Wrapping up 2021 and looking ahead to what has to be a better year

It's a new year (I waited until Jan. 1, a Saturday, to post) and this blog series totals 224 entries from the past year. At an estimated 550 words per post, that amounts to 123,200 words -- enough to constitute a novel (maybe two, according to most definitions) if there were any narrative threads to be discovered.

But it's a good example of how writing more often and sticking with it can produce quite a quantity of material in a relatively short time. This is why my preferred teaching strategy in my writing classes is to ask students to write a large number of posts and essays, but to keep each individual post or essay relatively brief. Most of my assignments suggest a maximum of 600-800 words, though students may write as much as they need to make their points.

The first day of new year is a traditional, though artificial, excuse to make some resolutions and my resolution for this blog is to transition it to building instructional materials for my newly completed online media advising class (which is approved and available for spring, but which has had no publicity and no one enrolled as of today). 

An online course designed as a crash introduction to the world of advising student media is likely to get more takers in a summer session, and we will have to see if this CSU Global Campus course can pick up enough students to actually run.

It was sort of fun and certainly challenging to create the course. Unlike a traditional in-person class, it's tough to gauge what changes are needed, what additions or deletions could smooth things out, what options or assignments produce the best responses and speak most directly to what students (who are also teachers) want and need.

My hope is to take some time, using this blog as the vehicle, to slow down a bit, analyze how the course unfolds, and think about how a 16-week course might be condensed to an 8-week summer session (or even a 4-week session, which might appeal to many teachers who would like to free up more of their precious off-time).

I may still comment on current events, weird and wacky trends, pop culture, and personal ups and downs on occasion. 

One trend I hope develops is 2022 slowly emerging from the pandemic. The last two years have been a struggle for so many. Kathleen and I haven't suffered much particularly, other than general angst and feeling a bit cautious about traveling. 

So 2021 ends up a bit of a "meh" in my informal rating system for years. Hey, "meh" is better than disastrous.