The Path from Information to Skill

Tabula Rasa

The beginning. No first-hand information. The only information about the subject is what has been heard in passing, and that has not been verified.

Example: Red Riding Hood is a fairy tale about a little girl in the forest. She might have laser vision and know kung fu.

Barrier: Does not try to find out information on own. Expects someone will tell what is important to know about something and blindly trust that information.

Breakthrough: Engage with information. Don't wait to be told the answer, search out the information.

Information

The facts, snippets of information like the meaning of key words (the ones in bold in textbooks), names of characters, description of events.

Example: Red is a girl with a basket of goodies for Grandma. The Wolf is hungry living in the woods. Grandma lives in the woods. The Wolf eats Grandma and Red.

Barrier: Cannot move past the snippets. In "Spark Notes" mode. Still expecting to be told what's important. Not fully engaged.

Breakthrough: Do not skim for information. Important parts won't "jump out" at you. Look at it as a whole instead of for the pieces. Slow down!

Knowledge

The bigger picture, the sequence and overt message, what the author's point was. The whats and the hows.

Example: Red talks to the Wolf, giving him the idea to eat both Grandma and Red. He exploits Red's willingness to talk and makes a trap for her. The author is sending a message about not talking to strangers because they are dangerous.

Barrier: Can only summarize. Can't move beyond presented facts, the obvious point, or the author's point.

Breakthrough: Slow down even more! Ask why at every opportunity. Make notes. Look beyond what was said for what has NOT been said.

Understanding

The deeper picture, how pieces fit together to mean something more. Asks questions and looks for hidden messages, makes connections between things that don't seem connected. The whys.

Example: The Wolf, Red, and Grandma are all connected in some way. They mean something more as a whole than apart. Why doesn't the Wolf eat Red right away? Why pretend to be Grandma? Why does Red take off her clothes before crawling in bed with the Wolf? Why the big eyes, big hands, teeth, etc?

Barrier: Can ask the questions, but cannot formulate own answers, or cannot justify the reasons behind their connection. Must be told what the deeper meaning is instead of creating and articulating it on their own.

Breakthrough: Get creative in making connections; be wild and crazy with the ideas. “If at first the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it.” –Albert Einstein. Test connections with logic and reason using evidence from within the source(s). Be aware that there is not a single answer or even a "right" answer, but the answer you can articulate and support after it survives your tests.

Skill

Your own point, using every previous stage to see the pieces in a new way. Independently form new understandings, that advance the whole discipline.

Example: The Wolf is a sexual predator. He deceives his victims, lulling them into safety before he attacks and rapes them (devours them). However, Red was willing because she took off her clothes voluntarily.

On the way to developing a skill, any skill, you will fail. Often. You will become discouraged at points, but you will never reach the skill if you do not continue to thoughtfully try. Look at failures as an opportunity to discover what went wrong. Understand the error, correct it, and resume the path to new skills.

Mastering a skill is simply the result of correct practice, experience, dedication, and more failure. “I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.” –Thomas Edison

Using Assignment Template

Click to go to Assignment Template Download Page. Follow the instructions on that page to install the template. You can open the template by double-clicking it (if you’ve installed it in your template folder, you can find it by starting a new document and selecting my templates).

Click on ID#, Class Handle, and Response # and make your selection (hints appear above selections. Click on the title area, and type in your own title. After this, click below the title and type in your assignment.

 

When finished with your essay, click on Save As (not Save). The file name is automatically put in. Make sure that the save as type is a Word Document (*.docx). Click the Save button, and you’re done.

Research Workflow

Research Pitches

You will pitch three different Wikipedia articles as potential topics for your research paper. The pitch topics must be about some kind of technology (the theme of the class). Make sure that your pitches are not too broad. Always look for the most specific sub topic within the main topic. For instance, video games are far too broad of a subject. Video games as an educational tool is much more specific.

The research pitches are a mandatory assignment. You will not be allowed to do the next assignment (the research proposal) until you have received approval on at least one of your pitched research topics.

Research Proposal

After being approved for at least one pitch topic, move ahead with the proposal. The proposal is an in-depth study of your Wikipedia article. Thoroughly know the general aspects of your subject, and convey that expertise to the reader.

