On and off all week I've been noticing little groups of students standing near my bulletin board and reading, despite the fact that most of the items are posted a little crooked and the whole mosaic of words and images sort of lists to the left. It's without doubt the most popular bulletin board display I've ever done, even though it didn't take much work.
I sent an e-mail message to our English major distribution list asking them four simple questions (about the most interesting thing they read over the summer, which author they'd most like to talk to and why, what they're looking forward to this semester, and what's great about being an English major), and I asked them to respond and send along an electronic photo as well.
They responded--and not just the usual suspects, either. A few of the respondents are seniors, but there are several English majors up there whom I've never met, indicating that they're freshmen or sophomores. The photos they sent range from the sublime to the ridiculous, and the responses range from the profound to the goofy. And I'm still getting responses, even though the board is full! I'll leave the current ones up there for a week or two and then start rotating them off so I can post new ones--and I'll even try to post them straight.
Now between classes I see students standing, reading, and commenting, and faculty members too. Ask English majors to produce some interesting reading and they do it, even if there's no grade attached, no extra credit available. This is why I love English majors!
4 comments:
That's a very cool idea, sort of a departmental focused facebook (see, I'm learning to speak studentese!)
Yes! Except it's in person instead of online. Call it a face-to-facebook.
Revolutionary! Your students can actually talk to each other in person?
Yes, thanks to an amazing face-to-face communication facilitation technology called the "thumbtack." You should try it sometime!
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