Today in class we’ll start a new podcast. This much longer series will be our foundation for using the Lehman library’s many resources.

There will be an increased focus on composing complex annotations in Hypothes.is, so hopefully you have used the first podcast to get comfortable with that technology. If you haven’t, please let me know how I can help.

We’ll be focusing today on some important practices today: extended writing time, long discussions, a framework for posing questions in Hypothes.is, and a procedure for capturing our discussions OR for framing the next one.

Today we’ll talk about conventions.

In this class we looked at our drafts of Essay 1. We spent some time starting these on Thursday. You’ll be able to work with my feedback on this draft in concert with your peers’ feedback. Here’s an example of local feedback from a great first paragraph:

As ever, the flow of our class is on “Chalkboard.” This is our last day discussing the many issues that emerge from Mixtape, so let’s get to it:

Review: We’ve listened to three episodes that develop Simon Adler’s argument. “Dakou” is about control and customizability as cassette tapes and the music on them find their way into the underground of 1980s China. “Jack and Bing” is about a “deceptively huge shift” in the production of radio that points to the conflicting urges to capture and document versus to perfect and improve. Each of these episodes has a little guy vs. The Man vibe to it. The last episode features a few underdogs, too.

Discussion: Today we’ll talk about “Cassetternet.” Many of you were struck by the notion of “sharing” versus “owning” ideas. What’s interesting in the Fuxoft part of the episode is how it’s a conversation. More globally, how does technology change depending on the purpose to which it’s put? Can it be a means to speak truth to power, to deliver a message or achieve a goal that might otherwise be impossible? What examples come to mind? What other forces does Simon Adler describe in this episode that began with cassette technology, but (maybe) remain today?

Activity: In groups of three or four, respond to annotations from other students. Which sections are they highlighting that you might quote in your paper. As a quick lesson, we’ll talk about how to use audio in your essays (if we have time). With the balance of class left after our sentence workshop and discussion, we’ll turn to outlining in preparation for Thursday’s in-class drafting.

Good afternoon! We have a lot to do today, and most of the logistical business and lessons are on the “Chalkboard.” There’s a lot to cover with today’s episode, and I’m playing around with putting it here. Here’s the plan for our discussion of Mixtape:

Review: Tuesday, we listened, annotated, and discussed “Dakou.” We’ll start by recalling to ourselves, first in our notebooks and then out loud, how this episode supports Simon Adler’s assertion that ours is “a cassette world.” How did “Dakou” answer the question you’ll have to tackle soon, namely: What is “a cassette world” and are we living in it?  

Discussion: For today, you read “Jack and Bing,” which is less a buddy movie and more a study in contrasts about what to do with a “deceptively huge shift” in the production of radio and later all broadcast media. What are your overall reactions to this text? How does it answer the question that “Dakou” attempted? What new questions emerge from your reading? 

Activity: In groups of three or four, respond to one of the dozen or so annotations I’ve left in the transcript of today’s episode of Mixtape. Some places to start:

1. Another opening anecdote about technology. What are your ‘first’ device stories?
2. Bing’s “work-life balance.” Compare/contrast the public and private versions of Bing?
3. Celebrities and privacy. Does/must fame/influence “cost” the loss of privacy?
4. Live vs. taped performance: What’s “magic” about live performance? About recording?
5. Ethics & editing: When is it “wrong” to edit tape, and what makes it that way?

• Independent Work: Reread or (at home) re-listen to the passage at the very end, where Simon Adler argues that with every social media window we open, we’re “torn between Jack and Bing.” What does he mean by this? Do you agree or disagree with him? What’s your response to the claim one of you astutely made: “it is very easy to get caught up in wanting to portray a false reality for the outside world and that is very detrimental to who we are as people and as a society.” What do we do with ‘false’ reality? When do we produce it ourselves, Why? What are the ethics around it? Why do we do it, even if it is “very detrimental”? Or is it actually harmless, in the grand scheme of things?
• Please brainstorm, draft, and edit your reply in a paragraph or two. Publish it using Hypothes.is; if Hypothes.is is not working super well, post your thoughts as a reply to this blog post. If neither of them are working, you can post it to the Discussion Board’s “Mixtape Open Forum”–but see me to work out these technology issues.

Good afternoon!

Today we’ll continue the work of orienting ourselves to the course, with a particular eye on a few digital tools: Blackboard, CUNY Academic Commons, and Hypothes.is.

Of these, Hypothes.is is the most important and (initially) the most high maintenance. So we’ll start (and, probably, end) there.

In between, I’ll walk you through the basic functions we’ll use Blackboard for. And I’ll explain how we’ll use CUNY Academic Commons, too.

In terms of content, we’ll split class evenly between two tasks: a lesson on revision with some practice just after, and a lesson on annotation with (you guessed it) practice.

Belated thanks to all of you for a wonderful first day. I’m looking forward to sharing this site and our Blackboard site with you later today.

Generally, a “Class Notes” post will show up on this site around noon Tuesdays and Thursdays. It’ll frame our work for that day, make any notes or adjustments to our schedule, and briefly respond to classwork from the previous class meeting.