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The introduction by Hewitt and Depew that talked about a relative who failed her first-year OWC represents why we need to adhere to the OWI principles outlined by the C's.  It's important to see both sides - from the faculty and students - to see how to improve the experience and have the students be successful.

I did like how they said that there were really no "best practices" due to the field changing rapidly.  I think this means that it's just important to know that while there are no best practices, there are guidelines that perhaps educators should follow to make sure they're delivering the best type of OWC they can. This relates to what Hewitt and Depew were saying when they talked about using the term "effective practices" and offered up as guidance as opposed to rules set in stone.

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The principles for OWI seem like standard, typical items that are almost no-brainers.  They talk about being universally accessible and inclusive while also asking that educators continue doing professional development and research to maintain a high-quality OW class.  I liked that OWI 6 said that OWI should be subject to same standards as traditional instruction.  An OWC doesn't make it "less than" traditional, and I think the principle is trying to make that point.

My online comp classes seem to have been tailored to some of these principles.  The resources needed are electronic resources as opposed to print media.  Principle 13 addresses that component.

Principle 1 resonated with me because it talked about OWI being accessible and connecting it to the digital divide.  I've been working on a research project about the digital divide for my Capstone project, and I feel this is an important element to anything regarding online instruction.  We, as educators, have to make sure that we are able to help alleviate the digital divide and provide quality instruction.

Another principle that resonated with me was  principle 7, which talked about OWI's receiving appropriate training and professional development as traditional instructors.  The idea behind this is important because an online environment is very different than a traditional environment.  It can often be seen as silent and not-engaging, so it's important to design the instruction to engage beyond the screen.  I think this goes along with principle 11 - designing online writing communities for students.  Small groups doesn't sound appealing as a grad student, but they do help alleviate the feeling of isolation and being alone in a class.

I think the terrain of OWI is pretty simple - focus on good instruction, be trained to design online courses well, and be committed to the students in the online environment. Make sure instruction is designed to be inclusive and accessible to all students.

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I've really struggled this past year with trying to reinvent my life that only consists of myself and the kids. It's been difficult and I feel like I've had to fight ever step of the way. This has been a good reminder that I can do hard things. I got it from Glennon Doyle's book, Untamed. I strongly recommend it. I don't typically read self-help books of any kind, but I wouldn't classify this one as self-help.. just more forcing me to be introspective and see what was working and what wasn't.

So I just try to keep going. Focus on what I'm doing and why and keep going.

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Here are a couple pictures of myself and my kiddos. I grew up in Southern California, but currently live in rural Illinois about an hour and a half outside Chicago.  I live with my three children - Emma (12) and Chloe and Patrick (8 year old twins), as well as our goldendoodle Clark.

I've lived here for 13 years, after growing up in So Cal and then moving to Washington DC for a year, then Anchorage, Alaska for 4 years, before finally settling here.  I like to travel and try new places.

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I work full time as the Help Desk Specialist in the IT department of a local community college.  I started off working part time at the Student Help Desk where I assisted students with everything related to technology on campus.  Now I assist staff and faculty (and okay, the occasional student) of the entire college with anything computer software or hardware related.

I want to continue at my job, but I also want to teach part-time online with the hope of maybe rolling it into a full-time teaching position.

I have a Master's in Teaching and Learning With Technology.  This is my LAST semester in the Composition and Communication masters program.

I'm excited to see what awaits me when I'm finally done. I've been tossing around the idea of getting my PhD, but we'll see what happens. I need some things to settle first.

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I'm also the head coach for the local YMCA swim team.  All three of my children swim competitively.  We've been lucky so far that we haven't had to shut down because of Covid since last year, so that's good.

This keeps me busy year-round and is tough to manage at times.

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I want to say I have hobbies, but I don't really have time?

I like to read.

The kids and I like to camp.  We do that a lot starting in early May.  Last year we went to Wisconsin, and I posted a few discussion boards over holiday weekends for classes when I was there.

We travel more for swim in the summer too - to Indiana, Wisconsin, Ohio, etc.  So I wrote plenty of papers in hotel rooms too.

It's fun though. My son and I love to play Zelda: Breath of the Wild on the switch. We talk about that often.