thanks rhs class of 2013

Here are my notes from Friday.  Please feel free to edit and/or add your own observations in the comments.  Thanks once again to our panelists!

Ryland/UCLA (on the panel and the presentation):

• Everyone here has real experiences with the things you have questions about.  It's one thing to hear it from Dr. Preston or Mrs. Dirkes; it's another to hear it from people just like you, so please feel free to ask any questions while we're here. 
• We have Sam Garrison on Skype from American University in Washington, D.C, and Matt Patel is in Paris for a semester abroad through NYU so he made a YouTube video (both videos are at bottom of this post)

Laura/SDSU (on social life):

• Step out of your comfort zone and meet new people
• Be direct and open; stick out your hand and say, "Hi. I'm Laura."  That's how you do it
• Keep things in proportion and balance your social life with staying on top of the courses and activities that will help you achieve your goals
• Stay in contact with your teachers; it's too easy to be anonymous in a class of 500+ so email professors and go to office hours so they know who you are

march 31

JOURNAL TOPIC:

Choose your own (feel free to check out period [3/4/5]'s topic for inspiration).

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Discussion: journal topic selection and writing process
3. Entrepreneur's Notebook: building a high-traffic website or blog

HW:
1. Please review the article that provided today's talking points and, in a post entitled RAISING DIGITAL AWARENESS, please answer the following questions (as sentences in a paragraph, no bulleted/numbered lists please):

• Why is it important to draw visitors to your site?
• How are you currently addressing visitors' needs on your blog/s?
• What steps can you take to improve the value of your site for visitors?
• What do you think is more important in general: digital tools or human ideas/interaction?  Why?

this just in: the adventures of us project

If you haven't seen it yet, check out Taylor's/Meghan's/Hannah's/Kylie's

The Adventures of Us Project.

march 28

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "Just Breathe" by Pearl Jam; "Time to Pretend" by MGMT; "Today My Life Begins" by Bruno Mars]

Why do we have to re/learn as adults the things (like breathing and using our imagination) that come so naturally to us as children?  How can you start over today with an open "child's mind" and see things that you might otherwise have missed?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Reading quiz
3. Discuss journal
4. Quickwrite: letter to a mentor (due by end of period)

HW:
1. Finish Literature Analysis #3, due BY March 31

march 27

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Who is the most influential mentor in your life (so far)?  How has this person helped you?  What qualities made him/her successful?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. MGOTM: expert--> mentor

HW:
1. Read this article on mentors
2. What does the expert (profile) you identified have to teach you?  What questions can you ask to select your mentor and begin the process? (post under title: SEEKING MENTOR)

march 26

JOURNAL TOPIC:

What do you think of when you think of money?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Brief riff on scarcity
3. Finish Cuesta Financial Literacy and post-test

march 25

JOURNAL TOPIC:

What did you learn from Cuesta's .ppt presentation last week?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Cuesta post-test
3. Cuesta presentation (part II)

HW:
1. Resource of the Day
2. Reminder: Lit Analysis #3 due March 31

this just in

From Lisa:

march 24

JOURNAL TOPIC:

What happened in class on Friday?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Vocab quiz
3. This week in preview

HW:
1. Post masterpiece "test" (title: THIS IS ONLY A TEST)
2. Post expert profile (title: IS THERE AN EXPERT IN THE HOUSE?)
3. Reminder: Lit Analysis #3 due March 31

march 21

*** PLEASE NOTE: I have to attend to business off-campus this morning and will not be in for Period 0 or 1.  Because the sub was brought in on late notice after I left yesterday, there are no plans in class for him/her to help you follow.  This is your only resource for the day.  Since not everyone follows the blog or checks it religiously on the way to school, please share this information with your colleagues.  They're going to need it.  Thank you.***

JOURNAL TOPIC:

We've talked a lot about entrepreneurship in this course, but what about people who simply want to do an honest day's work for an honest day's pay?  There is honor in labor, and something very straightforward about putting in your hours, getting the job done, and getting compensated fairly.  What are your thoughts on this?  Is the world of the entrepreneur the same as the work of the laborer?  Can an entrepreneur work just as hard, and can a laborer think just as imaginatively?  Think of an example from your experience to support your point/s.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. MGOTM
3. Exit ticket: please write 1-3 paragraphs on what you did today in class and how it helped you make progress.  (NOTE: you should gear your conversation so that you can complete this with honor.)  Please hand these to the sub or put on my desk-- not in your journals.

