Week 1: This first week, there were only two classes (classes began on Wednesday of this week).

Wednesday: This first day of class, we discussed the philosophy of the class and played an icebreaker, and then they wrote their diagnostic essays. I used no lecture slides or WebCT.

Friday: I introduced them to WebCT, and we practiced sending and opening e-mails; taking quizzes; exploring how to use WordBank; looking at lecture slides and “My Progress”; and previewed the Essay Feedback forms. They seemed excited about the prospect of learning new vocabulary and had fun with the e-mail. {Three weeks into the semester, at least four students in this class write me on a regular basis (two of them at least twice a week) with questions about quizzes and the class in general. One of them says she’s really happy to be able to be in touch with her teacher outside of class (and from her home)—it gives her confidence about her ability to succeed, she said.}

Week 2: Monday: (No class ~ Labor Day)

Wednesday: Today I used the “Prewriting” slide show. It was an excellent and efficient way to introduce both prewriting ideas and organization of those ideas. It freed me up to talk to the class face to face without spending time writing on the board. The outline and clustering were clearly visible to them, and they seemed to appreciate that. Going through the clustering slides was a bit slow for them. They saw numerous slides on outlining and then more of the same on clustering. I might consider breaking that lecture slide up for next time around and starting with the clustering.

Friday: I used no lecture slides today ~ we clustered in class. I believe that their having seen the clustering slides did make it easier for them to grasp the organizational concepts behind clustering.