
</p>
Curt Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18203733991359074096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5536625827833519552.post-15730354810774992542022-09-06T07:00:00.004-04:002022-09-06T07:00:00.182-04:00If you bought your computer in another country<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<a
href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUcvrM9Mj5a6k7ka275Xo2ip_QNtL4IV1n_5oNa0WystpNUZgIVkzh-2EQKZkM0Z9oW5DRSu8EJ-trOIYz8xd6pQD0ikkf0vXiD1Y-9p_K5CePoor1-e8MQENUd48SzivVq-wsDj3pL2IWqq8B4Byt7BxRb-PtjZARhv4_2oGvaIAlnKmgDgEgCEkD/s225/MS%20Word.jpeg"
style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "
><img
alt=""
border="0"
width="320"
data-original-height="225"
data-original-width="225"
src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUcvrM9Mj5a6k7ka275Xo2ip_QNtL4IV1n_5oNa0WystpNUZgIVkzh-2EQKZkM0Z9oW5DRSu8EJ-trOIYz8xd6pQD0ikkf0vXiD1Y-9p_K5CePoor1-e8MQENUd48SzivVq-wsDj3pL2IWqq8B4Byt7BxRb-PtjZARhv4_2oGvaIAlnKmgDgEgCEkD/s320/MS%20Word.jpeg"
/></a>
</div>
<p>
Last Friday, I strongly recommended using Google Docs to write your papers;
<b><i>HOWEVER,</i></b> I am going to change that suggestion for people who
bought their computers outside the USA. (Really the issue is whether you
bought your <i>word processing program</i> in another country because a copy
of Microsoft Word that is set up for writers in Japan or Germany is very
different from what you would get in the USA.)
</p>
<p>
If you got your software in another country, the online version of Microsoft
Word would probably work better for you because its grammar and spelling
matches USA usage and the format it uses to print things (paper size and
typeface) also match what we do in the USA.
</p>
<p>Here is what you need to know:</p>
<ul>
<li>
<b>Getting into Microsoft Word the first time:</b> Go to
<a
href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/education/products/office"
style="text-decoration:underline"
target="_blank"
>Get started with Office 365 for free</a
>. Sign in with your Ashland email and password, and tell them that you are
a student.
<ul>
<li>
The next time around (if you are using the same computer) just go to
<a
href="https://www.office.com/"
style="text-decoration:underline"
target="_blank"
>www.office.com</a
>. The system should remember who you are.
</li>
<li>
If you are using a college computer, you can get in by giving your email
address and password.
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>
<b>Making a paper:</b> This is an
<a
href="http://www.allenenglish.me/computer/MLA-Word-Online.pdf"
style="text-decoration:underline"
target="_blank"
>instruction sheet for making an MLA paper</a
>
(similar to the ones I gave out for the other word processors on Friday).
Just follow the instructions. (You might find it convenient to print a copy
to refer to.)
</li>
<li>
<b>Managing your files:</b> (This is the part that Microsoft makes very
unclear and confusing). Follow this link for instructions to help you
<a
href="http://www.allenenglish.me/computer/navigate-ms-word.html"
style="text-decoration:underline"
target="_blank"
>navigate Microsoft’s OneDrive Cloud Server</a
>.
</li>
</ul>
Curt Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18203733991359074096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5536625827833519552.post-90588666016283952192022-09-05T07:00:00.001-04:002022-09-05T07:00:00.189-04:00Grades in English 100<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a
href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpTvEXvYOTPggNG8bOhUYyabVMxKdWDvzeFY3al4r4RN35tMtwRDpntVLoFWINExzbE22CP_Bk0AjBEswaGeYxk2kGbybuOAJiwnDfFsUoyU30VOU3g-nLg4gQhooMJ-f0HBZ_T1cNh-UBMovSmkiHNxRlGcHG_ZJOPUbo8bbKu7D7OUkCfvojcIN-/s238/gradebook%20100.jpeg"
imageanchor="1"
style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"
><img
border="0"
data-original-height="212"
data-original-width="238"
height="212"
src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpTvEXvYOTPggNG8bOhUYyabVMxKdWDvzeFY3al4r4RN35tMtwRDpntVLoFWINExzbE22CP_Bk0AjBEswaGeYxk2kGbybuOAJiwnDfFsUoyU30VOU3g-nLg4gQhooMJ-f0HBZ_T1cNh-UBMovSmkiHNxRlGcHG_ZJOPUbo8bbKu7D7OUkCfvojcIN-/s1600/gradebook%20100.jpeg"
width="238"
/></a>
</div>
<h2>How college grades work</h2>
<p>
In general, each instructor has individual standards (read the syllabus to
figure out what gets graded), but we try for some uniformity. In the English
Department, we have regular meetings where we all grade the same papers and
discuss how to make our standards consistent. What gets graded in this course
is probably similar to what gets graded in other courses:
</p>
<ul>
<li>Finished essays</li>
<li>Small assignments and quizzes</li>
<li>Attendance and participation</li>
</ul>
<p>
The university standards for grades are a <i>range,</i> so for the course as a
whole, you don’t have to achieve absolute perfection to get a good grade.
