Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Day two!
I think we've got this blogging down! All of the students are up and running, and now we're all connected to each other's blogs. I brought Karen (who's remarkably awake after her flights home from China) up to speed, and she'll be posting soon. She also got to meet all of the adventurers and learn a little bit about who they are and what they want to take away from this learning experience.
At 9:30, we went downstairs in the Moody Learning Center to Leonard Ziegler, SAC's staff photographer, who graciously agreed to take photos of all of us for our international ID cards. (Bonus: the photos can also be used on our blogs.) Thanks, Leonard!! And, thanks to Gil Castillo, in SAC's Student Activities, for setting up the photo session!
When we got back to the classroom, we reviewed the assigned readings. Everyone seemed to like both the Golberg pieces and the Clark chapter. This is a sharp class! They understand the importance of journalism, and they are beginning to understand what it takes to craft journalism that matters. I look forward to reading/viewing/listening to their final projects. I told the class that I was open to them working in whichever medium they feel most comfortable (print, video or audio). I'm curious to see who does what!
We also completed the BEVI, an online beliefs, events and values inventory that's been adopted by the American Council on Education's FIPSE (Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education) Grant as one component of assessing students' international education. An electronic portfolio (ePortfolio) of the students' coursework (not just from these classes, but from all of their internationalized classes) will also be assessed. Students who complete the gateway course (HUMA 1302: World Cultures and Global Issues), two core courses (like Art Appreciation, any foreign language course, etc.) and one component course (like COMM 2311: News Reporting and Writing) will earn the International Studies Certificate, which goes on their transcript and is announced during graduation. The BEVI is a long, but interesting, inventory, and it makes you wonder just why you are who you are. What has had the biggest impact on making you the person you are? Your family? Your education? Personal experiences, like travel? Your faith? Your friends? The mass media? All of the above? More of one than the others?
Brendan, one of the students, said, "The end of the BEVI was sort of anticlimatic." I have to agree! It's pages and pages (21 pages, to be exact) of questions that you strongly agree, agree, disagree or strongly disagree with...and after plowing through them, it'd be nice to have some bells and whistles (fireworks?!) to signal the end. (Even better, a coupon to Borders for a cup of coffee or some dark chocolate treat.)
Tomorrow, the students are to turn in a "Rank the Facts" exercise and post to their blogs. Besides learning what makes something newsworthy, they're also learning how to prioritize information they've gathered. It's good to pretend that you're on the phone with someone. With the information that you have, what would you tell that person first? That's a pretty good indication that should be your lead (your opening paragraph). Leads are never longer than 35 words (unless you're NYTimes' columnist Maureen Dowd), and studies have shown that it's better to write a lead that's 19 to 20 words for reader comprehension.
Onward!
At 9:30, we went downstairs in the Moody Learning Center to Leonard Ziegler, SAC's staff photographer, who graciously agreed to take photos of all of us for our international ID cards. (Bonus: the photos can also be used on our blogs.) Thanks, Leonard!! And, thanks to Gil Castillo, in SAC's Student Activities, for setting up the photo session!
When we got back to the classroom, we reviewed the assigned readings. Everyone seemed to like both the Golberg pieces and the Clark chapter. This is a sharp class! They understand the importance of journalism, and they are beginning to understand what it takes to craft journalism that matters. I look forward to reading/viewing/listening to their final projects. I told the class that I was open to them working in whichever medium they feel most comfortable (print, video or audio). I'm curious to see who does what!
We also completed the BEVI, an online beliefs, events and values inventory that's been adopted by the American Council on Education's FIPSE (Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education) Grant as one component of assessing students' international education. An electronic portfolio (ePortfolio) of the students' coursework (not just from these classes, but from all of their internationalized classes) will also be assessed. Students who complete the gateway course (HUMA 1302: World Cultures and Global Issues), two core courses (like Art Appreciation, any foreign language course, etc.) and one component course (like COMM 2311: News Reporting and Writing) will earn the International Studies Certificate, which goes on their transcript and is announced during graduation. The BEVI is a long, but interesting, inventory, and it makes you wonder just why you are who you are. What has had the biggest impact on making you the person you are? Your family? Your education? Personal experiences, like travel? Your faith? Your friends? The mass media? All of the above? More of one than the others?
Brendan, one of the students, said, "The end of the BEVI was sort of anticlimatic." I have to agree! It's pages and pages (21 pages, to be exact) of questions that you strongly agree, agree, disagree or strongly disagree with...and after plowing through them, it'd be nice to have some bells and whistles (fireworks?!) to signal the end. (Even better, a coupon to Borders for a cup of coffee or some dark chocolate treat.)
Tomorrow, the students are to turn in a "Rank the Facts" exercise and post to their blogs. Besides learning what makes something newsworthy, they're also learning how to prioritize information they've gathered. It's good to pretend that you're on the phone with someone. With the information that you have, what would you tell that person first? That's a pretty good indication that should be your lead (your opening paragraph). Leads are never longer than 35 words (unless you're NYTimes' columnist Maureen Dowd), and studies have shown that it's better to write a lead that's 19 to 20 words for reader comprehension.
Onward!
