WEEK ONE: 7/6-7/11

Tue July 6: Welcome! Be sure to join Slack and Perusall. Then create a short introduction post for OpenLab. Tell us who you are, what you like to do, etc. AND post an image that you like and explain why you chose that one. Category: Introductions.

Wed July 7: Start Unit 1 – Discourse Community Report. We’ll get started on it even while everybody’s posting Introductions and getting used to OpenLab and the other tech we’re using. The video lecture will talk about what a discourse community is and what you’ll be doing for this unit.

Due EOD Thursday July 8 on Perusall: Do the Assignment labeled “What is a Discourse Community?” You’ll be reading and annotating (and replying to each other about) an article by Dan Melzer. This is a student-friendly explanation of what one discourse community looks like.

Due EOD Friday July 9 on Perusall: Do the Assignment labeled “Discourse Community Examples.” You’ll be reading and annotating two selections: 1) “Fuku” which is from a book by Junot Diaz titled The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, and 2) an essay from the New York Times by Perri Klass. They’ll give you some more ideas about what a DC believes and how language and behavior impact a DC. Be sure to scroll down to make sure you read both parts!

  • The “Fuku” selection is an example of what goes on within a Primary Discourse Community because it’s all about beliefs from the DR.
  • The Perri Klass essay talks about what it was like to join the medical community as part of a hospital, an example of a Secondary Discourse Community.

Due EOD Saturday July 10 on Padlet:Brainstorm some of your DCs and post an image of an artifact of the one you’re going to be investigating. Reply or Comment on ones you think are interesting (“cool” actually works here for once).

WEEK TWO: 7/12-7/18

Due EOD Tuesday July 13 in Google Drive folder labeled Discourse Community Reports: Upload the first section of your report — the part that gives us the background and basic information about your DC. Be sure to include things you learned from the person/people you interviewed if they gave you something (see the template handout for specifics about what goes into this section).

Due EOD Friday July 16 in the Google Drive(you can simply add/paste this to the first part): Upload the second section of your report — the part that talks about how language works within the DC. Be sure to include things you learned from the person/people you interviewed if they gave you something (see the template handout for specifics about what goes into this section).

Due EOD Tuesday July 19 in the Google Drive(you can simply add/paste this to what’s already there): Upload the third section of your report — the part where you talk about what you learned from doing this little investigation. What surprised you, if anything. What reinforced things you already knew. Also tell us what you want us, your audience, to take away from this investigation — what are the things you really really want us to remember.

Once everything is posted, I’ll ask people to go find one they want to read because it interests them, and leave some comments. (I’ll also be Commenting as you go along, too, so that you can use these as the basis for doing revisions). This is what good comments look like:

  • “I like how you…” to give some immediate positive feedback.
  • “I want to know more about…”
  • “I’m not sure what you meant by…” to let the writer know you got a little confused here.
  • “Maybe you could…” to leave a suggestion… which the writer should feel free to ignore!

WEEK THREE: 7/19-7/25

Mon July 19: Begin Unit 2 – Research-based Informative Article The video lecture will talk about how we change people’s minds, and how to analyze a rhetorical situation so we can do that effectively.

Due EOD Tuesday 7/20: on Perusall, watch President Obama’s video, then answer the prompt at the end. Be sure to comment on at least two other people’s annotations: do you agree? What’s the last time you tried to change somebody’s mind? What did you do? How did it go?

Tue July 20: Video lecture two on how to write an informational article that naturally persuades. We’ll go through an article that was published early in 2020 and see how it’s put together. I’ll also show you some examples from previous students. Today, once you’ve finished with the Perusall assignment (“What does it take to change minds?”) also start on the Perusall assignment which is due tomorrow EOD (“Analyzing Informative Articles).

Due EOD Wednesday July 21: on Perusall, do the “Analyzing Informative Articles” assignment. There are three fairly short articles so don’t ignore one of them. I’ll leave prompts for each one, but essentially you don’t have to read every single word of all three. What you’re looking for is how each one is structured according to the model.

Wed July 21: Video lecture on coming up with ideas and questions to help drive your research. We’ll look at the KWL+ model for doing research, and talk about using interviews and surveys and other primary research techniques.

Due EOD Thursday July 22: on the Padlet wall, create a post with your name on it, the topic you’re going to be writing about, who your target audience is, and where this would be “published.” Feel free to comment on/give suggestions/ask questions about each other’s ideas. Sometimes the best sources come from other students!

Thur July 22: Short video to revisit the model, adding the memo at the end of your draft, and giving good positive feedback on each other’s drafts.

Due EOD Friday July 23: On OpenLab, post a short summary of two sources: what it is (article, video, etc), plus a 1-2 sentence summary of what’s in it.

WEEK FOUR: 7/26-8/1

Due EOD July 27: in the Google Drive, rticle uploaded to folder marked “Article Drafts.”

Due EOD July 29: Leave positive feedback to at least two of your classmates. Your choice!

Fri July 30: Begin Unit 3 – New Media Project. The video lecture will be about how this is a story of you! It will also give you everything you need to get the project done, including handouts.

Due EOD Sunday August 1: on the Padlet, post your idea/topic for your project. Be sure to put your name on it. You and I will create some genre support groups so that people who might be more experienced with a tool can help… or you can just give each other some feedback.

WEEK FIVE to end: 8/2-8/9

ONGOING Monday August 2 – Thursday August 5: Work on your project. Lean on people in your support group for help and positive reinforcement!

Due EOD Friday August 6: in Google Drive, projected uploaded to folder labelled Unit 3 Projects. If you have trouble, let me know.

Due EODSaturday August 7: in Google Drive, Artist’s statement uploaded to folder labelled Artists Statements.

I also hope to create an optional class meeting so we can share these together on the last day (maybe). It’s a great way to end the term!

Friday August 6: Start Final Portfolio Unit. The video and handouts will explain what you need to do to compile your Final Portfolio and write the Final Reflection.

Due EOD Monday August 9: Final Portfolio uploaded to the Google Drive folder labelled “Final Portfolios.”  No ifs, ands or “can I turn it in late” pleas. I have to turn in grades on August 11, so I have absolutely no wiggle room on this.

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