On the morning of April 20th, the gray slate of the NC State clock tower faded quietly into a similarly gray sky. The uncharacteristic windy chill and the light drizzle of rain both seemed to say: soon, you will all be in England – so here is a taste of that famous English weather.
A warm and brightly lit room met the newest students of ECI 509: Integrating Writing and Technology. We took seats at festively decorated tables that featured small Union Jack flags and maps of the University of Surrey campus. A few participants found comrades from past classes, happily sharing recognition hugs or handshakes. Others sat amongst all strangers but quietly and slowly made acquaintances with neighbors. As group members continued to trail in and collect their nametags, the small space in Poe Hall filled with nervous but excited chatter. In the backdrop, pictures and video from the 2011 class scrolled across the smart boards and projection screens that wallpapered the room.
The purpose of the morning was to meet one another and review course basics, but the underscore was a theme of resources and advantages. The following review summarizes the main points of the morning under this theme: our unique course is a wealth of benefits set against unmatched value.
Stretching the Borchardt Dollar (or, pound!)
In every discussion of processes and policies, the value of this trip became increasingly apparent.
In one discussion, Dr. Ruie Pritchard compared our program to another Borchardt program, one that takes fewer students for less time. Clearly, our program is able to accomplish so much more with the same funding because the directors have ensured that every dollar—or pound!—spent provides a rich but affordable learning experience.
Diversity amongst Participants
The day one meet-and-greet activity was a “Signature Hunt,” requiring participants to meet students that fit one of many criteria (ex. “I have green eyes” or “I have a motorcycle license” were two examples, but my favorite criterion was the slightly personal "I am available for dates.") This activity was a great way for us to get out of our seats and meet one another, but more important, it was a way to highlight our many different experiences. The program is well balanced, despite the relatively short period it was advertised. A huge pool of applicants had to be reduced by half, and the results included:
May won the timed Signature Hunt challenge, securing 14 signatures. The class mean was 10 signatures, and the “deepest” participants (named such because these participants were obviously more in-depth conversationalists) collected 8 signatures.
This activity, along with other activities during our first day, helped to highlight the immense value behind the diversity of our participants. I look forward to learning from everyone, with their different background and experiences, as we complete this adventure together.
Measurements
Another added value of this course is that the directors have spent time planning how to study the impact of the course on us, the students. We briefly reviewed a series of assessments during the morning session, talking in detail about The Technology Assessment, the Writing Apprehension Instrument, and the Intercultural Development Inventory:
Our First Lecture: Jane Austen, by Dr. Elliot Engel
Another example of amazing value is the speaker on the very first day of class. If Dr. Elliot Engel is any indication of the in-depth, brought-to-life author discussions we'll be having through this class, we're all in for a bargin of a rich scholastic adventure.
Dr. Engel was an engaging, provocative speaker who brought Jane Austen to life by reviewing her history, the context of her time period, and her overall impact as, “Absolutely the first great author in the English language who was not a man.” It was a fantastic way to begin our academic journey together. The following summary attempts to review Dr. Engel's main points.
Dr. Engel began by reviewing why women did not become great authors until Jane Austen. His thesis was this: men controlled the field of literature. He supported this argument with these main points:
So, Dr. Engel argued, not until the novel was created in England in the 1740s and 50s was there a space where women could write successfully.
Of course, as he points out, Jane Austen was not immediately successful. She tried to write an epic poem at age 13, but it was—in a word—unimpressive. (“She got up and went to dinner. After which, she wasn’t thinner,” Dr. Engel quoted.) Next, she tried to become the first female historian of England, but as Dr. Engel pointed out with the example of her quipping chapter on Henry the VIII, she did not thrive at that, either.
Finally, at 17 years old, she starts and then finishes her first novel in 21 months: Sense and Sensibility (a nice title change from Eleanor and MaryAnne). Dr. Engel reviewed the timeline of her next two novels, Pride and Prejudice and Northanger Abbey, revealing that she published them all before 23. This is a stark contrast from what others are doing at 22.
Austen’s life was forever changed by two later events: first, her family moves from the small city of Steventon to the big city of Bath; next, her father dies, and her family’s fortune is spread to distant relatives. Austen, her sister, and her mother experience eight years of homeless house-hoping from brother to brother. Finally, her brother Edward secures a small fortune from an adopted family, which includes an extra house that he gives (rather than rents, luckily) to his mother and sisters. It’s not until Jane has this house to live in safely that she can write again. She will almost immediately write what most English professors consider her masterpiece, Emma.