Here’s how it works:
</p>
<p>
A = 93%-100%<br />
A– = 90%-92.9%<br />
B+ = 86%-89.9%<br />
B = 83%-85.9%<br />
B– = 80%-82.9%<br />
C+ = 76%-79.9%<br />
C = 73%-75.9%<br />
C– = 70%-72.9%<br />
D+ = 66%-69.9%<br />
D = 63-65.9<br />
D– = 60%-62.9%<br />
F = below 60%
</p>
<h2>A couple of personal policies</h2>
<h3>Attendance</h3>
<p>
Excused absences don’t count against you. If you are sick, simply get in touch
with me. Athletic coaches (etc.) usually let me know who is traveling with the
team, and those absences are excused too.
</p>
<p>
At the end of the semester, I forgive a full week of unexcused absences; after
that, unexcused absences do count against you. Showing up late and sleeping in
class (which includes doing homework for other courses and playing on your
phone) always count against your attendance grade.
</p>
<h3>Quizzes</h3>
<p>
This category also includes the four required Writing Center visits, Peer
Editing, and the Sentence Combining exercises. I try to have enough items in
this category that I can forgive a couple of the lowest grades.
</p>
<h3>Blackboard and grades</h3>
<p>
Normally, the only grades Blackboard knows about are the major essays. This is
because the arithmetic necessary to knock out a couple of the lowest quiz
grades and average the remainder is just too much for Blackboard, and I keep
much more detailed attendance records than it likes (and Blackboard
isn’t too happy about forgiving a week of unexcused absences). If you
ever want know to how you are doing in the course, simply ask to see my
computer file.
</p>
<h2>English 100 is unusual</h2>
<p>
The university requires us to report your grades according to the list above,
BUT you don’t see those grades. What you should see on your grade report is
“S” (which stands for “Satisfactory”) or “U” (which stands for
“Unsatisfactory”). You must get an “S” to proceed to English 101. The minimum
standard for “S” is C– or above (70% or better in the course as a whole).
</p>
<p>
The other oddity is that the grade in English 100 does not affect your GPA.
</p>
Curt Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18203733991359074096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5536625827833519552.post-67286280864612552482022-09-02T07:00:00.001-04:002022-09-02T07:00:00.182-04:00Where to sit<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVbPV5PNyWYr2A06vNKIe_lbhoz2gmMLJiNbNRcj-65UIjfnIhSDKYJyCvog7Ra7bcWwfuc9ei7oVMepmcGYsENlUm_6FKT9Vtz-uJQeTkWR45nWaOE_Fbdz1y2QTbNYoDZu8F2GFgOoT3yx04FpabOk0GHtt5Jd3lBrr9wUyH0eCUYJdKrulLyxYt/s236/student%20desk.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" height="320" data-original-height="236" data-original-width="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVbPV5PNyWYr2A06vNKIe_lbhoz2gmMLJiNbNRcj-65UIjfnIhSDKYJyCvog7Ra7bcWwfuc9ei7oVMepmcGYsENlUm_6FKT9Vtz-uJQeTkWR45nWaOE_Fbdz1y2QTbNYoDZu8F2GFgOoT3yx04FpabOk0GHtt5Jd3lBrr9wUyH0eCUYJdKrulLyxYt/s320/student%20desk.png"/></a></div><p>Our classroom doesn’t have assigned seats, so there’s absolutely nothing wrong with finding a place that’s comfortable. A few things to think about:
</p>
<ul>
<li><b>Sitting near the front.</b> Academic research and personal experience suggest that sitting near the front improves grades. When you are hiding at the back, it’s too tempting to zone out or to waste time playing on your phone. You don’t feel as if you are part of the class process when you are all the way back there. (And if you have difficulties seeing or hearing, the front of the room is the place to be.)
</li>
<li><b>Sitting near annoying people.</b> Every classroom has one or two distracting people who like to whisper comments or show you pictures on their phones. You don’t have to sit next to them. The next time around, just find a different place. (<i><b>NOTE:</b></i> If it’s <i>really</i> bad, I have no objection to you moving in the middle of a class session!)
</li>
<li><b>Sitting in my line of sight.</b> Our classroom arrangement doesn’t give me much freedom to move around the room, and I need to stick fairly close to the computer. I don’t want to block anyone’s view of the screen, either. This means that I’m restricted to a fairly small area. <i>If you don’t want to be in my direct line of vision, don’t sit in front of me.</i> There are a lot of other places to sit.
