• 

I have been experiencing more headaches in the past couple of days and couldn’t discern the reason for these headaches. It wasn’t my time of the month nor was I dehydrated. I was popping two Extra Strength Tylenols every six hours, then I became worried that I was taking too many painkillers. What was causing these headaches? I thought with dread, brain tumor? I needed to nap. After my nap, I was stressed that I did not complete grading my students’ quizzes nor did I work on my research proposal nor did I wash a load clothes. I just slept, and afterwards, I still had my headache. I groggily got up of bed, stumbling to the bathroom.

Today I had an especially good day, a headache-free day. I completed a lot of items on my To-Do List and did not have to take any medication. I went outside to shovel the slushy snow provided with me with much-needed fresh air. After some manual labor, I felt energized, ready to check off more items on my laundry list.

When I am overwhelmed, I get stressed and when I get stressed, I get anxiety, which triggers headaches; and I have been experiencing anxiety since March 2021. However, the headaches are now less frequent since my family have all been vaccinated and have adjusted to pandemic life. We will continue wearing masks and social distancing. So, life continues; so, the research proposal continues.

I revisited my Central Inquiry and revised my slideshow for my upcoming March 9 presentation. I wanted to recenter myself so I do not lose some sight of my purpose and felt that I was going down this proverbial research rabbit hole.

Central Inquiry: Critics argue that students mechanically accept suggestions from online grammar checkers without understanding the grammatical underpinnings. Although some students may mindlessly accept editing suggestions, online grammar checkers, similar to calculators, are actually tools of empowerment that help provide equity in the classroom and support learners who lack cultural and linguistic capital.  (Working Thesis)

In terms of research, I checked to see if there was any no research published on online grammar checkers. No, there was not. Then I wanted research to help me answer, Why should we care about educational equity? Enters Paul Gorski who reminds me that “We have the power, and of course, the responsibility to ensure we do not reproduce inequitable conditions in our own classrooms and in our schools.” I am going to continue reading Gorski’s book Reaching and Teaching Students in Poverty: Strategies for Erasing the Opportunity and working on my autoethnographic short story.

Literature Review (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1H12r6MF597jtkdQ_FOOUavKGK439btzMUocm-hplKN8/edit?usp=sharing

Writing Pedagogy and Writing Theory

Bardine, Bryan A., et al. “Beyond the Red Pen: Clarifying Our Role in the Response Process.”   

     The English Journal, vol. 90, no. 1, 2000, pp. 94–101. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/821738.

     Accessed 19 Dec. 2020.

– Bardine and Deegan argue that students feel powerless in the writing classroom, which

   supports my claim that writing instruction can be oppressive. They argue that teachers

   need to go beyond grading papers. Teachers need to see themselves as responders to 

   essays, focusing on the students’ ideas and not on the goal of grading a paper and

   moving on to the next paper. The instructor’s comments have a lasting impact, 

   either positive or negative, on the learner. 

David Foster Wallace – Tense Present: Democracy, English, and the Wars Over Usage | Genius. https://genius.com/David-foster-wallace-tense-present-democracy-english-and-the-wars-over-usage-annotated. Accessed 19 Dec. 2020.

-Wallace examines the power dynamics in American usage. He argues that the elite, the

              SNOOTS (or grammar snobs), are the authority in terms of usage. They determine right

    and wrong in American usage, which is problematic in writing studies since the writing 

  authorities are generally white and male. In the writing classroom, the authority is white 

 and female.

Semke, Harriet D. “Effects of the Red Pen.” Foreign Language Annals, vol. 17, no. 3, 1984, pp. 195–202, doi:10.1111/j.1944-9720.1984.tb01727.x.

– Semke shows that students’ writing skills improve with a combination of positive

  comments corrections on their papers. 

Delpit, Lisa D. The Silenced Dialogue: Power and Pedagogy in Educating Other People’s Children. 1988, doi:10.17763/haer.58.3.c43481778r528qw4.

– Delpit examines the culture of power in the classroom and in writing pedagogy. She 

   argues for a student-centered classroom and writing as a process. She presents a

   divergent perspective of white writing teachers teaching other people’s children and

  how faculty of color are often marginalized in their professions, which is quite

 problematic since divergent points of view are dismissed, rejected, and suppressed.

