In this third semester during which we are learning online and not meeting in person, I have been met with the same challenges as many other teachers: cameras turned off, sporadic involvement by students, and a different energy. Many students participate in online gaming and social media interaction, yet it is not as easy to maintain that same personal connection in online classes.

In all of our online classes, I’ve tried using identity-centered introductions, involving poetry, art, and video. The first poem is based on the George Ella Lyon poem, Where I’m From. The video introductions were free form, and there is an Extra Credit Option to create a Where I’m Going poem.

Here is a link to the website in progress: Where We Are From

The above is the official logo that will indicate that the content comes from the president and is reliable. The following is not official at all, and is just the experience of one CUNY instructor who has found herself in a dystopian reality in which all physical classes are cancelled for the rest of the spring semester. On top of this, my regular job working as a teleprompter at CBS ended abruptly yesterday due to two employees testing positive for the corona virus.

Today, March 12th, I have been creating announcements for my students, going to the gym (which was quite full), and attending two online workshops for Blackboard Collaborate. All CUNY colleges are suspending classes from March 12th until March 18th while instructors prepare for distance learning. The e-learning department at BMCC held a workshop attended by hundreds on Wednesday March 11th, and between 40-50 instructors have logged in for each of the online workshops organized by Dr. Carlos Aguasaco, who teaches a class on Latin superheroes!

For topics that involve a lot of reading and writing, like English, the online platform has a lot of potential. The interactive video conferences, in which all participants can share images, presentations and interactive whiteboards, as well as take part in small group and large group chats, and have side conversations in the text sidebar, initially seem fun. I hope my students turn up next week, and I will be sure to update here.

What do you think about distance learning? What is it most useful for, and what can it not replace?

The drag down menu will show all posts. My most recent post is below:

The Apostrophe Protection Society‘s website is still open, but its founder, John Richards, decided to stop developing it in November 2019. These are his stated reasons:

“One is that at 96 I am cutting back on my commitments and the second is that fewer organisations and individuals are now caring about the correct use of the apostrophe in the English Language.”

If it is true that people no longer care about the correct use of the apostrophe, what–if anything–does this signify about the future of other punctuation marks?

I love the patterns and order in writing and sentence structure, but I recognize that language use changes over time.

In general, apostrophes denote possession or combine two words to make a contraction. The most common misuse or omission of apostrophes I’ve noticed is in the homophones:

there, they’re, their

and

your, you’re.

Having worked in television for 25 years, I’ve noticed that scripts often don’t contain apostrophes and–if they do–they are usually misplaced. But does it matter? If the words express important ideas and emotions, who cares about apostrophes and other strictures of grammar?

I don’t know. What do you think?

 

 

 

 

The Apostrophe Protection Society‘s website is still open, but its founder, John Richards, decided to stop developing it in November 2019. These are his stated reasons:

“One is that at 96 I am cutting back on my commitments and the second is that fewer organisations and individuals are now caring about the correct use of the apostrophe in the English Language.”

If it is true that people no longer care about the correct use of the apostrophe, what–if anything–does this signify about the future of other punctuation marks?

I love the patterns and order in writing and sentence structure, but I recognize that language use changes over time.

In general, apostrophes denote possession or combine two words to make a contraction. The most common misuse or omission of apostrophes I’ve noticed is in the homophones:

there, they’re, their

and

your, you’re.

Having worked in television for 25 years, I’ve noticed that scripts often don’t contain apostrophes and–if they do–they are usually misplaced. But does it matter? If the words express important ideas and emotions, who cares about apostrophes and other strictures of grammar?

I don’t know. What do you think?