Thursday, September 21

Today is Thursday of WEEK 5. If you have not done your story yet for this week, that means today is Storytelling Day; see below for details about a new story option. Here is a link to all of this week's assignments.

Class Procedures and Reminders

Story Planning. This week there is a new option for the Storytelling assignment: Storytelling OR Story Planning. The new Story Planning option is for those of you who enjoy doing research and exploring background information. The idea is that you do background research this week, and then you can write the actual story next week. See the Story assignment instructions for more details.

Project Stack. I'm working my way through the assignments turned in on Sunday, and I hope to get through all the Sunday ones today. While you are waiting on comments back from me about your Project assignment, you can check the stack to make sure I received your email.

Extra Credit. There are lots of different Tech Tip options, including tips about Canvas, Blogger, and other tools. Find out more in the extra credit section of this week's assignments.

The following items are for fun and exploration:

Class Twitter. From yesterday's Twitter @OnlineMythIndia, there is big news about Carol Dweck: she has won the Yidan Prize for education for her growth mindset research. I am such a fan of her work, so I thought this was very exciting news!

Imagination. Let your creativity run wild in a story: Without imagination, we go nowhere.

Storybook Archive. This project is from the Myth-Folklore class: Lions of Aesop. Grandfather Lion is sharing lessons learned with the little cubs of the pride .... and you get to listen in!

Free Book Online: Today's free book is Speak Bird, Speak Again: Palestinian Arab Folktales by Ibrahim Muhawi and Sharif Kanaana. See the Freebookapalooza blog for links and the table of contents. This is a book made available online thanks to the generosity of the University of California Press.

Story of the Day. Today's story is a fairy tale from India: The Fish Prince. The prince is turned into a fish, and after a series of adventures, he turns back into a prince again.

Video: I am a fan of story mash-ups, and I am a fan of music mash-ups too, like this fabulous video with Vidya, which also features Shankar Tucker and his clarinet: Chaiyya Chaiyya / Don't Stop. You can listen to the original Chaiyya Chaiyya here. You might also recognize this music from Spike Lee's film Inside Man.

Growth Mindset: Today's growth mindset cat is having a learning experience, which means: surprise, awe, interest, and confusion. You can find out more at the Growth Mindset blog.

Event on Campus: There will be a Lunch and Learn: Tai Chi at noon at 4 Partners Place (details). Find out more about this and other events at the Campus Calendar online.

September 21: Vergil. Today marks the death of the Roman poet Vergil in the year 19 B.C.E. You may know Vergil as the author of the Roman epic Aeneid, named for Aeneas, the Trojan hero who founded Rome... or you might know Vergil as Dante's guide through the Inferno! You can find out more about his life and career at Wikipedia, and you might also enjoy this book by Alfred Church: Legends from Vergil:

Check out the Twitter stream for information and fun stuff during the day, or click here for past announcements.