Day 10: loving the zodiac

So, I just posted an interpretation essay for Week 2 (last week I did an online resource, but not an interpretation essay). I had so much fun writing it because I had been thinking about the zodiac and ecliptic and enjoying my new knowledge all day long today! I'm not quite sure where this will take me, but learning about sundials and the zodiac has really clicked for me, and it is a topic I hope to keep exploring all semester long. Since both sundials and representations of the zodiac are found throughout all the historical periods being covered by this course, I feel confident that I have latched on to something really useful, a thread that will lead me through the Janux labyrinth.

And a lonely labyrinth it is. The more I think about this total lack of notifications, the more discouraged I am about how this course will develop over time. I'm doing fine because I've got my blog here; I can take a look at my assignment posts and get a sense of progress that is very encouraging. But where is all the social encouragement that Janux is supposed to making possible...? I wrote in detail yesterday about the lack of notifications, and I noticed today that Brent, our T.A., had left many comments at the Introductions board. But will anybody see the comments he has left for them...? Time online is a precious thing; none of us can afford to squander that resource. By collecting my assignments here in my blog, I feel good about the time I am investing. I do not feel good about time invested in comments and replies at Janux, although without comments and replies, how will we ever achieve the social integration that is essential to real learning...? I applaud Janux for their emphasis on the social dimensions of learning, but I find the software to be all the more depressing for just that reason. Social? Really? I don't think so.

So, I would gladly spend another half hour or so leaving comments and interacting with other people at the course, but there's nothing going on apparently - at least, I can't tell if there is a conversation I am missing out on. I guess it just means I will go research some more sun dials!

Update: This sundial led me to Francis Bacon... what an adventure! Details about just where this Latin motto comes from in the Bestiaria blog post - it is indeed Francis Bacon at work, along with the ingenious maker of the sundial.

TEMPUS FUGIT     AUGEBITUR SCIENTIA

Time Flies    Knowledge Will Increase

(Wikimedia Commons: Belgian sundial)