Category Archives: Announcements

Last Day of Class Tomorrow!

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Wow, it’s almost our last class! Tomorrow we have our second round of presentations, and have three presenters (Justin, Phoenixx, and Mohammad). We will have a good chunk of time as well to discuss Westworld (finally!), so please do bring in your notes and ideas on the show.

We’ll also have a little end-of-the-semester celebration, and I’ll bring in some treats. Feel free to also bring in something to share with your classmates. Again, if anyone has any food allergies and/or dietary restrictions, please let me know (either comment on this post, or email me if you want to do it privately).

A friendly reminder that your Final Course Reflections are due tomorrow. Read more about them here.

If you haven’t done so already, check out my Wrapping up The Semester post 🙂

 

Wrapping Up the Semester

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We made it! We’re just about through with the course, so I’m sharing a few things to keep in mind as we wrap up this semester:

Research Project
This research project ,worth 20% of your overall course grade, is due on Tu 12/18 at the start of class (2:30pm). Refer to the Research Project page on our site for details on this assignment, how to post it on the OpenLab, and the submission link for the Dropbox files. Also, refer to our in-class writing workshops (your notes, and the class notes about them), peer review sessions the feedback from me in our conference(s) about your draft, feedback on Essay 1 (including the Strategies for Drafting and Revising Essays handout that I provided), and the Writing Resources page on our site.

Final Course Reflections
Individual Final Course Reflections, worth 15% of your final course grade, are due by the start of class (2:30pm) on Th 12/20. You will be submitting the reflection privately (only I will see it) via Dropbox, as a Microsoft Word document (correctly labeled) and you will also bring one printed copy to our last class. Refer to the Final Course Reflection page on our site for details on this assignment and the Dropbox submission link.

Expanded Office Hours
We’ve already had a number of rounds of in-class peer review, and I’ve met with each of you at least once (some of you multiple times!) outside of class. As you know, I’m more than happy to continue to discuss your research projects (and final course reflections) with you, as you work towards finalizing your final drafts. In addition to my regular office hours, I’ll also be on campus and available to meet on Tuesday, 12/11 before 2:30pm; Wednesday, 12/12 between 12:30 and 3:30pm; Thursday, 12/13 (this is a Reading Day, so classes are not held this day) between 1:00 and 4:30pm. If you are coming to see me, please email me ahead of time to let me know, so I can plan to be in my office then and reserve that time for you.

Final Assignment Grades + Final Course Grades
The deadline for professors to submit final course grades for the Fall 2018 semester is Friday, 12/28/18 at midnight. Please wait to view your course grade online through CUNYfirst (I will not be giving out final course grades via e-mail). Final grades are non-negotiable, though I am always more than happy to discuss them / your work with you at any point in person, to review the breakdown and the grades’ rationale. You can also find all of your grades in your OpenLab Gradebook on this course site. If you would like to discuss any of your grades and / or receive additional feedback on your Final Project or Final Course Reflection, e-mail me to do so (we can always also schedule an appointment to discuss your work in-person when we return to campus at the end of January, when the new semester starts up).

Thank you, & stay in touch!
Finally, it was a pleasure to work with you all this semester. I wish you the best of luck wrapping up the semester and on your final exams, and in your future endeavors at City Tech, & beyond. You all worked incredibly hard this semester, and I really appreciate your consistent effort and good cheer each week. I hope you enjoyed yourselves and learned a lot about science fiction and critical thinking / reading / writing / reflection, and that you enjoyed reading some great short stories and media. Have a wonderful winter break & happy holiday season (best of luck in 2019!), & don’t hesitate to be in touch /stop by my office in future semesters to discuss your work in this course and beyond, chat science fiction in general, or just say hi  :)

Research Project Individual Conferences with Professor Belli

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*Reply to this post listing, indicating which slot you want. Scheduling is first-come, first-served. Please do not request a time slot that has already been taken/requested (unless you absolutely can’t make any other slots–because you have another class or job–in which case you can ask another student–in the comments–to switch with you).

Research Project Individual Conferences with Professor Belli

  • These conferences are a time for you and me to get together one-to-one to discuss your ideas/progress on the Research Project (research, presentations) and to address any questions you may have.
  • Please bring all relevant materials with you (proposals, sources), and come prepared to discuss specifics (questions you have, etc.).
  • Please only sign up for a spot that you are 100% sure you can make (and make note of the time/date you are coming).
  • All meetings are in my office, Namm 520.
  • Each slot is 10 minutes long. Arrive a few minutes early (and be prepared to stay a few minutes late, in case we are running behind).
  • If you miss a conference or come unprepared, it will be counted as an absence and you forfeit your right to schedule future conferences (on the research project) with me.