More importantly, you will need to understand what the potential issues and arguments are for your chosen topic. You don’t need to pick an argument yet (in fact, you shouldn’t), but you do need to be able to express an understanding of the issues, the sides, and the stakes regarding your topic.

Caveat: The issues are more complex than for or against an issue. There are always, always exceptions and conditions. Find the issues. Define the circumstances and exceptions, and provide your reasons. Look to create your own side of the issues.

Like the pitches, proposals are mandatory. You cannot move forward until you have done the proposal. The comments and questions from my feedback are the basis of the Defense.

Defense

Taken from the term used by graduate students with their theses and dissertations, this is a one-on-one meeting with me. The goal of the conversation is to assure me that you know where you are going with your topic, and to flesh out the potential issues and arguments regarding your topic. Your graded proposal will have questions or requests by me to help you prepare for the defense.

Annotated Bibliography

After you have finalized your topic and know the issue you want to examine, you need to find sources. At this level, Wikipedia is no longer acceptable. You need real and credible sources. In the annotated bibliography, you will summarize the important details and look critically at one or two issues regarding the sources: compare them to one another, examine the source’s authority, or its specific audience.

By the end of the annotated bibliography, you must be well-read on the subject, almost an expert. You’ll know the important players, what’s currently going on, and where it’s headed. Now, refine your argument to a specific thesis statement. The best argument is the one you create. Be original; don’t rely on existing arguments.

Research Paper

The big enchilada. This is the culmination of all your work. You will not rely on existing positions for arguments. You will make your own position where you propose ideas and solutions to the issue you’ve researched. The paper is formal, exact, and meant to be read by the true experts of the field.

Imagine your specific audience. They can be other scholars, government officials, heads of corporations. This is your time to impress them with your ideas. The goal is to gain acceptance, for these people to recognize the worth of your argument, and take action. This is your application to become an expert yourself.

Research Basics

Few words bring as much dread to students as “research paper.” The comic relates the stress involved.

            The fault comes from lectures of plagiarism, citations, more plagiarism, and finding a requisite number and specific types of sources. Let’s not forget the desperate midnight searches on the internet to find something that can be included into the paper before it’s due at 9:00 am (hence the coffee in panel 3).

            But this doesn’t have to be stressful and fill you with dread. Research is not just for academics. We do research every day without thinking about it: looking something up on a search engine, consulting a dictionary, asking a friend about a good movie, reading product reviews on Amazon. Research is about finding good information and learning.

Your friend’s movie recommendation

            If your friend said the latest action movie was “meh,” would you consider seeing it? You trust your friends, but is she reliable when it comes to action movies? She likes “slash ‘em up” horror movies more than anything, and rarely sees action movies. Maybe she wanted more people to die. Maybe it wasn’t gory enough. You have to question how she evaluated the movie. What criteria did she use?

Amazon product review

Reviews include a star-rating, a snapshot that tells you (relatively) how good the product is. It also tells you how many people have given it reviews. If 500 people average out to a 2-star review, you’re not likely to buy it. However, if those same 500 averaged out to 4.5 stars, you’d really consider buying it. Even 500 reviews have limited value if all they’ve written is “I liked this product.” And they’re anonymous. Can you trust them? What about their criteria?

Hearing from experts

When the people from Consumer Reports Magazine review a product, they will go into detail and talk about the product, and the ways they tested it out (their criteria). It’s literally their job; they have training and lots of experience. But their expertise has to relate, too. A Ph.D. in biology has no expertise in recommending what car to buy. Ask mechanics.

The best research

            Research doesn’t have an easy, silver bullet solution. When you have a large number of experts (in the appropriate field) who use the same criteria all say the same thing, you can rely on the information. Scientists operate this way. One group performs an experiment and publishes their results. Other scientists don’t accept blindly, they question and challenge to see if they get the same result. They do this over and over until they’re convinced that what the first group discovered is factual. They even question their own results when it’s what they want to see. They’re never finished; they’re ready to change their minds when more research changes things.

