updated 2/14/07
"Only connect! . . .Live in fragments no longer.” E. M. Forster, Howards End (1910), ch. 22
"One day when I was twenty-three or twenty-four this sentence seemed to form in my head, without my willing it, much as sentences form when we are half-asleep, ‘Hammer your thoughts into unity’. For days I could think of nothing else and for years I tested all I did by that sentence ...” William Butler Yeats (cited in Frank Tuohy, Yeats, 1976, p.51 )
JOURNALING INSTRUCTIONS for discussion board contributions
What are "journals" and how are they submitted for discussion and grading?
Journals are your responses to the assigned readings submitted to the relevant Discussion Board on Blackboard by 8 P.M. the evening before the readings are to be discussed.
The complete journal consists of the initial entry (and all subsequent additions or replies before 8 P. M. for that assignment). In other words, more points are given for DISCUSSION, that is, reading others' entries and replying, especially with new quotations from the readings. All quotations from the readings must include page numbers (in parentheses) after the quotes, unless the quote is from the edition of a novel other than the one assigned (in that case supply chapter nos.). Quotes without such documentation will not count in the grading.
Where do journals fit in the grading scheme?
Grades: Almost 50% of the final grade may be determined by the journals and related informal writing. Up to 33% of the grade may be determined by the reading journals. About 10% is determined by participation in class discussion and performance of literature. Often this performance grade too will depend on the journals, as they enable you to be prepared for class. An additional 15% or so of the final grade is for the portfolio and most of that will be based on the overall quality of the journals.
GRADING
There will be a number of journal opportunities this semester worth up to eight points for basic contributions, twelve for expanded contributions. Additional points may be added for replies and addendums.
Additional points beyond the eight maximum for the text itself can be earned by adding relevant images that are placed in the text itself (not before or after) and fully integrated and discussed in the text. To earn the maximum you will need at least two pictures that no one else has used, and they must be in the presentation, not attached files. Thus ultimately one can earn up to twelve points for multimedia per discussion board. Journal entries that help us "hammer our thoughts into unity" will be graded higher than those which remain fragments. One can earn up to three additional points by writing such an entry and/or by writing replies to others that "only connect." Here's how the grading works: up to 12 points for an entry with two new quotes and two new pictures. It can be extended to 15 in two ways: by including three citations of works other than those assigned, usually works from previous assignments, or by including three new citations in responses to others. Thus one can earn a maximum of fifteen points per DB.
Why is writing this new multimedia so important? Because it is the New Literacy. See my explanation. AND it may very well help you get a job.
HOW TO PRESENT PICTURES WITH TEXT IN DISCUSSION BOARD
FIRST OF ALL, YOU NEED TO LOOK AHEAD TO THE END OF THE COURSE AND THE PORTFOLIO REQUIREMENT. You are required to present an ELECTRONIC portfolio of all your work at the end of the course. This usually takes the form of a presentation of all your work in what looks like a website but is in fact in a folder on a CD handed in to the instructor. He will then upload it to the course website where it will be safe, presumably, for some time to come. Thus, you will be able to refer to it in the future when you apply for jobs and those who write letters for you can do so also.
This portfolio must include your Discussion Board entries and, of course, the first versions of your projects, which are also posted as Discussion Board entries. Hence, if your entries include multimedia (the projects must be multimedia), it is best for you that they be kept from the start in separate files in html format so that they can be quickly assembled for the final CD.
The best way to create such html pages is to use a program such as Dream Weaver, which you are strongly encouraged to acquire as soon as possible.
However, most students just create a document in Microsoft Word, inserting pictures, and then "Save as Web Page." When you do so, you will want to keep the resulting file and folder where they can be available for the portfolio as well.
Some students use Google or Yahoo html creation programs and put their entries there, but then they may encounter problems when they try to retrieve the entries and pictures for their portfolio.
No attachments will be accepted.
The usual way to contribute an html version is to upload it to your webspace and then simply put the link in as your DB entry.
