Good Monday morning 301,
A number of people have managed to get themselves set up with their blogs, and I have posted those links on our Student Blog page. A number of people have encountered difficutlies getting onto the class site — and it is a mystery to me why with each new semester, a new set of technical difficulties appears [this time they had to move our site because of a problem with the url]; all I can say is thank you for your patience and I understand the frustration involved when working with a new set of tools — that don’t work! But, I think we are all here now – I hope so?
If you have any questions at all, our group Facebook page is the best place to post — often you are able to answer each other’s questions before I see the post, I try hard not to work on weekends. And, many of you are more technically savvy than I – and accordingly more able to help.
In past semesters, the biggest complaint I hear from students is that they think the instructions are not clear enough, or that there should be more instructions, or less instructions. A part of this course of studies is to perfect your skills with reading and following instructions — and of course, seeking out the information you need to be sure you are following instructions correctly. You will notice that sometimes the assignment requires an email response and sometimes an email memo is required. Often the word memo is highlighted in the instructions in order to assist you with recognizing the difference. This is just one example of an instruction that many, many students miss – and send memos when emails are required, and loose points accordingly, and then complain about the instructions. So, this is a “Head’s Up” – please read the instructions carefully, read the assigned pages in our textbook before writing the assignment, and please — if you are confused, use the resources available to you and ask questions. Thanks.
Tomorrow, you are going to post your letters of application on your Blog page – this will be your first Blog post – be sure to use your blog page and catagorize your blog. If this confuses you, please post your questions on our Facebook page. I will post the links to your websites on our Student Blogs page as I receive them. Beginning Wed morning, you should read a number of application letters and select people with the same interests and working habits. Email those people by Friday, and invite them to join your team. I know it might get a little bit chaotic finding each other, but that is all part of the exercise: self-organizing.
Here are your assignment due dates for the week. As you have discovered, this truly is a writing intensive course with numerous assignments that need to be on time in order to facilitate your peers. This too is a part of the required skills that you need to perfect this semester: meeting deadlines. If you miss a deadline you are inconvinencing your peers, and in turn forcing them to miss their deadline – very unprofessional.
- Due Tue. May 19: A letter of application addressed to the class to be posted on your blog.
- Due Wed. May 20: An email memo to your instructor providing a brief summary of your letter and an attached word doc of your letter. Be sure to name your attached file appropriately: 301 Your name Application letter.
- Due Friday May 22: An email message to your perspective writing team partners: cc your professor: erika.paterson@ubc.ca
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