composition

Yesterday was my first day of teaching for the new semester. I was certainly anxious as I waited for class to start. I never quite know what to do with my self during those first few minutes where students are trickling in, but class hasn't quite started. And unlike my last first day of class, I don't think anyone mistook me for a student... I don't think. To kick class off, I had the students interview one another and introduce their partners to the class as an icebreaker, an idea I picked up from my own First Year Writing Department. From the first introduction, I could tell that this was going to be a completely different class from the typically reserved, P.A. students that I had the pleasure to have last semester. This class is much more diverse. They have different majors, for starters. They come from a variety of locations, not just the NY metropolitan area. I am excited to see what all of these students bring to the table. Diversity in the classroom is an awesome th...

1. Building confidence is half the battle.  What a student believes about her or his self works like a self-fulfilling prophecy. If students believe they can write or at least they will be able to write better someday, they will improve. If they believe that they cannot write and never will be able to, well, then, most likely that will be true.  For tutors and teachers, I think criticism comes naturally, but sometimes, especially when writing comments on a paper, they forget to encourage. Critiquing is just as much about pointing out the good as a the bad. Small things like pointing out something a student does well in a paper can really make a difference in a student's view of his or her writing abilities. 2.   Furthermore, writing is tied to identity , so when a teacher carelessly red pens 32 errors on a single page or gives students comments like "poorly written" with no constructive feedback, students internalize it to mean that there is something wrong with...

My number one priority this semester was to incorporate more digital writing. I think it's imperative that students are digitally literate when they go out into the work force. It's surprising how many people lack the ability to write a clear email, are scared by the thought of 140 character tweet, or don't know how to write a hyperlinked text. Digital writing can really give a person the edge over competition, especially in the corporate world. This semester I plan to incorporate these five technologies into my class: 1. LiveBinders : LiveBinders are seriously cool (and free). There are binders on everything about everything. You can use them to enhance your teaching, to do research, or to create portfolios. Personally, I will be using these to create a course binder. It will include my syllabus, policies, on campus resources, online resources, and my contact information. The great thing is that the websites appear in the binder, as opposed to having to leave the Bb site ...

2011... not just a new year, but a whole new decade. 2000-2010 saw me start and graduate high school, start and graduate college, get a masters degree, and begin a doctoral program. With all those milestones now passed, it's important that I aim to complete new ones. This year, my resolutions are focused mostly around my teaching and learning. 1. Listen more ... to my students, to other teachers, to everyone really. You can learn so much from others. 2. Make and use more digital video and audio . I've declaring my passion for digital literacy and new media studies, but I've been staying in the comfort zone of  hyperlinked writing, graphics, and widgets. I've really been slacking when it comes to video and audio, some of the coolest and most unique capabilities that digital writing allows. I want to give podcasts a try, but I've been shying away from it, so 2011 is my year. Also, I'm hoping to get my paws on one of those mini HD cameras.  3. Try actually doing al...

Th1rteen R3asons Why by Jay Asher was recommended to me by a student in the early part of the semester, and I only now got a chance to read it. The story revolves around a high school junior named Clay Jensen, who mysteriously receives voice recordings of Hannah Baker, a classmate who committed suicide. It most likely falls into the YALit category, but I wouldn't let that deter you from reading it. This is a powerful story. It would make a great addition to a high school syllabus, especially in 9th or 10th grade. I don't want this to be a book review, though. That's not really why comPOSITION exists. Instead, I want to talk about this book's take on education and writing, especially education about writing. For Hannah, like real life student Phoebe Prince , writing became an outlet to address the confusion she was experiencing in her life. Hannah particularly took to writing poetry. It should also be noted that she made fun of the self-indulgent "miserable poets...

I saw this today on my way home from Staten Island, NY. Though defiling property is never recommended, I thought this particular piece of graffiti was rather awesome. I found myself staring at it as I waited for the traffic light to change. From the Elvis-like character to the use of shading and texture to the vibrant color pallet, I was wowed. I've seen graffiti before, as near as the fence outside my apartment building, but usually, it's standard run-of-the-mill scribbling. Someone quickly sprays a messy tag and leaves, without giving much thought. More often than not, they choose either black, white, or dark blue, and their creation is built from single lines of paint. But this one was really quite amazing. I can't even imagine how someone would get away with doing this. It was not only on the front of an abandoned house on a main street, but it must have taken quite some time to complete. I write about this, though, not because it's interesting to look at, but beca...

I was so astounded by the international readership of this blog that I decided to start keeping a record of the countries that have readers who have stopped by comPOSITION. The bright orange represents the many nations that make up my audience. I hope to see the whole may filled in one day! This application is created by interactive maps. You can also have your visited countries map on your site. If you see this message, you need to upgrade your flash player.   Make your visited countries map Flash charts