Julia+Reimer

April 1 '10 A few random experiences with my ESL 6634 class (f2f, but I'm incorporating a Ning for most assignments; this is around week 2 of the course): - Students have had difficulty posting their blog assignments on the Ning. (I suggested cutting and pasting, which hasn't worked for many.) I finally figured out a fix, but not before one student reported giving up after trying for 45 minutes in the morning before she needed to leave for work. Only one student e-mailed me about the problem: "Technology and I are not BFF" she reported. - In class, other students reported having difficulty with the volume on the videos I've posted to the Ning. (They've been creative about using the closed captioned option.) - One student mistakenly closed the comments on her blog post - I want them to be able to comment on each other's postings. And at the same time: - Students are making some insightful comments to each other.

My responses to these experiences: I find myself feeling a bit on the spot when I don't have an immediate technology fix. I get frustrated with the "I don't like technology" response. I have envisioned the Ning as a way to continue conversations that we start in class, and a way for students and me to connect in different ways around the material. I want them to be as gung-ho about this as I am.