Ask the Author: Mike Kowis
Answered Questions (3)
Mike Kowis
Good question, Roger!
Like other schools of higher education, the college where I teach face-to-face classes is requiring all instructors to convert our classes to online (D2L) format. I'm currently in the process of doing that and was recently thinking about my book and what lessons would still apply. I have come to the conclusion that my book's advice is still very relevant b/c I will still use most of the same teaching techniques. For example, I plan to have a synchronous online class for the rest of this semester by offering it via (live) WebEx sessions during the normal meeting time for my class. When I do this, I will still use the Socratic method (e.g., asking probing questions of my students to make them apply their logic to derive the correct answer on their own), use humor/funny stories to keep them engaged, give daily quizzes (but offered online from now on), call on my students (live) by name every class, etc. I might try doing a few recorded sessions at some point down the road, but at this point I will focus on WebEx as it is the closest thing to a face-to-face class that I've seen. I hope that helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions.
Like other schools of higher education, the college where I teach face-to-face classes is requiring all instructors to convert our classes to online (D2L) format. I'm currently in the process of doing that and was recently thinking about my book and what lessons would still apply. I have come to the conclusion that my book's advice is still very relevant b/c I will still use most of the same teaching techniques. For example, I plan to have a synchronous online class for the rest of this semester by offering it via (live) WebEx sessions during the normal meeting time for my class. When I do this, I will still use the Socratic method (e.g., asking probing questions of my students to make them apply their logic to derive the correct answer on their own), use humor/funny stories to keep them engaged, give daily quizzes (but offered online from now on), call on my students (live) by name every class, etc. I might try doing a few recorded sessions at some point down the road, but at this point I will focus on WebEx as it is the closest thing to a face-to-face class that I've seen. I hope that helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions.
Mike Kowis
Aaron,
Good catch on the song title! I just searched for I saw Daddy kissing Santa Claus and discovered that it was in fact a different song than the one I recall (I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus). I just edited that sentence out of my review.
As I mentioned in my review of Kip's book, I love standup comedy, and I'm an avid reader of comedian's autobiographies/biographies. I'm always curious to hear how they got started in the business and how many years they struggled doing open mic nights and small gigs before they were finally discovered and made it big time (or at least made a living out of it). I've done standup at a local open mic nights a handful of times (for fun) and I'm in awe of the talent and confidence that it must take to perform standup professionally.
I'm curious about your experience doing standup comedy back in the day. Would you mind sharing any tips for aspiring comedians or perhaps explain a little about how you got into the business?
Good catch on the song title! I just searched for I saw Daddy kissing Santa Claus and discovered that it was in fact a different song than the one I recall (I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus). I just edited that sentence out of my review.
As I mentioned in my review of Kip's book, I love standup comedy, and I'm an avid reader of comedian's autobiographies/biographies. I'm always curious to hear how they got started in the business and how many years they struggled doing open mic nights and small gigs before they were finally discovered and made it big time (or at least made a living out of it). I've done standup at a local open mic nights a handful of times (for fun) and I'm in awe of the talent and confidence that it must take to perform standup professionally.
I'm curious about your experience doing standup comedy back in the day. Would you mind sharing any tips for aspiring comedians or perhaps explain a little about how you got into the business?
Mike Kowis
Hi John. Thank you for the recommendation! I would suggest your friend call Amazon. They should be able to give a status update on the order. Sorry to hear that it has been delayed without explanation. If Amazon can't give your friend an estimate of when it will arrive, please let me know. Not sure what I can do, but I'll be glad to check on it if Amazon is not giving your friend any answers.
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