</li>
</ul>
Curt Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18203733991359074096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5536625827833519552.post-60073025972563166742022-09-01T07:00:00.001-04:002022-09-01T07:00:00.167-04:00Covid Policy Update<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw_WlPS0WQG3JGFlCkJsGhysq-rKhZj-ARnXO1gLAD8LpH0Um0pwD2ognpA_63EaueCTT9-OqD_a90l9VGWv-aPqHJG0D-DVDY78iZEbfpO0d77IrhdiCV6QNvUabFAwcwBAxGF0iBh52_ZgnnKeTKDA6hgm7wfZkh4ouDz_goSMg44DBq68q2oppN/s350/handwashing.jpeg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="600" data-original-height="270" data-original-width="350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw_WlPS0WQG3JGFlCkJsGhysq-rKhZj-ARnXO1gLAD8LpH0Um0pwD2ognpA_63EaueCTT9-OqD_a90l9VGWv-aPqHJG0D-DVDY78iZEbfpO0d77IrhdiCV6QNvUabFAwcwBAxGF0iBh52_ZgnnKeTKDA6hgm7wfZkh4ouDz_goSMg44DBq68q2oppN/s600/handwashing.jpeg"/></a></div><p>
This
<a
href="http://www.allenenglish.me/covid-update-fall-2022.pdf"
style="text-decoration:underline"
target="_blank"
>Covid Policy Update</a
>
came to my email box on August 29. The general idea is that we are relaxing
some of the stricter rules from the quarantine days, but we still want to keep
you and everyone else in the campus community healthy. Here are the basics:
</p>
<ul>
<li>
<b>At this time, there are no university wide COVID-19 mandates,</b> though
there could be some program-specific rules.
</li>
<li>
<b>Vaccination:</b> yes, please. The
<a
href="https://www.ashlandhealth.com/"
style="text-decoration:underline"
target="_blank"
>Ashland County Health Department</a
>
offers free Covid vaccine, and the website gives times and places.
</li>
<li>
<b>If you feel sick:</b> Contact the Student Health Center via phone
419-289-5200 or email at healthcenter@ashland.edu and plan on a minimum of 5
days of self-isolation (10 if you still feel sick). If possible, they want
you to return home, but accommodations are possible if that doesn’t
work.
</li>
<li>
<b>If you have been exposed but aren’t sick,</b> they still want you
to mask up for ten days.
</li>
<li>
<b>And all the usual precautions:</b> hand-washing, ventilation, reasonable
social distancing.
</li>
</ul>
<h2>Two notes from last year:</h2>
<ol>
<li>
As a campus, Ashland actually did much better than the surrounding county at
controlling Covid. All of that masking and hand-washing really did help.
</li>
<li>
My policy for excused absences is very generous. If you are sick, just let
me know, and if there’s a quiz on a day you are out sick, I will
forgive that too.
</li>
</ol>
Curt Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18203733991359074096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5536625827833519552.post-12084834841643144352022-08-31T07:00:00.010-04:002022-08-31T07:00:00.177-04:00What to bring to class<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<a
href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV4tbZuJ6GZfg_HSOBjiROKJEdWKWhUP0X_VrO7KqlJm_eKFBsO_9k9nllVIEMpjq5faJjSi8K8pjK3m6gGmuq0Oh9CdBUbi3XqsbnsOpTiSjYNE226UJSVyMg56B8wY2JKHq5UYD4WNXVo7jN_y4fvtPxjqR6PN5nvDHA8HCcoFj8KygAoSvUW-TH/s200/pencil-paper-e1398989606156.jpeg"
style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "
><img
alt=""
border="0"
width="320"
data-original-height="178"
data-original-width="200"
src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV4tbZuJ6GZfg_HSOBjiROKJEdWKWhUP0X_VrO7KqlJm_eKFBsO_9k9nllVIEMpjq5faJjSi8K8pjK3m6gGmuq0Oh9CdBUbi3XqsbnsOpTiSjYNE226UJSVyMg56B8wY2JKHq5UYD4WNXVo7jN_y4fvtPxjqR6PN5nvDHA8HCcoFj8KygAoSvUW-TH/s320/pencil-paper-e1398989606156.jpeg"
/></a>
</div>
<h2>Paper and pen/pencil</h2>
<p>
This seems so basic, but many of my students arrive without any way to write
anything. A spiral notebook for each class is a great idea, and you should
bring more than one pen or pencil because pens run out of ink and pencil
points break.
</p>
<p>When you arrive without paper and pen or pencil, we all know:</p>
<ul>
<li>You really are not serious about passing this course.</li>
<li>
You think that all you need to do is sit there—actually learning
anything isn’t on your menu.
</li>
<li>You assume that everyone else will take care of your needs.</li>
<li>You assume that you will never have to take a quiz in class—or that it is everyone else’s responsibility to give you paper and pencil so you can pass the course.</li>
</ul>
<p>
Fortunately for the rest of us, people with this level of arrogance/ignorance
will all be gone by the beginning of their sophomore year.
</p>
<h2>Paperwork for the teacher</h2>
<p>
If you have a form from your coach, a late paper, etc., don’t leave it
at home. If you’re in a class where the teacher is collecting homework,
bring it. (We won’t do that in ours.)
</p>
<h2>Etc.</h2>
<p>
I’m a great fan of those accordion folders for keeping papers organized,
and it would be a great idea to buy a spiral notebook for each class and stick
it into its own folder pocket.
</p>
<p>
Some classes will require you to bring your textbook and/or other special
stuff—listen for the teacher’s instructions.
</p>
<p>
I won’t make a big deal of a water bottle—but don’t imitate
one of my students who brought a whole picnic lunch every day and spread it
out on the desk. That’s a mess and annoying.
</p>
<h2>Computer? Maybe</h2>
<p>
For most students, they are just a distraction, something to play on rather
than paying attention and participating in the classroom. In our English
class, we will sometimes have in-class writing exercises, though, so having it
in your backpack isn’t a bad idea, especially if you don’t do well
with handwriting things.