Ferenz, Orna. “EFL Writers’ Social Networks: Impact on Advanced Academic Literacy Development.” Journal of English for Academic Purposes, vol. 4, no. 4, Oct. 2005, pp. 339–51, doi:10.1016/j.jeap.2005.07.002.

-Using human ecology theory, Fernez examines how ESL students’ social

 environment (a network of friends, classmates, and co-workers) impact the students’

 acquisition of advanced literacy skills. However, if marginalized students lack the

linguistic capital at home and do not have access to writing tools at school, then they

are to hone their advanced literacy skills.

Pitard, Jayne. “Using Vignettes Within Autoethnography to Explore Layers of Cross-Cultural Awareness as a Teacher.” Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung / Forum: Qualitative Social Research, vol. 17, no. 1, Nov. 2015, doi:10.17169/fqs-17.1.2393.

– Pitard uses vignettes (or anecdotes) to serve as a “window” into a different culture. She distinguishes autoethnographies from short stories by connecting the self to the larger cultural text, and the self to the larger social context. Since I am interested in the larger context of writing pedagogy, I am planning to write an autoethnographic short story.  

Freire, Paulo. Pedagogy of the Oppressed: 50th Anniversary Edition. Bloomsbury Publishing

USA, 2018.

-Freire Argues for liberation of the oppressed by breaking the chains of a

conventional education that focuses on memorization. Instead, education should focus

on problem-solving and critical thinking skills. He encourages dialogue between 

the teacher and the student.

The Problem of Othering: Towards Inclusiveness and Belonging. (2017, June 29). Othering and 

Belonging. http://www.otheringandbelonging.org/the-problem-of-othering/

– Powell and Menendian posit that the problem of the 20th century is

“othering, ” which is a type of prejudice where one group perceives another group as

 being different from them, thus marginalizing them. Othering occurs because of the 

 desire for power and unconscious bias.

Online Grammar Checkers

Best Grammar Checker Tools: These 6 Will Make Your Writing Super Clean. (2020, January 

20). The Write Life. https://thewritelife.com/automatic-editing-tools/.

– Provides recommendations of online grammar checkers such as ProWritingAid, 

AutoCrit, and Grammarly. 

– Provides an example of an autoethnography of an English teacher who was able to gain

   credibility as an English teacher in Sri Lanka. By using an authentic voice, this 

   Autoethnography is a strong example of this research method. 

Cavaleri, M. R., & Dianati, S. (2016). You want me to check your grammar again? The 

usefulness of an online grammar checker as perceived by students. Journal of Academic 

Language and Learning, 10(1), A223–A236.

– Dianati presents research on the positive impact of online grammar checkers on students 

   in Australia. Based on their study, online grammar checkers promote self-efficacy 

   and independence.

Figueredo, L., & Varnhagen, C. K. (2006). Spelling and grammar checkers: Are they intrusive? 

British Journal of Educational Technology, 37(5), 721–732.

https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8535.2006.00562.x.

– Varnhagen concludes that online grammar checkers do not negatively impact a writer’s

   revision process. More experienced writers, such as graduate students, use online

   grammar checkers to check for surface revisions.

Jayavalan, K., & Razali, A. B. (2018). Effectiveness of Online Grammar Checker to Improve 

Secondary Students’ English Narrative Essay Writing. International Research Journal of

Education and Sciences (IRJES), 2(1).

-Jayavalan and Razali show how Maylasian students who used Grammarly scored higher in the narrative writing tasks by using Grammarly.

McAlexander, P. J. (2000). CHECKING THE GRAMMAR CHECKER: INTEGRATING 

GRAMMAR INSTRUCTION WITH WRITING. Journal of Basic Writing, 19(2), 

124–140. JSTOR.

-McAlexander describes online grammar checkers as “pattern detectors” that can detect

  formulaic patterns of errors but not error relating to content and meaning such as comma

  rules, dangling and misplaced modifiers, and pronoun agreement errors.

