Class notes: Nov. 28 classwork, group work, & homework

Yesterday was a big day in Writing IV, as those of you who attended will recall. Yet, as I have learned to expect, it was also a day on which there were technical challenges, not the least of which (for me, at least) was display of class notes on laboratory monitors.

The screenshot below, an enhanced version of my class notes, more or less reflects board work and general instructions from class yesterday. Square brackets enclose enhancements in this retrospective, or responses to questions in one section of the class or another.

Screenshot of enhanced Nov. 28 class notes, 2012.11.29

Essay prep. posts, as well as previewing, actual viewing, or reviewing of the movies that teams choose, are essential components of the homework assignment for this week.

Please click on the graphic above to get a closer look, or zoom in on it in your browsers. Then, if you have any questions or concern about the classwork, group work, or homework in that outline; please spell them out in comments on this post before the end of November.

Last but not least, I'd like to ask you again to share what you learn from posts on the Writing Studio Blog with your classmates and peers. Thank you in advance for your continuing cooperation.

[187 words]

Where had all my comments gone?

As I was updating my Proto-Portfolios the other day, I got a strange feeling that the numbers of comments I'd sent out were much lower than they should be (row five). Indeed they were. Although I expected to have missed counting a few odd comments here and there, the total displayed in cell 5K turned out to be off by over a hundred!

What was the problem? I'd been doing my best to remember to toggle the follow-up comment option ON, whenever I started to write a comment on someone else's blog. When that option is ON, before you preview or post, it looks like this if the page display is in Japanese.

Comment window: "Follow-up comments ..." ON

Not only do I get a copy of my out-going comments sent to me by mail, to collect and count monthly for entries on row five [of] Proto-Portfolios spreadsheets, I also receive mail notification of answers to questions or responses to suggestions that I post in comments on other people's blogs. Mail notifications include links that make it easy to follow-up on follow-ups. Forgetting to select that option a few times a semester wasn't the problem.

The problem was searches that I'd used to retrieve mail messages to remind me of comments on other people's blogs were missing a large proportion, more than 80%, of previous comments from first semester. A typical monthly search started like this:

Search terms from English notification message

Today it finally dawned on me why that kind of search had missed so many recent comments. Such searches failed to retrieve mail reminding me of comments that I'd left on blogs whose owners set them to display in Japanese. Sifting through All Mail archives by hand, I discovered numerous automated mail messages with Japanese lead-ins that had been slipping through my searches.

The following search, using the Japanese message lead-in, turned up over a hundred more comments to add to Proto-Portfolio tallies for first semester.

Search terms from Japanese notification message

Granted, it may be possible to refine each of those two searches with additional words or characters, for example, "... new comment [on]" (blogs set to display in English). Nevertheless, I'm satisfied that combined search results reflect the bulk of comments of which I've elected to get follow-up mail notifications.

The key to gathering info. automatically for entries on row five of Proto-Portfolios is still the same: Remember to switch follow-up comment notification ON before posting comments on classmates' and peers' blogs. The same is true for following up easily on written exchanges started or continuing in comments on blog posts: Switch follow-up comment notification ON before posting!

[442 words]

New Sidebar Link: Business Writing

To the Course Links list in the sidebar, I've added a new link. It leads to a new page deep in the LTD Project Wiki. Recent email updates from ULiveandLearn had reminded me of writing tips for business writers that I'd originally pointed out in a larger page on the LTD Project Wiki, Writing Resources.

Since that writing resources collection already had grown to the bursting point, and spawned separate pages from other sections, I decided to create a new page for the business writing tips, too. Then, to the new page (Business Writing), I added an RSS feed to automatically update the writing tips displayed on it. The tips there from ULiveandLearn focus in particular on writing email, for example, Why Format is Important with Email (2008.10.23).

However, many of those tips are readily applicable to other online writing media, for instance, blogs and social networking services, and to written communication of various kinds, such as report writing. They include suggestions for using non-sexist and reader-friendly language suitable for wide audiences. So I recommend browsing through them from the new Business Writing page, and reviewing the other LTD Project Wiki Writing Resources page, too.

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Office Hours: Gmail for Appointments

This post announces my weekly office hour+ (Tuesday, 09:30-11:00), and shows where my physical office space is.


View pab's office in a larger map

If you'd like to meet either face-to-face (f2f) or online during my office hour+, please send a gmail message asking for an appointment at least 48 or, better yet, 72 hours in advance. Please use ... one of these subjects headings [with underscores, class, and section in the key string]:

• Writing_III-IV_1A: F2F, yyyy.mm.dd, please!
  
