Last Lesson

We're at the final Lesson, folks.  I've enjoyed the mix of personalities in this course, and the level of discussion on the discussion forum has been quite engaging.  Thank you.  I wish you all well, and hope that a bit of what you've been doing here will assist you in some way or other as you pursue your long-term goals.  I'll confess (now that we're at the end of the class) that I have often wondered how I would respond to being a student in this economic environment.  I admire your persistence because it has to be a challenge with so many unknowns.  (As I was coming up, we mainly had to worry about nuclear war, but there was such a finality there that the whole mindset was very different.)  I genuinely wish you well--

Last 10 Days
Knowing that some people are in finals now and others are beginning next week, I've tried to make this as flexible as I can.  Basically, get me the material in the draft paragraph dropbox on Friday so I can do a quick check, and then finish off the rest as smoothly as possible.  The important thing is that I've stretched the deadline as far as I can.  I have to have the final copy W, May 16 in order to get my paperwork done on schedule.

Grades

Now is a good time to do a grade check.  I may not have all the summaries graded, and I won't have the anno bibs graded, but everything else should be current.  Please let me know immediately if something appears not to be graded.  

Final Submission

Did I mention that I need the final copy W, May 16? Seriously! 

When you submit the final, protect yourself by submitting as both copy and paste AND attachment.  Also protect yourself by checking in to the course shell over the next few days past the 16th--just in case something is amiss.  (I had a technical problem occur one time, and this student check-in made a ton of difference.)

As soon as I have grades complete, I'll post a notice on the front screen. 

Evaluation of Course

I am assuming that the powers-that-be have given you an opportunity to evaluate the course via an online link.  I hope so. I don't see the results until approximately two years later, so if you have any helpful suggestions feel free to send me an email.

Course Materials

As most of you are aware, after a time the course shell disappears, so if there is anything you want from the shell--links, tipsheets, etc.--collect them sooner rather than later.  I recommend that you run a copy of the syllabus if you could possibly need this credit to transfer to a non-Kansas Regents school. 

Cruise Ship Story

There once (about three years ago in May) were four college juniors who decided that they each had enough points accumulated in Comp II to skip the last Lesson and go on a cruise instead.  Lady A had an A; Lady B, a B; and Ladies C and D had C's.  Unfortunately, they neglected the caution about all major papers having to be submitted at a satisfactory level in order to qualify to pass the course--unfortunate because the A went to an F, and so on--  We can only hope that it was one terrific cruise.

Sunday, April 15

I hope everyone weathered the Saturday storms.  I learned that a weather radio and my dog, Bandit, don't mix.  Its pulsating lights must have caused him to see it as a sort of nasty robot; I woke up in the middle of the night to see him sitting up staring at the radio, ready to attack.  Guess I'll put it on a high shelf the next time.

Important Reminder:  [I have to add this reminder this time of year.]  The course isn't over until it is over.  By that I mean that students must complete ALL major papers in order to qualify to pass the course.  Each year someone decides that a C will be fine and skips out without finishing the final coursework.  Doesn't work that way:  no final paper = an F for the course.  Sorry to be so blunt, but, as I said, it happens each semester--

Lesson 9:  Do some reading this week while I finish your synthesis papers and revision work.  What you read now is a basis for the final paper.  This may seem like a deceptively light work week, but the reading requires some thinking, and I want to give you the time that it deserves.

Happy Easter and/or Passover--Mason, here, celebrated both.  This is my youngest great-nephew (and his mom) enjoying his first Easter egg hunt.  It was a fun Sunday for Aunt Pat to watch Mason try to figure out how to juggle three eggs, because he didn't trust the basket.  I hope you had a chance to enjoy this wonderful weather, too.

Lesson 8

Just a quick word about this week's Lesson--Lesson 8.  I'm a firm believer that students need to know how to assess their own work.  These strategies will help you do that.  In a real writing situation, you would employ these when you have a full, near-final draft.  You probably will find some more helpful than others; just consider these a tool box.

After this assignment, we'll have one other major project that will take us to the end of the semester.  No final.

April 16

April 16 is the final day to drop classes with a W instead of an F.  Through Lesson 7, without the major paper the total points possible to date are 525.  Add in 100 for the Lesson 7 paper and 50 for Lesson 8 to come to 325 left for the final major paper that will take us to the end of the semester. 

As explained in the syllabus the grading scale is 90, 80, 70, etc.

The Day After the Big Game

I live 2.5 miles from Massachusetts Street in Lawrence, but I could hear the sounds of pure jubilation Sunday night after KU beat North Carolina.  And I learned that apparently one neighbor owns a cannon, or something with a comparable noise, while another fellow down the block has one of those strange horns that was so popular at the World Cup.  Quite an evening!

Lesson 7 Reminders
The specific skills that I have to see demonstrated here are

1. ability to synthesize information
2. skill to apply MLA citations and formatting

What I have to see in this paper is that writers are capable of using multiple DIFFERENT sources to develop each point. To do that smoothly takes time and thought, so don't get overly elaborate on the number of points you want to cover.  Narrow and deep will serve you well here.