McCracken, H., & McCracken, H. (2019, April 1). On its 10th anniversary, Grammarly looks 

way beyond grammar. Fast Company.

https://www.fastcompany.com/90327157/on-its-10th-anniversary-grammarly-looks-way-beyond-grammar

• McCracken provides background on the founders of Grammarly, Max Lytvyn and Alex Shevchenko, who want people to write well. The writer Harry McKraken who writes for a living uses Grammarly to help him find errors. 

Moré, J. (2006). A grammar checker based on web searching. Digithum, 8, 1–5.

Naber, D. (2003). A rule-based style and grammar checker. Citeseer.

On Students’ Rights to Their Own Texts: A Model of Teacher Response on JSTOR. (n.d.). 

Retrieved May 11, 2020, from 

https://www.jstor.org/stable/357623?casa_token=fNLE8Lzx5gAAAAAA:elsbl4Vm8uNblyNr88ts1TfZvqZQfirpD_T0pAa5wdQ4_RpNt6lYJl5Mxsv6NqgcSf0gnCR-9TbCNYdDhobVa16qJa_syDz26MgZ0jjHnxMwXpAUnqc&seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents.

-Moré claims that teachers should treat students’ writing with respect. The teacher should

 return control of writing to the students by adopting the mindset of helping the student

 improve as a writing and not comparing the students’ writing to an Ideal text.

Potter, R., & Fuller, D. (2008). My New Teaching Partner? Using the Grammar Checker in 

Writing Instruction. The English Journal, 98(1), 36–41. JSTOR.

-A seventh-grade teacher, Reva Potter, describes her positive experience of teaching 

online grammar checker. She concludes by saying that she can teach technology 

and writing simultaneously. 

Autoethnography

A Phenomenological Research Design Illustrated-Thomas Groenewald, 2004. (n.d.). Retrieved 

May 10, 2020, from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/160940690400300104

-Groenewald provides a step-by-step guide in conducting a phenomenological research

 Design. Autoethnography is a form of phenomenology but without the bracketing.

Canagarajah, A. S. (2012). Teacher Development in a Global Profession: An Autoethnography. 

TESOL Quarterly, 46(2), 258–279. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.18.

Educational Equity

White Teachers / Diverse Classrooms, edited by Julie Landsman, and Chance W. Lewis, 

Stylus Publishing, LLC, 2011. ProQuest Ebook Central,

https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/kean/detail.action?docID=911884.

I was introduced to Paul Gorski’s “Becoming Joe,” which was a poetic loom at the process of assimilation of Jose. As I read the poem, I am reminded of my name and how strangers struggle with my name Tunhi, which prompted me to informally change it to “Linda.”

hooks, bell. Teaching To Transgress. United States, Taylor & Francis, 2014.

Noddings, Nel. Happiness and Education. Cambridge University Press, 2003.

Gorski, Paul C.. Reaching and Teaching Students in Poverty: Strategies for Erasing the Opportunity Gap. United States, Teachers College Press, 2017.

“Class Inequities Beyond School Walls and Why They Matter at School”

ABSTRACT

High school English teacher Linda Pham contends that online grammars such as Grammarly Premium are tools of empowerment for students who lack linguistic capital. By having access to free online grammar checkers, disenfranchised students are able to check their writing for grammar, punctuation, and spelling errors.

OUTLINE OF JOURNAL ARTICLE

I. Anecdote of a former student of mine. In 2018, David* (His name has been changed to protect his privacy) asked if I had a Grammarly Premium account. I did not have a paid Grammarly account since I usually have my students revise and edit their writing using a Revising and Editing Checklist. Some students use the Spelling and Grammar Checker on Google Docs.

II. Critics of online grammar. English teachers did not grow up using online grammar checkers. We were taught to use dictionaries and thesauruses along with grammar workbooks. However, online dictionaries such as Merriam-Webster are more convenient; so why not online grammar checkers?

III. My Autoethnographic Story on Educational Equity

IV. Case Studies on various online grammar checkers

V. Recommendations

VI. Works Cited

Why should we care that Johnny doesn’t have a laptop during remote learning? Why should we care that Johnny doesn’t have reliable internet connectivity during remote learning? Why should we care that Johnny has to supervise his siblings while his parents are working during remote learning? And that Johnny’s parents do not have the option of working from home? Why should we care about other people’s children?