• Writing_III-IV_1A: Online, yyyy.mm.dd, please!

• Writing_III-IV_1C: F2F, yyyy.mm.dd, please!
  
• Writing_III-IV_1C: Online, yyyy.mm.dd, please!

Copy and paste one of the subject headings from here, if necessary, to make certain it is accurate (without the bullet point), carefully replacing "yyyy" with the calendar year, "mm" with a two-digit number for the month, and "dd" with a two-digit number for the date.

Then, in the body of all such [gmail] messages, please:

1. Explain why you would like to meet;
   
2. Suggest a time frame within my office hour+;
3. Include the last five digits of your student number; and
   
4. Spell out your full name (in a signature is fine).

[172 words]

Blog Comment Security & Follow-up Settings

As I was browsing a student's blog today, I noticed that she had not enabled the Word Verification technology for comments on her blog (Dashboard, Settings, Comments).

I urge you all to make sure that you've turned Word Verification ON to avoid getting spammed. When that security technology is on, part of the comment window looks like this, with a string of twisted characters that visitors must type before submitting a comment, for example, "xhhzqtlm" (WordVerification screenshot).


I also recommend restricting who can comment on your blogs to registered users only (CommentsSettings screenshot). This should not trouble you, classmates, or community members who already have Google/Blogger identities (including gmail). If you are logged in already, your username will appear as a ready-made choice in the comment window (LoggedIn, "Choose an identity").



As you may see at the bottom edge of the LoggedIn screenshot, after commenting, logged-in users get an easy to use option to receive comment notification messages whenever blog owners or visitors reply. Just check the box next to "Email follow-up comments" (Follow-upComments screenshot), and you'll get messages with links leading quickly back to the original post where you can continue discussion.

[195 words]

Docs and Spreadsheets Rock!

Google Docs and Spreadsheets are great ways to share and collaborate online on pieces of writing, spreadsheets, and presentations. The video below, a Common Craft Production, shows and tells how they work.

Please check it out. It should give you ideas for getting a group writing project underway, when you get a group assignment later. Though the presenter speaks rather quickly, reviewing the video a time or two should enable you to get the gist of what he says.



A great thing about Google Docs and Spreadsheets is that sign-in is the same as for Gmail! If you have Gmail open already, all you need to do is click on the "Documents" link in the toolbar at the top of the page.

[122 words]

Links from Widget in Sidebar

Having added a new link to other websites that I've collected in a sidebar widget, I decided that it was about time to introduce them in a new blog post. I've copied from the sidebar and pasted into this post the content of the sidebar widget (Course Links, below), and expanded the list with notations that don't appear in the sidebar to explain each link briefly here. The list from the sidebar served as a working outline for this post about...

Course Links

• Writing Studio Wiki
• At the wiki is where I recommend starting every day in class. Shortcuts (links) in the sidebar there will open almost every other site that you'll need for classwork.
  

• Writing Studio Blog
• You are at the Writing Studio Blog now. So maybe keeping this link is a bit redundant. It made the list look longer months ago, as one of the three sites that I originally listed when I set up the sidebar widget to list links on this blog. It still works as an easy way to return to the top page from pages displaying individual posts (and comments).
  

• WinK HomePage
• The Weblogging in Kumamoto Homepage (above) covers virtually everything that Tomeiter, Pukman and I have been doing with with a growing community of student bloggers for the past few years. (There is too much stuff there to mention here. So please have a look around when you have some quality browsing time on your hands.) Tomeiter & Pukman are university teachers that have been blogging and wiki-building longer than I have. You can find their blogs via the next two links (below).

• Tomeiter's garden (a Vox blog)
• [Tomeiter maintains this blog as a model for students in various classes.]
  

• Pukman@WinK (another Blogger blog)
• [Pukman maintains this blog as a model for, and for guidance of, students in various classes.]
  

• MyBlogLog
• This link is new today; it's the addition that prompted me to explain my current sidebar links here. MyBlogLog is a free service listing two other blogs that I work on when I'm not busy with the Writing Studio Blog. That service also cross-links with the WinK HomePage.

• Gmail Signup
• This is another of the links included in the sidebar for the first class meeting last spring. It was there in case you hadn't found your way directly from the Writing Studio Wiki to the Gmail Signup (and Blogger Account Setup) tutorial.

• Computers & English
• Computers & English is a Blogger blog that Tomeiter set up to model blogging tips and tools not only for the C&E class, but also for overseas studies prep. courses and other writing classes as well.