English classes

            As students, your first exposure to research isn’t in science classes, but in English, which is actually appropriate. Before scientists perform any experiments, they first have to read all the information out there already. They must research what other people write. They ask questions. They learn about the subject until they become experts themselves; they evaluate and challenge what they are reading. After all of that, they write.

             Research is not about finding the answer. It’s about learning enough to become an expert and make a contribution. Maybe you join one side, preferring their answer. Or the opposite side. Or maybe, and this is the best part, you create a new side. No matter what, you’re adding your voice and expertise to the discussion.

Formal research

            This isn’t about research dressed in a tuxedo or ball gown. It’s about the form, the specific shape of how research is presented. Just as those scientists follow the same criteria in their experiments, formal research is a set of standards to follow. By following these standards, you are making a statement to others that your research is quality, your voice is worth listening to, and you have something valid to contribute. This is where styles of citation, quality of sources, and rules regarding plagiarism come in. They can be tedious, but the ensure that your research is quality.

Alchemist for Students

Alchemist is a program I wrote to aid in my grading of papers. It scans and marks up text on certain patterns of writing, as well as providing an easy way for me to add comments. It is an add-in for Microsoft Word for Windows (not compatible with Macs, sorry).

I have made a version for students to use so that they can scan and markup their own documents prior to submitting them to me. I'm providing this free with the following stipulations:

• Before downloading this, know that I am simply offering it to you. I'm not guaranteeing it will work for you, nor am I requiring it for the submission of your essays.
• Do NOT contact me that you can't get it to work. I don't have time to play tech support  and get it working for you.
• I have included a PDF user guide, which should install in a folder in your start menu. It should cover the basics.
• Do not install this on school computers.

 Download Alchemist

College Resources

	College Resources
	MCC
Disabilities: Students MUST contact DRC	KSC 37N. http://goo.gl/mWoXVY
Veterans Services	KSC 35N. https://goo.gl/C5hgox
Tutoring	LB11. https://goo.gl/0XVgyy
Early Alert Referral System	KSC 35S. http://goo.gl/ZfejmF
Eng 091 Objectives	https://goo.gl/2kQXtw
Eng 102 Objectives	https://goo.gl/5wEm40
Enh 251 Objectives	http://goo.gl/UaQ5zb

How to Critique an Essay (In order of Importance)

When critiquing a piece of writing, the goal is to offer up feedback, which means to flag errors and offer comments. Editors and proofreaders point out errors, but it is up to the writer to make the corrections.

Likewise, your job is to only point out errors and offer comments on correction. So when you critique, use your word processor's (Word, GoogleDocs, etc.) comment feature to add comments to the writing. Be as detailed as you can as to why what you're flagging is wrong, and how to make corrections. But your job is not to fix the errors for the writer.

Check the format

• This is fundamentally the most important part of a critique. Professors, employers, and even book publishers ask for writing to be formatted according to their instructions. Incorrect format demonstrates that the writer cannot follow directions. If the format is incorrect, no one will read the essay.

Requirements

• Requirements can focus on the specific subject matter, what goes into the introduction, the use of citations, specific word choices and vocabulary to include. Review and check off each requirement.
• Length: If an essay needs to be X number of words, it must be at least X number of words. An essay that needs to be Y pages long must completely fill Y pages. Even one line or one word missing is incorrect.

Logic

• The writing must make sense. If something doesn’t make sense to you as the critiquer, then it won’t make sense to the average reader. You need to point this out to the writer. Don’t assume that the writer understands it, and that you missed something. Point it out.

Fact Check

• Whenever a quote or fact is offered, it must be checked. One incorrect fact makes all others suspect, and destroy a writer’s authority on the subject. Double-check all facts, especially statistics, dates, and names.

Grammar & Punctuation

• While not a dealbreaker, readers cannot take a writer with poor grammar and punctuation seriously. They can also misrepresent the point or confuse readers.

