I am considering finishing my digree in all online classes. Why? While I have taken courses online before, that was a few years ago and I am hoping the experience is more interactive now. I am also tired of driving. In the time I drive I could probably finish a course. Also, I don't think the "face-to-face" is so valuable now that I know what I want and need to be successful.
So I will let you know if the online experience is worth it, etc in the coming months. Now back to thinking and writing about the cc underbelly and the have-nots.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Project...
My project: I might start with the online article from C/C, which argues that access is no longer an issue: I beg to differ, with a cliche. Yes, there are those M students, but as Green points out, they probably don't know how to even use the basics of Word (like my own son). So we assume the techies are literate: rather like in my border days when I thought good speakers could read (ouch!!).
I don't disagree that some students want things texted to them and we as instructors can make use of technology. The problem is however that 20% of my cc students do not have Internet or a computer at home: yes, they may have a Myspace page but don't nec. have a computer at home. Consequently, access is an issue--still.
Moran pointed out in 1997 the importance of the A word. Well, still a problem and for adjuncts as well.
Thus the college lab is very important. One assignment I would like to make required is the blog: students create an online journal or weblog (thus blog) and write 200 words a week. The problem: students don't all have access to a computer let alone the Internet at home. The lab or library can be crowded. Some local libraries do not even have a good connection to the Net.
So I want to bring in Brint but also my interviews with people who work at the extensions and in the labs.
I don't disagree that some students want things texted to them and we as instructors can make use of technology. The problem is however that 20% of my cc students do not have Internet or a computer at home: yes, they may have a Myspace page but don't nec. have a computer at home. Consequently, access is an issue--still.
Moran pointed out in 1997 the importance of the A word. Well, still a problem and for adjuncts as well.
Thus the college lab is very important. One assignment I would like to make required is the blog: students create an online journal or weblog (thus blog) and write 200 words a week. The problem: students don't all have access to a computer let alone the Internet at home. The lab or library can be crowded. Some local libraries do not even have a good connection to the Net.
So I want to bring in Brint but also my interviews with people who work at the extensions and in the labs.
Dysfunctional life...
Family would be an interesting term to define. I have tried and failed to balance my life with work, study, and my children. It seems I have spent all the major holidays again. Crazy but true. Too much pressure with inlaws who seem to want to blame me for not providing more of the materials. Crazy but true.
I still remember when Chayo spent all her Christmas money before the holiday. Thus, she had no money until January. While it is a common mistake, she blamed me for not providing for her. Not right. Yes, I was sympathetic but I just didn't have much money.
Or last Christmas: I went for a walk and came home to find that my son had opened all his presents and then left the house. My daughter and step wife came over the night before but only for an hour--to eat the food I had prepared.
Easter?? I guess I didn't care: Zuleth had gone to an egg hunt.
The other point is immaturity of the clan: Barney and Rax come running out to my car to get a Play Station toy from my daughter: no, it was not hers but Barney has three of them, and is now almost 18 years old. What is he afraid of? She will break it or not return it. The "mother" defends the her son and treats her daughter like a stranger.
This is not the life for me, and I have other plans.
I still remember when Chayo spent all her Christmas money before the holiday. Thus, she had no money until January. While it is a common mistake, she blamed me for not providing for her. Not right. Yes, I was sympathetic but I just didn't have much money.
Or last Christmas: I went for a walk and came home to find that my son had opened all his presents and then left the house. My daughter and step wife came over the night before but only for an hour--to eat the food I had prepared.
Easter?? I guess I didn't care: Zuleth had gone to an egg hunt.
The other point is immaturity of the clan: Barney and Rax come running out to my car to get a Play Station toy from my daughter: no, it was not hers but Barney has three of them, and is now almost 18 years old. What is he afraid of? She will break it or not return it. The "mother" defends the her son and treats her daughter like a stranger.
This is not the life for me, and I have other plans.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
A few thoughts and of course hassles...
I am trying not to get too distracted with a few items: correcting papers, this blog, basketball, exercise and my cholestorol levels, kids, etc. My old landlady thinks I owe her another 500 dollars (hahaha); I need to pay my taxes; my novel is collecting dust; there are many interesting job opportunities: from Turkey to Virgin Islands to Marshall ones; to Florida etc.
Not to mention finding a research topic: access to computers or statewide cc curriculum. So I better write that letter and go to the bookstore for more distractions.
more later,
DT
Not to mention finding a research topic: access to computers or statewide cc curriculum. So I better write that letter and go to the bookstore for more distractions.
more later,
DT
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Borges revisited...
I am reading The Book of Sands and Shakespeare's Memory. The stories sound as if they were dictated. They usually begin with a lecturelike summary of the story. The theme: rhetoric is about conversation and this implies lies. Yes, lies. Mirrors, glass, dreams more memorable than reality, swords in the bed, possessing the image of someone.... wolves you have never heard howling; the moors; the forest. Allegories and metaphors almost without plots.
Next I am going to look for his Brodie's Report.
Next I am going to look for his Brodie's Report.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
West Palm Beach...
