This section of ENG 110H has a theme: technology and self. We will start with some reflection of you as a learner, move to thinking about our roles as consumers and creators of social media, and finish with exploring the implications of big data. Along the way, we will be building your skills as a reader, writer, and thinker.
In the world of education, “hybrid” courses typically mean that part of the course is classroom-based (traditional delivery) and part is technology-based, usually using a platform such as Blackboard. In our English 110 course, we will meet in a classroom on Mondays and Wednesdays from 9:30 am – 10:50 am this term. Although this is a four-credit course, we will only meet in the physical classroom for three hours each week. Thus, the “hybrid” portion of the course will be completed using various technology-based assignments, including experimenting with digital tools. This may include watching a TED Talk and then posting to our online class discussion board, completing a peer review via Google Docs, or creating a page in your WordPress ePortfolio, or making a short podcast, for example. This activity will be in addition to more typical homework assignments such as reading and annotating texts or drafting essays. You do not need previous knowledge of WordPress, Google Docs, or any other platforms or web sites used in the course, but you must be willing to learn to use these tools to be successful in this course. Completing an ePortfolio is also a requirement, but don’t worry if you are feeling a little anxious about this. I will guide you through the process. Here’s what some of your classmates have done with their ePortfolios: http://uneportfolio.org/showcase/. You will see that they have made this space their own, and they will continue to build it (just as you will!).
For planning purposes, as a student in this course, you should expect to dedicate an hour each week to the e-assignments in addition to6-8 hours on English 110 homework. As is the usual expectation for college-level courses, students should expect to spend about two hours completing course work for each credit hour of a course (4 credits = 8 hours of homework per week).
