Some follow up items to class today

First, the responses to the survey about which class produced the most learning for you coupled with your answers can be found here. The identifying information is removed, so if you want to share with others you are free to do so.  I thought the variety in responses was itself interesting.  You have different criteria by which to evaluate when a learning situation is good for you.

Second, some students had trouble setting up their blogs because they were somehow still into their campus accounts.  Overhearing them, they tried it with an anonymous Web page.  I'm not sure what the means.  If they want to elaborate on this they can do so as a comment to this post.

Third, I found myself shouting so that you could hear me in class, but at the end of the session my throat was hurting.  As I had pneumonia in the spring, I'm not wanting a repeat of that.  I have requested from the AV people to see if they have a microphone I can use that would amplify my voice through the room sound system.  That is plan A.  Plan B is that I might record chunks of presentation to play so I can take a break from shouting and you hear the recording for a few minutes, then we resume.  Plan C might be one of you, or a group of you, running the session instead of me.  Are there any volunteers for that? 

Fourth, I seem to always forget to do something I had prepared for in advance.  Have any of you seen the movie The Paper Chase, which came out in the early 1970s?  (There was a subsequent TV show based on the movie.)  Indirectly that movie had an impact on how I conduct class.  For now, let me ask this question.  Which is better for learning, a formal approach where I call you Miss or Mr. along with your last name, or an informal approach where I call you by your first name?   Can you justify your answer based on issues we've already talked about in class?  Let's start with this one on Thursday.

Fifth, on my trying to match names with faces, today I had more success with the women than with the men.  While I applaud the guys growing beards, I've had mine for quite a while now, it makes you harder to distinguish from one another.  I'll eventually get this, but it might take a bit longer than I expected.