Kingsborough Community College
www.kbcc.cuny.edu

DR. LORETTA KASPER'S
ESL 91 ON THE WEB


Today is
Dr. Loretta Kasper
lkasper@kbcc.cuny.edu
Welcome to 
ESL 91 on the Web


ESL 91 SPRING, 2005
COMPUTER LAB ASSIGNMENTS

Click on the appropriate date to get to the assignment quickly
March 7  March 14  March 21  March 28 
April 4  April 11  April 18 
May 2: Genie article  May 9  May 16  May 23 

MONDAY, MARCH 7, 2005

Today you will be doing two reader response exercises.
You will read two essays and then write answers to a series of four questions for each essay.

These exercises will serve several purposes:

  1. They will help develop your awareness as a writer as you respond to writing from the point of view of the reader. You will evaluate the effectiveness of the writing in terms of how clear each was, how well organized each was, and how much information each provided to you as the reader.
  2. They will give you some basic background on two major issues in the field of Physical Anthropology.

    To access the first reader response exercise, CLICK HERE.

    You will type your answers to the questions directly onto the computer screen and then submit them when you are finished.

    Don't forget to print out a copy of your answers for yourself.

    To access the second reader response exercise, CLICK HERE.

    You will type your answers to the questions directly onto the computer screen and then submit them when you are finished.

    Don't forget to print out a copy of your answers for yourself.

MONDAY, MARCH 14, 2005

Today you will begin searching for Internet resources to use for your first writing assignment. ALL GROUPS SHOULD USE THE VIVISIMO SEARCH ENGINE FOR THIS RESEARCH

A WELL-ORGANIZED FIRST DRAFT of your writing assignment is due next TUESDAY. Do NOT come to class without your assignment!

The topics for each focus discipline group are as follows:

  • Diet and Nutrition--
    Writing Topic: Explain why it is important to understand the basic principles of diet and nutrition. How does this understanding help us in our everyday lives?

    How to do your research:


    1. Begin with the Diet and Nutrition page of our web site.
    2. Then search the Internet to find at least ONE additional resource that is not linked to our page. Send the URL to me in an email message.

  • Psychology--
    Writing Topic: Describe the mental disorder schizophrenia. Discuss the causes, symptoms, and treatment of schizophrenia. Be sure to talk about the biological bases of the disorder

    How to do your research:


    1. Begin with the Psychology page of our web site.
    2. Then search the Internet to find at least ONE additional resource that is not linked to our page. Send the URL to me in an email message.

  • Mathematics--
    Writing Topic: Discuss the relationship between Mathematics and learning. Be sure to provide specific examples from the reading AND from your own experience.

    How to do your research:


    1. Begin with the Mathematics and Learning page. Be sure to scroll down the page to choose several of the linked articles to use for your research.

    If you have any questions, ask or email me at esl91@yahoo.com

MONDAY, MARCH 21, 2005

Today you will create your web pages on Tripod.

  • Be sure that you have created a username and a password. Remember that your username will be part of the URL for your web page.
  • The password MUST be something that will be easy for you to remember. If you forget your password, you will not be able to edit your web page.

    Creating a Web Site on Tripod.com

    Go to http://www.tripod.lycos.com

    On Top of the page, click on "New Users Sign Up”

    Choose “Free”

    Hit “Sign Up”

    Fill out the application form. Note that at the end there are boxes which if checked will allow Tripod to send you email. If you do not want email, uncheck the boxes.

    After you submit the form, you will get a screen that says “Activate your account and start building”

    You will be taken to an instruction page—Read the instructions.

    Then you can start building your site.

    You can use the Site Builder tool.

    You can use HTML code.

    You can use MS Word—type and save the file as a web page, then upload to Tripod.

    You should create a file in MS Word, that will serve as the START (or INDEX) page of your web site. You must save this file as a WEB PAGE in order to upload it to Tripod.

    To upload your index page, go to the File Manager.

  • Your web page will contain an electronic portfolio of your writing during the semester. You should upload ALL drafts of each piece of writing that you do.

  • Next week you will create a blog and link the blog to your web page. On the blog, other students will respond to the work you have posted. You will also respond to other students' work on their blogs. You should also use the blog to post your comments about HOW you went about writing each paper--the research you did, etc. Was it easy or difficult for you to write on this topic? Be very thoughtful in your posts to the blogs.

Any questions, ask me, Deanna or Marcos.

Monday, March 28, 2005

Today you will be taking a multiple choice practice reading test. The test comes from the ACT web site. You should follow the directions on screen. READ CAREFULLY PLEASE. You MUST do all of your work on the computer screen. YOU MAY NOT PRINT OUT THE TEST.

You will click on the answer that you think is correct, and the computer will take you to a page that will say either "Incorrect" or "Correct." If your answer is Incorrect, you should go back and try again. If your answer is Correct, the computer will explain why the answer is correct.

PLEASE DO NOT DO ANY OTHER TESTS ON THIS SITE. WE WILL BE WORKING ON THEM IN CLASS OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL WEEKS

Click for TEST 1.

When you are FINISHED WITH THE TEST, you may print out the answer key.

