Hello All,

This is my final message of the semester. Well done for all your hard work, and congratulations on making it through possibly the weirdest semester in the history of City College. Your final grades are now posted in Cunyfirst. Please remember you can request a CR or NCR option IF you are not satisfied with your grade. If you have an A, you will probably want to keep it!

You all rose admirably to the challenge of working in a fully online environment. We had a slight advantage because we were already partly online, but I know that some of you really missed the in-person learning experience, not to mention the in-person experience of being at college, meeting with your peers, participating in clubs, or any of the social activities that one normally associates with being a university student.

At least you had reduced commuting time, and less preparation time. Since many of you only appeared to me as black screens, you could attend class in pajamas, sometimes in bed, sometimes taking a break without it being noticed. However you came to class, thank you for turning up. 

I hope you gained some useful knowledge and experience from this class, despite the challenges. I have learned from each and every one of you, and I will continue to be here for you if there is anything I can do to help you in your studies or academic pursuits.

If you are taking summer classes, good luck! If you are taking the summer off before returning in the fall, please enjoy the free time. I hope that the City College community will return to working and studying on campus in the not too distant future. In the meantime, I hope that we can continue to expand on our virtual communication, teaching, and learning skills.

It has been my great pleasure to work with you all. You should be proud of your accomplishments this semester. It isn’t easy focusing on classwork during a global pandemic, but you all did some excellent work, and I’m glad that some of you managed to include your responses to the current situation into your writing. 

Onward and upward!

Yolande

Hello All,

I hope your final weeks of the semester are going well.

Your Portfolio and Self Reflection is due tonight by 11.59 p.m. This counts as 20% of your final weighted grade. I will assign all grades tomorrow, and I will allow until May 22nd in case anyone has questions or concerns about their final grade. After May 22nd, I will submit the final grades to the registrar, and then I will make a final announcement.

In the meantime, feel free to email me at ybrener@ccny.cuny.edu or text me at 917-650-0515. If you need to meet with me for office hours, we can meet on zoom or talk on the phone.

I will be in Zoom for an optional office hour today between 9.30 a.m. and 10.30 a.m. Feel free to turn up to ask any remaining questions about the Portfolio and Self Assessment Assignment or anything else.

Good luck!

Yolande

Hello All,

I’m sure you have a lot of pressures in this final week. I want to make sure you are all on track for the best possible outcome in this class. I have emailed all of you with your current standings, and what work you still need to do, if any.

If there is anything I can do to help, please reach out and let me know. (ybrener@ccny.cuny.edu, 917-650-0515)

Regards,

Hello All,

Today, there is an optional Zoom meeting/office hour. I will be in the usual place from 9:30am until 10:45am in case anyone wants to pop in, ask any remaining questions or share anything.

Please remember the FINAL day for submitting the Grant Proposal is May 15th at 11:59pm and the FINAL day for submitting the Portfolio and Self Reflection is May 18th at 11:59pm. I will not accept any work submitted after this time.

I will post a final announcement once I have graded all the assignments.

Regards,

Yolande

Hello All,

Thank you to those of you who came to class today, and thank you to all of you who have already submitted work on time.

In order to help the large percentage of the class who are still working on their final assignments, I have altered the due dates so that the Grant Proposal is due May 15th at 11:59pm and the Portfolio and Self Reflection is due May 18th at 11:59pm. This will not show on the assignment itself. After May 18th at 11:59pm, no work will be accepted.

I will be in Zoom this Wednesday May 13th from 9:30am until 10:45am. It is an optional open meeting. You are welcome to come and go as you please.

Best,

Yolande

Hello All,

I hope you are feeling some relief that the semester is coming to a close, although I’m sure you have a lot of work to finish, including some for this class.

Please meet me on Zoom today, May 11th, at 9:30am to discuss how you can finish with the best possible grade for this class.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me at any time during this final week at ybrener@ccny.cuny.edu or 917-650-0515.

Please remember the due date for the Final Grant Proposal is May 11th, and the Final Portfolio and Self-Reflection is due May 13th. If enough students in tomorrow’s class vote for it, I will extend these assignments for another week. After May 18th, I cannot accept any late work.

See you in class!

Yolande

Hello All,

Tomorrow, we will meet on Zoom at 9:30am. I will be going over the Final Portfolio and Self Assessment Assignment, which is due May 13th.

I will also cover any remaining questions about the Grant Proposal Assignment. 

Following our group meetings last week, it seemed that most groups needed more time, so I have extended the due date to May 11th at 11:59pm. Also, I determined that most groups would prefer to submit their presentation online with speaker notes, but without presenting it live. There is an option to present live for extra credit. If you wish to present live, please schedule this with me for either May 11th or May 13th.

See you in class,

Yolande

Hello All,

Thank you for turning up to your group meetings. Now that I’ve spoken with each group, I hope you are clear about what you need for the Grant Project:

• Title Page
• Abstract
• Project Narrative (including problem statement)
• Budget
• Presentation

If you have any questions about the next steps, please have another look at the Readings for Grant Proposals section, or contact me. Most of you chose to create your presentation as a slide show with included speaker notes. There is an option for doing a live presentation on Zoom for extra credit, which could be useful for any group which needs to earn extra points toward their weighted grade.

This coming Monday, we will look at any remaining questions about the Portfolio and Self Assessment Assignment, and remaining questions about the Grant Proposal.

Have a great rest of the week.

Regards,

Yolande

Hello All,

Tomorrow (Monday April 27th) I look forward to meeting each group separately on  zoom (https://ccny.zoom.us/j/225520320​) to discuss your Grant Proposal Projects. Each meeting will last 15 minutes, after which time you will be free to continue working on the project in your own time. Tomorrow’s meeting will have a waiting room to avoid participants overlapping in other groups’ meetings. 

Please come armed with any questions or concerns you have about the Grant Proposal project. ​

See you in class!

Regards,

Yolande

Hello All,

Please continue working on your Grant Proposal Projects. Please look at the assignment, look at the supporting materials, think about whether your proposal meets the SMART goals, and start collecting research for your Project Narrative and presentation.

Thank you to those of you who have claimed your fifteen minute spot for next Monday April 27th. Once you have met with me on zoom, you will be free to continue working on your project as you see fit, until our next meeting. If you have not yet claimed your spot, please do so as soon as possible.

Since we only have a few classes left, I may have you create your presentations in a way that doesn’t involve a live aspect, but we will discuss this next time. Please remember you still need to populate and complete your online portfolios. We will also discuss this at our next group meeting. 

Please feel free to reach out to me with any course-related questions or concerns.

Regards,

Yolande