Common Book Blog

One of my colleagues asked for input about how we faculty are using the college's Common Book. He's presenting about it at next month's TYCA conference in Duluth, Oct. 2-4.

I'm having a good experience, so far, with my students' engagement. Here's the message I sent my colleague:

Hi, Larry.

I'm having some interesting success with the Common Book this semester, my first time working with a common book since I was gone last year. I decided to think about about the book for my writing courses (Engl 1021 and 1025) as a common topic for class discussions. The place/space for these discussions is cyberspace.

For both courses, I've set up blog (with Blogger) where students are discussing the book. In my totally online Engl 1025, technical writing class, I think of it as a way for them to "talk" with each other even though they don't see each other in class. The blog space is a kind of classroom space: it's secure because I've set it up so only "invited authors" can read/write to it (I invited the students via their college email accounts). For my face-to-face Engl 1021 courses (I have two sections), I've set up ONE blog where students from these two different classes are talking to each other.

If you want, I can add you as a "reader" for the blog so you can see some of the thoughtful things they're saying, stuff like today's Engl 1025 student's post about chapter 3: the student wrote, "According to the last part of the chapter [three], I cannot understand why American negotiators rejected the policy documents because we all share the same planet, the existing of people is much more important than obligation of a country. One over all conclusion about this chapter: It is great."

Cool, huh?
Julie
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Julie K. Daniels
English Department
Women and Gender Studies Program
Century College