Welcome to Week 2!

Dear Class, I'm delighted to keep working with you. I loved looking in the gradebook this morning and seeing that almost everyone had submitted their Lesson 4 work. Let's shoot for everyone getting their work done this week in Lessons 5, 6, and 7. I've provided extra guidance in my Notes from Sister Bowen / Q&A this week, so make sure you start the week off in my Notes. Then, I hope you dive right into Lesson 5 and look for what you can find of value in the lesson. I am thankful for our course content for helping to keep me on my "intellectual" toes! In the Q & A part of my notes this week, I would love to hear how this course is helping you grow as a person. I posted my own thread on this topic here, discussing how love and covenant keeping are related to this class for me, and I would love to hear your insights. I sure appreciate you, and I pray for you every day. Please email/call/text me with any concerns! Love, Sister Bowen

Lesson 4 Due Today, Student Sample, and all Graded

Dear Class, Remember that your Lesson 4 submission is due today. A few people haven't correctly addressed the Issue/Claim/Opposing Claim "because" questions in Lessons 3 and 4, so I'm providing a student sample to bring you back on track. On the lesson 3 submission page, Rebekah Cockrell provided this demonstration regarding the issue: "Should The Giver, by Lois Lowry, be taught in high school?: "My Claim: “The Giver” should be read in every high school because… It shows that creativity is essential in every persons life The “Perfect” society is not the ideal society It teaches that beings should make choices on their own to learn the best It teaches that love is an important part of every person’s life and that lives can be changed by pure love It teaches the morals and virtues should be upheld and that one must always do what is right The Opposing Claim: “The Giver” should not be read in high school because… It teaches disobedience against the ruling force whether it be school leaders, government officials, or parents It shows negative light on unity or similarities within a nation It develops the idea that one cannot control ones urges and feelings Make sure you provide the issue, thesis claim, and oppositional thesis claim on your Lesson 4 Submission page. Thanks to Rebekah for providing a clear sample. Also, I am pleased to announce that I have graded everything anyone has submitted for class. Please check your grades, and look to see my additional feedback as well. I am finishing up next week's lessons, and should have my notes for next week completed in the next few hours. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns about class so far. I am praying for you, and cheering you on every step of the way. Love, Sister Bowen

Intro Assignment Feedback and Lesson 2 Work Due Today

Dear Class, I have graded all the Intro assignments, and provided a little note for you to go along with your score. (If you have permission from me to submit your Intro assignment by this evening, because you added the class late, look for my feedback on your work by tomorrow night.) If you don't know how to check feedback from instructors, please view this tutorial. It helps you identify when I've left feedback, and it teaches you how to access the feedback. Thanks for all your hard work so far. Remember that your Lesson 2 work must be submitted before 11:58 pm tonight. I'm already grading the Lesson 2 work, and hope to be done grading it by Wednesday evening.
Love, Sister Bowen

Review Teacher Feedback Video

Remember to post this for students this week: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7CuqQ2Yf-8&feature=youtu.be so they can see how to view my feedback.

Welcome to Week 1 Email/Announcement

Dear Class,

Good morning, wonderful brothers and sisters! You made it through the Introductory Week, and we're ready to launch into a typical work week in our class, wherein you will complete three lessons. The lessons are due on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday (by 11:58 pm), so you will want to begin working on the lessons for this week right away. I am so pleased that everyone completed their Introductory Lesson work last week (with the exception of two students who added late, and who may turn their Intro work in by this evening).

Make sure to submit all your work on time for the rest of the semester. Remember, the late work policy for our class states that, "Late work is not accepted on the 38 lessons or the final assessment." You will submit three major papers during this class, and they will receive a 10% late penalty per day after the specified deadline. The late policy is fairly strict, but it will enable you to stay on track with the rest of the class.

Finally, I would love to share a spiritual experience with you to help you start the work week off right. I loved the Devotional on Tuesday, wherein President Clark talked about how learning is hard work (and I have posted a link to the devotional in Notes from Sister Bowen / Q&A this week, if you missed the devotional and would like to watch it).

Last week, as I was doing my homework for this class, I felt a little sorry for myself. I would have liked to hang out with my husband or read "Rilla of Ingleside" during my down time, but I knew I had work to do. I settled down to read, and loved that I ultimately achieved all my work goals last week (staying one week ahead of the class on assignments). Watching the devotional reminded me that "Who [I am] becoming has everything to do with the details of [my] life" and spending time on my homework will help me "increase in power to know, to do, and to become." I believe, like President Clark, that hard work and humility allow the Holy Ghost to teach us. I am so, SO glad we have a chance to learn so much in our class. I would love to hear your thoughts on the devotional in the Q & A section of my Notes from Sister Bowen this week.

I am with you every step of the way, I am here to help you, and I am praying for your success and happiness.

Love,

Sister Bowen

Friday in Introductory Week Email/Announcement

Dear Class,

This is just a reminder to complete all your Introductory Week work before 11:59 pm on Saturday evening. You need to complete all the work in the Lessons: Introductory Week folder, and make sure to submit your Submission page answers (which include fill-in-the-blank and short answer prompts) before the deadline. Remember that the deadlines in this class are firm. 18 of you have already enrolled in MyLab so far, so I know most of you are already heading in the right direction. To the rest of you: please catch up. (If you haven't responded to my welcome letter, please do so right away!)

