Class Announcements

Friday, May 8 - Monday, May 11

2009-05-08T00:01:00.001-05:00

CONGRATULATIONS! You have reached the end of the class! Your final assignments are due this weekend, and the absolute deadline for turning in the Week 15 Storybook assignment will be Monday at noon. I will be turning in grades on Monday afternoon.

NO LATE ASSIGNMENTS for the Week 15 Storybook. If you need to get credit for the Week 15 Storybook assignment, please make sure you get that turned in by Monday at noon at the very latest. There will be no partial credit for late assignments this week. The sooner you can get that turned in, the better. If you can turn in the final Storybook assignment on Friday, I can get that read and points recorded for you in the Gradebook before the weekend.

Other Week 15 assignments. You are in for a surprise with the Blog Responding assignment (a nice surprise, I promise!). For the Internet assignment, I've created a simple webpage - Online Course Lady - where you can leave a comment for next semester's students (including anonymous comments. if you prefer). The idea is that you can share some tips and tricks - things you have learned this semester that you wish you had known starting out!

Grading and points. As you can see in the Grading Information page, you need 410 points to get an A, 360 points to get a B, and 320 points to get a C. When you get the number of points you need, you are done! If you have any unanswered questions about this grading system, please contact me as soon as possible.

HAPPY SUMMER!!!!!!

(Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson)

Thursday, May 7

2009-05-07T00:01:00.000-05:00

Today is Thursday of WEEK 15 of the class. If you have not turned in your Week 14 Storybook assignment yet, you may still do that UNTIL NOON today for partial credit. For those of you in Myth-Folklore or World Lit, Thursday morning, until noon, is the grace period if you forgot to do any of the assignments that were due on Wednesday.

Storybook stack. As of the end of the work day on Wednesday, I had read and responded to all the Storybook assignments that had been turned in. If you turned something in on Wednesday evening, I'll be updating the stack again on Thursday morning. You can check the contents of the stack to make sure I have received your assignment.

Week 15: Last week of class! (repeat announcement) Yes, this is the last week of class and there are a few things that are different about this week because it is the last week of class. There are no "Early Bird" extra credit points this week because there are no Week 16 assignments for you to turn in early. Likewise, you need to get your Week 15 Storybook assignment turned in on time - which means, at the very latest, by Monday May 11 at noon. There is no partial credit available for late Week 15 Storybook assignments. So, for those of you who have been in the habit of turning in your Storybook late, keep that in mind this week! The best thing, of course, is to turn in the Week 15 Storybook assignment early, before noon on Friday this week, so you can get the points recorded in the Gradebook before the weekend, instead of waiting until the last minute on Monday. Final grades are determined by your total points: a minimum of 410 points an A, 360 points for a B, and 320 points for C (301 points to pass the class with a D).

Thursday: Last day to fill out course evaluations. Today, Thursday, is the last day to fill out course evaluations at the eval.ou.edu website. Please take a moment to do that now - and who knows, you might win an iPod - here's the announcement that you have probably seen when you log on to Desire2Learn:

Wednesday, May 6

2009-05-06T00:01:00.000-05:00

Today is Wednesday of WEEK 15 of the class. If you have not turned in your Week 14 Storybook assignment yet, you may still do that for partial credit. Wednesday morning, until noon, is the grace period if you forgot to do any of the assignments that were due on Tuesday.

Storybook stack. I've still got a few Storybook assignments in the stack, which I hope to finish on Wednesday morning. You can check the contents of the stack to make sure I have received your assignment.

Online course evaluation. If you have not yet completed the course evaluations, you can still do that! The online course evaluations will be available today, Wednesday, and on Thursday. Just go to eval.ou.edu and follow the instructions there. I'm very grateful for any feedback you have about the course... plus, you can win a free iPod, too!

May 6: Saint George. One of the most widely known saints throughout both western and eastern Europe is Saint George. In the west, Saint George's Day is on April 23, but in the east, where the Orthodox church still follows the Julian calendar, Saint George's Day is on May 6. You can read about Saint George in this Wikipedia article, and the image below shows a late 14th-century Russian icon of Saint George (called "Yuri" in Russian), shown slaying the dragon:

Tuesday, May 5

2009-05-05T00:01:00.000-05:00

Today is Tuesday of WEEK 15 of the class.... YES: it is the last week of the class! If you have not turned in your Week 14 Storybook assignment yet, you may still do that for partial credit.

Week 15: Last week of class! Yes, this is the last week of class and there are a few things that are different about this week because it is the last week of class. There are no "Early Bird" extra credit points this week because there are no Week 16 assignments for you to turn in early. Likewise, you need to get your Week 15 Storybook assignment turned in on time - which means, at the very latest, by Monday May 11 at noon. There is no partial credit available for late Week 15 Storybook assignments. So, for those of you who have been in the habit of turning in your Storybook late, keep that in mind this week! The best thing, of course, is to turn in the Week 15 Storybook assignment early, before noon on Friday this week, so you can get the points recorded in the Gradebook before the weekend, instead of waiting until the last minute on Monday.

Storybook stack. I've been working through the assignments with a focus on those people whose Storybook assignment points will allow them to finish up the class - so if you find yourself in that situation, let me know and I'll move your assignment(s) up to the top of the stack. If you turned in your assignment on or before Monday, you should have comments back from me; if you turned something in on Monday, your assignment is probably still in the stack. You can check the contents of the stack to make sure I have received your assignment.

Indian Epics: Reselling books. For those of you in the Indian Epics class, you should have received an email from me on Monday inviting you to add your name to the list of people interested in re-selling their books to students enrolled in the Fall semester class. If this is something you would like to do and you run into any problems logging on to GoogleDocs in order to add your name to the list, just let me know!

May 5: Cinco de Mayo. In Mexico, the Cinco de Mayo holiday is not a national holiday (it is celebrated mainly in the state of Puebla, in east-central Mexico), but in other countries, especially the United States, Cinco de Mayo has become an important holiday to celebrate Hispanic cultural heritage and traditions. You can read more about the holiday in this Wikipedia article, which is also the source for this great image of a children's Cinco de Mayo parade in Minnesota:

Monday, May 4

2009-05-04T00:01:00.001-05:00

Today is Monday. Week 14 of the class is now over. Monday morning, until noon, is the grace period if you forgot to do any of the assignments that were due on Friday/Saturday/Sunday. Week 15 - the last week of the class! - will begin tomorrow - and those Week 15 assignments are available now if you want to get started.

