In this "What We've Learned" video, Ellen Carillo, one of the authors of Reading Critically, Writing Well, reflects on the process of translating an in-person class to an online class, and how the challenge of changing course types mid-semester allowed her to learn about different features of technology and online instruction.   ... View more

In today's "What We've Learned" video, Ellen Carillo, one of the authors of Reading Critically, Writing Well, details an activity she uses to build community in asynchronous online classes: the story exchange. ... View more

In today's "What We've Learned" video, Richard Miller (@richard_miller), author of Habits of the Creative Mind, discusses loneliness of online teaching: the loss of chance encounters with students and colleagues, the difficulty of connecting with students through a screen, and the toll that this isolation can have on both instructor and student. ... View more

In today's "What We've Learned" video, Richard Miller (@richard_miller), author of Habits of the Creative Mind, highlights one of the top challenges of teaching remotely: the loss of body language cues, and the miscommunications and consequences that can arise that challenge. The fragility of remote communication requires a greater amount of patience, trust, and empathy from the instructor. ... View more

In today's "What We've Learned" video, Nancy Sommers (@nancy_sommers), author of A Writer's Reference, Rules for Writers with 2020 APA Update, A Pocket Style Manual, and The Bedford Handbook with 2020 APA Update, identifies the need to hone in on the best online teaching tools to deliver knowledge and streamline teaching. With so many possibilities (Zoom, breakout rooms, chats, polls, message and discussion boards, Google docs, Canvas, and more), how do you streamline your toolkit to find and deliver the most important essence of your lesson plan? ... View more

In today's "What We've Learned" video, Nancy Sommers (@nancy_sommers), author of A Writer's Reference, Rules for Writers with 2020 APA Update, A Pocket Style Manual, and The Bedford Handbook with 2020 APA Update, delves into recreating the same sense of community from in-person classrooms in online teaching, and using music to break the ice and ease into class.  ... View more

This blog series is written by Julia Domenicucci, an editor at Macmillan Learning, in conjunction with Mignon Fogarty, better known as Grammar Girl.   To kick off the new year—and a new semester—this blog post will look at suggested Grammar Girl podcasts within Achieve for English products. While both English LaunchPads and Achieves include collections of assignable, ad-free Grammar Girl podcasts, this post will focus specifically on Achieve. If you are not currently using Achieve but are interested in learning more about it, please visit the Macmillan Learning catalog or speak with your sales representative.  If you are using LaunchPad or are just looking for assignment ideas, be sure to check out the other Grammar Girl blog posts from the Bits Blog. Recent blog posts include: Using Grammar Girl Podcasts in an Online Classroom Grammar Girl & Ideas for Teaching Online Using Grammar Girl Podcasts for Fun, Low-Stakes Activities Using Grammar Girl Podcasts with Literature & Fiction Using Grammar Girl Podcasts to Reflect on Writing & Accomplishments   How to Find the Suggested Grammar Girl Podcasts in Achieve for English Products Starting with copyright 2021, Achieve for English products contain a folder of 25 suggested Grammar Girl podcasts. These are easy to add to your course and can be used in a variety of ways!  If you are using a pre-built course: Many pre-built courses include the folder “Grammar Girl: 25 Suggested Podcasts” toward the top of the Course Content list. (See “Start with a Pre-built course” for more about the pre-built course option.) If you are building a course from scratch or your title does not include the folder in the pre-built: Look for the folder “Grammar Girl: 25 Suggested Podcasts” toward the top of your Resources list. You can add one or more podcasts to your course as you would any other piece of content from Resources. If you wish to add all 25 podcasts, consider creating the suggested folder structure you see in the Resources for your own course. (See “Add Resources to your course” for help.) By default, the 25 suggested Grammar Girl podcasts will be visible to your students once they are added to your Course Content. You can change the default settings depending on how you wish to use them in your course. If you make no changes, and have all 25 podcasts in your Course Content, students will be able to browse and listen to the podcasts as they wish. In the default organization, the 25 suggested podcasts appear in sub-folders that cover Style and Word Choice, Logic and Argument, Common Grammar Issues, and Common Punctuation Topics. Style and Word Choice Grammar Girl Podcast: Affect versus Effect Grammar Girl Podcast: Bad versus Badly Grammar Girl Podcast: Parallel Structure: Patterns Are Pleasing Grammar Girl Podcast: The Difference Between Disinformation and Misinformation Grammar Girl Podcast: Well versus Good Grammar Girl Podcast: Which versus That Grammar Girl Podcast: Who versus Whom Logic and Argument Grammar Girl Podcast: Begs the Question Grammar Girl Podcast: What Is a Straw Man Argument? Common Grammar Issues Grammar Girl Podcast: A versus An Grammar Girl Podcast: Active Voice and Passive Voice Grammar Girl Podcast: Adverbs Ending in -ly Grammar Girl Podcast: Articles and Determiners before Nouns Grammar Girl Podcast: Comparatives versus Superlatives Grammar Girl Podcast: It Is I versus It Is Me Grammar Girl Podcast: Just between You and Me Grammar Girl Podcast: Misplaced Modifiers Grammar Girl Podcast: Only: The Most Troublesome Misplaced Modifier Grammar Girl Podcast: Sentence Fragments Grammar Girl Podcast: Top Ten Grammar Myths Common Punctuation Topics Grammar Girl Podcast: A Common Comma Error: The Comma Splice Grammar Girl Podcast: Serial Comma Grammar Girl Podcast: When to Use an Apostrophe Grammar Girl Podcast: Where Do I Use Commas? Grammar Girl Podcast: Your versus You're       Ideas for Using the 25 Suggested Podcasts Use them as is: Include all 25 podcasts in their default structure. Do not assign them, and leave them all visible. Tell your students about the resource and let them know they can browse the podcasts if they wish to or if they are looking for additional support. Integrate them into your course structure: Move podcasts into folders for specific chapters or weeks, depending on how you have set up your course. Consider if you wish to integrate all 25 or a smaller selection. Assign some or all of the podcasts: You can assign some or all of the podcasts to your students. This allows you to add a due date for students to listen to the podcast by. You can assign items for points (use the Graded or Extra Credit options) or not (use Ungraded). See “Assign an item or change assignment settings” for more information on assigning items in Achieve.   How to Find All Grammar Girl Podcasts in Achieve for English Products Achieve for English products contain more than just 25 Grammar Girl products, however! If you want to explore the full collection, add more podcasts to the suggested 25, or are using an Achieve from before copyright 2021, follow the steps on the support page "Add Grammar Girl and shared English content to your course" or look for the "Quick Start Guide: Grammar Girl and Question Bank" in your Welcome Unit.   If you have used or plan to use Grammar Girl podcasts in Achieve, we would love to hear about it! Leave a comment with how you’re using these podcasts in your teaching.   Credit: "reading ipad with headphones on" by cclogg is marked with CC0 1.0 ... View more

