Mat's Log

Monday was the first day of ENC 2135. After some technical difficulties with the door and computer/projector, we began the class with the daily index-card prompt. (This will be a daily routine. It is also how the instructor takes attendance.) We wrote our names, pronouns, what shoe we put on first, where we are from, and our majors. Students also wrote details about things they thought the instructor should know about them. Then we shared from our index cards. There was a diverse mix of areas of interest and majors. The course is designed so that students can write about and research communities that are around their particular interests, majors, or geographic/cultural areas. (The poem of the day was Meditation at Lagunitas by Robert Hass.) Most of the class was spent with the syllabus. It is very important to read the syllabus because not all of it can be covered thoroughly in class. The schedule of class assignments found there is especially important. The syllabus explains the course objectives and the three major projects for the class—a personal narrative, an inquiry project, and a genre-remix of texts in communities. The syllabus can be found on the class website http://matwenzel.wixsite.com/2135. This website is also very important. It is the hub for all the reading response blogs and for each student’s individual website/blog/e-portfolio. Toward the end of the class, one student volunteered to create a Wix website on the overhead projector to model the process for all of the class. Each student created a www.wix.com website with at least for tabs/pages: a. blog, b. project 1, d. project 2, d. project 3. There are multiple assignments coming up very soon. Due for Tuesday was the first blog response—a response to Roxane Gay’s essay I Once Was Miss America—linked to in the comments section on the blog post on the class website. http://matwenzel.wixsite.com/2135/single-post/2017/06/17/BLOG-Post-1-I-Once-Was-Miss-America The instructor closed class a little early to give a mini “tour" of the English department—the RWC (an important resource for students where they can get feedback on any type of writing) and the Digital Studio (an important resource for help with creating projects that involve technology) are right next door to our classroom. Mat’s office is in Dodd Basement. Dodd is the building next to Williams—go up the steps, through the door, straight through the hallway ahead past the first elevator and take the second elevator do the basement level, then turn the corner of what appears to be a utility room and push on the the double doors that seem locked. Mat’s desk is in the second row on your left. Look for all the decorations and the big jar of candy. Office hours are Monday and Wednesday from 10 to 11:30 or by appointment—just email to make an appointment mwenzel@fsu.edu.