Grading and points. As you can see in the Grading Information page, you need 410 to get an A, 360 points to get a B, and 320 points to get a C. When you get the number of points you need, you are done! If you can let me know when you are done with the class, I will record the letter grade for you in the Gradebook so that you can be sure you are finished with everything for the class.

Storybook stack. On Monday morning, I will update the contents of the stack, and I will start working my way through the stack based on the order in which things were turned in. As I explained last week, if these Storybook points might give you the points you need to finish up the class, let me know and I'll move your assignment to the top of the stack. Meanwhile, you can always check the contents of the stack to make sure I have received your assignment.

May 4: International Firefighters Day. The day May 4 is celebrated each year as International Firefighters Day, and you can read more about this holiday at the International Firefighters Day website. May 4 has been celebrated in many European countries in honor of firefighters because it is the Day of Saint Florian, who is the patron saint of firefighters and also of chimney sweeps. Below you can see the emblem of the Oklahoma Fire Marshal, who is the chief firefighter of the state of Oklahoma:

Friday, May 1 - Sunday, May 3

2009-05-01T12:11:00.000-05:00

HAPPY WEEKEND! You have reached the end of Week 14! The Week 14 Read and Respond assignment (blog commenting) is available now, and the remaining Week 14 assignments are due on Friday or on Saturday or Sunday - please make sure you get started on those assignments soon. The Week 15 assignments are also available!

Storybook ballot results! You can see the results here on the ballot pages: Myth-Folklore, Indian Epics, and World Literature. Thanks to all of you who took the time to cast your ballot, and congratulations to the winners, to all the nominees, and to EVERYBODY who learned how to make your own website this semester: I hope that is a skill that will turn out to be useful to you in the future! :-)

Storybook stack. There are still a few items left in the Storybook stack, which I will definitely get to on Friday. You can check the contents of the stack here. If you want comments on a Week 14 or Week 15 Storybook assignment before the weekend, please get that turned in by noon on Friday so I can reply to you on Friday afternoon!

May 3: Pete Seeger. Sunday, May 3, is the birthday of the great American musician and folk singer, Pete Seeger, who was born in 1919, so it is his 90th birthday. Happy birthday, Pete Seeger! You may have seen Pete Seeger performing at Obama's inauguration this past January, when together with Bruce Springsteen and his grandson Tao Rodríguez-Seeger, he sang the Woody Guthrie song "This Land Is Your Land." You can read more about Pete Seeger's career in this Wikipedia article, which also contains details about the many celebrations of Pete Seeger's birthday in cities around the United States and in other countries, too. Here's a picture of Pete Seeger performing recently - and you can see Arlo Guthrie there as well, two of America's great folk musicians! :-)

Thursday, April 30

2009-04-30T00:01:00.001-05:00

Today is Thursday of WEEK 14 of the class. If you have not turned in your Week 13 Storybook assignment yet, you have UNTIL NOON today to do that for partial credit. For those of you in Myth-Folklore or World Lit, Thursday morning, until noon, is the grace period if you forgot to do any of the assignments that were due on Wednesday. (Indian Epics has no Wednesday assignments, so there is no Thursday morning grace period.)

Storybook Ballot closes at 10PM tonight. If you want to cast your vote in the Storybook Ballot, make sure you do that by 10PM tonight. Just like every semester, because all the Storybooks are so good, the votes are VERY close - so, if you haven't voted yet, please take a minute to do that: your vote could make the difference. You can see the nominated Storybooks for all three classes here: Myth-Folklore, Indian Epics, and World Literature.

Final Grades. As you reach the points you need for your final grade in this class - 410 points for an A, 360 points for a B, 320 points for a C - let me know, and I'll record the letter grade for you there in the Desire2Learn Gradebook. You can mix and match whatever assignments you prefer to get the final points you need - but be careful as you make your choices, so that you don't accidentally come up short of the points you will need.

Storybook stack. The Storybook stack is not too big now, and I plan to get through all the rest of the items in the stack on Thursday. Meanwhile, you can check the contents of the stack to make sure I have received your assignment. If the points for your Storybook will allow you to finish up the class, let me know, and I'll move your assignment to the top of the stack (just send an email with something like "Storybook final points" or something like that in the subject line).

Week 14 - Week 15 Storybooks. For the Week 14 and Week 15 Storybook assignments, you will be doing your final revisions - Week 14 is the Introduction revision assignment, and Week 15 is the final check-up on your story pages, especially the image information and bibliography information. If you want, you can turn in both assignments at once! If you are turning both assignments at the same time, please send in SEPARATE emails, so that I will be sure to realize that you are turning in two assignments at once. If you want your Storybook points in the Gradebook before the weekend, make sure you get those assignments turned in by Friday noon at the latest, so that I can read them on Friday afternoon and get the points recorded for you then.

April 30: Walpurgis Night. The night of April 30 is celebrated as Walpurgis Night in many countries of northern and central Europe, often with bonfires late into the night. Also known as "May Day's Eve," the holiday has many carnival-like aspects, and it is also associated with magic and witchcraft (it even shows up in the Harry Potter books, where the Death-Eaters are referred to as the "Knights of Walpurgis," which is a play on words with "Walpurgis Night"). You can read about the ways in which Walpurgis Night is celebrated in Germany, Finland, and other countries in this Wikipedia article, which is also the source for this image of a Walpurgis Night bonfire in Sweden:

Wednesday, April 29

2009-04-29T00:01:00.001-05:00

Today is Wednesday of WEEK 14 of the class. If you have not turned in your Week 13 Storybook assignment yet, you may still do that for partial credit. Wednesday morning, until noon, is the grace period if you forgot to do any of the assignments that were due on Tuesday.

Storybook Ballots. For more information about the Storybook Ballots for Myth-Folklore, Indian Epics, and World Literature, see yesterday's announcements. The Ballot is available today, Wednesday, and on Thursday until 10PM. I'll have the results on Friday in the Announcements.

Course evaluation at eval.ou.edu. You all should have received an email from the College of Arts & Sciences about the course evaluations for all your courses available at the eval.ou.edu website. For more information about this, see yesterday's announcements.

