so far...

I first want to start with what I absolutely love about this class and highly appreciate, less busy work. My roommate is also in a hybrid 39C class right now, but every night it seems she has random busy work assignments that we never do. I really appreciate that we don’t have these assignments because it allows me to focus on the bigger assignments. However, I’m not sure if it’s the way the class is designed, but I always feel very confused when it comes to writing the papers. I was more confused on the last one than this one, but I feel like there isn’t enough direction. Personally, I would rather spend class time on the structure and content of the paper, rather that what not to do, or reading others examples. While those are both very helpful, I feel like they are things we could do on our own time to help ourselves. Another thing, that I am sure is just part of the class, is the fact that the plant we pick the first day is the plant we are stuck with. I just feel like even though all of the essays are based on different aspects of the plant, after a while of researching, it all blends together. It is becoming very difficult to differentiate the two, while trying to not be repetitive. I like the weekly blog topics much much more than the 39B topics because I feel like these are more personal and less structured. Overall, I am slightly struggling to keep up, which is something very new for me. I need to prioritize more because meeting once a week is actually causing me fall behind. Hopefully it will all work out in the end.

So far..

Hey guys,
Well, so far this writing class "owns" all my previous writing classes, wwith majority of the reason being the sudden change of the in-class essay to in-home essay. This also happens to be my first online course, and although i've slacked a little bit (and i can totally see how easy it is to slack..) its still a lot better than walking to class three times a week and staying in class. The blogger idea, while pretty unique and cool, is still pretty hard for me to get used to. I was never a blogging-type of person, so i guess checking this every week can be quite a responsibility. Either way, this is probably as good as a writing class gets. I mean, not many people get to choose topics to write and research on, and yet alone write the assignments at home!? nice.
My favorite part so far was the video clips we watched in class. Not many people get to watch clips on wikiality from the Colbert Report and disney films, with it being related to class material!
Some things that are hard about the class is still the rigorous research that i've still not perfected, the blogging that i constantly forget about until the night its due, and also the fact that i dont use gmail, so i have to try extra hard to remember my gmail and writing studio passwords. Other than the work that i dont want to do, the technological difficulties, and laziness, this is the best writing class i've taken so far. SO FAR.!

Class is .... "whatevers" .... o.o

Hey!

We're halfway done guys! Five more weeks to go... So far, this class has been cool. I think Diana is a pretty "sick" teacher (that's a good thing). I enjoyed writing my in-class essay on my couch... who wouldn't? There was less pressure and the atmosphere was a lot more comfortable. The research so far has been ... miserable, but it's not that bad. I'm learning a lot about the drug and its history from different countries, but findings tend to get repetitive. I do wonder what kind of grade I'm getting so far though because we don't turn in many things so our grades aren't posted. This is the "chill-est" class I have this quarter, so I guess you can say it is my favorite class for spring quarter. Yay for writing! I also really enjoy the little comedy clips we watch in class. All of those have been quite entertaining so far... keep it up "teach." The class in general is pretty cool, all of you guys are cool from what I see. We don't really know each other that well even for a small class, since we only see each other once a week. I was wondering, "Do any of you go online and chat on gmail?" I don't even know how to use gmail chat, but if any of you do chat on it, tell me so I can try to make an attempt. ( I don't want to use gmail if there's no point.) Lastly, I really like this way of blogging better than using the writing studio. This is so much more convenient and practical. Yay for gblogger!!!

