Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Blog #2

You've read my email. Now, let's dig in and examine these issues more!

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Blog Topic 1

Welcome to the course blog! I am truly excited about teaching this course, and I hope that you find it to be an enlightening and enjoyable educational experience. As mentioned in class, we will be confronting some challenging issues, many of which might generate strong intellectual and emotional reactions. This blog serves as a mechanism for everyone to process these responses and to learn through engagement with others. Since none of us is as smart as all of us, we can gain further insights by taking in the ideas of our learning community members. While we may disagree on here, it is essential that we always demonstrate respect and maintain an open mind.

To begin blogging, click on the heading "Blog Topic 1" above. If you scroll down, you can read my instructions and enter your comments in the box. Come back a little while later, click on the same link, and read your colleagues' posts. It would also be great if everyone could at least publish their photo in the "Followers" section on the right-hand side of the page. That way, we can learn each other's names and connect faces with ideas. When you blog each time, be certain to put your real name either as the screen name or in the post (or else we won't know who you are!).

I will post blog topics for most weeks during the term. For each topic, please produce a 2-3 paragraph thoughtful comment that shows your honest reflections and includes some type of contribution to our understanding of the issues at hand. Then, after reading the posts of your classmates, I'd like for you to jump back into the conversation -- either by critically responding to someone else or by adding to your previous post with further insights. Feel free to continue the dialogue if you wish. You will be graded on the value-added nature of your overall posts over the course of the term. Although I am certain that you will get the hang of this blog thing soon, please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns.

TOPIC 1: How do you feel about taking this particular course and addressing issues related to diversity in classrooms and communities? What goals do you have for the class? What suggestions do you have for the instructor? What requests or comments do you have for your classmates? (You are not required to answer all of these questions, but I wanted to produce enough possible angles from which you can approach the topic.)