Here are some specific steps to take to do that:
If you have not written your entry in a web-site-creation program such as Dreamweaver (recommended) or Front Page (not recommended) you will need to convert your files into web, that is, "htm" or "html" files. Most students use Microsoft Word for word processing so we will use that as our example. After you have written your project and inserted the pictures, find the “Save as Web file” option in Word. (If your word processing program does not have this option, see the instructor.) Use the “Save as Web file” option. Make sure your file ends in "htm" or "html," not "mht" or "doc" or "wps." (You can not just type "htm" at the end of the file name because that alone won't make the file accessible to the web.)
Converted files are to be uploaded to a web site. If you do not have your own web site, you can use your webspace account. See Putting Pages on the Web Using Webspace in your anthology. Supplement those instructions with these instructions written by Brooks Antweil:
1. Go to the Blackboard Content System or to http://webspace.utexas.edu and log in to your personal page.
2. To make it easier, I made a separate folder called "E 328" just for my project.
3. "Share" the folder that will contain your project (instructions in the course packet). You want to be able to see the "Share" category after the folder. (Sometimes you have to begin by "Modify"ing the folder.) At first the Share icon will be a piece of paper with a hand held up to block access. You need to change that icon. The simplest way to do that is to click on the icon and check the "Read" "Public" box. Then "Apply Now." When you return to your directory in place of the old icon you should see a hand seen from the side giving something that looks to me like an ice cube.
4. Now click on the new folder. Click the "Upload" or "Add Item" button in the tool bar. Find the file (not the folder) that your project is saved under. (This will most likely be in your "My Documents" folder in Windows.) The one you're looking for is "(filename).htm", so if your file is called "project1", the file you want is called "project1.htm". Upload this file. This should upload the written part of the project, but not the pictures.
5. When you saved the project in .htm format, Word also created a folder with the same name as your project to hold the multimedia files (read "pictures"). The default name of this folder is "(filename)_files" or (as in the previous example) "project1_files". In the same folder as your "project1.htm" file in webspace, create a folder with the same name as the one that Word created for you. You have to do this because webspace will not let you upload the entire folder [!]. To do this, click "New Directory" in the webspace toolbar and type in the exact name of the folder that word created. Make sure that all spaces and underscores are there, and all words are spelled correctly, because the name of this folder is going to be "sensitive."
6. After you have created a "project1_files" (just an example) folder, click on this folder to open it. NOW, you can upload all of the files that are in the folder Word created. Count the number of files. Select them all. Upload them all specifying the number of files in the webspace box before you upload.Make sure to upload every file that is in your Word folder.
7. Once you have uploaded your project you need to make sure all files related to the project (including every single one in the pictures folder) have their permissions set to "share" on Webspace. Follow the instructions in #3 above.
8. Then you need to make sure they all work together properly by accessing them on a different computer and checking the results. If you use a PC check your webspace file on an internet-accessed Mac or vice versa. This is the only effective way to make sure your site is working properly.
12. To post your multimedia entries , for others to see and comment on, go to Blackboard (courses.utexas.edu) and choose our course. Choose Discussion Board and then the specific Discussion Board. Choose "Add a Thread" and when you do, post the webspace URL of your entry in proper HTML format so that the respondent need only click on or select your title and the entry pops up without the respondent being required to type in your whole URL into a separate window. In other words, type in actual HTML code like this:
<a href="http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~bump/E328/index.html">What I Think</a>
Of course, you will subtitute the correct webpace URL for "www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~bump/E328/index.html" and your own project name for "What I Think ."
If you are using a URL for a web space file use the whole URL that appears when your file displays in your browser.
If you have to you, can insert images directly into the text in Blackboard, but this may well make it difficult to retrieve the combined multimedia file when you prepare your Portfolio.
You can insert images directly into the text in Blackboard if use Explorer and have a PC. In that case, you should have a "tool box" toolbar that includes "insert image." Or you may be able to simply drag the image from your desktop and drop it into the text box of the Discussion Board.
If you have a Mac you may only be able to insert a hyperlink to a picture on the internet. To do that, insert this code:
img src="http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~bump/bumpsign.gif"
What you have to do, in addition to this, is substitute your own URL and add > after the whole code and < before the whole code to mark it as code. (If I do that here, you will get the image not the code).
Some discussion boards will be required and others optional. The difference is that if you do not do the required discussion board, with two quotes demonstrating close reading of the assignment, you will be fined -8 points.