Checklist

Format
Font	Set font for entire document to Times New Roman 12 pt.
Title	Title must relate to essay's argument.
Spacing	Set line spacing to double spaced (2.0).
Margins	Set all margins to 1 inch.
Indent	Indent the first line of all paragraphs.
Other	Other formatting as specified by instructor
Required
Length	Verify word count or page count (to the end of the page).
1st & 2nd POV	Remove 1st & 2nd person POV pronouns as specified.
Support	Include appropriate quotations and paraphrases as specified.
Citations	Include citations of requested style for quotations and paraphrases.
Other	Other requirements as specified by instructor.
Logic
Ideas	Paragraph topic sentences contain main argumentative ideas.
Progression	Logical progression of idea and support sentences through paragraph.
Organization	Logical grouping of paragraphs reflect main ideas.
Statistics & Dates	Verify all statistics and dates referenced.
Names	Double-check the spelling of all names.
Context	Ensure facts and quotations are not misrepresented in essay.
Grammar
Fragments/run-ons	Eliminate sentence fragments and run-ons.
Clarity	Make sure sentences are clear and free of awkward constructions.
Passive Voice	Use active voice verbs whenever possible.
Spelling	Check spelling, homophones, definitions, and ensure word choice.
Punctuation
Commas	Commas with coordinating conjunctions, in a series, dates, etc.
Apostrophes	Apostrophes used correctly for possession and contractions only.
Quotation Marks	Opening and closing marks placed next to their words.
Question marks	Eliminate most rhetorical questions
Exclamation Points	Eliminate exclamations from formal writing

Assignment Requirements

            On every assignment I hand out is a section on assignment requirements. Not doing these will result in the specified penalty. Fail to do more than one and the assignment might automatically fail or be rejected entirely. Below is an example of requirements for a response.

• Response must be from 200-500 words. Shorter responses will receive an F. 1/2 length responses are void.
• Max grade of P for responses that do not mark the argumentative thesis in bold type.
• Automatic F for 1st (I, my, we, our, us, etc.) or 2nd (you, your). Write in 3rd person.
• Quotations are required or max grade of P. Please integrate quotations instead of "dropping" them in.
• Please use MLA in-text citations

Requirement categories

• Word Count: You must reach the minimum word count. The maximum word count is more of a guideline (you can go past it without penalty), but every student should strive for the maximum guideline. Doing only the minimum will only get you a minimum grade.
• Thesis in Bold: You need to be aware of your thesis and what your claim is. I want you to mark your thesis so there is no guesswork as to what you are trying to argue.
• Point of View: First person pronouns (I, me, we, our, us, etc.) or 2^nd (you, your) should be avoided in academic writing. These words put the focus on the writer or the reader instead of the topic. More on Point of View
• Quotations: Arguments require support, and I prefer quotations as that form of support. For every argumentative premise, you need support for it either using reason or a quotation. Don’t use only one quote to satisfy a requirement. Use as many quotes as necessary to establish your idea. Do not use quotes to describe what is happening or summarize.
• Citations: Use MLA in-text citations to indicate where your quotations or paraphrases came from. This is an essential skill when it comes to research writing, and proves that you are not plagiarizing. More on MLA

Advice from Past Students

On the first day, I passed out some advice letters from past students. You can read all of the letters (and you should) here. But to make things a little quicker, I've gone through all the letters and assembled the advice in chart form, as seen below.

Eng 102 Asimov Readings

All of the short stories for the class are written by Isaac Asimov, and can be found on the Scribd website listed in the syllabus, or through the following link: http://www.scribd.com/doc/32973713/Isaac-Asimov. Now, as this is a large book scanned into a pdf file on scribd, it will take some time to download to your computer, and scribd is not the fastest of websites in the first place. You do have two alternatives when it comes to the story as follows:

1) Buy the anthology I listed on the syllabus and showed you on the first day of class. There should be a few copies at local bookstores (not school textbook bookstores) available without the need to order more.

2) You can also find the Asimov readings in the class GoogleDocs folder. The file is called Isaac Asimov.pdf, or you can click the following link to be taken straight to it: https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B5SpfaKFzmqAOTdhYTM5OTQtMjY0Mi00ZTk2LTgxOWUtNDdkNzZkZjg5ZjI3&sort=name&layout=list&pid=0B5SpfaKFzmqANDE0MDMzNDQtZmM0OS00ZDMwLThmNDItYTdjNTdmOTA4NzNi&cindex=5 Bear in mind the file is still fairly large, and might take some time to download. Use the page numbers found in the syllabus (or in the Google Calendar) to find the story you need.

