32. Virtual blogging awards

The time has come to reveal what's in the virtual gift box!

I am still simply overwhelmed by this whole blogging experience. I feel like some sort of blogging master of the universe.

Although two students reached mind-blowing heights of 32 posts each (and both won the red ribbon Diet Coke race ;-), if I also consider depth of analysis, frequency of posting and quantity of interaction (31 comments), I think we have a clear blue-ribbon winner. So congratulations, Beri. Your blog, in my humble opinion, is a masterpiece. I would encourage you all to read it, and Beri, please please please do not stop writing on it.

Hasan, you have more than earned the distinction of close runner-up with your 32 posts and 24 comments. Even if I find your reasoning frustrating sometimes ;-), I was always entertained by your humour and I really enjoyed your egging me on throughout the semester, always with a smile.

It was quite difficult to limit my choice of blogs for honourable mention since competition was stiff, and every blog is unique and valuable to me. The following blogs were chosen for the frequency and quantity of posting and comments, as well as depth and quality of content:

Elif K. - 28 posts, 43 comments
Simge - 22 posts, 22 comments
Ayşe - 20 posts, 33 comments
Hazal - 18 posts, 44 comments
Onur O. - 18 posts, 16 comments
Meltem - 16 posts, 26 comments
Can M. - 14 posts, 28 comments

You may be happy to know that I have already decided to make blogging an 'extra credit option' in ENG 102; after all this success there is no way I can simply let it go.

A huge thank you to everyone who took this journey with me.

'Success' by kevinthoule, licenced under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.0 Generic

31. Your smiling faces, Christmas Eve 2009

from Section B3:
Nil, Duygu, Cem, Onur, Hasan, Arda, Emir and Beri ♥

from Section A3:
Fatih, Simge, Begüm, Mali, Serra, Hazal, Denise, Selen and Metin ♥














It's a shame I don't have a picture of C3 or D3 - that's my mistake and my loss - but I will not forget you.

Sonja ♥

30. FINAL blogging ideas for lagger bloggers...

We are entering our final week of 'official' blogging, and I have noticed that some of you have quite a way to go to reach the desired goal of 14 posts. So, once again inspired by the posts popping up on my blogroll, allow me to make some suggestions that can help you reach or at least approach the target.

• You can write about our upcoming exam, as Denise has done. And as you re-read the texts and re-watch the films, even if you've already blogged about these, you can post a 'Volume 2' in Hasan style.

• You can write a self-evaluation of your final presentation: have a look at the examples on Begüm's, Elif's and Albert's blogs.

• You can blog about the other presentations you have seen, and you can also write about the presentation films of the other groups, as Can has done.

• You could share your reflections on 2009 or your expectations of 2010; Elif leads the way.

• You could try answering one of the exam questions we brainstormed in class. Just write it as a normal blog post; there is no need to do it as a practice exam. You can even jot down your ideas in note form.
  

• You can write a final evaluation of our ENG 101 class, preferably after our last class on Thursday. A self-evaluation would make a most interesting post. ;-)
  

I hope this gives you at least a few places to start. If anyone wants more ideas, you need only let me know.

p.s. If anyone has other ideas, please add them to the Comments section of this post to help your classmates out! ;-)

Happy blogging!
Sonja

29. ENG 102 :)

Screenshot of our class wiki for ENG 102.

I thought I would give you all a 'sneak preview' of ENG 102, particularly what I have been planning, am planning, and will still be planning for the next month or so. I think it not out of order to do a little 'shameless promotion' to try to get you into my class again next semester. :) Last year 25 ENG 101 students joined my ENG 102 classes; ten of them studied in the same section, and that class in particular was special for that very reason. In fact, I received the most awesome news imaginable on New Year's Eve: my former ENG 101/102 student was chosen by the rector as 'The best ENG 102 student', and will spend a week at MIT in the spring, all expenses paid by SU! That is truly the pinnacle of pride for a teacher, and I cannot think of anyone who deserves this opportunity more. So a million congratulations to Sami, you're a star, and thanks for everything, not least for keeping me sane, you know what I mean.

So what's on the agenda for 102? Our overarching course theme is 'Explorations of Identity'. We will explore issues of race and adolescence in particular through a number of texts and short stories. We will also read Toni Morrison's wonderful 1970 novel, The Bluest Eye, and learn to use a class wiki (see screenshot) to explore the novel in preparation for our final seminar presentations. If you wonder what a wiki is and what it has to do with you, join my class! ;-) You may also be wondering how a 'seminar' presentation differs from what we have done in ENG 101. Basically, the difference lies in the greater degree of audience interaction, which you will elicit and develop throughout the presentation.

The other major project is a research paper. This is more than just a drafted essay; you will learn how to use the library databases, how to evaluate Internet sources, and how to prepare an annotated bibliography, all of which are valuable academic skills. The paper itself will be considerably longer than our ENG 101 essays, giving you more scope to delve into your research.

I think it's only fair to tell you that ENG 102 requires more work than ENG 101, so you should prepare yourself mentally. Participation also carries greater weight, so your contributions to the class will be, shall we say, scrutinised more carefully. ;-)

I am going to wait to get your final feedback on ENG 101 before finalising preparations for next semester, but this is the general outline.

I want to make next semester the best ever for personal reasons. I am thinking that if I wish hard enough, at least some of you will materialise before my eyes in the week of 15th February.