Commenting Review Week

I think commenting on the projects and work of others is a really great way to help build connections and facilitate interactions with students in an online course. It helps students get feedback on their assignments so they can evaluate how to proceed in the future but it also means that students are actively interacting with one another despite not meeting face to face. Another thing that works really well is discussion boards. Here students can talk with others, post opinions, read the opinions of others, and discuss the material gaining a new perspective on it even when they don't have to meet in person. 

For me comments that talk about the overall progression of my story and how well it flows and connects from beginning to end are the most helpful. I have a tendency to jump around in my thought process and having others comment on the progression of my story helps me ensure that I'm writing something continuous that flows and connects. 

(upside down bats)

Reading Review Week

In reviewing my past reading diaries, I think my favorite is the Arabian Nights unit. I did half of this unit for my extra reading diary but then I went back and finished reading it because I enjoyed it so much. I loved the complexity of the layers and layers of storytelling in this unit. The way all the stories connected back to one another made it fun and interesting to read.

(Oil painting of Scheherazade from the Arabian Nights unit)

What I have found in doing my reading diaries is that it works best for me to do the reading diary as I read the unit. After reading each story in the unit I write about what stood out to me and what I liked about it. After I have finished the reading I typically narrow it down to my top 3 stories. These are the stories that I am typically considering to use for my storytelling and I generally have an idea of which story I am leaning towards to use.