Storybook stack. The Storybook stack is still pretty big, but I made a lot of progress on Tuesday! I've been working through the assignments with a focus on those people whose Storybook assignment points will allow them to finish up the class - so if you find yourself in that situation, let me know and I'll move your assignment(s) up to the top of the stack. Meanwhile, you can check the contents of the stack to make sure I have received your assignment.

Ancient Roman Floralia. We are in the midst of the ancient Roman festival called Floralia, which last from April 27 through May 3 - that is, from ante diem quartum Kalendas Maias in the old Roman Calendar, until ante diem quintum Nonas Maias (those Roman dates are for those of you who have studied Latin!). Flora was a goddess in ancient Rome, and she presided over flowers and all blossoming plants. You can read more about the Floralia here, and you can see the goddess in Botticelli's Primavera (Spring); the goddess Venus (Aphrodite) is in the center, while to the right the wind Zephyr is chasing the nymph Chloris, who is then transformed into the smiling goddess Flora, is all covered with flowers (detail view):

Tuesday, April 28

2009-04-28T00:01:00.001-05:00

Today is Tuesday of WEEK 14 of the class. For those of you who are working ahead, Week 15 is also available! If you have not turned in your Week 13 Storybook assignment yet, you may still do that for partial credit.

Storybook stack. The Storybook stack is still FULL of assignments. I've been working through the assignments with a focus on those people whose Storybook assignment points will allow them to finish up the class - so if you find yourself in that situation, let me know and I'll move your assignment(s) up to the top of the stack. This week I get kind of overwhelmed by all the assignments that are coming in as everyone starts wanting to finish up, so please be patient and I'll be sure to get comments back to everybody by the end of the week - meanwhile, you can check the contents of the stack to make sure I have received your assignment.

Storybook Ballot. I've prepared the ballots based on the nominations people submitted. You can see them for each class, with a link to each Storybook website, here: Myth-Folklore, Indian Epics, and World Literature. You can vote in Desire2Learn up until THURSDAY AT 10PM, which will allow me to announce the winners in Friday's announcements. This is not for a grade or anything - it's just a chance to give some extra recognition to your favorite Storybooks. Most important of all: congratulations to ALL OF YOU on creating your websites and writing your stories!!! For most people in the class this is the first time they have published any webpages, and everybody has something to be proud of - wonderful topics, excellent stories, and all of it published online! I really appreciate the effort you all have put into your projects, and also the help you have given other students with their projects. The final result is something very impressive, and I hope you will enjoy taking a last look at some of the popular favorites among this semester's Storybooks!

Course evaluation at eval.ou.edu. You all should have received an email from the College of Arts & Sciences about the course evaluations available at the eval.ou.edu website. I hope you will take a few minutes to complete the evaluation - your feedback is incredibly helpful to me in making improvements to these courses, and it is also a big help to the College in general as they continue to develop the online course program. The online course program exists because students find it valuable to be able to take courses online, and any ideas you have for how the program can be improved will be very useful to the College as they continue (hopefully!) to offer these online courses. So, please take a few minutes to log on to eval.ou.edu and share your feedback and suggestions! THANK YOU!

Monday, April 27

2009-04-27T00:01:00.001-05:00

Today is Monday, and Week 13 of the class is now over. Monday morning, until noon, is the grace period if you forgot to do any of the assignments that were due on Friday/Saturday/Sunday. Week 14 will begin tomorrow - and those assignments are available now if you want to get started. The Week 15 assignments are also available now, too!

Storybook stack. As usual on Monday, the Storybook stack is very large! First thing on Monday morning, I will update the contents of the stack, and I will begin working my way through the stack based on the order in which things were turned in - but it is definitely going to take me a while to work through the stack, so please be patient! If the points for your Storybook assignment(s) will give you the points you need to finish up the class, send me a note and I'll move your assignment(s) to the top of the stack - you can put something like "Final Storybook points" in the subject line of the email so I'll be sure to see it.

Week 13 Internet assignment. After people finish turning in their Storybook nominations for the Week 13 Internet assignment on Monday, I'll prepare a ballot with the most-nominated Storybooks for you to vote on. I will do my best to get that ready on Tuesday, with voting to take place this week, and winners to be announced on Friday. Thanks to everybody who turned in their nominations!

Week 14 Internet assignment. For the Week 14 Internet assignment, you'll be doing an online course evaluation of this class, just like with the course evaluations using the "bubble forms" in your regular classroom classes. The online evaluation will take place at the eval.ou.edu website, and the Spring evaluation will be available on TUESDAY, April 28. I believe you will also be receiving an email directly from the College of Arts & Sciences with specific information about how to log on and complete the evaluation form. Starting this semester, all the evaluations will be completed online, not just the online course evaluations. Your input about the course is VERY valuable, and I hope you will take the time to fill out the form not just for this class, but for all your other classes, too!

April 27: Birth of "The Mouse." On April 27 in 1972, Bill English, a researcher at Xerox PARC in Palo Alto, California, created the first prototype of the computer "mouse" that later became widely used in the 1980s and 1990s (I myself first saw a computer mouse in operation in the summer of 1984... and yes, I know that is before most of you were even born, ha ha). Earlier versions of the mouse had operated with a system of wheels (example), but the mouse that English built had a ball inside, as you can see in the image below. You can read more about the history of the mouse in this Wikipedia article, which is also the source for this image below:

Week 14 Internet assignment. For the Week 14 Internet assignment, you'll be doing an online course evaluation of this class, just as you do course evaluations using the "bubble forms" in your regular classroom classes. The online evaluation will take place at the eval.ou.edu website, and the Spring evaluations should be available on Monday. I'll be sure to let you know as soon as the evaluation is available and you should also be receiving an email directly from the College of Arts & Sciences with specific information about how to log on and complete the evaluation form.

Friday, April 24 - Sunday, April 26

2009-04-24T00:01:00.000-05:00

HAPPY WEEKEND! You have reached the end of Week 13! The Week 13 Read and Respond assignment (blog commenting) is available now, and the remaining Week 13 assignments are due on Friday or on Saturday or Sunday - please make sure you get started on those assignments soon. Friday morning, until noon, is the grace period if you forgot to do any of the assignments that were due on Thursday.

