GA1.2: Questions About Our Course Syllabus

Please read over the course syllabus and comment on this BLOG POST by listing three SPECIFIC questions that you have about our syllabus. For instance, “Why are we reading x instead of y?”; “What does the term ‘rhetoric’ mean?”; etc. ALSO: Please reply to at least one person’s BLOG post, either by answering his/her question, or by expanding on one of his/her questions.

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29 Responses to GA1.2: Questions About Our Course Syllabus

  1. ninalopezx3 says:

    1.What does the term rhetoric mean?
    2. Would we be bringing in our learning journals in class?
    3.Is there a specific time when to be on open lab? Or can we go on whenever to do the work?

    • Barry says:

      Im guessing the lab is open 24/7 so long that you have an internet connection and means of blogging. Unless the sites down. Although i would be nice to know when the professor is online making it easy to do the work and ask questions simultaneously.

    • I think you can be on open lab on anytime.

    • Nina, Thanks so much for asking about what rhetoric is! We will be discussing this a great deal in this class. 2. No. 3. There is no specific time designated for all of us to be on the OL. Would you like there to be?

      • ninalopezx3 says:

        Professor Rodgers,
        I mean in a way I feel like it would be better because you have a specific time that you know you have to be on, rather than continuously checking but than again if there’s a lot going on in someones schedule its good that they can go on at any given time frame.

  2. Barry says:

    1For the Learning Journals (LJ) will this be done in class or is it my obligation to do at home?
    2. How do i submit an assignment via blackboard to the teacher directly?
    3. The Site is a bit confusing sometimes, isn’t there a way to keep track of what assignments i have done and see the grades for it . (like High School pupilpath)? Its pretty easy to get lost here.

    • 1. You will do these at home.
      2. Did you see my post regarding this? If not, please take a look at the OL site homepage. You will find a discussion of this issue there.
      3. What OL is and is not and should or could be is a VERY LONG and INVOLVED story. If you’re interested in it, I’d be more than happy to fill you in on the background. The “simple” answer to your question, if there is one (which I doubt), is that Bb is a Course Management System and OL is an Open Access Digital Social Environment for City Tech, which has some but not all of the same features of a Course Management System. Keeping a record and file of your assignments on OL is possible: You could do this by setting up a Portfolio for yourself. However, because of the system design and tools available right now on OL, there is not currently a way to automatically connect assignment submission for a course site to students’ portfolios. OL is also very clunky right now with respect to grade reporting. These two issues: assignment submission and grade reporting are the two reasons why we will be occasionally using Bb in this course and not just OL.

  3. 1. Can we use laptops to take notes?
    2. Do we need to bring learning journals?
    3. How many exams do we have?

  4. Mok says:

    Michelle Dong
    1) Where is second weekly class section on open lab?
    2) I found a copy of the World’s greatest Short Stories online, so do I still need to buy it?
    3) If we were to do an assignment incorrectly would we be able to get partial credit?

  5. Thanks for all of these great questions, and to those who responded to some of them. We will, as a class, be reviewing all of these questions next Tuesday. In the meantime, you may find the answers to some of them on our course syllabus.

  6. EHarrison says:

    1. I certainly do agree with Barry pertaining to the fact this is site is a bit confusing opposing to using blackboard which I am a bit acustom to because my other college that I just transferred from required BB for majority of my classes. Is Open Lab a site we will blogging and have to refer to on a regular?
    2. Are there specific pales or sites we come across these short stories ?
    3. Do the learning journals have to be typed or do we have to have a separate book?

    • 1. We will be using OpenLab for this course. I did not design it or Bb. Therefore, I cannot take responsibility for the confusion. However, I can reassure you that by using OL, you will get used to it and figure out how to navigate it. You may never like it, but given enough time, I think you will find that it is as easy/easier to use than Bb.
      2. Which short stories? Are you referring to our weekly readings? Most of these are nonfiction and are therefore essays, not short stories. Are you referring to the book of short stories that is a required text for the course?
      3. The LJs do not have to be typed. In fact, I encourage you to hand write them.

  7. Can you elaborate more on the rwas? Where can they be found?
    Will there be a calendar which shows what days there are physical classes and what days are virtual?
    The semester course schedule on the back mentions essays for every week. Is there really an essay due every week or is this a generalized term for assignments? If there is an essay every week, where can I find the prompts, and also how long will you expect them to be?

  8. Matthew says:

    everyone here asked the best questions here…
    1) Will our learning journals ever be shared publicly, or read to the class?

    2) how often should i check open lab for assignments and announcements?

    3) When it comes to essays and papers i know a lot of teachers don’t permit students using wikipedia. Is this the case in this class too?

    • Matthew,
      These are great questions. The LJs are for you. Though they often lead to other writing assignments in the course, they are usually not read directly by other students. If you would like to share these, please do. You could publish them on your personal Open Lab portfolio. Personally, I find that the LJs are some of the most exciting writing that students do in this course, so I definitely encourage you to share them if you are comfortable doing that. In fact…maybe you’d even like to start a WRITING GROUP for our course?!?!?!?!? That way, you could share and read your LJs on a regular basis with other students. Assignments are posted weekly. I would like all of you to check in on the course OL site at least twice a week. I encourage you to use Wikipedia. In fact, the most recent research suggests that it is a highly reliable source ( http://bit.ly/1wen0KA ). That said, just as I would never cite any encyclopedia in a scholarly research project, I would NEVER cite Wikipedia as a source in a bibliography (unless, of course, the paper I was writing was ABOUT Wikipedia ;) ). Although I–and many other experienced researchers–often begin their research with Wikipedia, it is used most often as a search tool to quickly get to keywords and sources that will be useful in your research.

  9. Three Questions About the Syllabus:
    1) How long are the LJs supposed to be?
    2) Do the research projects have to be on something related to the class or anything we want?
    3) Will there be times where we have to be on Open Lab on a specific time?

    • Great questions. The LJ are timed assignments. If you feel like writing more than you have given the amount of time suggested, please feel free to. The research projects will be on a topic that we as a class select together. You do not need to be on the OL at a specific time.

  10. 1) Will there be any extra credit assignments or options?
    2) What happens if there is another hurricane and Open Lab crashes?
    3) Can we e-mail you regarding problems? Or rather in person?
    Thank You,
    Daytona Starsky van Eijck

    • Yes! There is an Extra Credit Reading Journal Assignment that I will post once we get into the swing of the semester. I’m hoping there is not going to be another hurricane, but in the event of one, we will figure things out. It is always a good idea to e-mail me and to talk to me in person before or after class or during my office hours.

  11. cordeeliaxo says:

    1. Do our learning journals have to follow a specific format? For example, can it be a poem or song?
    2. If we were to use a laptop to take notes, would you want us to electronically submit (email) them to you whenever you decide to check them?
    3. Will points be deducted from our grade if we submit online work after the deadline?

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