Wiggio--a new group work tool

On Wiggio, you can share and edit files, manage a group calendar, poll your group, post links, set up conference calls, chat online and send mass text, voice and email messages to your group members. Each group member can define how they want to keep informed of group activity.

Word choice, idioms, and prepositions

I just made up this rather basic page on word choice, idioms, and prepositions for native speakers as well as ESL students. I mark these errors so often, and Rules for Writers is only of limited help to students. This page describes how to use Google Books to look up sample sentences that use a word or phrase. I'd welcome any suggestions--this is a first draft. Feel free to use it too.

Works Cited help page

I just created this Works Cited help page for my students. I'd love feedback or suggestions. Feel free to use it, too. Thanks!

Photostory is free and looks very cool

This could be a great presentation tool for teachers and students: images, text, audio.
Try it: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/digitalphotography/PhotoStory/default.mspx

Rosh Hashanah

Happy New Year!

On the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, there is a ceremony called Tashlich, a time to release the weight of the past year. Jews traditionally go to the ocean or a stream or river to pray and throw bread crumbs into the water. Symbolically, the fish devour their sins.

Occasionally, people ask what kind of bread crumbs should be thrown. Here are suggestions for breads which may be most appropriate for specific sins:

For ordinary sins
White Bread

For erotic sins
French Bread

For particularly dark sins
Pumpernickel

For complex sins
Multi-Grain

For twisted sins
Pretzels

For tasteless sins
Rice Cakes

For sins of indecision
Waffles

For sins committed in haste
Matzoh

For sins of chutzpah
Fresh Bread

For substance abuse
Stoned Wheat

For use of heavy drugs
Poppy Seed

For petty larceny
Stollen

For committing auto theft
Caraway

For timidity/cowardice
Milk Toast

For ill-temperedness
Sourdough

For silliness, eccentricity
Nut Bread

For not giving full value
Shortbread

For jingoism, chauvinism
Yankee Doodles

For excessive irony
Rye Bread

For unnecessary chances
Hero Bread

For telling bad jokes/puns
Corn Bread

For war-mongering
Kaiser Rolls

For dressing immodestly
Tarts

For causing injury to others
Tortes

For lechery and promiscuity
Hot Buns

For promiscuity with gentiles
Hot Cross Buns

For racist attitudes
Crackers

For sophisticated racism
Ritz Crackers

For being holier than thou
Bagels

For abrasiveness
Grits

For dropping in without notice
Popovers

For over-eating
Stuffing

For impetuosity
Quick Bread

For indecent photography
Cheesecake

For raising your voice too often
Challah

For pride and egotism
Puff Pastry

For sycophancy, butt-kissing
Brownies

For being overly smothering
Angel Food Cake

For laziness
Any long loaf

For trashing the environment
Dumplings

Happy New Year! And l'shana tova to you.

FORUM: The Blog

Forum is City College of San Francisco’s Literary Magazine made by students, for students, and featuring students (but anyone else who want’s to read a copy let us know!)

We have a blog at forumccsf.wordpress.com and are currently accepting submissions for our next issue coming in October. We are welcome all forms of literary work: poems, essays, short stories, screen plays, and pretty much anything else the creative minds of CCSF students can come up with. We hope to eventually create a submission system on this set up but for now please email us at citylitjournal@gmail.com with your submissions and we will respond as quick as possible after reviewing them.

Fall Issue Submission Deadline: October 5, 2009
Submission Guidelines:
-We accept word documents with .doc extension and PDFs.
-Please be aware that formatting types can affect the layout of your piece.

For those who wish to view or purchase the last issue of Forum, you can stop by the English department on the 5th floor of Batmale Hall or once again email us at citylitjournal@gmail.com .

We can’t wait for everyone’s submissions, and please check back for more information and upcoming events!

The Rubber Room

Read it in The New Yorker . . .

Google Opt Out Feature

With all of our recent talk about Google Sites, and with this blog being another Google tool, you may want to consider their Opt Out Feature. Special thanks to Kevin Cook for sharing this option.

Google Opt Out Feature Lets Users Protect Privacy By Moving To Remote Village

F '09 Writing Lab Meeting: Caption Contest

From the August meeting!

Put caption ideas in the comment window . . .

Jib's a Co-Editor

Learn more about this book.