Storybook Stack. I'm still working my way through the stack of Storybook assignments that people have turned in this week. If you want to check to make sure your assignment is in the stack, you can see the contents of the stack here. Everyone who turned in a Week 12 assignment on time should have gotten that back from me; if you turned in a late Week 12 assignment or an early assignment for Week 13, 14 or 15, I will get comments back to you on Friday.

Mix and match points. (repeat announcement) There is no special requirement about which assignments you choose to do or not do as the semester comes to a close, provided that you get the total points you need. You can focus on your Storybook, you can pick and choose which reading assignments and quizzes you want to do - it's really up to you. So, based on the assignments you enjoy most/least in the class, you can certainly skip some assignments, provided that you end up with the points you need at the end (410 points for an A, 360 points for a B, 320 points for a C). My only recommendation is that you do this cautiously. You don't want to skip so many assignments that you end up not getting the points you need for your desired grade!

April 24: Daniel Defoe. Friday, April 24, is the anniversary of the death in the year 1731 of the great English writer, Daniel Defoe, who is best known today for his novel Robinson Crusoe, published in 1719, which is generally regarded as the first novel in the English language. You can read more about Robinson Crusoe in this Wikipedia article, which is also the source for this image from the first edition of the book (click here for a larger view). The full title of the book is quite a story in and of itself: The Life and strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe of York, Mariner: Who lived Eight and Twenty Years, all alone in an un-inhabited Island on the coast of America, near the Mouth of the Great River of Oroonoque; Having been cast on Shore by Shipwreck, where-in all the Men perished but himself. With An Account how he was at last as strangely deliver'd by Pyrates. Written by Himself:

Thursday, April 23

2009-04-23T00:01:00.000-05:00

Today is Thursday of WEEK 13 of the class. If you have not turned in your Week 12 Storybook assignment yet, you may turn that in BY NOON TODAY for partial credit. For those of you in Myth-Folklore or World Lit, Thursday morning, until noon, is the grace period if you forgot to do any of the assignments that were due on Wednesday. (Indian Epics has no Wednesday assignments, so there is no Thursday morning grace period.)

Storybook stack. There are still a few assignments in the Storybook stack. If you turned in your assignment on Sunday or earlier, you should have comments back from me now. Assignments turned in on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday are probably still in the stack. You can check the contents of the stack to make sure I have received your assignment. Please let me know if the points for your Storybook assignment will give you your final points for the class, and I'll move it up to the top of the stack!

Mix and match points. (repeat announcement) There is no special requirement about which assignments you choose to do or not do as the semester comes to a close, provided that you get the total points you need. You can focus on your Storybook, you can pick and choose which reading assignments and quizzes you want to do - it's really up to you. So, based on the assignments you enjoy most/least in the class, you can certainly skip some assignments, provided that you end up with the points you need at the end (410 points for an A, 360 points for a B, 320 points for a C). My only recommendation is that you do this cautiously. You don't want to skip so many assignments that you end up not getting the points you need for your desired grade!

April 23: World Book Day. Today, April 23, is the traditional anniversary of the deaths of two of the world's great writers: the English playwright and poet William Shakespeare, and the Spanish novelist Miguel de Cervantes, author of Don Quixote, who both died in 1616. For this reason, the day April 23 has been declared by the United Nations as World Book Day, a celebration of reading and writing. You can read more about World Book Day in Wikipedia and at the UNESCO website.

(image source)

Wednesday, April 22

2009-04-22T00:01:00.000-05:00

Today is Wednesday of WEEK 13 of the class. If you have not turned in your Week 12 Storybook assignment yet, you may still do that for partial credit. Wednesday morning, until noon, is the grace period if you forgot to do any of the assignments that were due on Tuesday.

Storybook stack. There are still quite a few assignments in the Storybook stack. If you turned in your assignment before Sunday at 7PM, you should have comments back from me now. Assignments turned in later on Sunday or on Monday or Tuesday are probably still in the stack. You can check the contents of the stack to make sure I have received your assignment. If the points you will be getting for the Storybook assignment(s) you have turned in will give you the points you need for your final grade in the class, let me know and I'll check on the points total for you! Send me an email with the words "Storybook Final Points" or something like that in the subject line so that I'll be sure to find it.

Mix and match points. There is no special requirement about which assignments you choose to do or not do as the semester comes to a close, provided that you get the total points you need. You can focus on your Storybook, you can pick and choose which reading assignments and quizzes you want to do - it's really up to you. So, based on the assignments you enjoy most/least in the class, you can certainly skip some assignments, provided that you end up with the points you need at the end (410 points for an A, 360 points for a B, 320 points for a C). My only recommendation is that you do this cautiously. You don't want to skip so many assignments that you end up not getting the points you need for your desired grade!

April 22: Earth Day. Today, April 22, is Earth Day. You can read about this holiday in Wikipedia. In honor of Earth Day this year, I wanted to reflect for a moment on how much paper we have saved in this class! Based on the writing assignments each week for the total number of students in these three online classes, I would estimate that we have saved about 9000 pages, or 18 reams of paper, this semester by doing the writing online rather than printing it out in traditional form - so by working together in this way, we have saved a tree! Happy Earth Day!

(image source)

Tuesday, April 21

2009-04-21T00:01:00.006-05:00

Today is Tuesday of WEEK 13 of the class. For those of you who are working ahead, Weeks 14 and 15 are also available! That means all of the assignments are now available, and you can pick and choose based on the points you need to get to the grade you want to receive in this class. If you have not turned in your Week 12 Storybook assignment yet, you may still do that for partial credit.

Week 13 Internet assignment NOW AVAILABLE. Now that Week 13 has begun, the Week 13 Internet assignment is now available: you will be asked to nominate your favorite Storybook projects in various categories! You will also be leaving thank-yous for people who gave you the most helpful feedback as you worked on your Storybook this semester. Based on the nominations that people turn in, I'll prepare the ballot next Monday afternoon so that you can vote on your favorites next week. That voting will not for a grade or anything - it's just a way to give some recognition to the folks who worked extra-hard on their Storybooks this semester.

Storybook Stack. As usual at the beginning of the week, there are still LOTS of Storybook assignments in the stack. I have read and replied to the assignments turned in before noon on Sunday. If you turned something in on Sunday afternoon or on Monday, it is probably still in the stack. To check and make sure your assignment is in the stack, look at the contents of the stack here. If you need just the points for the Storybook assignment(s) you have turned in in order to finish up the class, let me know and I will put your assignments up at the top of the stack. Send me a note with "Storybook Final Points" in the subject line so that I'll be sure to notice it!