 

Next week, you will be completing Lessons 2, 3, and 4. I'll post my Notes from Sister Bowen in Lessons: Week 1 by Monday morning.

 

I hope you have a wonderful weekend, and get your homework out of the way soon so it can be relatively stress-free! I get to go up to Island Park and freeze a little bit, so stay warm for me. I am looking forward to going on a gorgeous run among the lodge pole pines tomorrow afternoon.

 

Love,

Sister Bowen

First Day of Class Email

Dear Class,

I am so excited to begin working with you! Several of you have already responded to my "Welcome Letter" and I hope to hear back from the rest of you today and tomorrow. I pasted the welcome letter here, so you can respond to it now if you have not yet already.

 

This will be our easiest week of class, which is nice when so many of you are getting adjusted to several new classes. You will want to jump into class today and begin working through it--to get a sense of what is expected this week and throughout the semester. Make sure you begin your course work in Lessons: Introductory Week, and work through each folder and activity therein.

 

At the start of each week, I'll send you an email including a spiritual thought. This week, my spiritual thought is a video entitled "His Hands". I have seen it before, but I rediscovered it while preparing my "Sharing Time" lesson for primary last week. It inspires me to do my best with my life. I love that everything we choose to do here on earth is part of our preparation to meet God, and that we can serve God the whole time by meeting our divine potential and serving.  I hope you will take the time to view the video, and contemplate how you can apply the message into our classroom experience together. Good luck this week, and I will certainly be in touch!

Love,

Sister Bowen

My Welcome Letter to the Class, Before Class Began

Dear Class,

I am Sister Tara Bowen, and I am delighted to work with you, pray for you, and cheer for you during this fall semester as your Foundations English 201 teacher. I love reading and writing, and I love helping students discover and develop their writing skills. This semester, a new version of our course is launching for all FD-ENG 201 students and teachers working online. This means I will literally be working right along with you, reading everything you read, and setting aside extra time to work a bit ahead of you so I can help you catch the vision of our course.

I have a testimony that this is the Lord's university, and that He cares about your learning and growth. He will help you make the most of the learning opportunities in our class as you strive for knowledge and seek inspiration.  

Now for some business items...

Access and Getting Started: If you have taken an online class before now, you know the basic drill: Log in to I-learn every day, and keep up with the lessons, paying close attention to deadlines.  The class is online, so you have a great deal of flexibility regarding what time of day (or night) you log on to do your work; however, this is not a "go-at-your-own-pace" course. In fact, it is a very fast-paced course. After the first week of class, you will have a lesson due every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. Each lesson will take about 3-4 hours and will give you opportunities to read, write, and discuss with your peers.  The total time commitment each week will vary depending on the week--and the speed at which you read and write. But students who devote 9-12 hours every week to this course should get the most learning and enjoyment out of the experience. You only get out what you put in, right? When the class opens up this weekend, feel free to jump in to I-learn and start exploring. Class officially starts on Monday (September 16), and your first lesson is due on Saturday (September 21).  

Textbook Access: We will be using two electronic textbooks for this course. The Way of Wisdom is a collection of essays (an anthology) that is provided for you for free within I-Learn. The second textbook, Arguments, is a custom textbook published by Pearson, and you can find it in MyLab. To register for MyLab, enter our FD-ENG 201 course and scroll down to the last folder on the left side of the screen, called MyLab/Mastering. Click on “Registration Instructions” to get started. You’ll need our Course ID, which is bowen30248. (Finding your way around both I-Learn and MyLab may be a bit intimidating, so look for some videos on how to navigate the two early next week.)

Explorer, Chrome, Safari, or Firefox?: I have always encouraged students to use the Internet browser Mozilla Firefox, rather than Internet Explorer, in I-learn. Chrome is good as well. No matter what browser you opt to use, if you click on a menu item in I-learn and the page comes up blank, that content is being blocked and you are missing essential information; there are no blank pages in our classroom! This video shows how to view insecure content if you would like to stick with Firefox or Chrome (I still do not recommend Explorer): http://youtu.be/XCOP5asLr9g.

Communication: If you have a question or concern, please voice it! We have a weekly Q&A discussion board attached to my "Notes from Sister Bowen". This is a great place to post your questions and answer your peers' questions if you know the answers. I check our Q&A daily during the work week. I am also available to help on an individual basis via email, call, or text. You can reach me at bowent@byui.edu and #208-241-2889. Please note that I don't always work on Saturdays, and I never work on Sundays. This means that you may send me an email on Friday night that I won't read until Monday morning. For this reason, texting or calling me is probably preferable on Saturdays. Please don't ever hesitate to reach out. In fact, please respond to this letter to let me know:

1) your cell number (in case BYU-I email isn't working),

2) whether or not you receive texts, and

3) how you are feeling about taking this class.

I look forward to hearing from you!

Love,

Sister Bowen

p.s. You may post your responses to questions below, if you don't mind other students potentially seeing your answers.