This is as good as it gets, I guess

This class is awesome….or at least as awesome as it can get for being a writing class. I’ve taken online classes before, but never a hybrid one, and I like the idea of it. I like how we don’t waste time in class, and how the group work is quick and painless. I feel like class time is more like clarification time, and is more fun than a normal class would be. This is good because class seems to move along quickly, probably because we have no time to waste, and we are guided in our research process without having to turn in every step along the way. This works well because I think this course, itself, lends itself to a hybrid environment in that we are all expected to write on different things, and there is a very independent course of study for each of us. As far as the technical aspects of the class go, I like that we use blogger instead of writing studio, and I also like how there are different media incorporated into each meeting. For example, in a single class session we will watch a video online, write on the white board, and work individually on the computer. I think this keeps things moving and keeps us alert. The things I don’t like about this class are things that are not about to change: the amount of research, the drafts of papers, the fact it is a writing class….but since none of this is about to change anytime soon, I’d have to admit that this class is as good as it gets, and actually feel like I’m improving my research skills.

writing class

Taking this class has been pretty good for me so far. I wanted to take it because I wanted to be able to fit in 20 units this quarter and that can be hard to do when you're trying to find a time for specific classes to fit in somewhere. So for me, the idea of a hybrid was perfect. I really like the fact that the one time a week we do meet I haven't felt like any of the time was wasted doing what I would consider "busy work" or activities that don't really help improve my writing skills. I really like the fact that we have so much time to do things on our own independent schedules, which of course is incredibly convenient. The only downside for me in taking a once a week hybrid class has been feeling like I sometimes am unsure of what's due or where I should be at in my research, things like that, because in a regular 3 times a week, or even 2 times a week class you get constant reminding of when papers are due, etc. Sometimes if there isn't a paper due or if I've already finished the work for that week I almost forget that I will have class on Tuesday, because it's not a regular thing like all of my other classes. Overall, though, the pros of this class definately outweigh the cons and I think that having a class like this is a really good idea - I think that it sort of forces you to be more independent and be responsible for yourself.

I like Writing........... NOT!

I don't really like writing classes in UC Irvine because of strict preset course syllabus. I am fortunate to have instructors in 39B and 39C that think the syllabus stinks and are there to actually help us to improve writing opposed to just to meet the requirements. My 39A instructor sucked because we had to cover every single things in the syllabus and i didn't really learn anything. I don't really have any problems with the class because anything that's better than my 39A class, I am happy. I like the fact that we only meet 10 times per quarter and the instructor tries very hard to make the meetings as dense as possible. It feels like we haven't wasted any time yet. Hybrid class is a type of class that fits me because it allows me to work more for the class than I normally do.
In this class, I learned a lot of valuable tools because I am applying what i learn in the class to my other classes already. I have to write research papers for my art history classes and this class was very helpful in assisting me to obtain credible sources. Even though we do different types of research, it helped me tremendously in doing research and it saved me a lot of time. I am mad at different formatting because not everyone uses MLA formatting and it varies professor to professor but they all think its universal. Anyways, this class is crucial to my college learning experience and it is a useful knowledge that I have in my arsenal.
Only problem I have in the class is the blogging. I hate this blogging thing because its worth so much points. If it was only worth like 2%, I would definitely not do it but 10% is too much for me to not care. I don't really see the point in blogging and it ruins my weekend. I don't want to think about school on Saturdays and Sundays but I have to turn my computer on and write about something i don't care about every Sunday night. Plus, I don't learn anything. Good thing theres only 10 of them but its type of busy work that i don't enjoy. I'm sure instructors grading this don't enjoy it and see any sort of point in it. Therefore, I see it as a complete waste of time that's just thrown in the syllabus to make sure that students have something to do and instructors earn their money to make department heads feel like they're doing something. However, I like how in this class we don't really care about blogging as much as other classes. My be I'm wrong but I don't treat this like an assignment. I don't proof read, I just write what I feel like writing. Hopefully I get at least half credit every time I do this.
I don't like WR39 series but instructors who teach them make it better and worth it. I like this class because my instructor actually cares about me and she seem to enjoy teaching it as much as i am "thrilled" to take this class. It makes this class that much easier to get through and help me to actually use it in my advantage. I'm beginning to see why the university require me to take this class, sort of.

