I don't know what it is about this course that makes it difficult for me.  I find myself endlessly tinkering with assignments and lessons plans (sort of web design itself) to try to make things fit and make sense and fun and userful.  But it's just a treadmill that doesn't always work and wears me out.  It's vexing.  This happened last semester.  I must back off and figure out how to shape it so it feels more managable for me and the students.  From my end I am too ambitious.  I want to dig into so many things on so many different fronts.  I have yet to establish a schema that helps hang thing together.  I believe I need to emphasize this theme approach.  From the student's end it is hard to shape things because their backgrounds and interests are so varied.  That doesn't have to be a bad thing if only I could figure out ways to use them to steer the course in more productive directions.  Last semester most the students were about to graduate which meant that they were dealing with "senioritis" but for the most part had strong academic skills and could handle the reading, writing and thinking load (if they wanted to).  In addition, many of them had technical skills and interests that were close to mine.  By contrast this class was much more variety in terms of academic skills as well as technical know-how.   They, at least some of them, seem rather overwelmed and probably frustrated with the level of detail and understanding this course demands.  I hope that this gets better for them.

I am unhappy with myself about how I organized the presentation schedule.   I want to change things but in the end have decided to not tinker with it too much.  We will fudge our way through it.  However, I did eliminate the debates (which were new and I was looking forward to doing them) to give our classtime schedule some breathing room (which I filled up at the last minute with the second video series).  I hate to lose the debates but given the relative weak tech background of the group, it is just as well.  The debates would have been a real challenge. 

Another semester of CO217.  This is summer and means a compressed schedule.  It's hard to fit a week's worth of stuff in a day.  The worst part is the amount of homework.  I need to be careful about this. 

The class is going okay.  The mornings seem better, more focused and productive.  I want to think about how I use the afternoons and make this better.  I ran into this during the first summer semester.  The afternoons can drag.  I know I am tired and feel this from the students.  I have tried to make the afternoon sessions more active, less talking at them but I need to figure this out more.