HW:
1. Reminder: your Masterpiece test will be due on your blog by COB Monday
2. Reminder: your Expert candidate/s must be identified by COB Monday
3. Reminder: Literature Analysis #3 is due 3.31

this just in: melissa's yosemite trip mtg

Actually, Melissa sent this a few days ago... sorry for the delayed post! :)

march 20

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "Our House" by Crosby Stills, Nash & Young; "Our House" by Madness]

What is your favorite room in your house?  Why?  Describe it in detail.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Entrepreneurship 101 from Cuesta

HW:
1. Reminder: design your "test" for Monday
2. Reminder: identify expert candidate/s for Monday
3. Reminder: (ongoing) Resource of the Day
4. Reminder: Lit Analysis #3 due March 31

march 19

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes are a video]


What is it about tests?  They can motivate us and help us prove our knowledge and skills, or they can fill us with anxiety and seem pointless or even insulting.  However we feel about tests per se, ultimately practitioners of every sort are rightly expected to be able to demonstrate what they've learned.   What sort of "test" do you need to pass to prove your worthiness in your Masterpiece field?  How have others in the field proven themselves?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Design your test
3. MGOTM

HW:
1. Bring your blog up to date
2. Complete and document your test (due Monday, 3.21)
3. Recruit an expert to validate your work (make contact by Monday, 3.21)

kudos: march (I)

Congratulations to the following students on their college admissions, scholarship wins, and amazing accomplishments!  I've always thought this is the most wonderful time of the year, but now there is even more cause to celebrate.  Seriously: take pride in what you've accomplished.  You've earned it.

Maddi Hill (Admitted to UC Davis/ Design)
Danny Luu (Winner, Santa Barbara County Science Fair; qualified for CA State Science Fair at USC; Admitted to UC Merced, UC Riverside)
Hannah Savaso (Admitted to UC Santa Cruz, UC San Diego)
Lisa Malins (National Merit Scholarship Competition Finalist; admitted to UC Davis, UC Santa Cruz)
Ashley Hong (Admitted to UC Davis, UC Irvine)
Bianca Ramirez (Admitted to UC Santa Cruz, UC Merced, CSUN)
Allyson Brown (Admitted to UC San Diego)
Becky Aldrich (Admitted to UC Santa Cruz, UC San Diego)
Edmond Yi (Admitted to UC San Diego)
Erik Santos (Admitted to Sonoma State)
Sam Wellard (Admitted to CSULA)
Mia Levy (Admitted to UC Santa Cruz)
Taylor Duguran (Admitted to UC Santa Cruz, UC Davis)
Javier Solis (Admitted to UC Irvine/ Political Science)
Miranda Nillo (Admitted to Loyola Marymount University; UC Irvine; UC Santa Cruz; UC Santa Barbara)
Lindsey Wong (Admitted to UC Irvine; Elks Student of the Month Scholarship)
Kendall Villa (Admitted to Sonoma State)
Kristen Crockett (Admitted to UC Santa Cruz)
Daniel Rucker (Admitted to UC San Diego)
Ian Steller (Admitted to UC San Diego, UC Santa Barbara)
Kylie Sagasi (Admitted to UC San Diego)
Izamar Diaz (Admitted to UC Merced)
Melissa Steller (Admitted to UC Irvine)
Maria Luna (UC Santa Barbara)

If I missed anyone, or if you've done something amazing since I posted this, please let me/us know in class or comment below.

testing schedule today and tomorrow

Our schedule this week is courtesy of the California High School Exit Exam.

We don't meet today.

Period 0 will meet tomorrow (3.19) from 2:25-3:20;
Period 1 will meet tomorrow (3.19) from 1:20-2:15.

march 17

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "The Rocky Road to Dublin" by The Dubliners; "The Rocky Road to Dublin" by The Dropkick Murphys-- Happy St. Paddy's Day]

Describe one thing you did this weekend related to your Masterpiece.

*If you didn't do anything this weekend related to your Masterpiece, [a] you ought to be ashamed of yourself; and [b] you can write on how the same work/tunes can be adapted to reflect the current zeitgeist.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Survey
3. MGOTM

HW:
1. Resource of the Day
2. Reminder: Literature Analysis #3 due March 31

march 14

JOURNAL TOPIC:
In the last ten minutes of class, please reflect on how well you did today.  Specifically, please describe how well you understood the topic and the prompt, and how confident your were in your writing.

AGENDA:

1. In-class Essay: Given the way the concept was defined in lecture and in the last two reading, are you an entrepreneur?  What are you creating and putting out into the world?  How does your expertise compare with the skill sets of the entrepreneurs you learn about at a distance?  Given your experience and your recently acquired knowledge of others' experiences, how do you define success for yourself?