In the Forbes’ List of Billionaires, there are ‘poor’ billionaires who appear at the bottom of any list. See chart. In a classroom, there is always a child who is last or at the bottom. In your child’s classroom, what

if he is at the bottom of the list? And what if your child is aware of his inadequacies? Would you want the teacher to provide him with opportunities to let him shine? Would you want the teacher to bolster your or his self-confidence? Once I understood the importance of educational equity, I started reading works from leading scholars on educational equity: bell hooks, Paul Gorski, and Nel Noddings.

As I was reading bell hooks’ Introduction to her book, “Teaching to Transgress,” she confessed that she never wanted to be a teacher. She wanted to be a writer. Her words resonated with me, as I did not want to be a teacher. Yet, bell hooks accepted her profession and discovered that she was able to teach and write. She was also afforded the opportunity to be the teacher who “transgressed” societal norms. She had many examples of lackluster teachers who did not want to teach, and she did not want to be a lackluster teacher. bell hooks is supportive of recruiting teachers of color who provide divergent perspectives to the dominant narrative. Sometimes, I wonder if it mattered that I am an Asian-American English teacher. Sometimes, I am referred to as the math teacher; so, I am defying a trope in a way.

In terms of my research proposal, I offer a solution to the problem of educational equity in the form of free access to online grammar checkers to help students proofread their writing. I want to equip the students who tools to help improve the confidence as writers. So, in the this point in my research proposal, I am ready to write a draft of my article. I refer to my Checklist for Authors Preparing an Article Manuscript. I make a note of #6: Ten to fifteen page (double-spaced), which is 2500 to 4000 words. I am ready to write a draft.

On January 19, 2021, I was excited to start the first day of my last graduate class. I spent the last week of 2020 with my children and husband, and we have grown closer during the pandemic. My boys are helping each other with AP Calculus and AP Physics; my college-age daughter who is stuck at home is bonding with her father; and we are enjoying home-cooked meals and desserts! We have settled comfortably into the rhythm of winter and pandemic life. I also felt a sense of peace when President Biden was elected as 46; I was tired of divisiveness tone of his predecessor and was afraid that if Trump had been re-elected that the Garden State would not be given sufficient doses of the COVID vaccines since it is not one of his beloved red states. I am happy to report that I received my first dose of Moderna on January 21, 2021. I had some muscle aches, a headache, and soreness on my right arm where the nurse Julibel (which is a combination of Julie-Abel) administered the shot.

As I reflect on my M.A. journey, I am amazed that time flew; the hardest part of this process for me was applying to graduate school. Applying to graduate was an agonizing part of the entire process. Change is difficult for me; I like routine and stability. However, once I was admitted to a suitable M.A. program, I was able to write. During this process of writing weekly blogs, I have evolved as a writer. I am more relaxed. I am more confident. I am enjoying free-writing since allows me to sort my thoughts and to reflect on important moments in my life.

In a couple of years, I will reread my blogs and recall important details of my life as a graduate student and a teacher during the pandemic. I will remember fondly my professors and my classmates, which were my source of stability during turbulent times. As for my M.A. Thesis, I have been thinking about education and equity as I am more aware of the educational inequities that exist in my classroom. I watch parents struggle to make online parent-teacher conferences. I only had five parents sign up for parent-teacher conferences; whereas, in my own children’s high school, all the spots were filled in five minutes. I also watched as some of the students struggle with internet connectivity. My students didn’t mind typing essays on the phones for several assignments as their laptops are being repaired by the one tech guy in our school; whereas, my children and other more privileged have their own laptops and do not depend on the school laptops. I also think of my one of my students who is living in India and trying to adjust to the differences in time zones. She tells me that some children without laptops and internet access in India haven’t in school since March 2020. At least students in America have access to an online education.

I am revisiting my Literature Review and reading more articles on education and equity. Presently, I am reading White Teachers / Diverse Classrooms, edited by Julie Landsman, and Chance W. Lewis.

In the beginning of the book, the editors share Paul C. Gorski’s poem “Becoming Joey,” where the speaker describes “an immigrant student’s search for his identity and his search for social acceptance.

