Value of the Electronic Syllabi to Students of Writing

A NOTE:

SUMMARY:

OUTLINE:

• Saving trees
• CBT and learning styles
• Available before first day of class
  1. to students
  2. to departments
  3. to the bookstore
  4. to peers
• Links
  1. email
  2. other papers
  3. research
  4. articles
  5. other urls
• Multi Media as learning tool and getting started
• Walk before Run: A word about the MOOs
• University setting and underprivileged students
• Sample Syllabi
• Actual Student Comments
  

Paper Begins Here:

• Saving trees
  
  1. Save a tree, write an electronic syllabi (sometimes called syllaweb). Here, I give you back the hours you were going to spend photocopying something that they might not have read anyway. Let me give you an example: the syllabus. You never know how much or how little to put on there. Just give them an outline on your first or "index" page of a syllaweb and let them explore what they are interested in. If they want to print out the "Texts" page to take with them to the bookstore, then let them due the printing.
     
     
  2. Let me give you another example. In my class we read a book called Critical Strategies (it's okay not to underline on a web site, because underlining means that you can click on it). We had just gone over an example by Nancy Mairs about redefining t he word "cripple." Then the next Sunday, the Washington Post had a review of Mairs' new book called Waist High in the World about her attempt to redefine the word "cripple." I wanted to share that with class. I stood there with the Book World in my han d thinking, do I copy it? Do I just bring it to class and pass it around? When the lightning bolt hit me, just link to it on the web site. When I did a search at www.washingtonpost.com, I found that not only was the review there, but the first chapter was on line as well. Check this out.
     
     
  3. I would never ask a student to buy Strunk and White now that it is on-line. More and more novels and reference materials go up on-line everyday. Check here for a sample of reference material I u se.
     
     
  4. I bet you are thinking about stuff to put up on the site right now. That's how I got started. I was teaching a class on literary journeys when I was doing research for this World End course. I did a search in Yahoo for the word "apocalypse" when all these links for the film Apocalypse Now came up. I was teaching Apocalypse Now and Heart of Darkness in my journeys course. I wrote them on the board, but you know how easy it is to write a "~" as "-" or whatever. I knew I couldn't really share this stuff with them and wanted to. Around the same time, Hopkins sent me to a short workshop on HTML for some other reason and the end result was this.
     
     
  5. So, your university doesn't let you put up a web site? Don't let that stop you. Prepare the document as a file (or 2 or 3) and distribute disks the first day of class. This is hypertext, offline. The disk can act as a built in "bookmarks" list for students doing research. You can save a lot of trees and still be riding the I-net, but never formally put t he page "up" and tamper with the precious university server.
     
     
• CBT and learning styles
  
  
  1. Computer based training is not for all students. We know that students have different learning styles. Typically, English or Writing courses are a "speak up and be heard" type setting. Most courses are lecture/discussion based or even use student workshops to evaluate work. This may not be the best style for every student. Shy and/or introverted students may not feel comfortable raising his/her hand or calling out. The infusion of technology into the classroom, can, if properly used, make the more introverted student more involved, cut down on gender bias, and affect students that normally might be unaffected/uninvolved in the topic.
     
     
  2. For example, in my course "Apocalypse and Dystopia in literature," there are many links to help the student explore more about a text or topic. If something interests them, they can explore on their own, clicking to their hearts content, but never raising their hand in class, and never venturing into the library. For instance, by going to a link called More Interesting Stuff on the Internet About Apocalypse and Dystop ia a student can find out the definition of utopia/dystopia here, in case they miss a class or are still unclear, but don't want to ask a potentially embarrassing question.
     
     
  3. We know that some students gravitate naturally toward computers and some don't. Here we have a painless way to acclimate a student to the internet and also have a chance to appeal to the student who doesn't "like" writing classes, but does like to play on the computer.
     
     
  4. Additionally, we know that some students are audio and some are visual learners. Here information is presented both ways, audibly in class through lecture and discussion, and visually on the website through hypertext and links.
     