April 21 2009: Yom Ha-Shoah. Today is the 27th of Nisan in the Jewish calendar, which means it is the Yom Ha-Shoah, the "Day of the Holocaust," in which the Jewish victims of the Nazis are remembered and honored. You can read more about this memorial holiday in Wikipedia, and also learn about the term Shoah. This holiday is observed throughout the state of Israel, with special ceremonies taking place at Yad Vashem, which is the official Holocaust memorial in Israel. This image below is the Hall of Names from Yad Vashem:

Monday, April 20

2009-04-20T00:01:00.002-05:00

Today is Monday. Week 12 of the class is now over. Monday morning, until noon, is the grace period if you forgot to do any of the assignments that were due on Friday/Saturday/Sunday. Week 13 will begin tomorrow - and those assignments are available now if you want to get started. The Week 14 assignments are also available now, too! (Week 15 will be available tomorrow.)

NOTE: For the availability of the upcoming Internet assignments in Week 13 and Week 14, please read the notes below!

Week 13 Internet assignment. The Week 13 Internet assignment is available NOW. I hope you will find this a fun assignment: you will be nominating your favorite Storybooks from the semester. After everyone has turned in their nominations (the assignment is due by the end of Week 13), I'll prepare a ballot on Monday April 27 with the Storybooks that get the most nominations, and you'll be able to vote on the best ones - the voting is not for a grade, but just for fun, as a way to give the people who worked really hard on their Storybooks some well-deserved recognition.

Week 14 Internet assignment. For the Week 14 Internet assignment, you will be logging on to the course evaluation system online. As soon as the online course evaluation form is made available by the College of Arts & Sciences, I will let you know. The Week 14 Internet assignment will not be available until that online course evaluation becomes available; I'll keep you posted based on what I learn about when that will be.

Storybook stack. As always on Monday, I will have a huge bunch of assignments in the Storybook stack that were turned in over the weekend or on Monday morning. You can check the contents of the stack to make sure I received your assignment. I will be reading and replying to the assignments in the order they were turned in - starting with the assignment turned in on Wednesday-Thursday-Friday of last week, and then moving on to the assignments turned in over the weekend. I'll keep you posted about my progress as usual.

April 20: Bram Stoker. April 20 marks the death in the year 1912 of the Irish novelist Bram Stoker who is, of course, most famous for his invention of the modern literary figure of Count Dracula, published in 1897. Stoker's Count Dracula has in turn given rise to a whole genre of vampire fiction including the recent Twilight series of novels by Stephanie Meyer. You can read more about Stoker's life and career in this Wikipedia article. Stoker's Dracula has inspired many later novels, films and even comic books, but I will confess that my favorite Dracula is Count von Count of the Muppets! :-)

Thursday, April 16 - Sunday, April 19

2009-04-16T00:01:00.000-05:00

My schedule this week. On Thursday and Friday this week I am out of town, with limited email access at best. I've replied to all the Storybooks that were turned in before noon on Tuesday. You can still turn in a Week 11 Storybook assignment late for partial credit until noon on Thursday as usual, but I won't be able to get comments back to you about those assignments until Monday when I'll be back in the office again. If you have questions about anything that comes up, definitely send me an email - and if I am not able to reply to you right away, I'll get back to you on Monday for sure. You can see what was in the Storybook stack as of Wednesday night; I'll update the stack when I get back on Monday morning.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Sunday IT Maintenance. On the third Sunday of every month, IT does maintenance on its servers. There will be a maintenance window this Sunday, April 19. This often causes service outages, which may affect email, web publishing, and other OU IT services. The maintenance window is in the morning, and the maintenance should be completed before noon on Sunday. For specific information and updates, see the IT Alerts page at alerts.ou.edu (this is also a good page to check if you are experiencing problems with Desire2Learn, email, or other IT services).

Overview of Week 12 and Week 13 Internet assignments. In Week 12, you will have your last assignment commenting on other people's Storybooks - it will be all free choice this time! That will be available for you tomorrow, Tuesday, when Week 12 starts. Then, for the Week 13 assignment (available on Tuesday, April 21), you will be voting on your favorite Storybooks for the semester. After you turn in your nominations, I'll set up a ballot so everybody can vote for the best Storybooks - it's not for a grade or anything, it's just for fun, and it gives the folks who have done really excellent work on their Storybooks a chance to get some well deserved recognition.

Overview of remaining Storybook assignments. For Week 12, you are adding your final new story, and the Week 13 assignment consists of revising that final story. The Week 14 assignment is to do a final revision of your Introduction. The Week 15 assignment involves revisions to your bibliography and image information for each story, making sure they are all complete. (Some of you may be on a different schedule if you missed assignments earlier in the semester; check with me if you are not sure about this.) If you want, you can skip the Week 12 and Week 13 assignments, stopping with just three stories in your Storybook, and proceed directly to Week 14 and Week 15 if you want. Be careful: if you take this option, you cannot go back and add a new story later - but if you are close to finishing, and do not need the points from the Week 12 and Week 13 Storybook assignments, feel free to proceed directly to Week 14!

April 16: Aphra Behn. Thursday, April 16, marks the death in the year 1689 of Aphra Behn, one of the first professional women writers in the English literary tradition. You can read more about her life and career in this Wikipedia article. In addition to her literary pursuits, she even worked as a spy for King Charles II, under the code name "Astrea." She is buried, along with many other famous English writers, in Westminster Abbey, and her tombstone reads: Here lies a Proof that Wit can never be / Defence enough against Mortality. You can see the inscription on the tombstone below, along with a portrait of Aphra Behn in life:

(image source)

Wednesday, April 15

2009-04-15T00:01:00.001-05:00

Today is Wednesday of WEEK 12 of the class. If you have not turned in your Week 11 Storybook assignment yet, you may still do that for partial credit. Wednesday morning, until noon, is the grace period if you forgot to do any of the assignments that were due on Tuesday.

Storybook stack. There are still quite a few assignments in the Storybook stack. If you turned in your assignment on Sunday, you should have comments back from me now. Assignments turned in on Monday or Tuesday are probably still in the stack. You can check the contents of the stack to make sure I have received your assignment. If you turned something in before Tuesday at noon, I will do my best to get comments back to you today, Wednesday, before I go out of town.