I love this poem since it poignantly captures my assimilation process along with so many other immigrant children. I plan to share this poem with my high school students. By reading this book, I hope that I am better equipped to reach all my students.

I am also in the process of creating a writing schedule. Dr. Zamora provided much needed advice during our first class; she said, “Make time to write.” Yes, I need to make time to write –perhaps just like making time to exercise. I have decided to write at night when the dinner is made, dishes washed, chores are done. I can unwind and write. I intend to have a draft of my article by my presentation date of Tuesday, March 8.

Recharged, and ready to go.

On January 19, 2021, I was excited to start the first day of my last graduate class. I spent the last week of 2020 with my children and husband, and we have grown closer during the pandemic. My boys are helping each other with AP Calculus and AP Physics; my college-age daughter who is stuck at home is bonding with her father; and we are enjoying home-cooked meals and desserts! We have settled comfortably into the rhythm of winter and pandemic life. I also felt a sense of peace when President Biden was elected as 46; I was tired of divisiveness tone of his predecessor and was afraid that if Trump had been re-elected that the Garden State would not be given sufficient doses of the COVID vaccines since it is not one of his beloved red states. I am happy to report that I received my first dose of Moderna on January 21, 2021. I had some muscle aches, a headache, and soreness on my right arm where the nurse Julibel (which is a combination of Julie-Abel) administered the shot.

As I reflect on my M.A. journey, I am amazed that time flew; the hardest part of this process for me was applying to graduate school. Applying to graduate was an agonizing part of the entire process. Change is difficult for me; I like routine and stability. However, once I was admitted to a suitable M.A. program, I was able to write. During this process of writing weekly blogs, I have evolved as a writer. I am more relaxed. I am more confident. I am enjoying free-writing since allows me to sort my thoughts and to reflect on important moments in my life.

In a couple of years, I will reread my blogs and recall important details of my life as a graduate student and a teacher during the pandemic. I will remember fondly my professors and my classmates, which were my source of stability during turbulent times. As for my M.A. Thesis, I have been thinking about education and equity as I am more aware of the educational inequities that exist in my classroom. I watch parents struggle to make online parent-teacher conferences. I only had five parents sign up for parent-teacher conferences; whereas, in my own children’s high school, all the spots were filled in five minutes. I also watched as some of the students struggle with internet connectivity. My students didn’t mind typing essays on the phones for several assignments as their laptops are being repaired by the one tech guy in our school; whereas, my children and other more privileged have their own laptops and do not depend on the school laptops. I also think of my one of my students who is living in India and trying to adjust to the differences in time zones. She tells me that some children without laptops and internet access in India haven’t in school since March 2020. At least students in America have access to an online education.

I am revisiting my Literature Review and reading more articles on education and equity. Presently, I am reading White Teachers / Diverse Classrooms, edited by Julie Landsman, and Chance W. Lewis.

In the beginning of the book, the editors share Paul C. Gorski’s poem “Becoming Joey,” where the speaker describes “an immigrant student’s search for his identity and his search for social acceptance.

I love this poem since it poignantly captures my assimilation process along with so many other immigrant children. I plan to share this poem with my high school students. By reading this book, I hope that I am better equipped to reach all my students.

I am also in the process of creating a writing schedule. Dr. Zamora provided much needed advice during our first class; she said, “Make time to write.” Yes, I need to make time to write –perhaps just like making time to exercise. I have decided to write at night when the dinner is made, dishes washed, chores are done. I can unwind and write. I intend to have a draft of my article by my presentation date of Tuesday, March 8.

Recharged, and ready to go.

Last week’s class was magical, starting with Mary-Kate’s radiant smile while she was holding her baby Kelli/Kelly Rose with beautiful Christmas bow sleeping soundly in her mom’s arms. Then Darline with her radiant smile announcing her engagement to her finance in the laundromat! Cheers to Medea, Meagan, and Patricia for graduating this year! I will miss you three ladies in my classes next year, and I want to thank you being so supportive, so positive, and so encouraging. I love Dr. Zamora’s pearl: “They will not be your classmates anymore, but they will always be your friend.”

