Week 15: About the Writing

What did you like best about the readings for this class? What would you like to see more of?

My favorite part about the writings were that they made me branch out from what I am traditionally used to writing. I am an engineering major, so I write nothing but lab reports and research papers. The storytelling posts force creative writing and I like that they also provide the freedom of different options, which is fun to see the blog commenting assignments. This would probably mess up the points system for the class, but maybe it would be fun to read an extra storytelling post or two and one less storybook or portfolio each week.

Did you choose the Storybook or the Portfolio? Are you happy with your choice? What information should I emphasize to next semester’s students when they make that choice?

I chose the storybook option and am happy with that choice because I got to explore extra stories in a topic I was interested in. I didn’t do the portfolio option but it does almost seem like there is a lot less effort required for the portfolio than the storybook. I think you did a good job of explaining the two options before we picked one.

Do you have suggestions for the commenting process: suggestions about commenting on blog posts? Suggestions about comments on storybooks/portfolios?

I don’t have any suggestions about commenting on blog posts, it was fun to read everyone’s introduction and I honestly enjoyed seeing people’s different storytelling methods. Sometimes for the storybook/portfolio commenting I found it difficult to reach 200 words, but I also enjoyed reading people’s storybooks overall.

What kinds of comments did you find most useful as you worked on your storybook/portfolio?

I didn’t get very many comments that found any grammatical errors or things like that, but I got a lot regarding the general layout and look of my webpage. I found these very helpful and I also found it helpful when people would provide suggestions about what stories they think might be coming next, because I usually wasn’t sure yet!

Do you think this class helped you to improve your writing?

I do think my writing improved. Every time I take a class that has writings to turn in I always learn something I didn’t know about grammar or punctuation rules.

What kind of writing do you see yourself doing in your future career? Will writing be important in that career?

I am going to be an officer on submarines for the Navy as a nuclear engineer, so the only writing I will be doing is math problems for the most part. I will also be writing the yearly evaluations for the people I am in charge of.

As you look back on your writing this semester, what advice do you have for students who will be getting started next semester?

There’s not really any advice I have for the writing assignments. Just enjoy them and be creative, you’ll surprise yourself sometimes!

Week 15: About the Reading

What did you like best about the readings for this class? Are there any general suggestions you would make about how the readings are set up?

I liked the diversity of the readings in this class. I was able to read Greek Mythology, folklore tales that I have never read before, Dante’s Inferno, and Alice in Wonderland, just to name a few. We truly took a trip around the world in literature, which I was not expecting. I think the readings are set up well. Perhaps this would just turn the class into an uncontrollable circus, but if you just posted all of the Units and students got to pick a reading each week, regardless of region that could be fun. I know there were some weeks I wanted to read 4 or 5 of the units from!

Did you find some new reading diary strategies that you used in the second half of the semester?

The first half of the semester I found myself spending too much time on the diary, so the second half I still summarized the story for my later reference but I included much less detail.

What did you think of the overall balance between reading – writing – commenting in the class assignments?

I think the balance is great. Sometimes the storybook commenting seems a little length but this makes sense because it is worth 6 points every week.

Do you think I should offer a reading assignment extra credit option?

I didn’t realize this was a question when I talked about just opening up all units for each week earlier, so this would probably be a way better alternative to my above idea!

As you look back from the end of the semester, what advice do you have for students who will be getting started next semester?

I worked ahead all semester and it was great to have a little leeway in the weekly assignments. Even if you can get one week ahead you’ll be in such a better position than just meeting deadlines each night, which probably gets daunting.

Of the possibilities listed, what do you think would be the most useful priorities?

I definitely think adding more notes to the units would be the most useful. There were times that I got a little confused within the stories and some notes would have been great, but they were also things that I could figure out on my own by going back a few stories or just doing a Google search. I think the introductions are good how they are, I usually chose the units I wanted to read by just reading the first story or two, which is usually enough to get a feel for if you would like the whole unit or not. I honestly don’t pay much attention to the images while I’m reading but they are great to have even if simply for the reason of breaking up the monotony of text. I also think there are plenty of units as is and more notes would be more useful than more reading options. I think the anthology units sound good, but I also noticed simply just be reading different stories that there were hero stories and love stories that seem similar across the world and I would use the weekly essays to talk about that. So the class almost takes care of anthology units on its own!