In 1811, Austen is finally published. The title page of first published novel, Sense and Sensibility, reads:
The purpose of the morning was to meet one another and review course basics, but the underscore was a theme of resources and advantages. The following review summarizes the main points of the morning under this theme: our unique course is a wealth of benefits set against unmatched value.
Stretching the Borchardt Dollar (or, pound!)
In every discussion of processes and policies, the value of this trip became increasingly apparent.
- Program Cost: The program directors and instructors are waiving their salary, which is one of the reasons the program is affordable.
- Included Resources: The program directors have ensured that resources like digital cameras, power adapters, and more will be available for student use during the trip.
- Campus Resources: The campus is providing classroom space for free, and the accommodations—even though they include the luxury of private rooms and private baths—are affordable and include cost-saving features like Wi-Fi and kitchen spaces. One of the greatest features will be breakfast; not only will a hot breakfast be provided daily to stave our appetites, it’ll also be a great way for us to meet every morning and share announcements.
- Easy Shopping: Sara shared a great reminder for us all about nearby stores. The on-campus store is a small convenience mart, but there’s a large store, Tesco, very close by. On day one, we’ll all take a trip to the large store down the street, which will help us to (1) stock up on supplies (for cheaper eat-in lunches and dinners) AND (2) avoid the temptation of a first-day nap as we adjust to the time change.
- Transportation: While all transportation isn’t included, a lot of the transportation—including airport transit, a trip to the market, travel to course excursions, and train passes for the first free weekend--is provided.
- Course Credit: The greatest advantage of this program is that, even though the instructors have waived their salary, students can receive three graduate-level credit hours for completing this program. As such, some of the cost spent on the trip can be considered "tuition" (as we do not have to pay extra tuition on top of our trip costs, even though we are securing course credit).
In one discussion, Dr. Ruie Pritchard compared our program to another Borchardt program, one that takes fewer students for less time. Clearly, our program is able to accomplish so much more with the same funding because the directors have ensured that every dollar—or pound!—spent provides a rich but affordable learning experience.
Diversity amongst Participants
The day one meet-and-greet activity was a “Signature Hunt,” requiring participants to meet students that fit one of many criteria (ex. “I have green eyes” or “I have a motorcycle license” were two examples, but my favorite criterion was the slightly personal "I am available for dates.") This activity was a great way for us to get out of our seats and meet one another, but more important, it was a way to highlight our many different experiences. The program is well balanced, despite the relatively short period it was advertised. A huge pool of applicants had to be reduced by half, and the results included:
- 1 higher education instructor
- 2 middle school instructors (both 6th grade)
- 9 high school instructors
- 9 elementary school instructors
May won the timed Signature Hunt challenge, securing 14 signatures. The class mean was 10 signatures, and the “deepest” participants (named such because these participants were obviously more in-depth conversationalists) collected 8 signatures.
This activity, along with other activities during our first day, helped to highlight the immense value behind the diversity of our participants. I look forward to learning from everyone, with their different background and experiences, as we complete this adventure together.
Measurements
Another added value of this course is that the directors have spent time planning how to study the impact of the course on us, the students. We briefly reviewed a series of assessments during the morning session, talking in detail about The Technology Assessment, the Writing Apprehension Instrument, and the Intercultural Development Inventory:
- The Technology Assessment survey, developed in part by Michael and his team at Clemson and in part by Dr. Kevin Oliver, is an in-depth survey asking students to evaluate their use of and comfort with technology. This survey is available online through Moodle; you will have access to it once you complete the consent form.
- The Writing Apprehension Instrument is based on the research of John Daly and Michael Miller (1975). We completed this survey on paper during the morning session. After answering 26 questions about our writing apprehension, we received a rating from 26 to 130 (mean score 79.28, standard deviation 18.86). We were asked to give ourselves a pseudonym when reporting our scores, so that we can keep our answers confidential but be able to track our pre- and post-course results. (Sara helpfully reminded us all to write down our pseudonyms in our new “day books,” as she had trouble remembering her own last time!)
- The Intercultural Development Inventory is a measure that asks students, “What is most challenging for you in working with people from other cultures” and other intercultural questions. Instructions for completing this have already been emailed to students.