Today in class, my students and I were discussing whether we should have snow days. Then, it started snowing around 11 AM. We were in awe, especially since last year, we did not get any snow. We bonded at that moment. Yes, human bonding and human connections are so important during remote learning! It is not using JamBoard, Screencastify, Padlet, Flipgrid, so forth; it is about the special moments that connect individuals.

In my graduate cohort, I am grateful to have such a supportive teacher in Dr. Zamora and to have such genuine peers from different walks of life, whom I may not have ever met. In hindsight, I made the right decision by pursuing my Master’s degree at Kean University. I cannot wait to finish this semester and start my final semester. It has been a long journey, and I am delighted that I now have time to focus on my interests. My children always came first in my life. Their schedules and interests came before my own career. I made decisions in their best interest and delayed pursuing an advanced degree since it would have distracted me from raising my three children. I have seen my mother sacrificing her three children for her career, and I vowed to myself that I would not follow in her footsteps. Now, it is time for me to pursue my dreams.

When Dr. Zamora informed us in the beginning of the year that the Master’s Thesis is more or a Passion Project, I was pleasantly surprised. I was giving the gift of intellectual freedom. As the semester progressed, I was moved by my peers’ passion projects and by how this Master’s Thesis is transformative in the intellectual as well as the emotional sense. It was more than a dead document sitting on a dusty shelf; it was a soul’s repressed memories, tears, fears, and hopes. That is why Dr. Zamora’s class is such a special place that touches the mind as well as the heart.

Dr. Zamora, your class has given confidence in my abilities and courage to pursue my passion. I am excited to embark on the next chapter in my life story where the children are grown, and now I can focus on myself. It is quite liberating, then I think of Fatima and her children. I empathize with Fatima since I see myself in her. A devoted mother trying to raise her brood while trying to write poetry. Writing is such a luxury, especially for a working mother. As I furiously type away, I feel selfish. I should be cleaning the house, washing the clothes, and preparing dinner instead of typing my heart away, poring my feelings onto this blank sheet. This sense of guilt as pervades my thought as I continue to write and to muse on the future.

Recently, I signed up for a LSAT course starting this Friday, and I started studying for my exam. I am planning to take the April exam. I very excited for tomorrow Friday as I await to meet my new teacher and my new classmates, but I know that I will never experience the bonding that I have experienced in this very special graduate school cohort with Patricia, Meagan, Medea, Nives, Dillion, Kevin, and Ryan led by such an inspirational instructor, Dr. Zamora.

‘Tis the Season

Great Thanksgiving filled with food, family, and festivities,

So thankful for health, family, stability, love, support,

Black Friday and Cyber Monday Sales,

Waiting for the Promised Land by Barack,

and a promised vaccine by Pfizer of Moderna

What happened to AstraZeneca, the prodigal pharmaceutical company?

My hometown, also home of Thomas Edison,

now known for the third highest case of COVID in the state,

New cases: 31, 36, 76, 50,

Edison School District fully remote until Jan. 4. 2021,

What about

the world

online grammar checkers?

Nothing much.

This past week I checked WorldCat to see if there has been any new research published on online grammar checkers. Most of the research on online grammar checkers have been positive. I was excited to discover a new online grammar checker called BonPatron. I am always in search of new grammar checkers. So far, I have not found a more user-friendly online grammar checker. Most of the online grammar checkers are cluttered with ads, which is unfortunate. Here is a screenshot of BonPatron.

It has a clean design. However, I realized that BonPatrol helps with French grammar and spelling. So, that is not going to work. What I noticed is that whenever I visit an online grammar checker, a Grammarly ad pops up, which invokes the idea of surveillance-capitalism from our NetNarr class and leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

So, I am going to continue revising my Literature Review.

“The meaning of a life is the same kind of meaning as the meaning of a sentence: having the parts fit together in a coherent pattern, being capable of being understood by others, fitting into a broader context, and invoking implicit assumptions shared by other members of the culture.”

-Wim de Muijnck

Just like lighting a fragrant candle, sipping a glass of smooth wine, enjoying a homemade meal, writing my weekly blog is a simple pleasure. I recollect moments from the past week. After blogging for two years now, I feel confident enough to express my thoughts freely. These weekly blogs are especially important since they capture the changes that I have experienced during the tumultuous 2020, from the lockdown in March 2020, Election 2020 and its aftermath, and the second wave in November. These blogs are part of my personal history with 2020 as a backdrop.