     
• Available before first day of class
  
  1. to students
     
     • Prospective students can easily peruse your website before the first day of class to see if it interests them. This will help your department more accurately explain your course, and helps the student make a more informed decision. As a result, you could have less of that adding and dropping that happens so much at the beginning of any semester. The website also helps a student who joins your course "all ready in progress" to catch up more quickly.
       
       
     • If students could download book lists from every course they could make earlier and more informed decisions at the bookstore as well, cutting down on lines, and wasted time returning books. They might even start reading early, because they can view your list from their parent's homes.
       
       
  2. to departments
     
     • Imagine if the department had all of the syllabi available to them at the touch of a key. They could view your book list, schedule, and goals. Perhaps even order your desk copies from such a list. They could better answer student questions about the course.
       
       
     • This might cut out some department steps or repetition on your part. If your department is more informed of your needs, they can better meet them.
       
       
  3. to the bookstore
     
     • The bookstore can more accurately answer student questions, or their own ordering questions without ever calling you by viewing your syllabus on-line. Making your list more available to students could possibly make their lives easier by cutting down on lines at "crunch" times.
       
       
     • In a fantasy world, perhaps your "text" page could replace the book order? Then, again, maybe not.
       
       
  4. to peers
     
     • The education field has always been about sharing. As you view on-line syllabi at World Lecture Hall, similarly, you should post yours there when you complete it. As educators, we can only improve on what has been done.
       
       
     • Other department members can serve to benefit from your syllabi by strengthening theirs. This is by far the easiest method to share information.
       
       
     • On-line searches through search engines like Yahoo and Excite will turn up more resources from peers, more than even the World Lecture Hall can provide.
       
       
• Links
  It's the links that make it all worth while. Remember one word, content. Don't worry about connections or if it is cool, worry about if what you are linking to is quality, content wise. Other wise it isn't worth it. Also, while you are encouraging you r students to link to you, remember that anyone in the world can link to you unless you set up your web site so that only certain communities can see it. This privacy is usually created by your webmaster by your request. If anyone can get to your site, then expect to have a larger audience than your students and you may get emails from other instructors to collaborate or to ask questions or to give advice. I get about one email a week from a student writing a paper, somewhere in the world (Australia, F rance, and Canada, so far . . .) looking for assistance.
  
  
  1. email
     
     • Make sure your page has an email link so that students can email you. Email links are easy to create. (Replace [] with <>.) They look like this: [a href="mailto:hblock@jhu.edu"] Email me here [/a]. This would show up like this:
       
       Email me here
       
       That's not the best way to do it. Better than writing "Email me here," list your email address, in case someone can't email directly from his or her browser. This way they can write down your email and use it another way.
       
       
  2. other papers
     What are you looking for in this paper? You have the option of putting the papers of others up on your web site. You will need to get the student's permission and be patient enough to make them HTML appropriate. The opportunity to view other successful papers (while not wasting trees indescriminantly) is a benefit. Click here for an example.
     
     
  3. research
     
     
     • Use the opportunity that hypertext affords you to guide your student's research. Make sure that they visit certain websites first. That is all dependent on how you design the page, name the links and give assignments.
       
       
     • Make sure you include basic information in you links. Things like definitions, assignments and maybe even a basic encyclopedia article can help students to fill in the blanks they missed during class or lecture. You may want to include lecture notes from the first couple of classes for those late "add-drop" students. My rule is to include anything I've had to say more than twice in class.
       
       
     • If you prefer a particular search engine, put a link to it on your page so that your students have no excuse for not using it. Even publications like the Encyclopedia Brittanica and Webster's Dictionary are on-line, you can link to them or just to a part icular entry.
       
       
     • You can even do a pre-search link -- a link to a search engine search that you have completed for the students. For instance, I could save the "url" for an Excite search on "apocalypse" and then have a link to it. It would look like this, click here.
       
