I require critiques because (a) critiques are helpful to your colleagues in their review of their draft and (b) writing a critique is a useful professional skill, one that can distinguish you as you move up the professional latter. Just as the role of teacher is changing to guide and critic, the role of administrator is changing to incorporate mentor, which includes guiding and critiquing.

1. I enjoyed the presentations yesterday. they were very professional. I was very dismayed at how Wildean was singled out in her group. It is quite apparent that you favor some students over others. This is not necessary in a college setting. I will not go as far as to say that it was racial but some outside observer may construed it as such. I looked at the paper that was supposed to be an example of a good paper and they did not even have APA style correct. You\ need to be careful when you hold other students work up as an example. I was by the end of this class mad and filled with anxiety. I hope that this is not indicative of the fall class.

   I need your help to understand the comment about my singling out Wiladean in conjunction with the statement that I favor some students over others. Please send me a note via Patches as to my specific behavior that prompted your concern.

   With respect to my comment that the paper that Wiladean, Holly, and Melanie wrote as being an exemplar paper, I can only say that it was excellent. The references were in APA style; more importantly, the writing was crisp, to the point, and effective. I see nothing inappropriate about making this statement. And I don't understand why this comment made you angry and anxious. If you (or anyone) can help me understant the sentiment underlying the comment, please send me a note either directly or through Patches. [Note: I did make some comments for revision on their paper, which I trust they will do and send the revisions to KC or Adam. But the revisons are mostly cosmetic; this is an H paper.]

2. I resent getting feedback on the abstracts so late in the semester. I also resent working so hard on the issue analysis paper and not getting a good grade. This has made what could have been a meaningful experience one that I resent. You should not wait to the last class to give grades and expect revisions. We do have other classes besides yours. Some people got no feedback at all. The way this was handled was sloppy and unprofessional.

   I understand your unhappiness at getting feedback on the abstracts so late in the semester. This was not my initial intention; I was engaged in critiquing the abstracts when I had the heart attack (let me quickly say that this was not a cause and effect situation!). By the time I had recuperated sufficiently to resume working, you and your colleagues were well into developing the issue analysis papers; the abstracts were not critical to this work. I allowed the press of other work that had built up during the severe part of my illness to take precedence over critiquing the abstracts. But I realize that this has resulted in additional work at the end of the semester (if you elect(ed) to revise in light of my critique). Moreover, I can also see where having no feedback on a requirement in the early part of the semester could have made you anxious vis-a-vis how your work was going.

   (BTW, the purpose of allowing you to make revisions in your work is in keeping with the notion that revision is a learning activity that will assist you in developing your writing skills. However, as stated above and in previous posts, although revision is encouraged, it is optional.)

   I don't understand the comment about some students not getting feedback, unless this refers to my not returning on Monday some abstracts and issue analysis paper critiques. I sent notes to the authors of missing abstracts and critiques requesting that they resend them to me via email; I lost the abstracts somewhere between the fileserver and the Web page and some critiques did not have the author's name either on the written critique or on the paper itself. This is being sorted out.

   Finally, with respect to grades, the lowest grade on any activity this semester is P-. P is defined by the graduate school as an evaluation that the work is that normally expected of graduate students. H is for exceptional work. Therefore, no one has received a "bad grade" this semester. Revisions provide an opportunity to improve your work to the exceptional category; however, making the revison is no guarantee that you will receive a higher grade. The guarantee is that I will reevaluate the work.

3. At the beginning of the semester, you asked students in edsp287 to delay leaving class early in order to critique a presentation that had no connection to the class syllabus. Due to inclement weather, several students requested to leave class early for safety reasons. You requested an exact time for the early departures to have critiques to you. Students honored your request for immediate feedback. This courtesy has not been returned to the class all semester. Your initial request for a critique, set a tone of "this course is for the professor, not the students". That tone has permeated throughout the entire semester. Additionally, if you are going to have a technology component to your class, you need to be aware (working knowledge) of both the Apple and the IBM systems. You have been very adamant regarding the use of technology over paper; however, at the last moment, you placed a paper copy of a document (that could have been helpful) in the student's boxes, then you seemed shocked that students had not read it. MIXED SIGNALS!