My schedule this week. (repeat announcement) This week, I will be out of town on Thursday and Friday, April 16 and 17, with limited email access at best. You will still be able to turn in a late Week 11 assignment for partial credit today, Wednesday, or Thursday until noon as usual - but I will probably not be able to get comments back to you until next week. Remember: you don't need my comments back on your Week 11 revision assignment before you go on to add your next story. So, even if you are still waiting on Week 11 comments back from me, you can still go ahead and add your new story for the Week 12 Storybook assignment.

April 15: Leonardo da Vinci. Today marks the birthday in the year 1452 of the remarkable Leonardo da Vinci, who was a genius in math, science and engineering, as well as being a famous painter and sculptor. You can read about his remarkable life and career in Wikipedia. To see someone paint the Mona Lisa using the simple art program MS Paint, take a look at this YouTube video - it's really mesmerizing!

Tuesday, April 14

2009-04-14T00:01:00.000-05:00

Today is Tuesday of WEEK 12 of the class. For those of you who are working ahead, Weeks 13 and 14 are also available! If you have not turned in your Week 11 Storybook assignment yet, you may still do that for partial credit. Counting Week 12, there are FOUR WEEKS of class remaining, which means 120 points of regular assignments, plus extra credit.

Storybook Stack. As usual at the beginning of the week, there are still LOTS of Storybook assignments in the stack. If you turned something in before noon on Sunday, you should have comments back from me and points in the Gradebook. If you turned something in after noon on Sunday or on Monday, your assignment is probably still in the stack. If you want to check and make sure your assignment is in the stack, you can see the contents of the stack here. If you need just the points for the Storybook assignment(s) you have turned in in order to finish up the class, let me know and I will put your assignments up at the top of the stack.

Overview of remaining Storybook assignments. In Week 11, most of you turned in revisions for your Storybook. In Week 12, you will be adding your final new story, and the Week 13 assignment consists of revising that final story. The Week 14 assignment is to do a final revision of your Introduction. The Week 15 assignment involves revisions to your bibliography and image information for each story, making sure they are all complete. Some of you may be on a slightly different schedule if you missed any week(s) earlier on in the semester. In addition, some of you may not need all those points to finish the class, so if you want to stop with just three stories, that is fine. After you get the comments back on your Week 11 assignment, you can skip ahead to Week 14 and Week 15, omitting Week 12 and Week 13. I know that can get a little confusing, so let me know if you have questions about that as you start finishing up.

My schedule this week. (repeat announcement) This week, I will be out of town on Thursday and Friday, April 16 and 17, with limited email access at best. So, if you want to get comments back on a Storybook assignment this week, please make sure you get your Storybook turned in by Tuesday at noon. That way, I can return comments to you on Wednesday. You will still be able to turn in a late Week 11 assignment for partial credit on Wednesday or Thursday until noon as usual - but I will probably not be able to get comments back to you until next week. So, if you don't want to wait on comments back from me, make sure you get your Storybook assignment turned in today, Tuesday, by noon at the latest.

April 14: Ramana Maharshi. Today marks the anniversary of the death in the year 1950 of the great Indian guru, Sri Ramana Maharshi. You can read more about his life and career in Wikipedia, which also has a section of quotations from his works and teachings. There's even a Ramana Maharshi comic book in the famous Amar Chitra Katha series of comic books.

Monday, April 13

2009-04-13T00:01:00.002-05:00

Today is Monday. Week 11 of the class is now over. Monday morning, until noon, is the grace period if you forgot to do any of the assignments that were due on Friday/Saturday/Sunday. Week 12 will begin tomorrow - and those assignments are available now if you want to get started. The Week 13 assignments are also available now, too! (Week 14 will be available tomorrow.)

Storybook stack. As always on Monday, I will have a huge bunch of assignments in the Storybook stack that were turned in over the weekend or on Monday morning. You can check the contents of the stack to make sure I received your assignment. I will be reading and replying to the assignments in the order they were turned in - if the points you will be getting for the Storybook assignment(s) you have turned in will give you the points you need for your final grade in the class, let me know and I'll move you to the top of the stack. :-)

Overview of Week 12 and Week 13 Internet assignments. In Week 12, you will have your last assignment commenting on other people's Storybooks - it will be all free choice this time! That will be available for you tomorrow, Tuesday, when Week 12 starts. Then, for the Week 13 assignment (available on Tuesday, April 21), you will be voting on your favorite Storybooks for the semester. After you turn in your nominations, I'll set up a ballot so everybody can vote for the best Storybooks - it's not for a grade or anything, it's just for fun, and it gives the folks who have done really excellent work on their Storybooks a chance to get some well deserved recognition.

My schedule this week. This week, I will be out of town on Thursday and Friday, April 16 and 17, with limited email access at best. So, if you want to get comments back on a Storybook assignment this week, please make sure you get your Storybook turned in on Monday or by Tuesday at noon. That way, I can return comments to you on Wednesday. You will still be able to turn in a late Week 11 assignment for partial credit on Wednesday or Thursday until noon as usual - but I will probably not be able to get comments back to you until next week. So, if you don't want to wait on comments back from me, make sure you get your Storybook assignment turned in today, Monday, or on Tuesday noon at the latest.

April 13: Seamus Heaney. Today is the birthday of the Irish writer Seamus Heaney, one of the world's great poets and winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature. Happy birthday, Seamus Heaney! Some of you might be especially interested in the fact that he has done a version of the Beowulf poem! He's also written a play, A Cure at Troy, based on the ancient Greek tragedy Philoctetes by Sophocles. I am especially fond of his adaptation of the Laments of Jan Kochanowksi, a Renaissance Polish poet. You can read about his life and career in this Wikipedia article.

Friday, April 10

2009-04-10T00:01:00.002-05:00

HAPPY WEEKEND! You have reached the end of Week 11! The Week 11 Read and Respond assignment (blog commenting) is available now, and the remaining Week 11 assignments are due on Friday or on Saturday or Sunday - please make sure you get started on those assignments soon (this is the next-to-last Storybook commenting assignment; Week 12 will be your last time to comment on Storybooks, so use your free choices accordingly!) Friday morning, until noon, is the grace period if you forgot to do any of the assignments that were due on Thursday.