       
     • The most important thing to remember when creating links is that they have this tendency to migrate or move to new "url" addresses. It's a good idea to check links for migration at least once a month. There is software available that can do this for you, or you can just run through and click on everything.
       
       
  4. articles
     If you are so inclined, and you have cooperative librarians working with you, you can try to get copyright for print articles and then convert them to HTML. This does can replace a print reading assignment, saving your students from buying books, or you from putting materials on reserve. With an on line reserve, all of these materials are available to your students at their convenience, where multiple students can be viewing the same information at the same time. Click here for an example.
     
     
  5. other urls
     
     • Here is the key. This is what makes your web page special. Links to other urls (web addresses) make your page 3-dimensional and dynamic. What types of things can you link to? Anything relevant.
       
       
     • There may be Centers, Organizations, or Associations with websites out there that you might want to link to. For instance, my website links to the Center for Utopian Studies and that provides links to lots of other good resources as well as annotated book lists, etc. Another one I use is the Worldwatch Institute which has all of their press releases online.
       
       
     • There are also many publications online. Magazines, journals, newspapers, and books. I connect my students to an essay from the Journal of PostModern Culture as well as relative articles from the Washington Post. Entire books can be found online as a result of organizations like the Bartleby Project at Columbia University and Project Guttenberg. Some of the full books I link my students to include The Elements of Style, The Communist Manifesto and Herland.
       
     • Don't do the work that others have already done for you. If you find a great list of links, just list to that, versus recreating it. For example, GWU's English Department has a terrific group of English links, so I just put it on my Style and Usage Links. The University of Alberta had a great set of style links, so I link to that, too. The University of Illinois at Carbondale had the most comprehensive set of composition and rhetoric li nks, so I linked to that one, too, and so can you.
       
       
• Multi Media as learning tool and getting started
  
  1. Multi media can be a great teaching tool as long as the students and the instructor have equal or equivalent access to the medium. It can raise interests for the obvious reasons, it's pretty and interesting and most importantly, student driven. No o ne is standing over the student saying, click here. The student can explore the information at the rate at which s/he wishes and follow links to their own delight. I had several students read a novel that was not assigned because it was on line and they followed the links.
     
     
  2. So how do you get started? First you should have a plan, maybe do a preliminary search for related information, so you have an idea what is out there. I like Yahoo and Excite as search engines. Yahoo is more educationally bent (and gives you the option of "going Alta Vista" -- more advanced search) and Excite leans more toward the entertainment industries. Your plan should be an outline of the hot topics of your syllabus. Thi s is called your "index" page. Keep content in mind, not flash.
     
     
  3. HTML or Hypertext Markup Language is the programming language of web-based hypertext. It shouldn't even be called a programming language; it looks WordPerfect "reveal codes". A simple HTML program would look like this (I replaced "<" and ">" with [ ])
     [html]
     [title]
     My Electronic Syllabi
     [/title]
     [body]
     
     Come to class.[br]
     Take the final [br]
     
     [/body]
     [/html]
     
     And this is what would print.
     
     Come to class.
     Take the final
     
     For more advanced hints, click here and download the NCSA's tutorial in HTML. For a simple web editor, click here to download an old version of HTMLPro freeware.
     
     
  4. The most exciting thing about a website is the links. Links take 2-dimensional text and turn it into 3-dimensional text or "hyper text." To build a link you type "<" and then a (for anchor) and then href (for hyper-reference) then = and the site name and protocol with "s around it and a close ">". A link to the George Washington University homepage would look like this: [a href="http://www.gwu.edu"] click here [/a]. (Replac e [] with <>.) And then that would show up like this:
     
     click here
     
     See? That's all there is to it.
     
     
  5. About changing the color on your web site. Stay away from black background, it won't print. You don't want to keep students away from your words. Pick a dark color on a light background. Stay away from wallpaper, it takes forever to print and can make reading a print out difficult. For help with changing your colors, go to ColorPro.
     
