OU Email Tech Tip

Agh! I wish I had discovered this tip earlier. I will definitely use this technique in the future.

Finishing up

I don’t believe I have done a Famous Last Words post yet, but how fitting for me to do it at the very end of the semester during the final hours of this course. I suppose I will use my time here to write about my feelings after completing this course.

The reading. I loved the reading in this course. When I first decided to take it, I assumed that it would be all about Greek mythology. I was soon corrected. I’m glad that it wasn’t, though. As it turned out, the week on Greek mythology may have been one of my least favorite weeks. I enjoyed the diversity in the reading of this course. I also liked reading the stories other students wrote. Sometimes the number of these stories we had to read each week was a little overwhelming, but most of the stories were fun to read.

The writing. This course really helped spark my creativity. When I chose to write my Storybook on pride, I began to really look at the moral of each story I read to see if I could spin it in a way that would fit into my storybook. I liked retelling stories, too. However, I did not like commenting one bit. That part of the class was really dull for me. I found myself giving as small of an effort as possible when commenting on other students’ work.

The instructor. Professor Laura Gibbs was fantastic. She was really helpful and really encouraging with her comments on our work. The un-textbook for this class was unbelievably cool, because it made for a lot of freedom. This was one of the best online course set ups I have ever taken, and I am a senior who has taken at least one online course each semester. Great job!

Merry Christmas everyone!

John Leech illustration from A Christmas Carol. Web Source: D2L

Writing Post

• 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 to create the Storybook. I'm very happy with the choice I made. I loved the creativity involved in finding stories that fit into a single theme. The portfolio seemed like it would be the easier option, since editing a story you've already written is easier than writing a whole new story. However, the portfolio option has an assignment each week, whereas the storybook option has two free passes.
• What kinds of comments did you find most useful as you working on your Storybook/Portfolio?
• I really only found the instructor's comments useful. I think the student comments were filled with a lot of fluff (I like this..., or it was neat how...) and were void of helpful criticism.

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 really enjoyed the way the readings were set up. The Un-textbook is a great idea. I got to choose what interested me most. 
•  What did you think of the overall balance between reading - writing - commenting in the class assignments?
• I think the commenting portion of this class was too heavy. I often felt overwhelmed reading three different storybooks each week. I didn't want to give any of them my full attention; I just wanted to hit 200 words then be done, even if it was mostly fluff.
• creating "anthology" units on different themes across cultures: ghost stories, love stories, hero stories — with the stories drawn from different units to create new units (what kinds of themes would interest you?)
• I loved stories with tricksters and with a good moral.
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