In today's "What We've Learned" video, Richard Miller (@richard_miller), author of Habits of the Creative Mind, discusses the pedagogical changes he's made to his courses and his writing assignments to account for online instruction and the reality of the COVID pandemic. His philosophy? Driving engagement and connection - with ideas, with current events, and with each other.  ... View more

In today's "What We've Learned" video, Douglas Downs, one of the authors of Writing about Writing, discusses how online instruction can exacerbate the challenges students face in tracking where they are in a class - what assignments are due, what they need to read or know, and where they can locate the materials they need.   ... View more

In today's "What We've Learned" video, Douglas Downs, one of the authors of Writing about Writing, pinpoints students' hunger for the social interaction they are missing due to online instruction and pandemic restrictions on campus. As a solution, he's been experimenting with having students use the comment feature in Google Docs to replicate the type of informal conversations that would have previously existed in face-to-face interaction.  ... View more

In today's "What We've Learned" video, Peter Adams, author of The Hub with 2020 APA Update, reflects on the need for community in ALP courses, and overcoming the online instruction barrier through gamifying learning and class activities.  ... View more

In this "What We've Learned" video, Jeanne Bohannon, author of The Writer's Loop with 2020 APA Update, reflects on the challenges of engaging with students in the spaces they already occupy, the responsibility instructors have to embrace and support students, and on students' desire for adaptive and personal learning.  ... View more

In today's "What We've Learned" video, John O'Hara (@johnohara), author of Current Issues and Enduring Questions, Critical Thinking, Reading, and Writing, and From Critical Thinking to Argument, discusses how to read student engagement in online (and potentially camera-less) instruction, and offers tips for re-engaging students who may be struggling. Some tips: dealing directly with current events that students are already engaging with outside the classroom, and getting students physically outside to change the learning environment.   ... View more

In today's "What We've Learned" video, the first of the new year, John O'Hara (@johnohara), author of Current Issues and Enduring Questions, Critical Thinking, Reading, and Writing, and From Critical Thinking to Argument, breaks online instruction down into three core challenges: hardware, software, and pedagogy. Watch to see how he tackles each to engage students.   ... View more

In today's "What We've Learned" video, Matthew Parfitt, one of the authors of Pursuing Happiness, discusses building an online community among students by assigning a shared text and holding discussions across course sections. ... View more