Please try and bring copies of the story with you to class as you may need to reference it during class discussions. Please do not try and print out the whole book; print only those pages you need.

Manuscript format

For other formats, see the links below.

For any interested in screenplay format, there's Script Frenzy Screenplay Format
Lastly, for stage plays, there's Script Frenzy Stage Format
If there are requests for other format types, let me know in the comments.
For any interested, here are a couple of resources for comic book scripts
Teachingcomics.org http://www.teachingcomics.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=74%3AGrendel%3A+Devil+Child+&Itemid=58#1,%20pp.%201-5&catid=37:Sample%20Scripts&Itemid=58
Brian Michael Bendis's Scripts:  http://www.jinxworld.com/scripts.html

Works Cited format

Essay format

Title Page Format

Response Format

Assignment Formats

     All assignments must adhere to proper academic formats. These formats are in handouts provided for the course as well as available through the Googledocs folder. Furthermore, you will find examples of formats posted on the blog via the links at the bottom of this post. To execute the formatting, use your word processor. You can start by viewing these videos on Microsoft Word.
     All academic format follows the same general guidelines:

• Double-spaced lines
• 1 inch margins on all sides
• Times New Roman 12 pt font
• First-line indented paragraphs (1 tab, which is .5 inches)
• Separate paragraphs for each idea (1 paragraph assignments for essays NOT accepted)
• No skipped lines, or added spaces, between paragraphs (MS Word users)

     Do not include any of the following:

• Larger or smaller fonts
• Different fonts
• Watermarks
• Graphics

     Please remember that your assignment can be penalized or rejected for failing to adhere to formatting. make sure to get it right. Examples of format can be found below.
Online Format
Response (and Essay) format
Works Cited format

Key to Evaluating Sources

"Musk, Wozniak and Hawking urge ban on warfare AI and autonomous weapons" http://gu.com/p/4b2em/sbl

            The Guardian is a highly respected newspaper of the UK. This is a news article that has been reviewed by an editor, and so it has undergone a verification process to make sure that it has the necessary objectivity and does not misrepresent sources (otherwise the newspaper could be sued for libel).

            The purpose of the article is to inform the public about the views of three prominent technologists about the use of autonomous artificial intelligence with regard to warfare. The article does not side with their views or against them. The author is merely presenting the views for the public to be informed, and that if they want to know more, they can research further.

            Obviously the source is timely given the date, but even if it was ten years old, it is still relevant. The only time it would become irrelevant is if (or when) we achieve true artificial intelligence and the views of the three people are either verified or proved false.

            This is an excellent source to use because of the authority of the three people as technologists. The author of the article is a well-respected journalist with some scientific credentials (though not in this field), so he understands how to write about science and technology.

"A Day of Glass" https://youtu.be/6Cf7IL_eZ38

            The video is produced by the Corning corporation, a well-known maker of glass, and developer of technological innovations such as Gorilla Glass, used in nearly all touch screen (especially smartphones) devices. If anyone has an expertise about glass, it’s Corning.

However, this also makes them highly biased. They want people to become invested in their vision of the future, which means they will make more sales and their stock prices will go up. It is in their interest that people fully believe the ideas put forth by this video as it helps their bottom line.

The coda at the beginning of the video foretells that this is the future. It is a future which Corning wants to envision, and while their technological research may be on the verge of these kinds of devices, there’s no way to know if they will be successful, or how this technology will be used in the future.

This is, ultimately, an advertisement. At best it is a piece of science fiction, which illustrates the corporation’s view of tomorrow. This source could be used as a hypothetical to elaborate on different views on what the future may hold, but it can in no way be used as a source of authority.

"Cold War Update" http://on.cc.com/1rGvIQA

            Comedy Central is a cable channel interested in entertaining people with humor. Stephen Colbert is likewise a comedian (of impeccable talent) who lampoons and satirizes real news stories for entertainment purposes. Often there is relevancy to the points he makes, but they are always exaggerated for comedic effect.

            This cannot be used as a source for a research paper because it misrepresents the actual scale of the news. It can make someone aware of certain news issues, but for real information and authority, other research must be done.