</p>
<h2>Phone? Nope!</h2>
<p>
I don’t think anyone would ever agree to simply leave their phone in
their dorm room. That’s too bad. According to a couple of recent
studies, teenagers spend an <i>average</i> of seven hours daily looking at
their phones, which means that some people spend far more. A lot of the time
you could be using for learning things or interacting with real people is
consumed by staring at your phone. It’s obvious to me that some of my
students cannot go a full hour without their phones (some seem incapable of
going 15 minutes), but one of the biggest things you can do to improve your
grades in college is to turn off your phone and put it in your backpack during
class.
</p>
<p>
Absolutely <b><i>NOTHING</i></b> is so important that you need to text your
best bud in the middle of class! And if someone has a medical emergency during
class, your teacher has a phone too and will call emergency services. Just
shut yours off.
</p>
<h3><span style="color:red;">Two phone policy announcements:</span></h3>
<ol>
<li>
If you are spending your time on your phone or messing about on your
computer rather than paying attention in class, your attendance grade for
the day is 25%. (That counts as “sleeping” because your body is
here but not your mind.)
</li>
<li>
If your phone or computer usage is distracting to other students, you may be
asked to leave the room. Obviously, you have no use for the class, but other
students came here to learn something.
</li>
</ol>
Curt Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18203733991359074096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5536625827833519552.post-78242013963857196182022-08-30T11:32:00.004-04:002022-08-30T11:32:56.637-04:00Finding Blackboard<p>Yesterday I learned that nobody ever showed you how to get into the Blackboard Learning Management System—and that’s an essential skill for both this class and for a lot of other courses you will take here. I went over this quickly on Monday, but it’s easy to forget something you only saw once. So here goes:
</p>
<h3>Method 1</h3>
<p>Because you are already in this blog, you can simply click the ☰ symbol in the upper right of this page. In the menu that opens, click <b>BlackBoard log-in</b>.
</p>
<h3>Method 2</h3>
<ol>
<li>Go to the Ashland University home page: <a href="https://www.ashland.edu/" style="text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">www.ashland.edu</a>.
</li>
<li>Click <span style="font-weight:bold; font-variant: small-caps">current students</span> in the upper right.
</li>
<li>In the next page, find <b>Blackboard</b> and click it.</li>
</ol>
<h3>Bookmark this page</h3>
<p>You will be returning to this page at least five or six times a week, so you would be smart to bookmark the Blackboard sign-in page.
</p>
<ul>
<li>Here are <a href="https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/188842?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform%3DDesktop#:~:text=Add%20a%20bookmark,the%20address%20bar%2C%20click%20Star%20." style="text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">instructions for setting a bookmark in Google Chrome</a>.
</li>
</ul>
<h2>Now that you’re at the start page</h2>
<ul>
<li>Your Username is the part of your university email address before the @ sign.</li>
<li>Your Password is the same password you use to read your university email.</li>
<li>You can ignore that box which says “Sign in with third-party account.”</li>
</ul>Curt Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18203733991359074096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5536625827833519552.post-78547105631533656772022-08-29T07:00:00.001-04:002022-08-29T07:00:00.166-04:00Now that the course has started<p>This blog will continue as a source for informal extra material.</p>
<p>
As a bonus, it also works as an alternative to the Blackboard learning
management site. (Sometimes Blackboard has a bad day.) Just click the thing
that looks like three little lines ☰ in the upper right corner, and you
have access to our course syllabus (which includes the reading schedule and
assignments) as well as the course readings and the “Resources for
Writers” directory.
</p>
Curt Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18203733991359074096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5536625827833519552.post-71372499269947942902022-08-26T07:00:00.000-04:002022-08-26T07:00:00.186-04:00When Blackboard Does Not Work<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<a
href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFhoihRFtni5nHSaOqNJ9eMpxdbRWSOKFj5ncyKch946_mjRN1qhGMcz--Z-tBYj8n5t3BA-5_P_XJ1Gg-u6YVKAUooNY6LL3OaaBpr8tqJt-UStxW319zmdxNrdiPXmPg8NMygEtlB2_eSZSOo0ngK1yZJzCwXTcLcxx68otfOD3cF9C3MzE_rBvP/s309/blackboard.jpg"
style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "
><img
alt=""
border="0"
width="320"
data-original-height="163"
data-original-width="309"
src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFhoihRFtni5nHSaOqNJ9eMpxdbRWSOKFj5ncyKch946_mjRN1qhGMcz--Z-tBYj8n5t3BA-5_P_XJ1Gg-u6YVKAUooNY6LL3OaaBpr8tqJt-UStxW319zmdxNrdiPXmPg8NMygEtlB2_eSZSOo0ngK1yZJzCwXTcLcxx68otfOD3cF9C3MzE_rBvP/s320/blackboard.jpg"
/></a>
</div>
<p>
Blackboard has an ugly habit of quitting, often when you need it the most. If
it won’t let you in (often because it forgot your password), you have
two quick, easy ways to work around the problem:
</p>
<ul>
<li>
If you want to see the written assignments or do the reading for the next
class, go to
<a
href="http://allenenglish.me/100/"
style="text-decoration:underline;"
target="_blank"
>www.allenenglish.me/100</a
>. The syllabus has all the reading assignments, but you will need to scroll
way down to find them.