     
  6. You can "borrow" things very easily on the web. Right clicking on it (that's a right mouse button click) can borrow any background or image that is not specifically protected. This can go for sound and QuickTime video as well depending on how someon e has designed his or her page. Once you right click on something, then give it a name and remember where you put it, so you can use it again later. Say I right click on an image of Bugs Bunny. The webmaster calls it "bbone.gif". I rename it Bugbun.gi f and store it in a subdirectory called "images." Then I when I want to use it, I type [img src="images/bugbun.gif"] and the picture appears on my web site.
     
     
  7. Similarly, you can view the code behind anyone's web site, by clicking "view" and then "document source" on Netscape Navigator or "view" and then "source" on Inter net Explorer (by clicking here you can download these browsers). Depending on the version and browser you use, it is also possible to cut, copy or save someone else's code. Now about copyright, there are some limits, but the ruling body of the web, the W3, has this share and share alike attitude. Many times within code it will ask you not to use something, or to acknowledge someone if you do. Usually with images, as long as you are using the image with a link to sit e it came from, it is okay. The interpretations of these rules change regularly. Please feel free to at least view the code of others to help you build your better page.
     
     
• Walk before Run: A word about the MOOs
  
  1. Don't jump in with both feet! Start slow and build up on your infused technology. Students usually love email. They can communicate with you without going to your scary office and they don't have to worry about your office hours. You should make c ertain that all of your students have your email address and that you respond in a timely fashion. If that works for you, you might want to have your computer administrator create a listserv for your class. That's one email addrees that will reach every one in the class. This is useful in Writing course particularly, because the students have to write to communicate and can be critiqued or workshopped on-line. An example of a listserv that really worked can be viewed here.
     
     
  2. When you have mastered these functions, it is time to go beyond. A syllaweb allows you to combine these functions, by putting an "email me here" statement in the page or a "email the class here". Additionally, the syllaweb gives you many other oppor tunities to give information or delight young minds. Beyond the web site is the MOO.
     
     
  3. MOOs, MUDs or MUSHes, are virtual spaces that were originally designed for game playing. They can be an invaluable asset to a number of types of classrooms. What these can be are linked chat rooms. Many of these rooms may have administrators or teaching assistants present. Distance learning students can meet in a MOO or a chat room to discuss a projec t or to participate in an on-line lecture. Regular students can work on group projects or have review sessions in the MOO.
     
     
  4. Since these MOOs were designed for "role playing" games like Dungeons and Dragons, they allow the master or creator to decorate them. MOOs exist, for instance for a particular time period and place, like 1850s New York City, where instead of wanderin g around classrooms students can wander into stores, factories, and apartments. Creating an effective lesson around a MOO can be challenging. This is why I encourage you to gradually build up your repertoire of infused classroom technology. To view Yaho os list of educational MOOs, click here. What you will find is that you may not have the right communications software installed to go r ight into one. Remember that your students may face this same frustration. A paper that deals solely with using MOOs to teach writing (specifically critical theory) can be viewed here.
     
     
• University setting and underprivileged students
  1. When creating and using electronic syllabi it is essential that you keep your student/client in mind. Do not assume, just because you have learned to do some fancy tricks that all of your students are on the same page. Survey your class. Find out wh at kind of experience they have with 1)computers 2)e-mail 3)the internet. Then find out what kind of access they have. Do they have computers with Ethernet connections in their rooms? Are they using modems? Do they have full-graphical interfaces or are they dealing with the clunkiness of text-only "Lynx" connections. Believe it or not, many schools only provide Lynx. You might not want to survey students out loud in class, but use a more sensitive method, like a journal entry or a written survey.
     
     
  2. Underprivileged students may present a whole new situation. While more privileged students may have grown up with computers in the home and in the classroom, more underprivileged students may not be familiar with the equipment and its uses. To level the playing field you might want to try one of two tactics. First, you can bring a computer and a large display unit (either a large monitor or use LCD display technology) to walk the class through the syllabus for the first time. Let students see how to "get on" the internet and get to where they are going. Second, you may reserve computer lab time to introduce the students to the Internet. This way they all stand on the entrance ramp to the I-net together.
     