Storybook Stack. I'm still working my way through the stack of Storybook assignments that people have turned in this week. If you want to check to make sure your assignment is in the stack, you can see the contents of the stack here. Everyone who turned in a Week 10 assignment on time should have gotten that back from me; if you turned in a late Week 10 assignment or an early assignment for Week 11 or Week 12, I will get comments back to you on Friday. If you want comments back before the weekend, make sure you turn in your early Week 11 or Week 12 Storybook assignment by noon on Friday.

Mix and match points. (repeat announcement) Several people have written to me with questions about mix-and-match strategies, so I thought I should repeat this announcement. There is no special requirement about which assignments you choose to do or not do as the semster comes to a close, provided that you get the total points you need. You can focus on your Storybook, you can pick and choose which reading assignments and quizzes you want to do - it's really up to you. So, based on the assignments you enjoy most/least in the class, you can certainly skip some assignments, provided that you end up with the points you need at the end. My only recommendation is that you do this cautiously. You don't want to skip so many assignments that you end up not getting the points you need for your desired grade.

April 10: Good Friday. The Easter calendar of the western Christian Church varies from year to year. This year, Easter Sunday will be celebrated on April 12, and Friday, April 10, is known as Good Friday. In many countries, there are "Hot Cross Buns" which are eaten on Good Friday, decorated with the sign of the cross. Not surprisingly, there are various superstitious about this special holiday bread, and you can read more about that at Wikipedia. One of the beliefs about Hot Cross Buns is that if you share a Hot Cross Bun with someone on Good Friday, you will enjoy friendship with them all year long, provided that you say this charm: "Half for you and half for me / Between us two shall goodwill be."

(image source)

Thursday, April 9

2009-04-09T00:01:00.000-05:00

Today is Thursday of WEEK 11 of the class. If you have not turned in your Week 10 Storybook assignment yet, you have UNTIL NOON today to that in for partial credit. For those of you in Myth-Folklore or World Lit, Thursday morning, until noon, is the grace period if you forgot to do any of the assignments that were due on Wednesday. (Indian Epics has no Wednesday assignments, so there is no Thursday morning grace period.)

Finishing the class early. One person in the Indian Epics class has reached 410 points so he is finished with a grade of A. Very exciting! You'll see that in the Gradebook there is an item marked "Final Grade." That is where I will record your grade for the class when you let me know you have completed the number of points you need: 410 for an A, 360 for a B, 320 for a C. It's entirely up to you what grade you want to finish with in the class. There is no need to apologize for stopping out with a grade of B or C. Whatever grade you decide to stop with is fine with me!

Storybook Stack. There are still quite a few Storybook assignments in the stack and I am making my way through them in the order that they were turned in. If you turned something in on Sunday, you should have comments back from me already. If you turned something in later than Sunday (on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday), it is probably still in the stack. If you want to check and make sure your assignment is in the stack, you can see the contents of the stack here.

Mix and match points. Several people have written to me with questions about mix-and-match strategies, so I thought I should repeat this announcement. There is no special requirement about which assignments you choose to do or not do as the semster comes to a close, provided that you get the total points you need. You can focus on your Storybook, you can pick and choose which reading assignments and quizzes you want to do - it's really up to you. So, based on the assignments you enjoy most/least in the class, you can certainly skip some assignments, provided that you end up with the points you need at the end. My only recommendation is that you do this cautiously. You don't want to skip so many assignments that you end up not getting the points you need for your desired grade.

April 9: Birthday of Tom Lehrer. Today, April 9, is the birthday of Tom Lehrer, an American mathematician and composer of some very funny satirical songs. If you have never experienced the joy of Tom Lehrer's incredible sense of humor, I recommend checking out the many Tom Lehrer songs and videos at YouTube.com. One of his most famous songs, naming all the elements, is available as a great Flash animation here: Tom Lehrer's Elements song. In addition to math and science songs and some great political satire, Lehrer also wrote a mythology song about Oedipus Rex: "There once lived a man named Oedipus Rex. / You may have heard about his odd complex. / His name appears in Freud's index / 'cause he loved his mother..." HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TOM LEHRER!

(image source)

Wednesday, April 8

2009-04-08T00:01:00.000-05:00

Today is Wednesday of WEEK 11 of the class. If you have not turned in your Week 10 Storybook assignment yet, you may still do that for partial credit. Wednesday morning, until noon, is the grace period if you forgot to do any of the assignments that were due on Tuesday.

Finishing your Storybook early. For those of you who have been working ahead on your Storybooks, I wanted to let you know that in addition to the Week 13 assignment, I have made the Week 14 and Week 15 Storybook assignment instructions available now, too. Also, if you want, you can choose to conclude your Storybook with just three stories, not four - skipping the Week 12 and Week 13 assignments and moving straight on from Week 11 directly to the Week 14 and Week 15 assignments (but if you do that, make sure you really are done with the Storybook; after you do the Week 14 assignment, you can't go back and add a new story afterwards).

Storybook Stack. There are still some Storybook assignments in the stack and I am making my way through them in the order that they were turned in. If you turned something in before 9PM on Sunday, you should have comments back from me already. If you turned something in later on Sunday, or on Monday or Tuesday, it is probably still in the stack. If you want to check and make sure your assignment is in the stack, you can see the contents of the stack here.

My Wednesday schedule. I have some out-of-office appointments today which means I may be a bit more slow to respond to your emails today than on the other days of the week - but if you send me an email during the day today, I'll get back to you by the end of the day.

April 8: International Day of the Roma. Today, April 8, is an international holiday in honor of the traditions of the Roma people, who you may know by the name "Gypsy." You can read more about the Romani people in this Wikipedia article, and the Sacred Texts Archive has a section devoted to Roma folktales and traditions. If you have a free moment today, read a folktale in honor of the Roma! Here is an old photo of a Roma woman and her daughter in Yorkshire, England in 1916:

Tuesday, April 7

2009-04-07T00:01:00.004-05:00

Today is Tuesday of WEEK 11 of the class. For those of you who are working ahead, Weeks 12 and 13 are also available! If you have not turned in your Week 10 Storybook assignment yet, you may still do that for partial credit.

Storybook stack. As often on Tuesday during a "new story" week, there is still a huge bunch of assignments in the Storybook stack. If you turned in a Storybook assignment on or before Sunday at noon, you should have comments back from me and points recorded in the Gradebook. If you turned something in after noon on Sunday or on Monday, it is probably still in the stack. You can check the contents of the stack to make sure I received your assignment. I will be reading and reply to the assignments in the order they were turned in.

