To be honest, I am starting to feel a little bit flustered about the work in class.... perhaps I'm not organized particularly well, or maybe it's because everything seems to be kicking in this week, but for some reason, I am feeling so anxious about the work in our class! I feel like there are so many things to be remembering and thinking about that my brain is going to explode! All of the work is interesting, but I just can't remember to do it all! There's the reading, then the writing an essay about the reading,and then the blogging, the commenting on the blogs, and then the blog papers which I don't understand, then the printing out our classmates papers, thinking about those papers, writing consultations once a week, blogging about those consultations, then there's the digital project looming in the background, and the classmate consultation, the paper about the consultation, and the helping with the college papers... and I'm sure there are a few things I missed, and I just feel like I'm going crazy trying to keep everything in mind! Am I crazy or is anyone else feeling like this?
Also, I'm a little bit confused and frustrated about the digital projects- they seem so interesting, but how are they helpful in terms of being a writing consultant? I can understand interviewing a faculty member and writing a paper about it, but the digital project just seems to be kind of random for the class description of our class and it is stressing me out because I know that I'm going to have a lot of trouble doing it and it's going to be a really big time commitment.
Does anyone have a way to organize everything that seems to be working for them? I am just really feeling lost and a bit out of control in terms of the class and the work and was hoping someone might have a helpful system? Any tips or strategies would be greatly greatly appreciated!
Gyra, I can definitely identify with your anxiety and frustrations! I think some things were cleared up in class today, but I think I wasn't aware of some assignments due that were brought up in class today. As for the digital stories, I think we're doing them so we can teach them. I think we need to identify with being able to make them as well as understanding the frustrations of making a digital story (believe me, it can be very aggravating). Also, I think it might help if we ask for a syllabus which gives the due dates for all the projects that have a due date. If the project does not have a due date, I think it would be helpful to have a written explanation of the assignment and an idea of when it will be due.
ReplyDeleteGyra, I'm so glad someone posted this. I think a lot of us are feeling this way. I think one of the biggest problems is that all of our projects are essentially assigned simultaneously, so instead of focusing on one thing in a thoughtful and thorough manner, we must think about several upcoming assignments, due dates, and meetings. The description in your first paragraph would stress anyone out. It's not that I think the work is excessive or too difficult -- I just wish we could focus on one or two things at a time.
ReplyDeleteYeah I completely agree about the being flustered thing. I am the same way and am a bit disorganized so it is difficult for me to remember everything. I wish there would be a specific due date for everything (and these would be at different times) then I could write something specific in my assignment book rather than "Blog at some point, comment at some point, and do your paper at some point." It's difficult for me to wrap my head around that because then I just keep pushing things back and then I have a lightbulb moment that I am seriously behind (like in class the other day when I realized that I don't even have half the amount of blog posts that I should and need to get them by next Wednesday) Ah! Stressful!
ReplyDeleteI agree with your questions about the digital story. As important as it is for us to become accustomed to new technologies and literacies,I will be interested to see how this will play into our learning how to be effective writing consultants.
ReplyDeleteI am also nervous about the digital story. I just finished my script and I am thinking about possible images and music to incorporate, however, I think choosing the right material is going to be tricky and rather time-consuming.
ReplyDelete