Free UCB Symposium on Multilingual Student Writers: September 26

Hi Everybody,

Just an FYI in case you or any colleagues you know might be interested. My wife, who was an ESL instructor for many years, attended this symposium 2 years ago, and here's her comment: "It was free, well-organized, useful and they included lunch!"

Matt

--- On Wed, 8/19/09, symposium@berkeley.edu <symposium@berkeley.edu> wrote:

From: symposium@berkeley.edu <symposium@berkeley.edu>
Subject: Save the Date: Symposium on Multilingual Student Writers
To:
Date: Wednesday, August 19, 2009, 4:54 PM

Announcing the 2009 Symposium on Multilingual Student Writers:

One Size Does Not Fit All:
Addressing General and Discipline-Specific Conventions for Academic Writing

Guest Speaker:
Randi Reppen, Professor of Applied Linguistics, Northern Arizona
University

Saturday, September 26, 2009
9:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Breakfast starts at 8:30 a.m.

Registration will open on August 26. Check for updates and directions at
http://writing.berkeley.edu/newsite/symposium.htm.

Description:

What does it mean to teach writing? Writing is definitely not a case of
one size fits all. General writing courses like freshman composition are
filled with students from a variety of backgrounds and writing abilities
who are heading into a range of different disciplines. So, how can these
courses balance general composition requirements with students’ need to
later master disciplinary writing? During the symposium, we will look at
some ways to address both general and specific aspects of writing,
including equipping students with tools to help them become autonomous
writers. Specifically, we will explore how writing teachers and also
students can look at the writing expectations and conventions of various
disciplines and use that information to shape writing instruction and the
writing that they produce. Information from corpus linguistics will be
used to identify characteristics of disciplinary writing.

Format:

The 2009 Symposium will include breakfast, a morning session featuring a
short presentation followed by working groups, and an afternoon session
synthesizing and building on the conversations begun in the working
groups. We hope this format will give participants time to discuss and
collaborate with colleagues from colleges and universities throughout
northern California.

Please forward this note to interested colleagues.

We hope to see you next month.

Best,
The Symposium Committee
College Writing Programs
University of California, Berkeley

The Symposium Series is sponsored by The College Writing Programs
(Undergraduate Division of the College of Letters and Science), Technical
Communication (College of Engineering), and Academic Services (Residential
and Student Service Programs) at The University of California, Berkeley.

Dig it! New Department Chair Page

Jessica's Brother's New Book

Dear friends and lovers of Cuban music,

Jessica's Nelson brother, John Radanovich, just published a biography of the greatest singer Cuba ever produced, and it is now available on Amazon. The book launch party is October 18 at Books & Books in Miami, where they will have rum, cigars, and a 14-piece salsa orchestra led by Benny's grandson, and Tito Puente Jr. Please feel free to spread the news!

Billions for Community Colleges

According to President Obama, “We believe it's time to reform our community colleges so that they provide Americans of all ages a chance to learn the skills and knowledge necessary to compete for the jobs of the future.” Meaning . . .

• $9 billion in competitive grants to community colleges and states over ten years
• $10 billion loan fund to expand community college facilities
• $50 million to expand online learning options

The President might announce his plan during his address to a community college audience in Michigan on July 14. The anticipated proposal follows today’s release of the President's Council of Economic Advisors (CEA) report, entitled: Preparing the Workers of Today for the Jobs of Tomorrow, which highlights important attributes of a well-functioning education and training system that can provide U.S. workers with the skills needed for current jobs as well as those that will be created as a result of the Recovery Act and economic growth over the next decade. The report may be found at http://www.whitehouse.gov/assets/documents/Jobs_of_the_Future.pdf?tr=y&auid=5067542.

The expected proposal is speculated to have largely been structured on a May 2009 report from the National Center on Education and the Economy, entitled TRANSFORMING AMERICA’S COMMUNITY COLLEGES -- A FEDERAL POLICY PROPOSAL TO EXPAND OPPORTUNITY AND PROMOTE ECONOMIC PROSPERITY, may be found at http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/rc/reports/2009/0507_community_college_goldrick_rab/0507_community_college_full_report.pdf.

The President’s op-ed may be found at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/11/AR2009071100647.html.

This is in The Chronicle of HE blog: http://chronicle.com/news/article/3980/obama-says-community-colleges-key-to-economy

And on MSNBC--
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31908274/ns/business-stocks_and_economy/

BUT WILL HE PLAY IT COOL?

Oh my.

What's going on?

$$$$$$$