Tuesday, 12/4

  • 3:50-4:00pm: Pedro
  • 4:00-4:10pm: Tyler
  • 4:10-4:20pm: Vishal
  • 4:20-4:30pm: Justin
  • 4:30-4:40pm
  • 4:40-4:50pm:

Thursday, 12/6

  • 3:50-4:00pm: Chris
  • 4:00-4:10pm: Stanley
  • 4:10-4:20pm: Karen
  • 4:20-4:30pm: Sheng
  • 4:30-4:40pm: Mohammad
  • 4:40-4:50pm: Sajida

Extra Credit Opportunity #2: Happy National Day on Writing!

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Saturday, October 20th is National Day on Writing

This is an opportunity to consider why you write, the role it has in your life, and perhaps even how your writing is expanding in new media composing environments (digital writing and blogging, such as your work on the OpenLab, use of social media, creation of videos, etc.) or in relation to science fiction &/or this course. You don’t have to discuss formal, professional, or academic writing: you could discuss personal writing, creative writing, txting, or anything else.

Anyone who wants to do so may blog about #whyIWrite and post for extra credit by Saturday 10/20. The post should be made “on” Saturday, to time it with the national conversation that will happen that day. If you want to write it ahead of time, that’s fine: just “schedule” the post to appear Saturday (to do so, edit the “Publish Immediately” option in the “Publish” box in the upper right, and change the date to 10/20 and choose a time to appear).

This is an optional post, and can be approached any way you feel would be most appropriate … feel to be as creative as you’d like! And feel free to include images, videos, links, etc. [anything that will help us to understand why you write and what writing means to you]

You can learn more about the National Day on Writing on NCTE’s (National Council of Teachers of English) website for the day. A primary way this day is being celebrated / organized is through the use of a hashtag: #WhyIWrite. As the website states:

“You see, people tend to think of writing in terms of pencil-and-paper assignments, but no matter who you are, writing is part of your life. It’s part of how you work, how you learn, how you remember, and how you communicate. It gives voice to who you are and enables you to give voice to the things that matter to you.

For the past 10 years, we’ve seen thousands of people share their responses and engage in activities around the theme of #WhyIWrite. Their collective voices are raising the volume on this issue.”

You can follow this live conversation unfolding on Twitter, and participate there if you want. Or you can simply browse the national conversation happening online to get inspiration).

*As you know, extra credit blogs will replace missing blogs (or count as additional credit if you’ve done all of them already). There are only two grades for these extra credit blogs (100 and 0). If you write a thoughtful #WhyIWrite post, you will receive 100% (an “A”) for the assignment. If you choose note to post (or if it is too short/not fulfilling the purposes of this task), you will receive a “0.” Categorize as “#WhyIWrite.”

Extension until Tomorrow (W 10/10) on Archive Reflection Posts … Edit Away!

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Hi folks:

A number of you asked me after class today if you could either edit your City Tech Science Fiction Collection reflection blogs (due today) to include images you took last Thursday in our visit to the archive or relevant links (don’t forget to cite your sources). I’ve decided to allow these edits/extension, so I’ll hold off on grading these reflection blogs until tomorrow afternoon. You may edit your existing reflection blogs (or post one–if you forgot to do the assignment completely) until tomorrow, W 10/10. at 1pm.

Please don’t forget, however, that you have another blog due at the start of class this Thursday, 10/11, on “There Will Come Soft Rains,” so if you chose to do edits on your previous blog, make sure you leave time for this new one 🙂

Cheers,
Professor Belli

Extra Credit Opportunity #1: Brooklyn Book Festival

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The Brooklyn Book Festival is almost here, and on Sunday, 9/16, there is an amazing line-up of events. The event is local, free, & no tickets are required. Visit the links above for full details.

This is a totally optional event, but I encourage you to attend if you can and to share what you’ve learned with the class. If you attend one more more talks & blog in response by 2:30pm on Tu 9/18, you will get extra credit (yay!).

This extra credit will replace a missing blog if you missed some blogs, or it will count as extra credit if already you did all of your blogs (bonus points). Please note that there are only two grades for this extra credit blog: 100 and 0. If you attend the event and blog your responses/reflections thoughtfully and comprehensively, you will receive 100% (otherwise,  you will receive no credit). Don’t forget to take notes at the event, so you can include concrete details in your blog.

Please categorize your blog as “Brooklyn Book Festival.”

OpenLab Support

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I know that most of you have already used the OpenLab in the past, and are pretty familiar with it. If you need some extra help, consult the series of “OpenLab Help” posts I made on this course site, to help you get started.

But … did you know that the OpenLab Community Team is around to help you with all of your OpenLab needs (in this course, and beyond)? They offer a series of workshops and office hours each semester, as well as blog post series, and email support. This Welcome Back message from the OpenLab team has links to help you find them when you need them. Also, check out the Fall 2018 OpenLab Student Postcard, below.

OL_Student_PostcardF2018-V3