2. [Period 1] The last ten minutes will feature the comedic stylings of Austin Hugh

HW:
1. Resource of the Day-- catch up if you need to
2. Reminder: Literature Analysis #3 due March 31 (17 days)
3. Reflect on today's writing experience in terms of your masterpiece.  Do you see your work differently when you think of yourself as an entrepreneur?  (TITLE: [up to you])

march 13

JOURNAL TOPIC:

The media has finally let up on Generation X-- because now my classmates are running the media. (Note: Kurt Vonnegut once observed that "true terror is waking up and discovering your high school classmates are running the country.")  Now it's the Millennials' turn to bear the brunt.  Why does every generation get insulted by the generation/s that came before?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Entrepreneurship: review, extension, prep for tomorrow's essay
3. MGOTM

HW:
1. Read "Silicon Valley's Youth Problem"
(text after the jump in case the link doesn't work)

this just in: help a high school student and his dad

You are all very well-versed in this conversation, so please contribute your thoughts in a comment.  I will share this link with Randy at the end of the day on Friday. Mahalo.

this just in: alicja wants to know what you're going to do before you die

Alicja is asking for your input, please click this link to contribute:

march 12

(*NOTE: With the exception of the journal topic, today's agenda looks a lot like yesterday's.  Since we were compelled to discuss other topics, we will revisit entrepreneurship today.  We will also have time for you to organize yourself into the peer groups you described.  Lastly, I am still looking into access in the computer lab to determine whether it's worth going there for a workday later in the week.  Thanks for your feedback.)

JOURNAL TOPIC:

Why do so many people admire entrepreneurs?

AGENDA:
1. Journal/turn in grades
2. Entrepreneurship
3. MGOTM: experts & entrepreneurs

HW:
1. Resource of the Day
2. Read "The Youngest Technorati" (text after the jump in case link doesn't work)
3. In a blog post entitled I, ENTREPRENEUR, describe three things: (a) how the expert you designed the 10 questions for is or isn't an entrepreneur according to how we defined it in class; (b) how you are or are not an entrepreneur according to how we defined it in class; and (c) how this culture associates expertise with entrepreneurship, and how you think this idea should be reinforced or changed.

notes from terry lawless

Thanks once again to Melissa and Terry Lawless for today's talk.  Everything he said about music also applies to life, literature, and learning.  Lesther and Miranda took video of the event and I'm looking forward to seeing Terry's talk again.  In the meantime, here are some notes I took on his remarks:

• Music is creating something where nothing was before
• The greatest moment for a musician is when the crowd writes the solo
• I play like it's the last time I go on stage
• Most influential moment was the first time I put a Led Zeppelin album on: Robert Plant singing "Black Dog" blew my mind
• The best thing to happen to music was a broken heart
• Musicians tell stories through emotions: loneliness, happiness-- they have a special genre called anthems that put a fist in your chest and make you glad to be alive
• "Just Kissed My Baby" (New Orleans jazz) & "All I Want Is You" (U2) don't need explanation or interpretation-- these are the rawest, most basic things we feel
• If I'm driving and Miles Davis' "Sketches of Spain" comes on, I have to pull off the road-- seriously, I don't want to hit something
• If my kids download music without paying for it, they're out of the will. (*If you like "Sketches of Spain" please buy it. -Ed.)
• LiveAid moment: playing with Paul McCartney and U2, 180,000 people bobbing their heads as one like a giant sea anenome for a great cause, relieving world hunger
• I don't get nervous on stage.  I'm a two-time cancer survivor who got shot out of a helicopter.  What's going to happen to me during a rock concert?
• David Bowie (my son's godfather) was good at everything-- writing, performing, sculpting... and once he saw what I was composing and said, "Don't go there with it, go here."  I said no.  There's the question: Do you write for yourself or do you write for others?  There's the question: Do you write for yourself or do you write for others?

march 11

JOURNAL TOPIC:

What's the greatest entrepreneurial idea you've ever heard?

AGENDA:
1. Journal/turn in grades
2. Entrepreneurship
3. MGOTM: experts & entrepreneurs

HW:
1. Resource of the Day
2. Read "The Youngest Technorati" (text after the jump in case link doesn't work)
3. In a blog post entitled I, ENTREPRENEUR, describe three things: (a) how the expert you designed the 10 questions for is or isn't an entrepreneur according to how we defined it in class; (b) how you are or are not an entrepreneur according to how we defined it in class; and (c) how this culture associates expertise with entrepreneurship, and how you think this idea should be reinforced or changed.

this just in: calling all entrepreneurs

Hi everyone, we have been presented with a terrific opportunity.  Doan Winkel, professor of entrepreneurship at Illinois State University, has created a network designed to help students turn entrepreneurial ideas into businesses.  Here is our email exchange from yesterday; please feel free to submit your ideas on Survey Monkey, or contact Doan directly, or talk with me about it.

