Online journal access

I have fixed up a folder on our Webcourses home page that links to the journals Science and Nature. No specific articles are assigned yet, but you can click through and look around, maybe even LEARN something! :D

Writing Assignment 3

I am canceling Writing Assignment 3. Just not enough time.

Here is the procedure I will follow:

1. Grade Writing Assignment 2, from 1 up to 8 points, as usual.... if you dropped it into the drop box #2. You guys who were late, do not sweat: I will grade it with the rest of the papers.
2. For everyone who has a paper in Writing Assignment 2, I will pencil in straight 8 points for Writing Assignment 3.

For example, if I grade your WA2 paper as 5/8, your total on the two assignments will be 13/16.

Resubmit your paper, one more time for points

OK, I have eyeballed all the TurnItIn.com plagiarism checks. Good.

Next move, resubmit your paper one more time in the Webcourses drop box labeled "Writing assignment 2, drop #2" -- it's in the Writing Assignments folder, and it's marked with the circular yellow DROP icon. Just paste the text in the textbox, very simple.

Get this done before midnight, Saturday night.

Then I can start grading up your papers for points.

Writing assignment 2 is UP.

Look in the Week 14 learning module for the instructions page for Writing Assignment 2. You can hand it in starting Thursday morning, and due date is next Wednesday, April 21, at 11:59 PM.

Note: writing assignment 3 will be final revision of this assignment, so if you do a top notch job on Writing Assignment 2, you only need ditto marks for Writing Assignment 3. Work hard.

Writing Assignment 2 nearly ready

We are proof-reading the instructions for writing assignment 2. I hope to release the instructions tonight or tomorrow morning. The due date will be April 21, next Wednesday.

Electricity learning module is UP.

The week's learning module, covering electricity concepts of chapter 20, is now up.

I have some digital video to show you in iTunes U, but for some reason I cannot log into iTunes U this morning. You will see the digital videos soon.

I am still working on Writing Assignment 2. More about it soon.

Writing assignments

I am delaying Writing Assignment 2 a few more days.

Do not stress out -- it is an easy task, which you can do in an hour or so.

Welcome back from spring break

Do we need another week of spring break or WHAT?

But being as how we actually have to get back to work, let me make a few announcements:

1. I am pushing back the due date for Writing Assignment 2 to next Wednesday, the 24th, on account of when I made up the semester schedule, I forgot about spring break being last week.
2. I will announce your instructions for Writing Assignment 2 by this Wed. or sooner. Until then, re-read the article you've chosen (in WA 1) and practice writing a sentence or two answering WHY that specific article caught your eye.
3. I will release the Week 10 learning module later today, hopefully by supper time.

Writing assignment 1 is now graded.

Everybody who turned in something for Writing Assignment 1 now has a grade. Most of you did fine, but a few of you have some sharpening up to do with your topic and/or your citation. See my comments for your assignment.

Stay ready for the Writing Assignment 2 instructions later this week.

Most writing assignments 1 graded now

I just finished grading most of your Writing Assignment 1 submissions. Only a few that reference articles in Science are on hold, because the Science website is off the air right now. Hopefully I will get to them tomorrow or later tonight when sciencemag.org lights back up.

Instructions for Writing Assignment 2 will be posted next week.

Writing Assignment 1 due tomorrow

Writing Assignment 1 is due tomorrow, and I have already graded about a dozen early bird submissions.

Make sure to get this teeny writing assignment submitted before the deadline.

About Writing Assignment 1.

Comments on Writing Assignment 1:

1. When you are preparing your submission for Writing Assignment 1, just type it into the text entry box. It is a very simple assignment, so attaching a Wordperfect or MS Word file is overkill. Keep it simple, just type in your sentence and citation.
2. Tell me what YOU find interesting in the article you decide to focus on. The assignment is about what YOU think, so a generic summary sentence is not strongest.
3. Do this before next Wednesday.

Writing Assignment 1 = GO for launch.

Writing Assignment 1 is ready for launch. Look for the instructions on Writing Assignment 1 in this week's learning module. You will also see the submission link there, where you will type in your actual submission.

Due date is next Wednesday, one week from today, Feb. 24, 2010. Go for it!

Writing Assignment 1 is almost ready.

I am almost ready to release Writing Assignment 1. Just a few finishing touches to settle on.

Week 5 learning module is ready

The week 5 learning module is now up, covering the concept of momentum. We will be trying to focus on momentum in Writing Assignment 1, 2 and 3, so dive in.

The writing assignments will also focus on energy and angular momentum, which form the core concepts of next week's and the week after's learning modules. So I will release those learning modules this weekend. You can get a head start in studying ahead.

New learning module, with some extra prep work for writing assignments

The Week 3 learning module is now UP. It contains the prime study tool, the Chapter 4 concept guide, plus a mini-quiz for secondary work. Finally, it has Writing Assignment 0, which outlines some reading you can do to prepare for the other writing assignments.

Writing Assignment 0 is a study assignment, not for points on your semester grade -- although all the points you eventually earn in Writing Assignments 1, 2 and 3 depend on what you do here.

Angular; writing assignments

I am still working on the technical re-grade of the angular conversion item on Exam 2. I hope to finish tonight.

Due to changes in Webcourses this semester, and the accompanying difficulties integrating TurnItIn.com and Webcourses, I must now cancel our writing assignments 1 and 2. I am awarding full points to everyone, 20/20. I think this is fair, although I like the writing assignments, so it burns my grits to cancel them.

Learning Module 5 is ready now.

I suggest a day off from physical science brain work, but your next learning module is now ready: Universal Gravitation.

Too, I will probably set up our writing assignments this week, now that we have the basic tools, F = ma and so forth.

Do not bother with TurnItIn.com if you are not already registered.

If you are not already registered for TurnItIn.com, do not bother with it any more. It is too confusing.

Instead, just drop a paper into the Elvis assignment in Webcourses (running man icon), and that will get you onto the TurnItIn roster from inside Webcourses. I extended the "deadline" on it so that you can try it out this week. It closes Friday.

There is no class key. There is no password.

Writing Assignments, grade book etc.

I have been messing around with writing assignments and the grade book in Webcourses. So do not freak out when you see a bunch of new stuff in your My Grades page.

Both writing assignments are still TBA, "to be announced."

However, I did set up a little practice writing assignment, for one bonus point. Click into the running man icon on the home page, and then the MIB icon. It will let you practice uploading a paper into TurnItIn.com. One bonus point for successfully uploading a paper -- no particular topic.

Side note: this will get you enrolled into TurnItin.com, I am pretty sure.