I am grateful that my 19-year old daughter is bonding with her best friend, her father. Due to the pandemic, she is home from college and taking online classes. Diana enjoys discussing politics with her father and shares interesting news articles with him. She shares project ideas with him, and they both brainstorm together. They watch 60 minutes, the evening news, and Election Day 2020 together. The pandemic gifted an opportunity for my daughter and her dad blossom.

Why are simple things in life significant, especially during our forced period of isolation? According to researchers, meaning in life (or MIL) helps us discover what is truly important to us –family, love, and acceptance — and not expensive vacations, a bigger house, and more materialism. Also, I researched an interesting connection between the simple things in life and writing in that routines such as weekly blogs help create meaning. Similar to life, writing has an audience, purpose, coherence, unity, flow, and beauty.

This past week I have working on my slides for my upcoming presentation on November 19. I finally decided on a format for my slideshow. Remote learning helped me understand the power of visuals and visual rhetoric. Having the right visuals during a virtual presentation is crucial is capturing and hooking the audience. I am also figuring out how to insert gifs into my presentation since movement is another strategy in capturing the audience’s attention. My students are in Zoom meetings all day, and I need to find new strategies to keep them engage. (Note to self: Ask Dr. Zamora about inserting gifs into slide presentations.) In terms of engagement, I have tried colorful slideshows, music, Chat Box, Break-out Rooms, interactive games, TikTok videos, positive reinforcement, and personal interest. Engagement is so important, especially during remote learning, therefore, I want my presentation to me engaging and meaningful for my classmates. For my Thesis-in-Progress Presentation, I plan to focus on the Case Studies on various online grammar checkers, especially the ones to help the fiction writers. The provide further insight into their writing style. I plan on providing them time to play around with the various online grammar checkers to report on their experiences on Padlet. Perhaps I can include their feedback in my research findings. My presentation may exceed the 40-minute time limit, so I will need to inform Dr. Zamora.

As a learner, I enjoy visually appealing presentations, collaboration with other participants, think time, and practice time. I hope to provide this learning experience to my classmates.

Wednesday, November 3, 2020

Readers, I am happy to report that I am relaxed this week! On Friday, October 30, 2020, my students and I took a Halloween 2020 Zoom class picture; then I wished them a wonderful fall break. On Saturday, the 31st, is eerily quiet with no trick-treaters, and on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday were chilly and wet, perfect weather for writing, which I did.

I lit my white aspen and juniper, soy candle and made myself a cup of genmachi. I began thinking about Medea’s presentation on being a misfit. I am too a misfit, and in a way, we are all misfits. I researched a couple of TedTalks and stumbled upon this one on the

“Beauty of Being a Misfit” in which Lydia Yuknavitch provides a succinct definition of a misfit. I worked on my Master’s Thesis Journey Slideshow for my presentation November 19. It was informative to learn from the second-term thesis writers; I am glad that they went first so that I can learn from them. 

On Monday, I felt joy that I did not have to conduct six Zoom meetings. Yes, six classes since I was informed that I had to take on an extra class so the teacher was on leave. On Tuesday, Election Day, the sun smiled on me, and I spent the entire afternoon outdoors — away from my laptop and my cell phone — and raked my heart out. It was cathartic. I was finally able to unplug a couple of hours. By sun down, I looked about my five bags of leaves and felt a sense of accomplishment. 

At night, I felt refreshed and continued to work on my Master’s Thesis Journey Slideshow. I am on track to finish by the end of the week so that I can continue working on my Literature Review. This week was a godsend and it reminds me of the human need to unplug and to recharge my soul.

I am going to savor the rest of my break: Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I look forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas. I started purchasing stock stuffers for loved ones, picking up a luxury candle for my sister and warm socks for my children. I am craving for a sense of calm normalcy, especially after the turbulence  of the Pandemic Presidential Election 2020. Also, in Edison, our COVID numbers are on the rise: 10, 14, 15, 7, now 24 cases. Will there be a second wave? Will I be ready mentally for the second wave, if there is one?

I am not going to worry, I am going to enjoy this week.