Besides being a well-connected expert in the field, Doan is also an enthusiastic advocate who understands the power of sharing ideas and being ourselves online.  I think you'll enjoy collaborating with him.

this just in: hancock workshop

Lauren writes:

Yes I can:

http://lalrhsenglit.blogspot.com/

expos comp<-->lit & comp

It's about time the two courses met, so here are both course Member Blog pages in one post.  Please feel free to check out what your colleagues are up to; many of you have similar or complementary interests, and all of you have skills, perspectives, and contacts that can help each other.

Expository Comp Member Blogs
Expository Comp Masterpiece Theater


Literature & Composition Member Blogs
Literature & Composition Masterpiece Theater

this just in: yosemite trip?

From Melissa:

when love (and lawless) comes to town

Tomorrow, thanks to Melissa, Terry Lawless will join us in class.* (*This will happen in period 3; if you're not in period 3, feel free to comment with ideas and we'll include them-- the video will be up soon.)  Terry is the keyboardist and programmer for the legendary band U2.  'Nuff said.  I'm stoked.  Please feel free to share questions as comments to this post; hoping we'll have opportunity for conversation but 50 minutes always feels too short and I want to help make sure everyone can participate.  Here's some info about Terry, and I'm including his calendar because I'm pretty sure it's the only one in existence with both "U2/The Academy Awards" and "Righetti High School Speaking Engagement" on it :)

march 10

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "Home" by The Talking Heads; "Home by The Foo Fighters]

I love traveling, but I love coming home even more.  Which do you prefer?  What do you think of when you feel 'at home'-- and why do you feel more at home in some places than others?

AGENDA:
1. Journal/turn in Benchmark hard copies
2. P2P Evals
3. Ask the experts

HW:
1. In a post entitled 10 QUESTIONS, list the 10 questions you want to ask your expert
2. P2P evaluation: peruse each Member Blog in your period for 60-120 seconds.  Assign it a letter grade and explain why in 1-3 sentences.  Please do not do this online; list on paper and turn in tomorrow. (Thanks, Erik and Carlos!)

march 6

JOURNAL TOPIC:
This week you're working independently.  How does it feel?  Are you making progress?  Are you treading water until the teacher gets back?  Are you proud of your Benchmark project yet?  What needs to happen so that you're proud of it by Monday?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. MGOTM: tie up loose ends, take advantage of being with your colleagues while you're with them, and plan the next three days so that you're not scurrying frantically Sunday night.

HW:
1. Resource of the Day
2. Benchmark papers/projects due Monday 3.10

hey, free book!

For those of you looking for a free online nonfiction book about teens & social media...

One of the people I met at last year's Digital Media & Learning Conference was danah boyd, an accomplished scholar who has written extensively about how young people use and experience the Internet.  danah's latest book, it's complicated: the social life of networked teens, explores how teens identify themselves and interact with others on the Internet.  I'll be interested to know if you think danah's insights align with your experiences.

You can download it for free here.

march 5

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Choose your own.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. MGOTM: you have the entire period to exchange ideas about your masterpieces and work on your Benchmark projects.

HW:
1. Resource of the Day

masterpiece theater

Here, in all its glory, is the current list of everyone's masterpiece topic.  They're grouped by class because that's the way I took notes, but I have intentionally mixed up the periods and omitted course/class designations and links.  If you see something you want to learn more about, start a conversation by commenting to this post, commenting to the person's blog, or networking the old-fashioned way and asking around.  For easy reference here is a link to the Expository Composition Member Blogs.  If you see any errors or omissions, or if your topic has evolved, please comment to this post accordingly.  (Tip: one great way to gain followers and begin collaborations is to go on each other's blogs and ask questions about these.  Some of the pairs/triplets are working collaboratively, and others are using the same words to describe very different ideas.)

Austin: stand-up comedy, satire, women in comedy
Mackenzie: sex trafficking in America
Jacob: culinary arts
Dale: freedom
Grant: neuropsychology (and/or astrophysics?)
Nik: film criticism & the technical elements of narrative in film

march 4

JOURNAL TOPIC:

Today your journal will serve as the starting point for your table conversations.  Please begin by asking a person (or two) to remind you of their Masterpiece topic/s.  Then take 5-10 minutes to write down all your impressions of the topic/s.  Include 3-5 questions you have as an interested outsider (even if you're not particularly interested in the subject, you share an interest in your colleagues' success, and you want them to share an interest in yours).

