Student guide for a successful college experience

Something to think about as you pursue your college career and plan for next semester

http://www.purdue.edu/checklist/BGR/

Questions to spark conversation

1. (Why) Should we fear intelligent robots?
2. (How)Are selfie sticks an indicator of increasing narcissism?
3. (How)Are drones in war a threat to human rights?
4. (How) Do drones decrease a soldier’s interaction and knowledge of the enemy, and thus are likely to lead to more civilian deaths?
5. (How) Does Facebook increase the bad consequences of bullying over conventional bullying?
6. (How) Does Twitter decrease our attention span and thus decrease our ability to learn?
7. (How) Do video games increase violence in teens?
8. (How) Do video games increase intelligence?
9. We know that the Internet changes our brains, but (how) are those changes increasing or decreasing our intelligence?
10. Should we use any technology that might increase our ability to catch a terrorist (where should the limits be, if any?) and why?
11. (How) Do Internet dating sites increase the likelihood of divorce?
12. (How) Do Internet dating sites increase the likelihood of successful long term relationships?
13. Is the Internet of things a threat to our privacy? Why?
14. Does social media decrease the quality of our relationships with others? How and or why?
15. Under what conditions can the NSA legally spy on american citizens? Why?
16. Is the NSA’s data center a violation of Americans’ civil liberties?
17. Should phone companies, schools, or libraries be required to share data with the NSA? Why?
18. If a public camera takes a picture of someone should that picture automatically be in the public domain? Why?
19. If someone takes a picture of you, should they be allowed to share or publish that picture however they desire? Why?
20. Under what conditions should drones be legal to own by citizens? Why?
21. Should the police be allowed to use drones without warrants? Why?
22. Should the police be allowed to track potential suspects through the GPS in the suspect’s phone? Why?
23. If we click yes to the privacy rights section on a website, should they be allowed to seek or use our data however they desire as long as it's consistent with those rights?
24. Should there be limits set on websites stating what data they collect that can be sold to others without our permission? Why?
25. Should employers be allowed to use any data on the Internet when hiring or firing? Why?
26. Are there jobs that robots should not be allowed to fill? Why?
27. If robots can do a job better, faster and cheaper can we keep them from replacing humans?
28. Will robots increase unemployment for the lowest wage workers? Why? How?
29. Should cameras be allowed to be used in the workplace to increase employee performance? Why?
30. Is it okay to use technology to track and to learn about a relationship partner? Why?

Answer the question with a claim and a why

Some really excellent essays!

i just wanted to say how impressed I've been grading our NEH essays. There have been several really excellent essays and additional essays that show some significant strengths. The weaving of both context and sources in this complex essay has been impressive in several of the essays. This was a complex assignment in which many of you successfully navigated and a few excelled.  I've enjoyed reading the ideas you suggest as well.

I've only got about 2/3rds of the essays graded but just wanted to post my enjoyment and pleasure at seeing your success.

How to cite a classroom handout that cites something else

Citation description:Author of quoted source. "Title of work from a published collection. (e.g. poem or article)." Title of Publication. (book or periodical). "Title of Handout." Handout. Title of course. (Name of instructor.) Name of school. Date of handout. 

Jefferson, Thomas. "Quote". "Jefferson Quotes" Handout. English 117. (Mary Vasudeva). San Ramon College. Oct. 2015. Print.

Note: If any of the above information is not given, leave the information out.

Citation example:

Aldiss, Brian. "Flight 063." Icarus Poems: A Selective Arachniography. Handout. Composition, Literature and Critical Thinking: English 110.
(Professor Jeff Westfall.) Skyline College. Feb. 2006. Print.

MLA citation for online sources

I have posted the correct MLA citation information for online sources on the list of pages to the right. Please use this source and not some online citation engine for citation.

Good intros from in-class essay

In February of 2009, Alex Roland wrote an informative article on how the advancement of miliatry technology is both a good and bad step for humanity. Alex received his PhD from Duke University and is currently a professor at Duke teaching about the history of technology. Roland is a very learned individual with a rich background of education. Hence, the article Roland wrote is the best news article because it provides both an insightful and informative look to both sides of technology's advancement in today's society, through the use of relevant information and a realistic counter argument.

A good news source should have relevant information and realistic counter arguments

News today can often be misleading. Consisting of personal opinions and facts, it makes it hard to grasp an author's meaning. News articles should be a place where someone can go to rely on factual data, not somewhere full of subjectivity. After researching for a reliable news source, I found that a magazine article is much more reliable than a newspaper or a blog because unlike the blog, which was more like a story, the magazine was factual and had evidence to back up (for the most part) any opinions.

