One Class Down

The students as I might have anticipated were very thoughtful when they discussed what each assignment should count. As one might expect, they didn’t want the exam to count as much as I would have counted it. However, they had smart reasons for wanting to blog more. Many of them are well traveled—definitely better traveled than I was at their age, so they know that travel will provide them with new and interesting experiences.

I was a little surprised to find less enthusiasm for wikis (I wanted them to create a film glossary that we could all use when we discuss the films as well as when they work on their own documentaries), as I thought that writing wikis would be relatively easy. It may be that the class is roughly divided between students who have a definite interest in film production (they would already know this stuff) and students with relatively little experience in film (like me until relatively recently, they wouldn’t really think of exactly what cinematography adds to the film experience). On the other hand, I’ve assigned wikis in two classes and haven’t yet generated much enthusiasm for the genre, so it may be something I’m doing wrong. Hmmm. Perhaps, wikis just don’t generate much passion.

I case you’re interested, here’s how the assignments break down: short analytical paper (15%), two wiki assignments (20%), four blog entries (40%), final exam (15%), and participation (10%).

We also attended one of Shannon's orientations. Since she's gone on every Italian Film Program before this one, she's quite knowledgeable about both the fun things and the pitfalls we might encounter.

Am curious to see which films the students choose. I deliberately wanted them to discuss the possibilities among themselves. Plus they couldn’t go wrong with any of the choices. Tomorrow, we’ll all know.

Jay looked over my shoulder and noted dispassionately that the blog looks too text heavy. What exactly does he expect from someone who was trained as an English teacher? I do promise some photos later on. So just for fun (and to placate my husband), I've included an image from the cover from the only Bram Stoker to be written (though only partially) about Italy. Gosh, if I were half smart about this stuff I could figure out how to get the image at the BOTTOM of the page, which didn't seem to be an option.