     
  3. It is always a good idea for you to be familiar with the facilities the school provides. You might find the procedure to logon the university system eye opening. In this day of desktop communications, we always have to be sensitive to those who have to go out of their way to communicate. How often would you read your email if you had to go across campus and wait in line to get to a computer terminal, and if even then it took you 10 minutes to logon?
     
     
  4. Here's an example for you -- click here (it may take a minute to load--if you get a black screen, you are in). If you are currently viewing this document from a university that subscribes to the journal of PostModern Culture, you will go directly into a piece of hyperfiction called "Trip." If you aren't you will just get a message asking you to subscribe. As a professor, I didn't know that some folks wouldn't be able to read t his. My one student who lives at home could not read the assignment.
     
     
  5. Once you create your website, try to view it in as many places as possible. Microsoft Internet Explorer does not display web sites the same way as Netscape 2.0. Make sure you know how your page will look in "lynx" and be sure to use "alt"ernatives to images if you use images, in case some students can't view them. To do this just add an "alt" statement to your images like this:
     
     [img src="home.gif" alt="This is a picture of my home"]
     
     (The [ ] are representative of "<" and ">" that you would use.) These alt statements will show while a slow image loads. Stay away from "frame" technology; it is illegible in a lynx environment. Similarly, sound bites, quick time video and complex imag e maps are probably only a good idea for the advanced user. They are harder to create any way. Keep it simple. The idea here is not "flash" -- look at what I can do, it's a better method of presenting information, that's all. Use the time that you wou ld have creating "frames" and look for better links for your page. A paper that deals solely with the plight of underprivileged students in a university setting can be viewed here.
  
  
  
• Sample Syllabi
  
  1. There are tons of sample syllabi out there. You need to determine your audience and what you would like to provide before you start your syllaweb plan. What do you want students to get from this? How are you hoping to use it?
     
     
  2. If you click here, you will go into my web site. This was designed to teach Freshman Composition or "Language as Arts and Sciences". My topic was literature of Apocalypse and Dystopia. Students could do their papers on anything relating to either topic.
     
     
  3. If you click here, you will go into Nancy Norris' web site for her Master of Liberal Arts course "Evil in Literature" which is part of the History of Ideas seminars at J ohns Hopkins University. The page itself was developed as a telecommunications project in 1995. I based the format of my page on this one, but her emphasis was very different. She also went to lengths to put things that were in print, up on her page, which incurred some copyright work for the libr arians. Other differences include: several student papers up for other students to see, and the on-line discussion area.
     
     
  4. Click here for the mother of all sources, World Lecture Hall. Here is education at its finest. From the world over, these are electronic syllabi from all subjects and all permutations, syllawebs galor e. When you get yours completed, you might want to submit it. Browse around. We'll leave the light on for you.
     
     
• Actual Student Comments
  These are selected excerpts from student journal entries on the web site for the Apocalypse and Dystopia course. They were answering the questions: Did you use the website? What did you like about it? How could it be better? How did you use it? For a full list of the journal entries for this course, click here.
  
  
  1. "Considering the fact that I had never ever known how to use a computer before this semester, I managed to use the web site quite a bit. I used it right now to get the journal entries. I find it's informative for people who missed classes and need i nformation. I also used it to get ideas about topics for papers as well as to use the Bible link . . . it has never let me down when I used it. What was more helpful than the website was the quick email responses. I know that my classmates and I really appreciated that." Click here to see the Bible link.
     
     
  2. "The best thing about the web site was the journal entries. . . The assignment schedule was also extremely helpful, even though it needs to be updated . . ." Click here to see the assignment schedule.
     
     
  3. "I did not use the web site frequently, but I did use it to find out things for papers or to find out homework assignments. I visited it because some of the links were interesting and were very odd, which went along with the class theme . . . since I am not a fan of computers visiting this web site taught me how to visit websites -- it helped familiarize me to going to web pages for information."
     