Our First Lecture: Jane Austen, by Dr. Elliot Engel
Another example of amazing value is the speaker on the very first day of class. If Dr. Elliot Engel is any indication of the in-depth, brought-to-life author discussions we'll be having through this class, we're all in for a bargin of a rich scholastic adventure.
Dr. Engel was an engaging, provocative speaker who brought Jane Austen to life by reviewing her history, the context of her time period, and her overall impact as, “Absolutely the first great author in the English language who was not a man.” It was a fantastic way to begin our academic journey together. The following summary attempts to review Dr. Engel's main points.
Dr. Engel began by reviewing why women did not become great authors until Jane Austen. His thesis was this: men controlled the field of literature. He supported this argument with these main points:
- Men controlled what you could write about in the first ages. All the genres, from epics to love sonnets to the restoration period pieces, excluded women by their inherent subject/character requirements.
- The very English language is “anti-feminist.” Dr. Engel argued, “If you are a writer, the tools you have are words. Even the words in our language tend to make women second-class characters, and make them think twice about using this language as an artist.” His specific examples were:
• the unfair differences between terms like “tomboy” and “sissy,” “masculine” and “effeminate”;
• the offensiveness of the word “rapist” instead of “raper”;
• the very word “author” as it comes from “an authority,” which women of the time were not allowed to be; and even,
• the origins of “pen” from the Latin term “penis” (which Dr. Engel clarified as meaning “a tail,” but identified as inherently against women.)
So, Dr. Engel argued, not until the novel was created in England in the 1740s and 50s was there a space where women could write successfully.
Of course, as he points out, Jane Austen was not immediately successful. She tried to write an epic poem at age 13, but it was—in a word—unimpressive. (“She got up and went to dinner. After which, she wasn’t thinner,” Dr. Engel quoted.) Next, she tried to become the first female historian of England, but as Dr. Engel pointed out with the example of her quipping chapter on Henry the VIII, she did not thrive at that, either.
Finally, at 17 years old, she starts and then finishes her first novel in 21 months: Sense and Sensibility (a nice title change from Eleanor and MaryAnne). Dr. Engel reviewed the timeline of her next two novels, Pride and Prejudice and Northanger Abbey, revealing that she published them all before 23. This is a stark contrast from what others are doing at 22.
Austen’s life was forever changed by two later events: first, her family moves from the small city of Steventon to the big city of Bath; next, her father dies, and her family’s fortune is spread to distant relatives. Austen, her sister, and her mother experience eight years of homeless house-hoping from brother to brother. Finally, her brother Edward secures a small fortune from an adopted family, which includes an extra house that he gives (rather than rents, luckily) to his mother and sisters. It’s not until Jane has this house to live in safely that she can write again. She will almost immediately write what most English professors consider her masterpiece, Emma.
In 1811, Austen is finally published. The title page of first published novel, Sense and Sensibility, reads:
Dr. Engel commented on the byline "By a Lady," but noted the change in her next publication.
In 1812, Pride and Prejudice was published. This time, the title page read:
In 1812, Pride and Prejudice was published. This time, the title page read:
Dr. Engel pointed out that the title page was just one reflection of how women, even women as successful as Jane Austen, were not accepted as authors. When Austen died in the hospital of Addison’s Disease, she was far too young; yet, she was a very accomplished author. Still, on the monument by her grave, the inscription sings of her piety, her care for the less fortunate, her love for her family… but it says nothing of her written works.
Despite her accomplishments, Dr. Engel pointed out that Austen’s writing life was not easy. She kept a parlor door unfixed on purpose, inviting the squeaky hinge to alert her of visitors when she was writing in the parlor. When she heard the squeaky warning, she would quickly hide her writing and then pretend to be knitting or sewing. (Hopefully, we’ll all get to hear the door squeak during a visit!) Additionally, Austen had to write on whatever she could find—backs of envelopes and scrap pieces of paper—because, “Women weren’t allowed to write on regulation paper. She would sew [scraps] together on the end and hold it together in her hand to see how much she had written.” Just one more example of how Austen was a female author in the age of no female authors.
Dr. Engel’s closing argument was this: Austen was “the greatest comic ironist in the English language” who wrote what she was good at, which was following a few families through the adventures of marrying their daughters. Dr. Engel helped us review basic irony (ex. “The fire station is unsafe”) and great irony (ex. “The fire station burnt down”), using the famous first line of Pride and Prejudice as a prime example.
