Hi Everyone,

WELCOME!  Here are your responsibilities to complete BEFORE our first class on July 6:

  • Register for OpenLab and request membership to our course site. Instructions for how to register are here.
  • Look around our course site  and explore the different tabs. This is our classroom for the next few weeks. 
  • Check out Course Info, where our  CLASS SCHEDULE for classwork and homework lives.
  • Read and think about the quote and the questions below. You don’t have to do anything yet, but be familiar with these things.

I like to start my classes with a quote and/or a question to get things started:

When you write, it’s like braiding your hair. Taking a handful of coarse unruly strands and attempting to bring them unity. Your fingers have still not perfected the task. Some of the braids are long, others are short. Some are thick, others are thin. Some are heavy. Others are light.

EDWIDGE DANTICAT

Take a moment and think about the following questions. We’ll discuss them in class, but I’m putting them here for you to consider before we meet:

  • Why does Danticat equate writing with braiding?
  • Why are you taking this class in particular?
  • What do you hope to gain from this class?
  • What does this quote and questions have to do with one another?

Anyone who has braided hair knows it is a challenge. It’s a skill. It’s not something you can learn overnight. Braiding and writing are both skills that need time, effort, and a lot of patience. Everyone in this class is bringing different experiences with writing–the good, the bad, and the so-so.

This class is going to focus on the basics of writing. We’ll be talking about summarizing, quoting, and analyzing texts. The goal is to ready you to take ENG1101 or ENG1101 CO. This class will be intense and require a lot of writing, reading, writing, and rewriting!

Please take some time to explore this OpenLab course site. Use the menu to explore the course information, activities, and help.

Be sure to check out my introduction. You don’t have to do the assignment at the end–just yet–but start thinking about what object you’ll write about! (Curious? Go to the link and read!)

Also, if you haven’t yet, please…

Join this Course

Login to your OpenLab account and follow these instructions to join this course.

If you’re new to the OpenLab, follow these instructions to create an account and then join the course.

Remember that your username and display name can be pseudonyms, rather than your real name. Your avatar does not need to be a picture of your face–just something that identifies you on the OpenLab.

Questions

If you have any questions, reach out via email or in Office Hours. If you need help with the OpenLab, you can consult OpenLab Help or contact the OpenLab Community Team.

We are all in this together! I look forward to meeting you and working with you.

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