As a final parting, I want to share this recent interview I did with “Urban Impact” (Kean’s “Urban Impact” podcast explores the complex issues facing urban communities – examined through meaningful conversations with scholars, community leaders and others who are driving change). Much of my reflections shared here have been inspired by our co-learning journey together this semester. If you can find the right 23 minutes in your or night, take a moment listen to this as a summative lens […]

more...

I think Brandon’s wrap-up of our pathfinding sessions was truly a “synthetic” moment, as we apprehended (in part) our experiences of grief and loss, as well as the source(s) of things that spark our creative impulse from within. The time spent in this final conversation became a re-visioning of “the old-world muse”, and it was an appropriate way to wrap up our semester-long contemplation of “the human nature of writing”. In mythology, the Muses were nine goddesses who symbolized the […]

more...

Thanks to Jasmine for her pathfinding as a summative look at artificial intelligence in the present day. Her presentation helped us put our earlier discussions into broader context. In former classes together we have spent some time speaking about writing, intention, creativity, etc. In those conversations we have leaned heavily on a humanist consideration. But it is important to link the ubiquity of AI technology today with the momentum for daily application. Something that we cannot deny. The use of […]

more...

It is the “final stretch” now for our class time together! Last week you had the final project workshop meant to jump start the process. Thank you to Brandon and Katie for guiding you through the workshop. Your to-do list **Please make sure that your ideas have been written in our workshop google doc! For next week: See you in our classroom F2F at our usual time!  Jasmine M will be our pathfinder for next class. Blog 11 due: Your […]

more...

We have one month remaining of this special class. The time we have left together will unfold faster than we might anticipate at the moment. With that in mind, I have mapped the next few weeks out with intention, and I am glad we took another look at our Course Calendar together. Time will move swiftly from here on in. Thank you for another thoughtful class last night. I am so glad that we spent the time this week thinking […]

more...

Happy Spring. …New ideas are sprouting. These past few weeks of our class time have been very meaningful to me. Our class discussions have indeed been impactful as we continue to consider the influence of artificial intelligence on society. We are no doubt covering critical ground – and more recently we have discussed the ways in which AI is shifting the very ground that teachers “stand on”. The enterprise of both teaching and learning is, by nature, a shifting and […]

more...

Happy Spring. …New ideas are sprouting. These past few weeks of our class time have been very meaningful to me. Our class discussions have indeed been impactful as we continue to consider the influence of artificial intelligence on society. We are no doubt covering critical ground – and more recently we have discussed the ways in which AI is shifting the very ground that teachers “stand on”. The enterprise of both teaching and learning is, by nature, a shifting and […]

more...

Our dynamic conversation this week was a deeper dive into the consideration of the human nature of writing. Thanks to Jenny and Maya’s excellent and truly interactive pathfinding session, we were able to consider the significance of meaning in writing. In foregrounding this elusive yet critical component of our very “humanness,” we contend with the plain truth that a chatbot is never a human (even if it trained to replicate our human qualities). What we discovered in authoring some poems […]

more...

This week is Spring Break, and I am glad you are all able to take a bit of time to recharge and renew. I imagine you are all catching up on much needed rest. As we discussed, resting is a critical part of being human, and cannot be ignored. Thanks to Jasmine Dixon for further opening up our questioning regarding the question of ChatGPT (as either friend or foe). Of course the issue of natural language processing and it’s impact […]

more...

It was great to resume our rhythm together this week, kicking off our “Pathfinding Series” with thoughts about trauma and care in the classroom from both Bianca and Edna. I am glad we thought about the concept of flow – a flow state, also known colloquially as being in the zone, is the mental state in which a person performing some activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity. The hallmark of […]

more...

It was great to resume our rhythm together this week, kicking off our “Pathfinding Series” with thoughts about trauma and care in the classroom from both Bianca and Edna. I am glad we thought about the concept of flow – a flow state, also known colloquially as being in the zone, is the mental state in which a person performing some activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity. The hallmark of […]

more...

I missed you last week, but I am glad to have the recuperation time, and I am now looking forward to our re-engagement with our course and our on-going discussion regarding “the Human Nature of Writing”. Catching up now…. We will pick up where we left off (2/23). I will start our next class with some announcements, some warm ups, and address the Course Calendar which is now complete (with only some minor details remaining). Afterward, we will kick off […]

more...

It was a pleasant evening spent with American writer and musician James McBride – recipient of the 2013 National Book Award. President Barack Obama awarded McBride the 2015 National Humanities Medal “for humanizing the complexities of discussing race in America. Through writings about his own uniquely American story, and his works of fiction informed by our shared history, his moving stories of love display the character of the American family.” I appreciated McBride’s warmth, his candor, his unscripted way of reflecting with us, and […]

more...

We have momentum Thanks for another enjoyable class with you this week! In building a sense of connection together, we began by sharing some stories regarding our names, and had a good time exploring a bit more of who we are. Trust is such a key part of the learning experience (something that only builds after some time with each other). I am glad to invite some of our time in getting to know a bit more about everyone in […]

more...

 I was so happy to welcome all of you to #netnarr on Thursday evening (1/19) as we took a bit of time together to acclimate to this learning journey. I am excited about getting “Networked Narratives” up and running with all of you, and I am feeling energized by connecting in person. Some check in and warm up with you: A review of some of the things we have accomplished so far: We have connected in person and established a […]

more...