This was going to be a quick post, but it turned out much longer than I had planned.

[443 words {+ 28 words (08.01.15)}]

WSB 2-05: Comments on Blogs (compiled)

With this post, I've adopted an acronym for Writing Studio Bulletins (WSB) [to shorten titles]. I'[ve] appl[-ied] this acronym retroactively to previous fall semester bulletins [and created a new label for bulletins].

Below are snippets from comment notifications that I've opted to receive when commenting on blogs associated with the Writing Studio (Writing IVc). Please review all of the following comments carefully, because feedback and suggestions that I've made in them also may apply to your own blogs.

Say, ..., you're forgetting word counts on your book reviews, aren't you? Please remember that book reviews should be longer than quickposts from typing speed trials. I suggest that you go back and beef up your book reviews for this semester (fall)....


Even when you make a post this short, you need to add a word count to it. You also should use the label "quickposts" for it.


You seem to have forgotten to number your book reviews (for example, Book Review 2-99: Mr. Bean). Please number them from the beginning of fall semester, and include word counts, too.


The black typeface on your dark background makes the section on the ... [festival] virtually unreadable. Please change the font color of that section, so folks who visit your blog can read it. You had better add an accurate and catchy title, and a word count to your mega-essay, too.


Your mega-essay is still missing a conclusion, and a word count. The conclusion is long, long overdue, and you need the word count for Proto-Portolio 2-02. Please wrap this essay up [right] away!


By now I hope you understand the difference between an outline and an essay. You have labelled this post as an essay, but it is only a rough outline, and your label for "essays" revealed no essay more recent than this outline.

You must post essays rather than (or in addition to) outlines on your blog. I'm still looking for essays.


While I appreciate your efforts to review the Japanese movie that you did, the Writing Studio (Writing IVc) assignment for last week was for everyone to review the same English movie, Toy Story. So I would like you to review Toy story, and post your review ASAP!


This essay deserves the label "essays", not "quickposts", and an accurate and descriptive title. This post looks like more of an essay than an outline, and "second" doesn't give visitors any idea what your essay is about.

Please revise the title, and extend each paragraph to at least three sentences in length (five sentences per paragraph would be even better). Then include a word count that you can include in your writing portfolio.


There is something about the essay titles that you've added to your Proto-Portfolio 2-02 (PPF) that blows the table out of proportion. The notes column bleeds outside of the display space.

I imagine that you may be copying and pasting titles from blog posts into the titles column of your PPF. However, since your blog template automatically puts triple colored bullet points into each blog post title, they show up again in your PPF.

So I'd like to ask you to try hand-encoding essay titles and links for PPF 2-02. Here's a recipe for you to try. Please copy and paste the following link (title, below) into a new blog post in HTML view, and replace the URL and title with the URL and for your essays.


I am impressed by this essay, especially by its focus on historical and contemporary resources, water in particular. Though your essay covers a range of other topics, it is resources critical to survival that interest me the most. You've done a fine job of pointing some out. If you would like to write more about water, or other critical resources, I will continue to read your posts with great interest.


You've composed an interesting essay about many aspects of Kumamoto. However, please don't forget to give it an accurate, catchy, and descriptive title.

"Mega-Essay" may work for the name of a writing assignment, but isn't a very attractive title for a blog post. You had better change it, and you must add a word count to put in your portfolio, too.


Sorry, ..., but which book you've reviewed is again unclear. You must provide book titles, shortened if necessary, in the titles of every blog post. Please see the Writing Studio Wiki for details.


By now you should know the differences between lists, outlines, paragraphs, and essays. Subtracting the lists that you've cobbled together from what you've called an essay, I get 85 words - and only two paragraphs of three or more sentences (one at the beginning and another at the end).

That is far shy of the five-plus paragraphs, and 300 to 500 words required for the first movie review that you need do this fall semester. So I'll ask you this last time: Please compose a movie review following the working outline and meeting the essay requirements posted on the Writing Studio Blog, before it's too late.

(comments on students' blogs, 2007.11.13-14)

If you opt to receive notification of follow-up comments, each time you comment on a blog post; you too will receive gmail messages including comments like these that other visitors have made, along with replies from the blog owner. The links in actual gmail notifications make returning to the site and responding to other comments much easier than browsing back to peers' blogs, posts, and comments by hand.

[913 words, with revisions 07.11.15]

Gmail Signatures - A Good Idea!