If Dr. Engel’s book A Dab of Dickens & A Touch of Twain is anything like his live talk, it will be an interesting, funny, real-life portrayal of the great authors of that age, with provocative commentary and sharp literary points. Added fun is when we all get to decide: Are we warm and fuzzy Dickensians, or sharp, irony-loving Janeites?
More about Dr. Engel: http://www.authorsink.com/about-dr-elliot-engel/
Sense of Humor
To close my summary, I’d like to recap some of the funnier moments in the morning session.
Despite her accomplishments, Dr. Engel pointed out that Austen’s writing life was not easy. She kept a parlor door unfixed on purpose, inviting the squeaky hinge to alert her of visitors when she was writing in the parlor. When she heard the squeaky warning, she would quickly hide her writing and then pretend to be knitting or sewing. (Hopefully, we’ll all get to hear the door squeak during a visit!) Additionally, Austen had to write on whatever she could find—backs of envelopes and scrap pieces of paper—because, “Women weren’t allowed to write on regulation paper. She would sew [scraps] together on the end and hold it together in her hand to see how much she had written.” Just one more example of how Austen was a female author in the age of no female authors.
Dr. Engel’s closing argument was this: Austen was “the greatest comic ironist in the English language” who wrote what she was good at, which was following a few families through the adventures of marrying their daughters. Dr. Engel helped us review basic irony (ex. “The fire station is unsafe”) and great irony (ex. “The fire station burnt down”), using the famous first line of Pride and Prejudice as a prime example.
If Dr. Engel’s book A Dab of Dickens & A Touch of Twain is anything like his live talk, it will be an interesting, funny, real-life portrayal of the great authors of that age, with provocative commentary and sharp literary points. Added fun is when we all get to decide: Are we warm and fuzzy Dickensians, or sharp, irony-loving Janeites?
More about Dr. Engel: http://www.authorsink.com/about-dr-elliot-engel/
Sense of Humor
To close my summary, I’d like to recap some of the funnier moments in the morning session.
- When discussing Downton Abbey, Dr. Pritchard joked, “It’s the best soap opera without tattoos.”
- Dr. Pritchard shared that Dr. Oliver demanded the breakfast on campus because he loves the bangers, which brought on a great bangers debate. Dr. Oliver implored repeatedly, “I never said that.” (Notably, Dr. Pritchard later admitted that she’s very fond of provoking Dr. Oliver.)
- As we reviewed the campus map, which featured helpful arrows for important locations, Dr. Pritchard pointed out one specific arrow: the one directed at Chancellors, the on-campus pub. She said, “…You go to England, you walk right in and there’s a pub right on campus! It also has pretty good food.” We all look forward to visiting this notable campus location.
- When discussing journal writing, Dr. Pritchard shared an in-case-something-happens-to-me plan with a close friend. This friend has strict instructions to find Dr. Pritchard’s journals and “burn ‘em” because: “I don’t want my family to know how raunchy my life has been!”
- This one stands alone: “Go ahead and write on this instrument if you’d like to because I’ve already spilled coffee on it.”
- We were all asked not to be concerned if Dr. Oliver is spotted rummaging through the recycling: he collects bottle tops to redeem points online.
- Before Dr. Pritchard shared Dr. Engel’s background with us, he waived her off and said, “Leave out the Nobel Prize; it separates me from the common people.”
- “Why did it take 1800 years after Jesus to produce a great female author?” asked Dr. Engel, opening up what would be a great discussion.
- “Even I am hoping that they do not come out with another version of Pride and Prejudice or Sense and Sensibility on PBS,” said Dr. Engel.
CLOSING
In summary, the first class was an enjoyable session; we met one another, we discussed the course, we better introduced ourselves to Jane Austen, and we dove further into the processes and assignments that will guide our adventure together into Merry Old England. I look forward to seeing you all at the next class!
Reminders about Upcoming Tasks
The following is my brief summary of reminders that the instructors shared during the morning session.
Remember the measures we have been asked to complete.
The online consent form is easily accessible through Moodle. Also remember that we are not required to take part in these data collection methods or to continue surveys after starting. There is no consequence for note completing these measures. If you accept the consent form, the Technology Assessment will begin immediately; Mike asked that we plan an hour for this task. Instructions for completing the Intercultural Development Inventory have already been emailed to students.
Reading with purpose:
When completing our required readings, keep this note from Dr. Pritchard in mind: “Hypertext is not linear. New literacy is one new way to think about writing. Note these differences as you read the chapter.”