Again, this is the paper that MUST demonstrate the skills I listed above, so please save yourself and me time by doing this accurately the first time around.

Sources
Please double check the restrictions on the sources to use in this paper.  I establish those limits for a variety of reasons, especially to insure that writers focus on the synthesis process rather than on web-surfing for this paper.  Everyone has more than enough to work with, and if some detail that you need seems to be missing, check with me and I'll help you find additional materials.

Citation Reminders
My apologies for repeating, but please do NOT rely on a software citation tool for what we are doing here.  They are not particularly accurate for databases.  I'm intentionally selecting databases that provide accurate citations, so I'll appreciate folks using the ones provided with Academic OneFile (less the URL and the Doc. number) and the Cite Now! one provided with CQ Researcher (go to the MLA option because MLA is not the default).  And don't forget that important resources:  the Norton MLA pamphlet.  AND please ask if you don't know how to cite a source--either in-text or in the works cited.  I need to see accuracy on this paper.

Monday after Spring Break

I hope your Break was/is productive or relaxing or both.  Sorry, Mizzou and K State fans--I really was cheering the Tigers and the Wildcats on.  And I have noticeably shorter fingernails after Sunday night's Purdue-KU game.  Geez!

Lesson 7
I hope that you all notice that we are using the materials from the previous work on the college gap and higher education issues generally as we work with synthesis in this Lesson.  In other words, many of you probably are already focused on a sub-topic because of the intro paragraphs you wrote for your annotated bibliographies.  Good. That way you can focus on the synthesis writing process. 

About synthesis:  You are using multiple different sources to make your point.  Practically speaking, that means that you need at least two different sources for each point you make.  Some of you do that naturally already, I'm glad to see.

The important strategies for this Lesson are these: make sure you understand the concept of synthesis, give yourself time to work with your sources, and be precise and accurate with your citations.  More is not necessarily better, by the way.  A few well-chosen sources for this assignment will be easier to juggle.  Make sure you understand the parameters of the source options and ask questions early if you are not clear on instructions or on citing sources.

Citation Tools
Some of you ran into problems with the annotated bibliography because you are using citation tools rather than taking advantage of the citations that the database gives you.  I am selecting specific databases to use and giving you directions on the availability of the tools in order to lessen the problems with formatting.  Please take advantage of that help, because many of these tools aren't accurate according to the current MLA standards.

Academic OneFile has the correct MLA citation at the bottom of articles.  (Do NOT include the URLs nor the Doc. Number.)  CQ Researcher has that correction citation in the Cite Now tool but you must click on the MLA option.  Most of the resources I've provided in the Resources file are already in MLA format.  If one is not, ask for the correct template to use, please.

Sunday, Mar. 4

Wow!  What an invigorating discussion forum, folks!  You are considering some very important issues.  As you can read, you come at this topic with different perspectives.  That's valuable.  I've tried to participate as much as possible, and I recently added a post of a New York Times article about causes of the rising costs.  It's short, so I ask you to read it.  I flagged it in the forum, so you can find it easily.

What the article raises is important to think about throughout our discussion and writing:  if you say, "The government ought..." or "the government should...," ask yourself this question:  "At what price?"

In this article, for example, the author discusses the huge jump in prices at state schools over the last few years, caused to a great extent because of reduction in available funds to state governments.  When property values drop, property tax payments drop.  When people tighten their purchasing habits, sales taxes are less than in previous years.  When people are jobless, income tax payments are less, etc., etc.  The state purses just aren't as full as they used to be--same problem at the local and federal level.

Many of the obligations of the states and the federal government don't change, however, and may actually be on the increase.  Under those circumstances, governments have to look for ways to make ends meet.  In higher ed., the solution has been to increase the responsibility of the students themselves.  Ideal?  Probably not, but it's important to understand that this situation is a complex one.

Survey
Please participate in the community college survey--just for fun.  There's only one question.  So are cost and proximity to home are in the lead.

Looking Ahead
Most of you are going on break at the end of this week.  A few of you are having yours a week later.  Here's what I'm going to do to make sure everyone has a break and that we'll be able to come back together the week of March 25.  Tuesday or Wednesday of this week, I will post the next Lesson--Lesson 7.  It will span two weeks--not in content, but in time for completion.  That way, those who are on Break next week can wait to begin it on March 19 because next week you all will be at some sun-drench beach sipping fruity drinks from funny-shaped glasses.  (OK--a bit of exaggeration, there.) Those who aren't on Break next week can begin it now and do nothing during the week of March 19--except frolic in the sun in some tropical clime.  If you have a Break next week and are bored silly and want to start working, that's OK, too, though I'm a firm believe in the value of Breaks.

I'll try to take a bit of a break myself next week, so I'll be in the course about half of the usual--at least three times.

Whenever your Break, have a safe one.