This is a quick post to suggest that you add a signature to your gmail messages. A gmail signature reinforces your identity, and may provide quick and easy access to your blog or favorite website if you list those along with your name and gmail address. You can find instructions for including signatures on gmail messages that you send in the Gmail Help Center.

[63 words]

WSB 2-04: Next typing topic

I am posting this notice of the next typing speed trial topic here, rather than clutter your gmail boxes with a message that you might confuse with the typing speed trial messages to which you will need to reply next Wednesday, Nov. 14th, and to reattach your completed typing speed trial files within the first 15 minutes of class time.

In order to give you plenty of lead time to brainstorm ideas and practice typing them up, I have decided upon and posted the next typing speed trial topic on the Writing Studio Wiki already. As always, however, I am looking forward to hearing your suggestions for new topics in comments on an earlier Call for Typing Speed Topic Suggestions (October 11, 2007).

I hope that this advance notice of the next topic will give those of you who are on the verge of surpassing the typing speed threshold for fall semester just the edge you need to do so on your next attempt on the 14th. For those of you who still need (much) more practice to reach that threshold, may this provide an incentive to start practice typing on the next typing speed trial topic today!

Thanks for the ComputerKid.gif (above) to
Webweaver's Free School Graphics
[208 words]

WSB 2-03: Problems and Suggestions

I've completed a sweeping review of all of your blogs. This post is a compilation of comments and gmail extracts that I'm cross-posting here to highlight recurring problems that I hope will never occur again, especially plagiarism. The problem areas I cover with this bulletin are:

1. Essays (not to mention late and missing essays)
2. Mega-essays: incomplete or unconsolidated
   
3. Plagiarism: "completely unacceptable"!
4. Proto-Portfolio 2-01
   

Even if I haven't commented directly on your blog, or sent you gmail about it, you should review your own blog to make sure it shares none of the problems that I've pointed out. It is up to you to make sure that you've followed all of the suggestions below.

1. Essays: titles, labels, and word counts

Can you think of a catchy, yet comprehensive title... for this essay? "My draft essay" is pretty dull.

November 6, 2007 12:01:11 JST

Can you think of a catchy, yet comprehensive title that will attract readers to your essay, and give them a taste of the kind(-s) of places it's about before they start reading?

November 6, 2007 12:13:25 JST

For starters, a catchy yet comprehensive title would be nice! I'd also like you to include a total word count for the whole essay.

November 6, 2007 12:05:01 JST

This essay is about more than one place, isn't it? It is also hard to find, because you've forgotten to attach the label "essays" to it.

November 6, 2007 12:09:40 JST

2. Mega-essays: incomplete or unconsolidated

I haven't found a complete mega-essay about Kumamoto (with an introductory paragraph, three or more main points, and a concluding paragraph - plus links, photos & other media) anywhere on your blog.

... [details removed]

It seems that you [may] have confused individual bits and pieces of a mega-essay, and links to group mates blogs, with a complete essay composed of all of the required parts and posted on each of your blogs.

You must compile your group essay and post it in its entirety on your blog. (So must your group mates.) Then I suggest that you label it "essays" just like all of the other essays that you have completed.

Please share this information with your group mates, classmates, and peers.

November 6, 2007 16:51:23 JST

3. Plagiarism: "completely unacceptable"!

I regret to inform you that because part of your essay on ... [title & date] is plagiarized, I am giving you no credit at all for this assignment.

A large portion of your essay comes directly from ... [external source]. Copying the work of others like that is completely unacceptable. For a brief explanation of plagiarism, see the WinK Homepage (help:faq, What is plagiarism?), which I've included as a reference in the sidebar of the Writing Studio Wiki. For details, please contact Mr. Tomei as soon as possible.

If you plagiarize any part of any future assignment, I will give you no credit for Writing IV. I may also seek further punishments that KGU might impose on student[s] who plagiarize the work of others.

November 6, 2007 17:17:12 JST

4. Proto-Portfolio 2-01: Titles, labels, & data

Would you please accurately entitle this post, "Proto-Portfolio 2-01", change your label... to "portfolios" ([plural, with] no capital "P"), and fill in the data for August through October right away?

November 6, 2007 12:27:47 JST

Where's your data for August - October? Please fill it in right away.

2007年11月6日 16時44分00秒 JST

I came here looking for the beginning of your proto-portfolio for fall semester, following your label "proto-portfolio", but found a virtually complete portfolio from spring semester instead.