  1. Click for the ANSWER KEY to TEST 1

MONDAY, APRIL 4, 2005

PLEASE READ THE ENTIRE ASSIGNMENT BEFORE YOU BEGIN

Today you will gather information on global warming in preparation for our collaborative lesson with Prof. Weiss' class.

Go to the page "What's Up with the Weather?: The Debate" and do the following.

  1. Click on the link for Dr. Fred S. Singer: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/warming/debate/singer.html
  2. Read and Take Notes on the Interview with Dr. Singer.

    • What does Dr. Singer believe about global warming?
    • What does Dr. Singer believe about climate change?
    • Does Dr. Singer believe that global warming is a great threat to human beings and to our planet?
    • What specific reasons does Dr. Singer provide to support his views?
    • Based upon your own research, do you agree or disagree with Dr. Singer? Why? Be specific.

  3. Click on the link for Tom M. L. Wigley: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/warming/debate/wigley.html
  4. Read and Take Notes on the Interview with Dr. Wigley.

    • What does Dr. Wigley believe about global warming?
    • What does Dr. Wigley believe about climate change?
    • Does Dr. Wigley believe that global warming is a great threat to human beings and to our planet?
    • What specific reasons does Dr. Wigley provide to support his views?
    • Based upon your own research, do you agree or disagree with Dr. Wigley? Why? Be specific.

  5. PLEASE BRING ALL OF YOUR PRINTOUTS AND NOTES TO OUR COLLABORATIVE DISCUSSION ON THURSDAY. BE SURE THAT YOU ARE VERY FAMILIAR WITH THE INFORMATION SO THAT YOU CAN DISCUSS IT INTELLIGENTLY WITH PROF. WEISS' CLASS.

Any questions, ask me, Deanna or Marcos.

Monday, April 11, 2005

Today you will do a practice departmental reading exam.

PLEASE READ THE ENTIRE ANNOUNCEMENT BEFORE YOU BEGIN WORKING

Go to the text "The History of Psychology."

  • Note that this text is a controlled hypertext. This means that there will be links that will pop up at several points within the main text. These pop-ups will contain additional information.
  • You will read the main text, being sure to move your mouse over the links as you come to them. The hypertext will pop up in a new window. When you are finished reading the information in that window, move your mouse off of the link and go back to reading the main text.
  • As you are reading the texts, you should have your notebook open and take notes.

    1. You will answer comprehension questions in computer lab. You must complete the questions and submit your answers NO LATER THAN THURSDAY, APRIL 14

  • After you have finished reading the main and the hyperlinked pop-up texts, answer the 10 Comprehension Questions by typing your answer directly onto the computer screen.
  • Print out a copy of your answers for yourself
  • Submit your answers by clicking on the button that says "Submit"
  • Remember that everything must be completed and submitted NO LATER THAN THURSDAY.

Monday, April 18, 2005

PRACTICE FOR THE ACT TEST AND OTHER MULTIPLE CHOICE READING TESTS

  • Click for TEST 2 Click for the Answer Key for TEST 2

  • Monday, May 2, 2005: The Civilizing of Genie

    Click HERE for the Genie article

    You will do the comprehension questions for this article on Monday, May 2 in computer lab.

    After you write the answers to the questions in your notebook, you can check your answers HERE.

    Monday, May 9, 2005

    Today we will do another practice ACT reading test.

    First do the test and then you may print out a copy of the answer key.

    TEST 3. and ANSWER KEY FOR TEST 3

    After you finish and check your answers to the ACT practice test, you should login to Tripod and go to Blog Builder.

    You will create a Blog and link it to the page called "My Essays"

    The blog is an online place where people can post messages to you. We will use the blogs as a way to do additional peer feedback on your essays.

    If you have any questions, ask me, Deanna or Marcos.

    Monday, May 16, 2005

    Today we will do another practice ACT reading test.

    First do the test and then you may print out a copy of the answer key.

    TEST 4. and ANSWER KEY FOR TEST 4

    After you finish and check your answers to the ACT practice test, you should go to our main page at http://kccesl.tripod.com and click on "Student Web Sites: Spring, 05"

    You should choose TWO web sites and TWO essays, one from each site. Read them and post your response to the essay on the person's blog.

    If you have not already set up and LINKED your blog to your site, please do so right away.

    Remember when you set up the blog, DO NOT put anything in the space that says URL.

    If you have any questions, ask me.

    Monday, May 23, 2005

    Today you will fill out an Online Feedback Form on this ESL 91 course.

    The form will ask you to provide answers in which you give your opinions about our course and the activities we've done over the past semester.

    Please be honest in your responses and give as complete an answer as you can to each question.

    Your feedback will be used to improve the course for future ESL 91 students.

    To go to the course feedback form, CLICK HERE

    After you finish and submit the feedback form, you should go to our main page at http://kccesl.tripod.com. Choose ANY semester, other than Fall 2004 or Spring 2005. Read a total of TWO essays written by two different students. When you have finished reading the essays, post your comments to our CLASS BLOG at https://kccesl.tripod.com/esl91blog/.

    If you have any questions, ask me.

    This page was last updated on May 17, 2005