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Parting Gifts

aka Something / That I Remember

Texts to have read:

Work to have done:

  • Identify something said, read, or made in this course that you want to remember beyond this semester.
  • Consider which earlier projects, if any, you’ll want to revise for the final portfolio

Plan for the Day:

  1. OMETs (and tech comfort survey, take 2)
  2. Collaborative projects: introductions
  3. Collaborative projects: play time
  4. Gifts and Remembrances (depending on the clock)
  5. Endless departures

OMETs or studio time

Remember that these evaluations of teaching serve multiple purposes, and go to multiple audiences:
  • They'll go to my program director, to help determine if I should keep teaching this course;
  • they'll become part of my portfolio application for tenure, read by other faculty inside and outside my department;
  • and, after grades are turned in, they'll go to me, so I can use them to revise and update the course. For that purpose, I especially value the free responses. (I also added a few numerical questions that are particular to this iteration of the course.)

So the OMETs are pretty important!

If you haven't yet filled out your survey, please do so now. You should have a link to the survey on the homepage of your CourseWeb account, or in your Pitt email. EXT: I know many of you have already filled out the survey; as an alternative (or if you're waiting for others to finish), why not head over to the Tech Comfort Survey and compare your answers now to the ones from January?

EXT: If you’ve done both of those things to your satisfaction and you’re waiting for your classmates to finish, you can use this time for solo work on your portfolio / revisions or your final reflection.

I’ll leave the room for 10-15 minutes, to give you some privacy; I’ll probably go around to the tables by the elevator. Let me know if you want me to come back earlier than that.

2. Collaborative projects: introductions

Each group will have 5-10 minutes to share the awesome. This isn’t a workshop, but rather a celebration, and an invitation: afterward, we’ll have time to play through the games and scroll through the websites.

So walk us through

  1. an introduction to the thing you made:
    • what's the premise?
    • where can we access it? (can someone in the group write the URL on the board?)
  2. a celebration of group members' strengths and contributions, and
  3. what the fate of the project will be for the foreseeable future:
    • will you keep it alive?
    • can others participate if they want?

3. Collaborative projects: play time!

4. Check in with the clock

  • If we have less than five minutes left, we’ll skip to the poem.
  • If we have more than ten minutes left, let’s share some thanks first.
  • If we’re in between, let’s have a quick Q&A on the final reflection.

5. Endless departures

And other announcements.

  1. If we had a final exam, it would be this coming Tuesday, from 12:00pm-1:50pm. Instead, the final portfolio is due at the end of that exam slot: Tuesday, December 10, at 1:50pm.

  2. The reflection is the main thing, so if you do make revisions, please be sure to talk about them in the reflection.

  3. I’ll hold extra office hours tomorrow, 12-1, as usual – and then next week on Monday 12-1pm (and again on Wednesday, though that’s after our official portfolio deadline of Tuesday at 1:50pm). Email me if you have questions outside those hours, and I’ll do my best to help.

  4. Right after office hours tomorrow, come by the Digital Media Showcase in room 501! There will also be food and stuff from the Secret Pittsburgh course. See flyer for details.

We end with poetry.