To prevent such confusion in the future, please relabel this and all other portfolio pieces with the simple, plural label "portfolios", instead of "proto-portfolio[-s]", and get and bring a Proto-Portfolio 2-01 up to date for October immediately!

2007/11/06 17:49

5. Wrap-up

Though I started collecting these comments and suggestions as I was about halfway through my sweep, they still apply to many other essays, mega-essays, and proto-portfolio posts on other blogs. In fact, you may find similar comments on your own blogs, or similar messages in your gmail queues. I hope you will continue to share any advice or suggestions that you get with all of your group mates, classmates and peers.

The advice above regarding essay titles applies to every post that you make. Moreover, I expect you to review all of the suggestions that I've made about labels, both here and in other posts, and apply them to every post on your own blogs as well. If you find new or similar problems on peers' blogs, please make suggestions for improvement in comments directly on their blogs as soon as possible.

Last, but most important - regarding plagiarism: Please consider yourselves forewarned of a zero-tolerance policy. Plagiarism in any post may have severe academic consequences.

[813 words]

WSB 2-01: Mr. T's Computer Hour

Mr. T. cordially invites you to his Computer Office Hour. He wants to help you satisfy blogging and other course requirements for English IV. The weekly time and place for help in a Windows lab. are listed in the graphic below, along with brief reminders and warnings regarding coursework and attendance that he will be happy to amplify:

[about 95 words, including captions in graphic]

Monkeys Out of Trees - Messages Delayed

This post is to express regret for a delay in delivering to you all of the typing speed trial messages that I'd sent out this morning (Oct. 10, 2007). For some reason, they got stuck between my outbox and the mail server(-s) that Mail was trying to use to gmail them. Though I'm not sure why that happened, I apologize for the delay.

Before next Wednesday (Oct. 17), please compile all of your typing speed trial results for the past three weeks (Sept. 26, Oct. 3, & Oct. 10) in the most complete attachment that you have in your gmail queue (TypingSpeedTrial-vwxyz.doc, where "vwxyz" represents the last five digits of your student number). Then use that document for your next typing speed trials.

Image source:

[131 words]

Wheedling (or shouting) about typing trial gmail

Please pardon me for again cross-posting a gmail message to an individual participant in the Writing Studio. The problems that he/she is having are general enough to merit sharing this advice with everyone in Writing IIIc.

The message that I'm cross-posting below explains ins and outs of gmailing required typing speed trials. Where you see capitalized words, you may imagine that I am shouting:

... If you haven't learned how to send automated gmail replies, and edit gmail subject lines to update the word count; ask how in class BEFORE you send your next typing speed trial.

Until you improve the timeliness of your gmail messages AND the accuracy of your gmail subject lines - and again type more than one hundred words in five minutes, strictly timed; you won't pass the typing speed trial for this semester. Though in early June I considered failure to submit speed trials up to 15 minutes late as a minor fault (Jun 8, 2007, at 10:46; below [quoted message removed, PB]), that is no longer the case.

To pass through the trials for this semester: You must submit a fresh, raw typing speed trial (100+ words) no later than 09:15 [for Writing IIIc1, or no later than 10:55 for Writing IIIc2]; it must come in a complete compilation of speed trials on topics set for the class; and both the subject heading of the gmail message and the name of the file attached must be precisely as I have specified. [bold emphasis added, PB]

Otherwise, you'll need to keep doing and sending typing speed trials every Wednesday morning till the end of the semester. Though continuing typing speed trials may detract from time that you might spend blogging, composing essays or commenting on peers' essays; the extra typing practice should make [your] blogging, composing and commenting activities faster, once you get around to them.

(personal correspondence; June 27, 2007)

More on typing trials & blog development

Once again, I am re-purposing and reposting snippets of gmail that I've sent recently, to provide similar advice to everyone in the Writing Studio.

I am pleased to note that a number of students have undertaken typing speed trials for practice outside of class, and even sent them to me at odd times. Here is how I replied to one such submission and a request that I check it:

Your subject line shows how far along you've gotten - both in typing speed and gmail subject heading accuracy. From now on, however, please send me your typing speed trials trials only during the first fifteen minutes of class.

You still need to practice typing outside of class, but I won't be checking typing speed trials that you do between classes.... Save them till the next class meeting date....

You can repurpose additional typing speed trials that you do as quickposts on your blog - after taking time to correct the parts that Word flags with squiggly red and green underscores. If you don't know why Word flags specific passages, or how to correct them yourself, please ask in class.

See you Wed.

(personal correspondence [emphases added]: June 25, 2007)