Parasite journal entries will be awarded minus points. In other words, if one submits a parasite entry for a Required Discussion Board, instead of positive points, the -8 already in the gradebook will be increased to -12, a grade which can not be improved by submitting a revised version later. A parasite entry is one that uses the same quotes that someone else has used earlier in the discussion and shows little or no evidence that the author actually read the assignment closely. In other words, the student did not "listen" to the others in the discussion.
Avoiding a parasite journal is another lesson in time management. The earlier your entry appears in the discussion the fewer prior entries you will have to scrutinize to make sure that no one else has already used your quotations or made your points.
Late journals have to meet all the requirements but can only replace a negative score with a 0. In other words, if one has -8 and turns in a late journal, the maximum score would be 0.
How long should a daily reading journal be? If one tried to earn an "8" on quantity alone, an average of 2.5 pages of 250 words each would be required for each assignment. Concise, specific, detailed writing will be rewarded not only by the immediate grade but by changed requirements for the projects. Normally, each project must be a minimum of fourteen-hundred words. However, that can be reduced to as little as twelve-hundred words, depending on how much concise, specific, detailed writing appears in the DB entries you have written to that point. The basic formula is that every thousand words of good DB writing = a reduction of one-hundred words in the project requirement, with a maximum reduction of two-hundred words per project. (In the case of the second project, the formula applies only to words not counted for the first project.)
For some idea of how a teacher grades the quality of a reader-response journal see the grading rubric below.
What should I write about in the journals?
These are what are known as “reader-response” journals. The goal is to discover who you are, to record your responses as you read, including thoughts, feelings, memories, associations, guesses about what will happen next, opinions, etc. (see sample prompts below). Among your thoughts you would be well advised to consider how the text relates to the other readings assigned for that day and to all the other readings in the course and the course themes; in other words, “hammer your thoughts into unity.”
You must, however, prove that you have read the material and you must include at least two quotes with page nos. from the readings. Three or four quotes from very different parts of the reading would be best. In addition, quotes from other relevant sources would be quite valuable. Illustrations are helpful because your portfolio will be evaluated on the basis of its visual rhetoric as well as its completeness. The way to include pictures, music, etc. is to post your response on webspace or some other web site and provide the link in the Blackboard Discussion Board.
Yes, here are some examples, though rather brief,
and from different
classes:
from E320M literature, architecture, art:
http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~bump/E320M2/web/Roger/journals.html
http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~bump/E320M2/web/Jane/portfolio.html
https://webspace.utexas.edu/chaneybb/www/Journals.htm -- these journals are Word files
from E603
http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~bump/E603/web/brette/journals.html
http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~bump/E603B/web/ada/E603FINALtexts/journaldirectory.htm
from Senior Seminar on responses to
nature
https://webspace.utexas.edu/lmitch03/www/journalpage.html
from a Nature Writing class
http://www.geocities.com/adecuir81/journal.html
Reader’s Response Journal Prompts from http://www.lowndes.k12.ga.us/lhsweb/reader's_response.htm
1. Overall, what kind of a feeling did you have after reading a few paragraphs of this text? After reading half of the text? After finishing the text?
2. What do you feel is the most important word, phrase, passage, or paragraph in this text? Copy it and explain why it is important.
3. Do you think the title of the text is appropriate? Is it important? Explain.
4. From whose point of view is the story told? Why do you think the author chose that point of view?
5. Describe your favorite character and tell why you made that choice.
6. Describe the character you like the least. What do you dislike about the character?
7. Does anyone in the text remind you of anyone you know? Explain.
8. If you could be any character in this text, who would you be? Why?
9. Are any of the characters good role models, leaders, or heroes? Why do you think so?
10. Write an imaginary conversation that you have with a character or with the author of the text.
11. Do any incidents, ideas, or actions in the text remind you of something that happened to you? Explain.
12. Describe a struggle or conflict in the text. Who is struggling and why? Did one of the characters win?
13. Are there any parts of this text that were confusing to you? If so, describe them and explain your confusion? You might begin the journal entry with the words, "I wonder why…."
14. Are there any parts of the text that were surprising to you? If so, describe them and explain why. You might begin the journal entry with the words, "I was surprised when…."
15. Describe the setting of the text, including the time and the place. Would you like to live in that place during that time period? Why or why not?