Writing Class

When I decided to enroll in the hybrid class, I really didn't know anything about the difference between a hybrid and a regular class. Last quarter I had taken a class that met once at the beggining of the quarter, and once in the middle of the quarter for a midterm, and the rest of it was done online. I had originally thought that this class might be like that, but I think its actually better that we meet every week. This class is nice because we have enough in class time to discuss important issues, but not too much in class time which leads to us having to do assignments in class that could just as easily be done at a more convenient time. I liked that we did not have to do the in class essay in class as well, because it relieved a lot of the pressure that is usually associated with an essay "test".
One thing that troubles me about the class is that it is harder to stay connected with what is going on for this class. During the week, I sometimes forget that I'm even in this class, and have to catch up on the work. Sometimes I feel like I don't really know what I should be doing for the class, but I continue with my research and working on the drafts and other various assignments that we are given to do. I am not a very big fan of doing group work, but my opinion of group work has been biased from past years of doing group work. The group work in this class isn't as painful as some other group projects I've done, because what we do in this class are usually short assignments.
Another thing that I am not very fond of is the writing studio, but so far it seems like we haven't been putting very much emphasis on using it. I do like using blogger, it seems straight forward and easy enough. The blog topics that we are given are easy to write about, and also pretty interesting. Overall, I would have to say that I like the way this class is run.

Likes and Dislikes

Thus far, I have many likes and only a few dislikes surrounding this writing class.  The fact that this class is a hybrid class is one aspect which I greatly enjoy because I feel that it allows for more productive work that relates to the entire class to be completed during class time and more individualized and personal work to be finished on one's own time.  I also like that we don't do assignments in class, which allots more time to discussion that helps us later when writing our papers.  Another characteristic of the class that I believe is very beneficial is spending much of the time critiquing a few theses, papers, or ideas, evaluating them and giving input on how to make them better.  This helps me critique my own work better and know what questions to ask myself in regards to whether I covered all aspects of the prompt for a specific assignment.  So far, one dislike I have is the amount of time I initially spent finding sources in the library but now when I look back, I see that it was actually really helpful.

Group work is probably my favorite part of this class because it aids me in my understanding of assignments by gaining answers and perspectives from my peers.  Small groups also create a more comfortable environment for me to feel free to ask my most pertinent questions and focus on the issues most relevant to me.  It also allows more of a discussion about the topics of the class and what is desired in the papers so that I am less confused about the requirements and am able to focus more on the information my paper will convey and how I will present it to the reader.  I have always struggled with writing so this clarification has made me more confident in my work.

I also enjoy the blog assignments with regard to their focus and format because I am able to write in my own voice and express my own opinions and feelings.  I feel more secure with my writing because there is no right or wrong answer.  I don't like how we are solely writing on one topic for the entire quarter but the research does help because it gives me a chance to branch out on my ideas.  It has also taught me a lot because I am used to only using my own knowledge bank when coming up with ideas in my papers but with additional research, I am able to apply new information to my initial proposals for the assignments.

What I like about writing...

Writing classes have always held an idea in my head of monotony because of the form, structure and group activities that have never appealed to me. While I do enjoy writing, I do not care for most academic writing classes, because I feel like the writing is so contrived and formulated that there is not a lot of room for creativity, which is what I like best. The research we are doing in class does have a structure of what we are supposed to write about, but I feel as though we have more freedom to write however we want, as long as we hit the points we are supposed to. This is in large part due to freedom from the five paragraph essay.
One thing that has been bothersome to me is that I feel like I don’t always know what’s going on; like when things are due, what’s coming up, etc. I know we are moving quickly through the quarter, but I feel confused on what chapters in Pollan we should read and by when, when different papers will be do, and different assignments we have are due. This bothers me because I like to plan things out and know what is due and when. I think I just need to pay more careful attention and infer things more.
One thing I really like about this class is that we meet only once a week for an hour and twenty minutes rather than a three hour lecture, like most once a week classes. I feel as though this really cuts down on the amount of “busy work” activities like we did in 39B. Having class once a week holds me more accountable for getting my work done, which actually helps me budget my time better, because I know I have to get stuff done if there are other things going on that I want to do.