As this is a fairly small, discussion-oriented course, it will be helpful for us to get to know one another a bit. I ask that you each create a post telling us a bit about who you are.
What you share is ultimately up to you, but here are a few baseline suggestions:
- what else are you doing this summer besides taking this course? other academic work, internships, employment, etc.
- what brings you to this course in an online setting?
- if you’ve taken a fully online course before, what advice do you have for your classmates who may be doing this for the first time?
Additionally, since I think we’ve all come to appreciate the value of seeing other people even more over this last weird year, it would be great if you would share a picture of yourself. If you prefer to share an avatar or an image that reflects something of your interests/identity rather than your face, that’s cool, too.
I’ll go first: my name is Karen Oakes, and I’ve been teaching here at SU since 2002. I teach in the Dept. of Writing Studies, Rhetoric, and Composition. I’m also a writing consultant with the Maxwell School and the Service Learning Facilitator for the Writing Dept. Additionally, I’m on the faculty of the History Dept. at SUNY Oswego. I’m teaching online courses at both universities this summer.
When I’m not teaching, I can be found parenting 2 very busy teenagers, teaching a 16-year old how to drive (yikes!), and trying to squeeze in some time for travel and hiking and kayaking.
I’ve been teaching online courses for the last 15 years, and my biggest piece of advice would be to stay mindful of the schedule. I like working from a print copy of the schedule because it helps me to keep an eye on the Big Picture–not just what’s due this week, but how this week’s assignments fit into the larger workflow. That makes it easier to spot potential conflicts or challenges in advance, and plan ahead for them.
Now it’s your turn–please create a post. Include a title that contains your name. Please categorize this post as “Discussions/Homework,” and tag it with “weekof6/7,” “introductions,” and [your name]. Decide now how to name yourself for your tag, and kindly stick with it throughout the summer, so that each of your posts will carry that same tag. That way your work will be fully searchable.