rdeanr's blog

Hello everyone!

We will be using BGSU’s blog opportunities in order to share ideas and discuss readings in our WS 3010 (Women, Art, & Culture) course.  I have chosen to use blogs instead of the discussion board on blackboard because I feel they offer more opportunities for creative expression- perfectly suited to a course on creativity.

Please watch the video I have posted on Blackboard under “Course Documents” -> “How-to Videos” for instructions for setting up a BGSU blog.  It is also essential that you watch the video on comments and make sure your settings are correct for receiving comments on your blogs.

The function of these blogs is to allow for class participation.  I will be arranging you into small groups for each module of the course, so you will have 2-3 blogs to comment on per week.  This should allow for some interesting, sustained, and manageable conversations between group members.  I will also be commenting on your conversations as they develop throughout the units.  I’ve also chosen to require you to post 3 video blogs throughout the course (your choice of when, other than week 1) in order to combat some of the isolation that can characterize online education.  This assignment should help you connect with other students in the class and get a better sense of the community that you are part of.

I will post a video blog introducing myself by 2:00 PM on Monday, June 27th.  It should function somewhat as a model for your first video blog post, due Wednesday, June 29th by 11:55 PM.  I ask that you introduce yourself (giving whatever info you feel like) and then offer some brief comments on your understanding of the terms “art” and “culture.”  Shoot for a 3-4 minute video.  After you have set up your blog and posted your first entry, please email me the link to it.  I will then put you in groups for the Introductory module comment session, due by Friday, July 1st by 11:55 PM.  These definitions may seem fairly straightforward, but I think we’ll find that everyone will have slightly different ideas on what we mean by art and culture.  This blog post will also serve as a jumping off point for your Introductory paper, due Tuesday, July 5th by 11:55 PM.

The blog assignment sheet and introductory paper assignment sheet and rubric are both up on Blackboard under “Assignments.”  This is also where your weekly quizzes are posted.  Quizzes will take into account my lectures, which you can find under “Lectures” on Blackboard.  If anyone has hearing impairment (documented by Disability Services) please send me the info from DS and I can supply written notes.  Otherwise watch/listen to the slideshare lectures each week.  Generally there will be 1-2 lectures per week, as you can see on the syllabus.  I try to keep each lecture around 20 minutes.

During weeks 3, 4, and 5 there are assigned videos on artists, musicians, and authors.  Hopefully, for those of you who are more visual or auditory learners these videos will make for a nice supplement to the readings.  I’ve tried to create a dynamic set of materials and assignments for our course, including the written blogs, the video blogs, quizzes for those of you who test well, two creative projects (explanatory videos posted by week 2 on how to complete that assignment), one paper, and books, articles, poetry, art, films, and music to interact with.  I’m quite optimistic this will be a really fun course, and have been looking forward to teaching it all summer.

If you have questions on any of this information, please post comments to this blog entry.  Most likely someone will be wondering the same thing as you, so we’ll make this a public forum for class questions rather than dealing with them via email.  My office hours are listed on the syllabus, please note they are all done via Skype.  There’s a distinct possibility I’ll be moving to Georgia between now and August, so I think virtual office hours are the best option for all of us.  Also note my email availability as explained in the syllabus.

Check back tomorrow (Monday) after noon for my first video blog post!

-Dr. Rachel Dean-Ruzicka