     
  4. "I used the web site towards the end of the semester. Everything I did not like about it was due to the fact that I had to use through the computer lab in my dorm, so it was only text. Therefore, I thought it was rather boring, but I am sure this is not the case if you use it through a regular connection. I think it would be better if there were more connections in other Apocalypse and Dystopia stuff section. The reason I think this should be expanded is due to the fact that I used this section fo r my research paper on Dystopias. I also used the journal section in order to get these questions." Click here to see the Apocalypse and Dystopia section
     
     
  5. "I used the World Wide Web in a number of ways. I used the link page many times to find references about Revelations. I also used it to get a better understanding of dystopic/utopic writings. . . I had no problem using your site."
     
     
  6. "I used the web site during the course of the semester. The online Bible links were very valuable in writing the first paper on Apocalypse. It might also help some people . . . if more links were provided regarding the various films." [Ed: There w as at least one link on the site for each film covered in class.] Click here to see the film links.
     
     
  7. "I did not use the web site until towards the end and that was to get journal assignments. I wish I had, however, because I know you had interesting information on it. Maybe students would use it more if you made small assignments to look into the w eb site."
     
     
  8. "The web site was useful to me because I would often have to check to see what the assignments for the journal was. It also was interesting to just sit there and browse through links to see what was out there on the internet. I liked the easy access that I had to the class assignments and I knew that if I needed some help on my papers in the form of documentation, I could easily search the net and the web site to see what I needed to done. The web page was sometimes out of date with some links beca use I sometimes found it hard to link, but other than that, it was very useful."
     
     
  9. "I used the web site a couple of times . . .it was very useful in providing me with information about the class, including the syllabus, which was extremely useful since I lost the first one as soon as it was given to me. . . I am not a big computer u ser, but at least it made me check out someone's homepage -- the first time since I got to this school."
     
     
  10. "This is the first class at [this university] that I have had, which the professor used the resources of the internet. This web page provided useful information that helped to reinforce the reading and the film assignments. The information on the co urse and journal assignments was also helpful to remind me of a deadline or journal entry. Everything that is posted on this site, especially the additional information about dystopia, was very useful. Every professor should take advantage of the Intern et's resources and also, themselves, create a web page for their class subject matter."
      
      
  11. "Yes, I used the website a lot! I probably account for the most numbers on the web counter. It was the first time I ever used a web site for a professor. I like the fact that you could keep up with the class in case you were absent or a couple of m inutes late . . and still know what went on. A lot of interesting information and links were on there. I used the internship link to the Washington Center and asked for information . . .I also found this site easy to navigate through, considering that I am computer illiterate." Click here to see the Washington Center link.
      
      
  12. "The thing I liked the most about the web page was that it was easy to access. By this I mean that the address was easy to remember and therefore, I had no problems getting to it. I like the web page for several things: journal entries, links for gr oup presentations, and MLA style guide. The thing that I did not like about the web page was that it took a while to get to the links for the group projects. Other than that I felt the web page was okay." Click here to see the links for group presentations.
      
      
  13. "I found the web page useful. This was the first class I ever took that had an online syllabus and I liked having the option of going online to find assignments rather than calling or emailing a classmate. I used it mainly to get the journal entries , but also found it quite helpful as a starting point for doing research for the papers. Especially for the apocalypse paper, the links were a great place to begin searching the internet. I also used the style and usage links. The only disadvantage is that the dorms here are not wired for the Internet, so I could not use the computer in my room to look at the web page. It wasn't a big deal, though, I just went to the library or to the Marvin Center." Click here to see the Style and Usage links.
      
      
  14. "I liked that all of our class information was on the web site. I really did not find the apocalypse/dystopia links helpful, but they were interesting they just didn't help me in my search for paper topics. I used the site to get class info and find out some information for my paper topics but was unable to. I did think it was very convenient as far as being able to check the schedule and journal entries outside of class. Overall, I think the site was very helpful and a very innovative classroom to ol.