Update: I came to work on Tuesday and got through all the assignments in the stack that were turned in before Sunday. I'll be off for Thanksgiving, although I'm back home and checking email periodically, so if you have questions as you wrap up Week 13 after Thanksgiving (see details below), just let me know!
Class Procedures and Reminders
My schedule. I'm out of town from Thursday (Nov. 19) until Tuesday (Nov. 24); if all goes well, I'll be back in the office all day on Tuesday to get caught up before I go on Thanksgiving break. I may have email access while I am gone, but it will be limited. I'll do my best to reply to any emails during that time, and then on Tuesday I'll be able to take care of any email that has accumulated.
Project stack. I've read and replied to all the Week 12 projects that were turned in on time last Sunday, but there are still some projects in the stack that were turned in during the grace period on Monday or later in the week. I'll get through as many of those assignments as I can before leaving, and then on Tuesday I'll keep working my way through the stack. You can check the stack to make sure I received your assignment.
Thanksgiving schedule. You have a whole week off for Thanksgiving! That means the Week 13 Friday/weekend assignments are not due until the weekend of November 28-29. Of course, you can complete them now, which will put you that much closer to finishing the course, and you can work ahead as much as you want over the break, maybe even finishing the class! Except for the blog comment and project feedback assignments, all the Declarations are ready to go in D2L.
Finishing the class. When you reach 410 points, that is an A, or you can stop with 360 points for a B, or 320 points for a C. It is totally up to you. I know that for many of you this class is just a Gen. Ed. requirement and therefore a lower priority than classes for your major. So, if it is your goal to pass the class with C so that you can focus your efforts on your other classes, that is fine! My only goal is that everybody should pass the class so that you can be one class closer to graduating. :-)
Week 13 blog comments. The blog commenting gets very hectic in these last weeks of the semester since people are mixing-and-matching as they finish up the course, but I will keep on making random groups based on which blogs are still active. The Week 13 blog groups will be ready at noon on Thursday (November 19), and you have all of Thanksgiving break to complete that assignment. It is due on Sunday, November 29, with the usual grace period on Monday, November 30.
Week 13 project feedback. (repeat announcement) The project feedback assignment is very different this week: you will be nominating your favorite Storybooks and favorite Portfolios. You may have noticed that I have rearranged the class project pages, grouping the Portfolios and Storybooks together to make it easier for you to find your favorites in each group. Then, on Monday afternoon after Thanksgiving break (November 30), when everybody has submitted their nominations, I will put up a ballot based on the most nominated projects. Thank you in advance for your input: the more people who make nominations, the better the ballot will be!
The following items are for fun and exploration:
Life is made of poetry. Here are some lovely words from Jorge Luis Borges, the Argentianian short-story writer and poet.
Mythology Words in English: Today's mythology word in English is AMBROSIA, which is a Greek word that refers to the food of the immortal gods. For details, see this blog post.
Featured Storybook: Vishnu's Bedtime Stories. As Vishnu is reborn as Kalki, an avatar for the end of the world, he shares the stories of his past avatars in a series of letters addressed to himself as Kalki.
Free Book Online: The Fairy Tales of Charles Perrault translated by by R. Samber and J.E. Mansion. This blog post provides additional information about the contents of the book which contains some very famous fairy tales, such as Little Red Riding-Hood, Sleeping Beauty, and Cinderella (the Disney version of the story comes mostly from this version by Perrault).
India Comic Book: Indra and Shachi: The Lord of Heaven and his Devoted Wife. This blog post provides additional information about the comic book which is on Reserve in Bizzell Library. It is an exciting story about Indra and his wife Shachi (also known as Indrani) as they defeat Nahusha who wants to take Indra's place as king of the gods.
Words of Wisdom: Today's proverb poster is Each man is the forger of his fate (a Polish proverb). Details at the Proverb Lab. In Polish: Każdy jest kowalem swego losu.
Today's Video: Illuminated Manuscripts ("Nowhere Man" by the Beatles). Yes, it's another fabulous mash-up video from Amy Burvall.
Growth Mindset: Today's growth mindset cat is curious, and: Curiosity is the quest for new ideas and information. Details at the blog.
Note: You can page back through the older blog posts to see any announcements you might have missed, and you can check out the Twitter stream for information and fun stuff during the day.