"Top 30 Innovations Of The Last 30 Years" http://www.forbes.com/2009/02/19/innovation-internet-health-entrepreneurs-technology_wharton.html

            Forbes is a highly respected business magazine. Like newspapers, magazines go through the editorial process. They are allowed to show more bias than newspaper reporting, but this article is a straightforward list reporting the findings from Knowledge@Wharton.

            A quick search of the internet reveals: “Knowledge@Wharton is the online business analysis journal of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.” Results of this judgement and analysis would doubtless be better viewed at the University’s website or in the journal, but this does not disqualify the Forbes list as being valid.

            The article goes at great lengths to detail how the list was determined, and the qualifications of those who judged the list. Individual readers may disagree with the specific order of the list, but that doesn’t invalidate the list itself.

            Likewise, the timeliness of the article is perfectly fine. Though it is no longer 2009, the list never claims that it is going to forecast into the future. It deals specifically with the time period of 1979-2009.

This piece is perfect to use regarding the technological leaps that have been made, as well as showing trends for adopting technology, and how people value that technology.

"Because There Are No Spare Earths" http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/blog/2015/6/because-there-are-no-spare-earths

            Government websites (specifically US government websites) are among the best available for trusting the material. Anything that goes on a government web page must be heavily scrutinized and edited for correctness. However, this is a blog post, which means it hasn’t gone through this extensive process, so care must be taken with this source. More analysis must be done.

            Laura Tenenbaum works for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and teaches oceanography at Glendale Community College, which gives her the credentials necessary to write about climate and environmental issues with authority.

            This largely offsets the problem of a blog because she has the credentials to speak as an expert regarding this subject. The article is current, having been published in 2015, so this should be considered a trustworthy source (though it may be useful to corroborate it with other sources).

           

"Goliath v Goliath: who will reign supreme in the Google v Amazon wars?" http://gu.com/p/42vem/sbl

            Once again on The Guardian, however, the address bar shows this to be a blog, as well as the label to the left, which states “Technology blog” so we must right away be suspect of the editorial process used for this article. Without editors to verify the content, there is no way to be sure that what was written is truly representative of the facts.

            Reading through this, it’s impossible not to feel the bias the author has. A little research on the author reveals that he once worked for Google. While this gives him relevant experience, it can also color his perceptions. There is definitely an anti-corporation bias to the piece where the author feels that mega corporations will take over, reducing the value of individual people and the diversity of business.

            If this had undergone the editorial process, it would be a good source, but because it hasn’t, the bias truly stands out. The information is not necessarily bad, but suspect. How do we know to trust this? This article should only be used in corroboration with other articles of the same nature, or in cataloging the thoughts of those who worked for giant corporations such as Google and Amazon.

"Paths of Innovation: Technological Change in 20th-Century America http://amzn.com/0521646537

            The book is the source, not the Amazon web page. Viewing the inside of the book to review its table of contents is very informative. The book lists a long bibliography, which is also viewable. Such a list of authoritative sources lends credence to the book’s authority. Likewise, this is a nonfiction published book by Cambridge University Press, known for its scholarly publications.

            A quick search on the authors reveals that they are both economists and technological historians, making them qualified to write on the subject.

            Books are slower to produce than articles, so this is not as timely, but the subject material is not about the most current technology, but technology in the 20^th century, so it is perfectly timely. This is an excellent source to use regarding any of the technologies found within its pages, and for presenting historical timelines of technology and their adoption by the people

Kindle Voyage http://amzn.com/B00GDQDRPK

            This page is information about the product the Kindle Voyage. However, Amazon owns the Kindle, and manufactures it, which automatically makes the information found on this page suspect. The information has not gone through any kind of editorial process to verify its veracity. Claims regarding details of the Kindle cannot be verified in any way from this page.

            Comments by reviewers are also not valid simply because anyone may post a comment (good or bad). For good, objective information regarding the Kindle Voyage, look to an independent web site or publication such as Consumer Reports or other magazines. Independent technology review websites are also viable.

            Ultimately, Amazon wants to sell Kindles, so everything on this page is designed to make that happen. Like with the Corning video “A Day of Glass” this is an advertisement, and cannot be trusted.