16. Do you feel the author expresses an opinion in this text? What is it? How do you know? Do you agree with the author? Why or why not?
17. Would you change the ending of this story in any way? Tell your ending. Why would you change it?
18. Sometimes texts leave you with the feeling that there is something more to tell. Did this text do that? What do you think might happen?
19. Do you like the text? Why or why not?
20. Would you like to read something else by this author? Why or why not?
How does one judge the quality of reader response journals?
Here is one set of rules used by one teacher,
from
http://sheffner.home.pipeline.com/pdf_resources/journal_rubric.pdf.
8 pts.
Entries are unified (coherent) and/or include felicitous prose, and/or make insightful and interesting connections among all or almost all the assigned works for that day as well, perhaps, assigned in the past, and, hopefully, other courses, other books, etc. from outside the course as well. Argumentation is logical and convincing, avoiding gross oversimplification. Entries demonstrate close and careful reading of the assigned texts. Entries contain comparisons, contrasts, reactions, questions, opinions, response. Entries descend the ladder of abstractions often enough to provide examples, metaphors, pictures, etc. to convey the meaning to the right side of the brain as well as the left. Summary is limited to explanations necessary for the reader to make sense of the entry. Evidence from the text is used to support opinions, and accurate documentation is provided by page nos. and two or more quotations, with further bibliographic info. provided for works not on our reading list. Entries are in paragraph form. Journal is complete and legible, with no grammatical errors, and few if any punctuation errors.
7Entries are unified (coherent) or include felicitous prose or make connections among the assigned works and, hopefully, works assigned in the past. Entries contain comparisons, contrasts, reactions, questions, opinions, response. If the prose is not felicitous, it is at least colloquial, as in matching the right prepositions with the right verbs. Entries descend the ladder of abstractions often enough to provide examples, metaphors, pictures, etc. to convey the meaning to the right side of the brain as well as the left. Summary is limited to explanations necessary for the reader to make sense of the entry. Evidence from the text is used to support opinions, and documentation is provided by page nos. and quotations. Entries are in paragraph form. Journal is complete and legible, with no grammatical errors, and few if any punctuation errors.
6 Entries make connections among the assigned works. Entries contain comparisons, contrasts, reactions, questions, opinions, response . Entries descend the ladder of abstractions a little, though not enough, to provide examples, metaphors, pictures, etc. to convey the meaning to the right side of the brain as well as the left. Summary is limited to explanations necessary for the reader to make sense of the entry. Evidence from the text is used to support opinions, and documentation is provided by page nos. and quotations. Entries are in paragraph form. Journal is complete and legible, with few grammatical errors.
5Entries contain comparisons, contrasts, reactions, questions, opinions, response which demonstrate that the student has read the assignment, if superficially, or read only some of the assigned texts. Prose is general, vague, or superficial: does not descend the ladder of abstractions enough to provide examples, metaphors, pictures, etc. to convey the meaning to the right side of the brain as well as the left. Summary is not limited to explanations necessary for the reader to make sense of the entry. Little evidence from the text is used to support opinions and/or documentation is not provided by page nos. and quotations. Entries are in paragraph form. Journal is complete and legible, with few grammatical errors.
4Entries demonstrate that the student has some acquaitance with the assignment. Summaries are more prevalent than original thoughts. Little evidence from the text is used to support opinions and/or documentation is not provided by page nos. and quotations. Entries somewhat disorganized . Journal has few grammatical errors.
3Entries demonstrate that the student has some acquaintance with the assignment. Summaries are more prevalent than original thoughts. Little evidence from the text is used to support opinions and/or documentation is not provided by page nos. and quotations. Entries somewhat disorganized and/or journal suffers from grammatical errors.
2 Doubt about how well, if at all student has read the assignment. Entries are too brief to contain complete summaries or extensions. No quotation from the text is used. Incomplete journal. Mechanical problems are severe enough to cause comprehension problems for the reader .
1 No evidence that the student has actually read the assignment. Entries are too brief to contain complete summaries or extensions. No quotation from the text is used. Incomplete journal. And/or mechanical problems are severe enough to cause comprehension problems for the reader. Incomprehensible because of language structure, spelling, and/or physical presentation .