</li>
<li>
If you want to submit a paper, send it as an email attachment to
<a
style="text-decoration: underline; "
href="mailto:callen@ashland.edu"
title="Allen's email"
>callen@ashland.edu</a
>. (Please send it in Microsoft Word format.)
</li>
</ul>
<p>
All of this information is available in the ☰ menu at the upper right of
this page.
</p>
<p>
By the way, if your problem is more than a temporary outage, the folks at the
<a
href="https://www.ashland.edu/administration/departments/information-technology-0"
target="_blank"
><u>IT Department</u></a
>
can help you get going again.
</p>
Curt Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18203733991359074096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5536625827833519552.post-10820632698456488522022-08-24T07:00:00.002-04:002022-08-24T07:00:00.172-04:00What to bring to class on the first day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a
href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy39RhAuBsNtUgAy9VKPVSvayUqovB6tBTKGDTD0_Hrz3m9yLwuyBkw45F54kuNu5ps_SK2l6PC7lyTJR1-4PnzUqsxveWmpRTEQ-OuSOAp6h1rCmLXpGHPaWyqPf7x86MJebK-YnLx7A/"
style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"
><img
border="0"
data-original-height="622"
data-original-width="622"
height="320"
src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy39RhAuBsNtUgAy9VKPVSvayUqovB6tBTKGDTD0_Hrz3m9yLwuyBkw45F54kuNu5ps_SK2l6PC7lyTJR1-4PnzUqsxveWmpRTEQ-OuSOAp6h1rCmLXpGHPaWyqPf7x86MJebK-YnLx7A/s320/FLEX3R_EMERGENCY_Rolling_Backpack_-_Red_-_Bottom_Angle__95417.1541803905.jpg"
/></a>
</div>
<p>
Don’t overdo it. I often see students laboring around campus with little
suitcases on wheels. I assume they are carrying their computer, their
notebooks, and every textbook they were asked to buy this semester. Maybe a
few library books and their lunch. Here’s what you need to bring to
class that first day:
</p>
<ul>
<li>
<b>A copy of your class schedule,</b> just to remind you where to go.
(Sometimes campus computers make mistakes and send you to classes that
don’t exist or put you in places where you don’t belong. A
printout of your schedule will solve a lot of problems if you have to ask
questions.)
</li>
<ul>
<li>A campus map would not be a bad idea either.</li>
</ul>
<li>
<b>Pen or pencil.</b> You do need to bring your own. Only annoying fools
think everyone else should supply them with writing tools.
</li>
<li>
<b>Spiral notebook.</b> On that first day, someone is certain to say
something you will need to remember. (It wouldn’t be a bad idea to
have a spiral notebook for each course you will take.)
</li>
<li>
<b>Accordion file folder.</b> The first day usually has a lot of handouts,
and you want to keep them all—together with each other, but separate from
the handouts for other classes.
</li>
<li>
Everything else is optional. You will probably not need your textbooks in
class on the first day. In fact, college teachers do not often require you
to use the textbook in class. It’s for homework reading, and we assume
you have done the reading before you get here.
</li>
</ul>
<h2>About bringing your computer that first day …</h2>
<p>You probably don’t need it. Most teachers spend the first day on
“rules and regulations” stuff (syllabus, schedule of readings and
assignments, etc.) and on some sort of “getting to know you”
material. so there’s no point in desperately digging into the internet.
And besides …</p>
<ul>
<li>
You will be juggling a lot of other confusing stuff that day anyhow, and
</li>
<li>logging into the campus system takes a while the first time, and</li>
<li>
the campus network is often overloaded the first day or two so you might
have to wait a LONG time, and
</li>
<li>
babysitting a computer and worrying about it is far less important than
finding out what you have to do to pass this course.
</li>
</ul>
Curt Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18203733991359074096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5536625827833519552.post-36079166620248487672022-08-22T08:31:00.000-04:002022-08-22T08:31:19.783-04:00Monday<p>
</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizpVY0EqgY73WoOms1mQRaC31wF5AeEYC795TmQd00Mpo5Zp0bWsoU6ThwBOZbL0xZL7t4WQHl0uytesRS5P-b99EoQPDhq2vg869zo_m8scqJqYK5RmQ_o6tlt1cBZcod17zH1CXP5H9ki613qs9YdPfX5lhP0iLK3j6bOGbLngqau1mAhnCD7mNA/s230/minions-minion.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="230" data-original-width="220" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizpVY0EqgY73WoOms1mQRaC31wF5AeEYC795TmQd00Mpo5Zp0bWsoU6ThwBOZbL0xZL7t4WQHl0uytesRS5P-b99EoQPDhq2vg869zo_m8scqJqYK5RmQ_o6tlt1cBZcod17zH1CXP5H9ki613qs9YdPfX5lhP0iLK3j6bOGbLngqau1mAhnCD7mNA/s1600/minions-minion.gif" width="220" /></a></div><br />One week from today, we’ll be back in school, and I’m
<i>almost</i> ready. (I need about one working day to get all the 101
assignments finished and posted to Blackboard.)