A good news source should be factual and have evidence to back up opinions.

Note how both intros follow our intro template

1. content
2. examples
3. Thesis

citing a blog

Editor, screen name, author, or compiler name (if available). “Posting Title.” Name of Site. Version number (if available). Name of institution/organization affiliated with the site (sponsor or publisher). Medium of publication. Date of access.

Rhetorical Analysis requirements

Guidelines: This essay needs to be at least 4 typed double spaced pages. You will need to cite at least two sources at least twice (In addition to Little Brother, which you will cite frequently throughout the analysis).

Slideshow on developing paragraphs

Here is the link to the slide show we did in Monday's class.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1KCJ0DeVFeIrj2W2iiqyNSw3cP-GNP-_qeS9tNWDAQY4/edit?usp=sharing

compilation of sources share

https://docs.google.com/document/d/16l5K_NN_UORE-o9AY_QMP5OvnkPkbn8noByrwoqRtqk/edit?usp=sharing

Homework

Just a reminder: as the syllabus states, ALL work done outside of class, MUST be typed. In the future, I will not accept homework that is not typed (if you redo work you have NOT typed; it will be considered late). It is important that the work done for homework is done AT HOME and not during class time.

Summary folder due Weds. the 9th

If you did not turn your summary folder in Weds,the 2nd, it is due Weds. the 9th.

It should include:
summary exercise from Real Questions, p. 23-27
Morals and Machine first draft summary
Morals and Machine revision

Excellent question for Little Brother Summary

thanks for your detailed question.

Your summary will be laid out like an essay with paragraphs focused on your topics. You select two to three major events to explain; you explore what those events mean in the context of Doctorow’s intentions in the book as a whole; you respond with your opinion; and you evaluate two or three of his writing strategies.  Your goal is to look at this “chunk” as a whole meaning unit to give your summary a focus.

But, remember, this is fiction. Everything else we’ve been reading is non-fiction. We approach fiction much differently than non-fiction. There is not a skeleton in fiction, so you needn’t go looking for that. 

Homework question on summary statement

A summary statement is one to two sentences that summarizes the main point of the chunk.

Quiz on Monday!

We will have our first quiz on Monday on the reading from Real Questions. Remember, you can use notes in a quiz but NOT the actual reading.

Schedule Change

Please note that the schedule has been changed for week four (see schedule on blog. It is correct) and that weeks 5-8 have been added to the schedule posted on the blog.

8 am class NOTE TAKER NEEDED

Would you be willing to share your notes? If so, please let me know. We would really appreciate your help!

All you need to do is take notes how you usually do during class and share those same notes with a student in class. It's not added work for you.

You can email me if you are willing or respond to this post.

Extra Credit

This extra credit opportunity is good throughout the semester until Dec. 1st.
Go to boingboing.net. This is a tech blog where Cory Doctorow regularly posts. Select one of his posts and write a summary of the post. Make sure you select a post that has an argument! Send the summary to me and if possible, we will try to share it with the class. You may do two of these. Each is worth 5 points.

Real Questions pp. 23-27

I have heard from a couple of students that the bookstore is out of "Real Questions". I've photographed the assignment and posted it on the right (look about half way down the  screen, under pages).  The quality is not ideal, but it IS readable.

Student's question on homework

i received a question from a student about Wednesday's homework that might be useful to more students. I've posted our exchange below. If you have questions, please let me know,

had a few quick questions on the homework that I had forgot to ask before rushing out the door to get my books. I'm confused when it said "Make a list of the steps to writing a summary." Do you mean you want us to read pages 23-27 and make a list in our own words as to what we read about writing a summary? 

Yes

Also on the "Data overflow" in Chunk 3 #7 it says "Facebook experiment (talk about defining important concepts as well) do you mean for us to think of different ways FB could have included users to be notified about this experiment or a concept to now notify users in the future when they are going to do another research experiment? 

The reference to explain about defining important concepts is just noting that "Facebook experiment" is not a word to define but a concept that needs defining. Sorry for the confusion.

If you have further questions, let me know.

Books for class

We will be diving into our reading right away, so I encourage you to get your books as soon as possible, particularly Real Questions and English117 Course Packet, both available at the bookstore on campus.

Welcome to English 117, Fall 2015

Welcome to English 117. In this class, you will be reading and writing as a means to learning to live well! Of course, these tools will also be very useful throughout your college career.

I am excited to meet all of you.

If you have any questions please feel free to email me at mvasudeva@dvc.edu.

(Please note that the posts below this one are from previous classes)