   The reason that I gave the presentation (which was a rehearsal for a speech that I was to give to undergraduate students at a Georgia college) was that it focused on the future of work in the US (with implications for college student career development). It was an environmental scan of the driving forces that would affect how we would live and work in the 21st century and was therefore consonent with our work at that time (you were engaged in writing scanning abstracts). Moreover, it allowed me to demonstrate the use of PowerPoint in making presentations, making the point that this is what you would be doing at the conclusion of the semester. I frankly had no idea that making the presentation and requesting your critique would set a tone that this course is for the professor, not the students. Do you advise that I not give such presentations in the future (i.e., presentations that I am scheduled to give elsewhere)?

   I don't understand the comment that I need to have a working knowledge of both Apple and IBM if I am going to have a technology component to my classes. (I do, incidently, have a IBM 386 on my desk; KC and Adam have the Mac on their desk. However, I work a lot at their desk, and my own machine is a Mac.) My interpretation of the implications of this comment is that I should schedule a formal session with students who have IBM compatible machines on how to use Smallwood Lab machines in their work. BTW, by having Microsoft Office on the Smallwood Lab machines, the translation between IBM Microsoft and Mac Microsoft is a nonproblem. (Of course, if students using IBM compatibles do not have Microsoft Office, we will need to conduct the IBM-to-Mac-to-IBM translation training.)

   With respect to the handout on making presentations, I was not shocked when I found out that you had not read it; I did not get the handout in mailboxes until the previous Friday. Perhaps I should have given out only the one-page evaluation check-sheet for the benefit of critics. (Or, better, have remembered to give out the package a week or so earlier.) Maybe the lesson to be learned here is not to give out material unless it can be used well in advance of the activity it is designed for.

   Continue to send me notes via Patches of your concerns; I will respond.

4. I must say that this has been an unusual semester for me. I really must say that the class intent was great but i didn't get as much as I had hoped from the class. This wasn't your fault of course. It's just that being computer or technologically weak, I had to struggle . I really wanted to learn how to do power point but I'm afraid I didn't get much of an opportunity to do that. Yes, my gfroup and I worked on it together but with the rush to get everything together I didn't get a chance to perfect it. I do hope thogh that the lab will be open during the summer so I can come and play around with it.

   There were times when I felt that the instructor or the person(s) in charge of the class made some real deep assumptiions about where people were in their technology. Sadly to say, it took away the interest to some of us who didn't have the backgroud knowledge or software to keep up . The idea to pair us with someone who knew more was a good idea but even then they didn't really have the time to show us what they were doing or explain why they were doing it. Like I said before, it's no one's error but my own. Maybe i should have been more assertive and demanded to know the what, why, and how of computer technology but with the paste of the class, i did all that I could just to stay up. But anyway, Have a great summer and I hope you recuperate fully this summer.
   
   Many thanks for your comment. You, of course, were not alone in not being equipped beforehand with knowing how to use e-mail, Internet search engines, or PowerPoint. Few students came into the class skilled in these tools. And, of course, we are not born with them; they are learned.

   My interpretation of your comment is that you had little time given a pretty heavily academic load to learn new tools and to keep up with your substantive assignments. This is a pressure on you that I can do little to control. I suspect, however, that you are far more competent with the productivity tools that you expressed above. If you are in the MSA program, you will continue to develop your command of these tools in the technology module. Note in the course description that in this module students will not be in teams for project presentations, but will be responsible for individual projects: design, implementation, and presentation (paper, Web, and PowerPoint formats). Your idea to use the lab over the summer is a good one. The more you use the tools, the more command you will have with them, and the more productive you will be.