<p></p>
<p>
I’ve been doing this for 27 years now, and I <i>still</i> get a case of
butterflies on the first day. I know I’ll have trouble sleeping Sunday
night, and when I <i>do</i> sleep, I’ll probably have nightmares about
school disasters. First-day jitters are common stuff.
</p>
<p>
So I’ll spend this last week making sure <i>everything</i> is in place.
Do all the internet links work? Are all the assignments right? I’ll make
an emergency flash drive for the first day just in case the university
Internet connection is overloaded next Monday. I’ll make sure to visit
my office, which I haven’t seen in months (mainly to make sure
everything is still there, especially my coffee pot).
</p>
<p>
And after that, I hope to take a couple of days off to decompress. One or two
last bicycle trips. Coffee on the porch with a friend. Deep breaths.
</p>
<p>See you Monday.</p>
Curt Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18203733991359074096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5536625827833519552.post-62066473286529769192022-08-18T17:31:00.000-04:002022-08-18T17:31:24.598-04:00University Attendance Policy<p>
This policy has come down from the Administration, and it applies across the
University. (You might well spread the word among your friends if you know
anyone who might run afoul of this.)
</p>
<h2>Attendance Reporting:</h2>
<p>
Students are required to participate in a course-related activity within the
first three days of the start date of the course. Students may be
administratively withdrawn from the course and/or may lose financial aid
benefits if a qualifying activity has not occurred between the student and the
course work or faculty within the first three days of the course. Simply
logging into a course online via the Learning Management System (Blackboard)
is not considered qualifying activity.
</p>
<p>
Student non-participation during the first 8 days of a course may initiate the
administrative course withdrawal process. Student non-participation,
mid-course, for 14 consecutive days may also initiate the administrative
course withdrawal process.
</p>
<p>
According to policies and procedures set forth by Ashland University’s
Department for Veterans’ Services, AU will grant any service member
requiring more than a 30-day leave a release from coursework. Contact the
Office of Veterans’ Services for more information regarding this
process.
</p>
Curt Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18203733991359074096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5536625827833519552.post-40255860794274510562022-08-12T07:00:00.003-04:002022-08-12T07:00:00.168-04:00Keep all those documents<p>
Right now you are signing a lot of documents—loan papers and such. Get one of
those accordion file folders, and keep your copy of everything you sign. At
tax time you will thank me. You will thank me again in five or ten
years when you really need to know what those documents said.
</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a
href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgac4aerolZKPFVIlURFFiEzLfpdRZP1nFj8rQQla8vVxQ5rs8xwBI3EVj6WJ_4JO72j2L0iGkukROlmgqNUihMWmn5eVZTJhY_TecLupNVBcbXYTN9xUgSJFmeMm8C5L7YNnqv976yK8w/s1600/487275_detail.jpeg"
imageanchor="1"
style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"
><img
border="0"
height="320"
src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgac4aerolZKPFVIlURFFiEzLfpdRZP1nFj8rQQla8vVxQ5rs8xwBI3EVj6WJ_4JO72j2L0iGkukROlmgqNUihMWmn5eVZTJhY_TecLupNVBcbXYTN9xUgSJFmeMm8C5L7YNnqv976yK8w/s320/487275_detail.jpeg"
width="320"
/></a>
</div>
<p>
By the way, you will want to keep your textbook receipts so you can return the
book if you bought the wrong one or your schedule changes.
</p>
Curt Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18203733991359074096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5536625827833519552.post-17293560956742664692022-08-10T07:00:00.003-04:002022-08-10T07:00:00.183-04:00Lunchroom Legends about College<p>
</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdVIM3rOs9GH2BcSEYNvFxx2dNmMhTsTu2W5_glNimtvLM2dqb-0MRQCIjWyXb6wieBzc2sdruSAHzrQaaSi3Fz1DHiVK4C5sBbQy88QZqEZVm1s3BGBxhjgRDBfAhIWJpDvywQufT1W_Q_Z9wCJ6jnK4tYtl0rLDUGprOP3efsAa41Ua3DSMqqKSv/s421/lunchroom.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="247" data-original-width="421" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdVIM3rOs9GH2BcSEYNvFxx2dNmMhTsTu2W5_glNimtvLM2dqb-0MRQCIjWyXb6wieBzc2sdruSAHzrQaaSi3Fz1DHiVK4C5sBbQy88QZqEZVm1s3BGBxhjgRDBfAhIWJpDvywQufT1W_Q_Z9wCJ6jnK4tYtl0rLDUGprOP3efsAa41Ua3DSMqqKSv/s320/lunchroom.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br />A lot of fake news circulates concerning college life. I’m not sure
where all of this comes from, but kids seem to tell each other these
lies—and you need to ignore them.
<p></p>
<h3>Spoiler Alert:</h3>
<p>
Pretty much all of the legends below are quick routes to failing a course or
flunking out entirely. Don’t believe them.
</p>
<h2>College attendance doesn’t count</h2>
<p>
<b>Yes it does,</b> in two ways. In our course (and in many courses)
attendance is part of the grade, and unexcused absences count against you. And
obviously, if you weren’t here and the teacher said something you need,
that hurts too.