So here we are in "West Palm." I feel I am in the DTs but it is just jet lag. A few observations are in order, as this is a place new to me:
1. Good mix of people... seems to be a third Latin, African-American, and White.
2. On my walk to the pharmacy, I stopped into a cigar shop called Mya. They roll cigars on the spot. Four workers sit and roll cigars. The owner give me a free cigar, a cup of Cuban espresso, and a leather chair to sit in.
3. Last night at the hotel bar, I met a whole bunch of people: a private photographer for Bush, car dealership owner (driving a car back to Pitt), a businessman from South Africa, and a local con artist (NY accent who said he was from Santa Cruz); I never did undestand his profession: a diabetic who supported Hillarycare.
4. The weather has been cloudy and mild (cool by local standards but not for me). I walked a long way without sweating, so mild and not too humid.
5 We are off to Nova, the art museum, and the beaches. Sebastian needs to help me upload my photos.
as always...DT
1. Good mix of people... seems to be a third Latin, African-American, and White.
2. On my walk to the pharmacy, I stopped into a cigar shop called Mya. They roll cigars on the spot. Four workers sit and roll cigars. The owner give me a free cigar, a cup of Cuban espresso, and a leather chair to sit in.
3. Last night at the hotel bar, I met a whole bunch of people: a private photographer for Bush, car dealership owner (driving a car back to Pitt), a businessman from South Africa, and a local con artist (NY accent who said he was from Santa Cruz); I never did undestand his profession: a diabetic who supported Hillarycare.
4. The weather has been cloudy and mild (cool by local standards but not for me). I walked a long way without sweating, so mild and not too humid.
5 We are off to Nova, the art museum, and the beaches. Sebastian needs to help me upload my photos.
as always...DT
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Change of novel title...
So I have decided to change the title of my workinprogress to Assassination Fix. This title allows for the pseudo allegorical meanings that I strive for (who was it who wrote one of the first treatises about allegory and the Bible--Jerome or some such funky name??). How does this change suit me?
It brings out how some people get fixated on activities like writing, blogging, killing, etc. I am exploring whether editing is a kind of assassination: the middle manager and his/her microcrash documents... and the anatomy of the memo and all its secret evolutions. One such digression: does MLA format require students to use microcrash fonts, etc??? Can one use an Apple? Can the same fonts be produced?
Other connatations of title: how in history many parties teamed up to kill a leader and yet one person is blamed as sole assassin. That one always makes me laugh. The fix then is not just an addiction: it is also something contrived. It also suggests a correction, which is probably appropriate. It is also about the first amendment: if I want to declare something (whether it threatens some two-bit politician or not) I should be able to, since this is free speech and it is not yelling fire in a crowded theatre. Since our contrived day of infamy, we have all been surrendering our rights: whether privacy or free speech. I have found myself even saying, "I have nothing to hide from the government" etc. But why does the govt or corporations like google (ouch) need to know all this info? Why is the info being stored then?
more later, I am still recovering from sierra madres and bohemias,
DT
It brings out how some people get fixated on activities like writing, blogging, killing, etc. I am exploring whether editing is a kind of assassination: the middle manager and his/her microcrash documents... and the anatomy of the memo and all its secret evolutions. One such digression: does MLA format require students to use microcrash fonts, etc??? Can one use an Apple? Can the same fonts be produced?
Other connatations of title: how in history many parties teamed up to kill a leader and yet one person is blamed as sole assassin. That one always makes me laugh. The fix then is not just an addiction: it is also something contrived. It also suggests a correction, which is probably appropriate. It is also about the first amendment: if I want to declare something (whether it threatens some two-bit politician or not) I should be able to, since this is free speech and it is not yelling fire in a crowded theatre. Since our contrived day of infamy, we have all been surrendering our rights: whether privacy or free speech. I have found myself even saying, "I have nothing to hide from the government" etc. But why does the govt or corporations like google (ouch) need to know all this info? Why is the info being stored then?
more later, I am still recovering from sierra madres and bohemias,
DT
Reclaiming my blogs, thoughts etc
It has been a few years since I last wrote; google doesn't want to give my back my blogs; take your toys and go home, except they don't want to give me back my toys!!!
Some random thoughts: off to florida for a meeting and some fun; I am hoping for better than tornado weather in our Atlanta stopover. Do I take out an insurance policy now? So anyway, despite the flight business, I am anxious to see south florida especially during spring break.
I know the mass trans is good; and we shall see how good and whether the area is livable and I should consider the area for future relocation: I am definitely interested.
In other random thoughts, I need to use Googlegroups and weblogs for my classes this summer: that is, I need to figure out how to use everything so I can require students use it. I need to more to the next level and have students use technology in my classes.
I will also try to post a photo, to add to this age of digital literacy (ha).
More later from florida, DT
Some random thoughts: off to florida for a meeting and some fun; I am hoping for better than tornado weather in our Atlanta stopover. Do I take out an insurance policy now? So anyway, despite the flight business, I am anxious to see south florida especially during spring break.
I know the mass trans is good; and we shall see how good and whether the area is livable and I should consider the area for future relocation: I am definitely interested.
In other random thoughts, I need to use Googlegroups and weblogs for my classes this summer: that is, I need to figure out how to use everything so I can require students use it. I need to more to the next level and have students use technology in my classes.
I will also try to post a photo, to add to this age of digital literacy (ha).
More later from florida, DT
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