Tech: Two of the stated learning objectives included 1) utilizing technology for writing and research and 2) being proficient at word processing and email.
Success: The first day of class included an introduction to email etiquette, including examples of poor emails. The homework assignment included the requirement for the students to write rhetorically correct emails introducing themselves to me, including information regarding past experience and success with writing in an academic setting.
I also introduced the public class blog. I offered suggestions for naming choices, explained ways the posts might be used by other people in the future (employers googling the students’ names), and talked about posting etiquette.
Less than 10% of the students had ever blogged. So while they knew what blogging was, they had not experienced it.
Tech: During class students registered on the blog using their mobile devices.
Success: The first post for the blog was a six-word autobiography, as the title, as well as a one-paragraph explanation of this phrase. I showed the one I had written during pre-session, along with an explanation which I posted on my school blog.
Students posted their own six-word autobiographies, with explanations.
Homework for the following class was for the students to make substantive comments on at least three of the 111 posts. These could be across classes, so someone from my 9:30 class could comment on a 3 o’clock post.
To do: Next time I teach the class I will include more social media discussion and usage (blogging still, but also Twitter, possibly Facebook).