Grading and the end of the semester. Please make sure you read Monday's announcements, if you have not done so already - you will find important information there about grading in this class, along with information about the end of the semester and also about "mixing and matching" to choose the assignments you want to do as you finish the semester.

Week 11 Internet assignment. The Week 11 Internet assignment is available now! The Week 11 assignment works jus tlike last week: you have only one assigned Storybook, and two free choices - one of those free choices should be a Storybook that is new to you, and the other free choice should be a repeat visit provided that you have a NEW story you can read at the Storybook you are revisiting. I hope you will enjoy getting the chance to go back and see how a Storybook you looked at earlier in the semester is coming along now!

April 7: Ravi Shankar. Today is the birthday of the amazing Indian musician, Ravi Shankar, one of the modern masters of the sitar. He also happens to be the father of the great singer Norah Jones. You can read about Ravi Shankar's life and career at his official website (with audio!) and in this Wikipedia article, which is the source for this photo of Ravi Shankar with George Harrison of the Beatles, back in 1967. You can also find some great Ravi Shankar videos at YouTube.com - such as this wonderful video of Shankar's appearance on the Dick Cavett show. Happy birthday, Ravi Shankar!

Monday, April 6

2009-04-06T00:01:00.001-05:00

Today is Monday. Week 10 of the class is now over. Monday morning, until noon, is the grace period if you forgot to do any of the assignments that were due on Friday/Saturday/Sunday. Week 11 will begin tomorrow - and those assignments are available now if you want to get started. The Week 12 assignments are also available now, too! (Week 13 will be available starting tomorrow, on Tuesday.)

Grading and points. Quite a few people have been asking me about the points and grading, so let me refer you again to this Grading Information page. In short, you need 410 to get an A, 360 points to get a B, and 320 points to get a C. When you get the number of points you need, you are done! It is fine with me if you decide to stop doing work for the class whenever you have the grade you want to receive (many of you are taking this class for Gen. Ed. requirements, which means you just need a C to get graduation credit). My only request is that you please let me know when you are done so I can adjust the comment assignments accordingly!

Mix and match points. Now that there are just five weeks of the semester left, you might want to plan to do some "mix and match" in terms of just which assignments you want to complete this semester to get the points you need for the grade you want to get. So, based on the assignments you enjoy most/least in the class, you can certainly skip some assignments, provided that you end up with the points you need at the end. My only recommendation is that you do this cautiously. You don't want to skip so many assignments that you end up not getting the points you need for your desired grade.

Storybook stack. As always on Monday, I will have a huge bunch of assignments in the Storybook stack that were turned in over the weekend or on Monday morning. You can check the contents of the stack to make sure I received your assignment. As usual, I will be reading and replying to the assignments in the order they were turned in. Although you need to wait on my comments on your new stories before you do the Week 11 (revision) assignment, you can go ahead now to the Week 12 assignment (final new story) if you want to be working ahead.

April 6: Gustave Moreau. Today, April 16, marks the birthday of the great French painter, Gustave Moreau, in the year 1826. He is famous for his paintings on subjects taken from classical mythology, and you can read about his life and works in this Wikipedia article. One of his most famous paintings shows Oedipus and the Sphinx:

Friday, April 3 - Sunday, April 5

2009-04-03T00:01:00.003-05:00

HAPPY WEEKEND! You have reached the end of Week 10! The Week 10 Read and Respond assignment (blog commenting) is available now, and the remaining Week 10 assignments are due on Friday or on Saturday or Sunday - please make sure you get started on those assignments soon. Also, Friday morning, until noon, is the grace period if you forgot to do any of the assignments that were due on Thursday.

Storybook Stack. I'm still working my way through the stack of Storybook assignments that people have turned in. I've read and replied to all the Week 9 assignments turned in on time, but if you turned in a late Week 9 assignment, or an early assignment for Week 10, 11 or 12, it may still be in the stack. My goal is to get comments back to everyone by the end of the day Friday for assignments turned in before Friday at noon. If you want to check and make sure your assignment is in the stack, you can see the contents of the stack here.

Storybooks: CHOOSING to Stop with Three Stories. (repeat announcement) There is nothing sacred about having four stories in a Storybook. Some of you may have missed two weeks' worth of assignments earlier in the semester, so you already know you will have just three stories total. Others of you may CHOOSE to finish with just three stories. So, think about that when you go to add the new story to your Storybook for Week 10. If you do not need the 20 points for adding the fourth story and revising it (Week 12 and Week 13 assignments), you can choose to conclude your Storybook with just three stories in it, making this third story (Week 10) your final story. Quite a few students choose to do this every semester, and it is fine with me! If you decide to finish with just three stories, here is what you will do: Week 10 Third Story; Week 11 Revise Third Story; (skip Week 12 and Week 13); Week 14 Revise Introduction; Week 15 Final Revisions. It's up to you, based on your personal preferences and the number of points you will be needing to get the grade you want (410 total for an A, 360 total for a B, 320 total for a C).

Week 10 Internet assignment. (repeat announcement) The Week 10 Internet assignment is available now! This is basically like the Week 9 assignment, where you will be reading three Storybooks, but there is something different this week. You have only one assigned Storybook, and two free choices this week - one of those free choices should be a Storybook that is new to you, and the other free choice should be a repeat visit. That is, you should go back to a Storybook you have visited before and read a NEW story at that Storybook (either the second or third or fourth story - any story, so long as you have already read at least one story at that Storybook before, and there is a new story for you to read). There are detailed instructions at the Week 10 Storybook assignment page; I hope that makes sense - if you have any questions about this new twist on the assignment, let me know.

Saturday April 4: Qingming Festival. The Qingming Festival - the "Clear and Bright" Festival - is celebrated in China and other Asian countries approximately two weeks after the Spring Equinox, and in 2009 that means the Qingming Festival will take place on April 4. It is a holiday for celebrating in the out of doors, and also for the cleaning and decorating of ancestral graves. For this reason it is sometimes called "Tomb Sweeping Day." The image below shows a man painting a gravestone at the Babaoshan Cemetery in Beijing for the Qingming holiday; you can read more about the holiday in this Wikipedia article.