</p>
<p>
Some teachers don’t <i>appear</i> to take attendance, but they really
can—they just know who is supposed to be in their small classroom.
(I’m not that good. I will usually call roll.)
</p>
<p>
You only <i>think</i> that absences don’t count against you because we
don’t have an assistant principal phoning your mother. You are an adult
now, and you should know how much absences hurt your grade.
</p>
<p>
<b>Strolling in late counts against you.</b> Yes, I’ve heard that some
high school teachers didn’t mind if you wandered in 20 minutes late. The
truth is that they were just putting up with you and quietly deducted points
from your grade.
</p>
<h3>Fun Fact:</h3>
<p>Attendance is the best predictor of success in college courses.</p>
<h2>Nobody notices if I’m playing on my phone</h2>
<p>
Yes we do. I’m looking right at you. I can see you scrolling through
eBay, texting your friends, and looking at porn. I can also see you studying
your economics textbook instead of paying attention to our class. I
don’t choose to waste class time by reprimanding you; I simply deduct
75% of the day’s attendance credit, secure in the knowledge that your
low grade on your next paper (because you didn’t have a clue what I said
about it) is enough punishment.
</p>
<p>
You only <i>think</i> I don’t care because I don’t confiscate your
phone the way your high school teachers did.
</p>
<h2>Nobody cares if I plagiarize</h2>
<p>
Yes we do, and plagiarism is remarkably easy to catch. Every semester, I fail
one or two students for plagiarism.
</p>
<p>
My demand for academic honesty is actually a
<a href="https://www.ashland.edu/administration/sites/ashland.edu.administration/files/Academic%20Integrity%20Policy%20Aug%2014.pdf" style="text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">university-wide policy</a>, not just an English Department thing, so get used to dealing honestly with
all your other academic work.
</p>
<p>
More than one student has told me that their high school teachers didn’t
care if they plagiarized. I have no real answer for this, except that I pity
you for having had such a poor teacher. This is college. We do care.
</p>
<h2>I can drink a lot and still be a good student</h2>
<p>
Nope. Every faculty member can name a smart, promising student who disappeared
into the bottle and flunked out. According to one government study, 25% of
America’s college freshmen drink enough to affect their academic
performance—and that’s the definition of “drinking
problem.” Along with non-attendance, heavy drinking is probably the
second-best predictor of student failure.
</p>
<p>
Avoid Thirsty Thursday. It’s a trap. It reduces your seven-day work week
to something like 3½ days—and you’re probably too young to
drink legally anyhow.
</p>
<h3>Origin of the Thirsty Thursday tradition</h3>
<p>
Many Ashland students who live nearby race home on Friday afternoon, so the
only possible time for a dorm party is Thursday night. This works against you
in several ways:
</p>
<ul>
<li>
You only have half as many evenings for homework. (You’re not going to
do any schoolwork while you’re playing with your dog or hanging out
with your family or playing your favorite video game.) Instead of your
workdays being Monday through Saturday, you only get Monday through
Wednesday and half of Thursday.
</li>
<li>
You won’t be much good on Friday morning because you’ll be
sleepy and/or hung over. (If you get to class at all)
</li>
<li>
Establishing a tradition of heavy drinking doesn’t do anything for
your future mental stability.
</li>
</ul>
<p>The moral of the story: <b>Stay on campus and stay sober.</b></p>
<h2>And a word to the good students:</h2>
<p>
The best freshmen look at this list and shake their heads. They are attending
class, paying attention instead of playing on their phones, staying honest and
staying sober. My message to you is “relax and keep doing what you know
is right.” The freshman year is something of a gate-keeper: it’s a
time to separate the sheep from the goats. A lot of the people who cannot
follow these rules simply won’t be here next year.
</p>
Curt Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18203733991359074096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5536625827833519552.post-61289995454873114702022-08-09T11:56:00.000-04:002022-08-09T11:56:01.299-04:00Progress report<p>English 100 is pretty much figured out now. If you go to the ☰ menu on the upper right, you will find very complete information about the coming semester: assignments, readings, and so forth.
</p>
<p>I think it’s going to be a good semester. I’m looking forward to it.</p>
Curt Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18203733991359074096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5536625827833519552.post-47599478555985978032022-08-08T07:00:00.002-04:002022-08-08T07:00:00.186-04:00College Textbooks<p></p>
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><img
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<p>
The first rule is <b>don’t panic!</b> You don’t need to rush around and buy
textbooks before you get to campus. The college book store has what you need,
and many courses use online texts which are delivered automatically to your
Internet Blackboard account.
</p>
<p>
The world of college textbooks is tricky, so it is easy to order the wrong
thing from Amazon (especially if you try to save money by getting an older
edition at a discount). That’s one good reason to wait until you get here to
buy your books. Another good reason is that each teacher has a unique textbook
list: You cannot assume that the book list for one section of a course will
work in another section.
</p>
<h4><i>Pro tip:</i></h4>
<p>
When you buy books at our bookstore, save your receipt and don’t mark in
them until you are <i>really</i> sure you bought the right things. The
bookstore will give you full credit for unmarked books you bought by mistake
if you have a receipt.