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. MGOTM (I): Begin by answering your colleagues' questions.  If you don't know the answer to one, don't worry-- use this as an opportunity to guide the next steps in your inquiry.  Remember that if you're getting the question at the table, it's highly likely that your blog readers will be curious too.
3. MGOTM (II): Share ideas about the Benchmark assignment and create a plan for yourself.  As you know, six days goes by faster than we think...

HW:
1. Resource of the Day
2. Begin work on Benchmark project (due Monday, March 10)
3. Literature Analysis #3 is due March 31

benchmark projects

A benchmark is a standard by which something can be measured or judged.  It's been three weeks since we started our Masterpieces, and your progress is as individual as you are.  Readers of your blogs may have a difficult time following the thread of your posts unless they are in your class or in your lives; this assignment is designed to help you clearly assess where you are so that your audience can clearly assess where you are.

Last week when you ranked the Top 10 blogs, I analyzed them in terms of posts and aesthetics.  To keep things simple, I decided to set a curve based on the maximum number of 2014 posts (33).  If you have a minimum of 23 posts in 2014 (i.e., 70% of 33), you can choose to tell your story in whatever format or remix makes sense to you (please consult the Remix Resources and/or Roman if you need ideas about how to get started).  If you don't have a minimum of 23 posts in 2014, you will need to account for your performance in a traditional, straightforward research paper as follows. (Please Note: several people asked if they could do both.  YES.  And, if you do the paper, you may either turn in a hard copy in class March 10 or embed it on your blog.  In the past I have used docstoc or scribd to do this, but this year both of those services have changed and made documents more difficult to download.  It looks like there is a better way here (and if you find an even better way, please comment to this post and let us know).

CONTENT
I. Revisit the questions that began the process:

1. Passion.  What have you committed yourself to studying and why is it important to you?
2. Prior Learning.  How are you using the tools/processes from Fall semester for the purpose?
3. Envisioned Future.  What will you need to do in order to ensure that June brings a sense of triumphant fulfillment and not regret?
4. Audience.  What will impress and convince others that you are a thinker who shows critical thinking skills and creativity in finding, analyzing, evaluating, organizing, and communicating valuable information?
5. Implementation.  What steps can you take to move beyond 'what if' and bring your idea/s into reality?
6. Network.  Who are the peers, publics, and experts you need in my personal learning network and/or audience?

FORMATTING/SUBMISSION
Your paper must be:

• 5-7 pages in length, excluding title and Bibliography or Work Cited* pages (*Please Note: a Bibliography includes all the sources that inform your thinking, and Work Cited means exactly that, i.e., the sources you quote/reference directly.)
• Typed in Times New Roman 12-point font and printed on 8.5" x 11" white stock
• Bound with one staple in the upper left-hand corner at a 45 degree angle (no folders or plastic slip covers)
• Well-researched, as evidenced by a Bibliography or Work Cited page that includes a minimum of 15 highly credible references (*Please Note: Five [5] of these references must be academic books, chapters, or peer-reviewed studies/articles.)
• Presented in Modern Language Association (MLA) style 

march 3

JOURNAL TOPIC: ["I'm Shipping Up to Boston" by The Dropkick Murphys; "Peace of Mind" by Boston]

Tomorrow I leave for Boston to speak at the 2014 Digital Media & Learning Conference.  Since all of us will be working independently on our masterpieces, and we've been emphasizing collaboration throughout this process, help: what essential elements of Open Source Learning do you consider highlights that I shouldn't forget to talk about?  What about school constrains or challenges Open Source Learning?  Since the talk is at 11:30 Eastern (8:30 Pacific) [***UPDATE: I misremembered the schedule.  The talk will start at 11/8.] on Wednesday, and we've talked about connecting period 1, how do you think students should be included?  Do you want to present your work, answer questions from the audience, or ...?
***AND***
What do we need to discuss today so that we all have peace of mind for GOSD this week?  Make sure to get your questions answered.  I will also remain available via comment/email.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. DML guest host/panel?
3. The week ahead

HW:
1. Resource of the Day
2. Have you started reading for Literature Analysis #3 yet?
3. Benchmark: Due Monday, March 10

how to embed a link in a comment

One effective strategy for recruiting more followers to your blog is to comment on other blogs & include a link to your own.  To do this, use this HTML code:

<a href="URL">link text</a>

For a more detailed explanation with step-by-step screen shots, click HERE.