We'll begin today by making sure practical issues are taken care of, such as making sure residual questions about how the course will work are dealt with, and walking people through the process of signing into the Moodle site for the class (we'll be working with that next).
Let's talk
We'll reorganize the room so that, as far as possible, nobody's back is to anybody else. Having done that, we'll do a "round" in which everybody will have a chance to say what they would like about their experience with the library and the texts from last time. Or pass, if they choose, without opprobrium.
The aim is to share problems, insights, and understanding -- more about the process than about what you found, which we're going to share in writing, but you can give us the highlights of that if you like.
As we go around the room, take notes on things you might like to respond to; in a round, everybody gets the floor, but -- except for occasional requests for clarification -- there's no discussion. After we've been around, the floor's open for whatever anybody wants to say.
We're going to be reading and discussing these reports on line. Here's how.
You'll need to be signed in to the Moodle page for the course. You'll also need to have access to the file containing your report on your library exploration.
The first item on the page is a Forum, titled "Reading and discussing reports on preliminary explorations." If you click on the link (same title) you'll get to a page showing a button balled "Add a new discussion topic." Click on that and you'll open a page with a Subject box and an editing box. In another window, you should have your report open.
In the Subject line, identify the book you worked with. For instance, "Barnard's A Short History" or "Shepard and Wood's English Prose and Poetry"; if there were two, shorten them a bit more. You don't need your name in the Subject field, as that will show up automatically.
Then copy the entire text of your report (including the top line with your name) into the editing box.
Spend a few minutes cleaning up the text in the box. For instance, if you double-spaced you don't need to (and shouldn't) do that here; or if there are extra <returns> or <enters> at the ends of lines or between paragraphs, delete them. Make it readable. While you're at it, reread it and look for things you can improve; you can often see more when the text has been reformatted and rearranged.
When you're done, click the "Post to forum" button at the bottom.
Do this before tomorrow morning; between then and class Wednesday afternoon, read a range of the reports, and think about what they choose to report on, in what ways they're informative and helpful, and how they might be made more so (and how they might help you improve your own).