</p>
<h3>Books for our course</h3>
<p>
The good news is that our English course doesn’t have any textbooks.
Everything is online and free. We have sample essays and readings and we have
grammar handbook items, all available through the internet. You can get to
them three ways:
</p>
<ul>
<li>
After you get access to your Blackboard account (usually on the first
official day of class), you will find that the course is arranged by weeks,
and the readings which are assigned each week are in the folder for that
week.
</li>
<li>
Also in Blackboard, there’s a menu item called “Course Content” where you
will find all the readings (plus links to other grammar and usage items).
</li>
<li>
At the top of this blog page, you will see a thing with three little lines
which look like this: ☰. Click that and a sidebar will open which also has
the “Course Content” item.
</li>
</ul>
Curt Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18203733991359074096noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5536625827833519552.post-23130686605413423272022-08-05T07:00:00.001-04:002022-08-06T17:46:17.648-04:00Getting Your Computer Ready for School<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfPveqbh0F1q0BXqi6RfRfyK7to9y9nRu8G6CQZuKKRxG6r8UDpJ0XLV_BYLd0x4hsOaSIM2b1ZBh-BjU32CFxJGNkBnvkRAJsJGAK67DsV6sURo6Qm8s5dI98ham8tNcpNA0SVyMnN8M/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfPveqbh0F1q0BXqi6RfRfyK7to9y9nRu8G6CQZuKKRxG6r8UDpJ0XLV_BYLd0x4hsOaSIM2b1ZBh-BjU32CFxJGNkBnvkRAJsJGAK67DsV6sURo6Qm8s5dI98ham8tNcpNA0SVyMnN8M/" /></a>
</div>
<p>Back when I was a student, everyone packed up their portable typewriter for the move to campus. Lots of people got a new typewriter as a graduation gift, but I didn’t. I ended up using one we bought when I was in high school.
</p>
<p>The story is probably the same for you, except that it’s a computer, not a mechanical typewriter.
</p>
<p>Whether you just bought a new one or kept your old faithful companion with all of its stickers, you need to do a few things to get the machine ready for college.
</p>
<h2>Getting Old Faithful ready for college</h2>
<h3>Is Old Faithful sick?</h3>
<p>If the machine crashes a lot, has trouble (and takes a long time) doing things, or pops up weird ads to play poker or look at porn, you probably have a virus. (You just <i>had</i> to download that fancy screensaver, didn’t you?) Take a deep breath—bite the bullet—pay the computer repair shop to clean it up for you.
</p>
<h3>Now that Old Faithful is feeling better …</h3>
<ul>
<li><b>Back up the really important stuff. </b>(Your only picture of Uncle Ed, the school addresses of your buddies, and so forth.) A flash drive is a good place to store this kind of thing. If you have a Gmail account, you have space on Google Drive. That’s another good place to store backups. Computers crash at school. Computers get stolen. There are some things you don’t want to lose.
</li>
<li><b>Clean house.</b> Go through all those files and ask yourself whether you really need that homework from your first Junior semester in high school.
<ul>
<li>You might like to delete or hide some of those embarrassing photos.</li>
<li>And that desktop image.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h2>Both Old Faithful and the new guy</h2>
<ul>
<li><b>Update your operating system.</b> You should do this after the housecleaning, and it will take a <i>looooong</i> time, so plug your computer into the power supply, and set it up to download the updates before you go to bed. Even a brand new computer should go through this every month or so.
<ul>
<li><b>Apple users:</b> Click the little picture of an apple in the upper left corner of your screen. Then choose “About This Mac.” Choose “Software Update.” You might get a list of items to choose—you want all of them. If the screen says “Your Mac is up to date,” congratulations: you are done!
</li>
<li><b>Windows users:</b> Follow the <a href="https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/update-windows-3c5ae7fc-9fb6-9af1-1984-b5e0412c556a" target="_blank"><u>instructions in this link</u></a>. If you get to choose which things to update, you want all of them.
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><b>Get Google Chrome web browser.</b> This is the one that works best with University stuff. Go to <a href="https://www.google.com/chrome/" target="_blank"><u>Google Chrome Web Browser</u></a>.
<li><b>If you already have Google Chrome,</b> run the update program. (It’s not automatic.) When you are in the Chrome browser, click the <b>Chrome</b> drop-down menu in the upper left, then choose “About Google Chrome” and follow the instructions.
</li>
</li>
<li><b>Set up a file folder system.</b> You want a quick way to find things on your computer, and the strategy is much the same for Apple, Windows, and Google Drive. (By the way, you can put folders inside other folders, so you can have a Fall Semester folder and an English folder inside that one.) The only files that belong on the desktop are the ones you use daily. Everything else should be hidden in folders.
<ul>
<li><a href="https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/organize-files-using-folders-mh26885/mac"><u>Instructions for setting up folders on Apple</u></a>
</li>
<li><a href="https://www.webucator.com/article/how-to-create-a-new-folder-in-windows-10/"><u>Instructions for setting up Windows folders</u></a>
</li>
<li><a href="https://support.google.com/drive/answer/2375091?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform%3DAndroid"><u>Instructions for setting up Google Drive folders</u></a>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
Curt Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18203733991359074096noreply@blogger.com1