Read Aloud 2

On Tuesday, April 23, 2013, the English Department Library Committee with the collaboration of ADCO professors celebrated "El Dia del Libro" with the second Read Aloud activity.  This activity was coordinated by Dr. Artemio Peñalbert of the English Department Library Committee and Prof. Jose Figueroa of ADCO.
    Faculty members of the English Department and of ADCO professors (Prof. Jose Figueroa, Prof. Carlos Velazquez and Prof. Sergio Rodriguez) as well as students attended the event.  Prof. Denise Rodriguez, Prof. Carlos Velazquez,  Prof. Sergio Rodriguez and Prof. Luz I. Vega shared their love of reading with original works and that of Shakespeare.  It was an unforgettable experience. 
     Dr. Artemio Peñalbert will continue coordinating similar activities this next academic year with the goal that students and faculty can continue enjoying the magic of literature.

Prezi Workshop

Dr. Nilsa Lugo and part of the faculty that attended Prezi workshop

     On Thursday, April 19, Dr. Nilsa Lugo offered a workshop on Prezi.  Professors from the English faculty attended the workshop.  The workshop was coordinated by the Personnel Committee of our department.

     In this workshop, participants learned about the new features Prezi now offers.  For those that were not familiar or had long since used this program, it was great news to discover that templates are now part of the options Prezi users have.  Another feature that Dr. Lugo highlighted from Prezi is that Power Point presentations can be uploaded in a Prezi presentation.

     This Prezi workshop has opened new possibilities for us educators to enhace our courses.  The dynamic platform of Prezi makes academic presentation visually appealing while presenting the academic content of each course.

Read Aloud 2: My Favorite Book Promotion

     Next Tuesday, April 23 is the Read Aloud Day 2: My Favorite Book.  This activity is coordinated by Dr. Artemio Peñalbert with the collaboration of ADCO (Administración de Colecciones) professors. Dr. Aida Cáceres and Prof. Carmen Milagros Torres have also collaborated with this project.
      This activity was scheduled due to the success of the Read Aloud Day closing activity.  Students and faculty were interested that Dr. Artemio Peñalbert would organize another of these activities and here it is.
     So come on Tuesday with your favorite book and share with us two or three paragraphs from a significant scene.  This activity will be from 10:30-12 on the second floor of the Aguedo Mojica Library of UPRH.

Limonese Creole Conference

     On Tuesday, April 16, 2013, Marisol Joseph, professor and graduate student of UPR Río Piedras campus offered a conference titled "Limonese Creole and Costa Rican Caribbean".  It was held in the Nursing Amphitheater.

     Students and faculty members of the English Department had to opportunity to attend Marisol Joseph's conference about this creole language which is her native tongue.  Marisol shared her personal experience as a native speaker of Limonese Creole, as well as videos of native speakers of Limonese Creole.  The audience also enjoyed of calypso music and poetry where Limonese Creole, standard English and Spanish are interwoven.

     Marisol also shared a book of stories written by her grandfather in Limonese Creole.  She also narrated an Anancy tale in this language.  In addition she also discussed her thesis which focused on Limonese Creole and code switching. Her presentation concluded with a poem titled "Rotundamente Negra" written by Shirley Campbell.

Me niego rotundamente

a negar mi voz

mi sangre y mi piel

y me niego rotundamente

a dejar de ser yo

a dejar de sentirme bien

cuando miro al espejo

con mi boca rotundamente grande

y mi nariz

rotundamente hermosa...

     The response to this presentation was one of great interest and enthusiasm.  Colleagues from the English Department commented and asked questions about Marisol's experience as a native speaker of this language and how she sees its future due to it being mainly an oral language.

     The English Department Library Committee wants to thank students and faculty for attending this conference.  We want to especially thank Marisol Joseph for accepting the invitation to share her knowledge and experience with this language.  We also want to thank Diana Ursulin, graduate student of UPR, Río Piedras who also visited our campus and collaborated in organizing the last details of the presentation.

     This conference represents a new stage in our committee.  The goal is to continue providing this academic experience every semester for the enjoyment of our university community.  The chair of the committee, Prof. Carmen Milagros Torres expressed about this new stage in the following opening words:

       "Welcome to the first conference coordinated by the English Department Library Committee.  The English Department Library Committee members: Dr. Aida Cáceres, Prof. Artemio Peñalbert and I are pleased to have you join us in this special occassion.

     Today is a special day for many reasons.  The UPRH Library begins with  their series of activities to celebrate their week.  And in our department, one of the members of our committee is at this moment in his last stage to obtain his doctorate degree with his dissertation defense. It is a great week to begin a new stage in this committee where we wish to include conferences so UPRH community can enjoy and discover new fields of knowledge."

Reference
Poem "Rotundamente Negra" by Shirley Campbell

   

Congratulations Dr. Artemio Peñalbert!

"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams"

- Eleanor Roosevelt

     Today, April 16, 2013 the English Department of UPRH is celebrating a very special moment for us as a faculty.  One of our colleagues has obtained  his doctorate degree in Education with a specialization in Curriculum and Teaching.  His dissertation is titled "Using Cooperative Learning Strategies to Enhance Students’ Writing Skills in a Business English Course”.  This work presents a new paradigm in the way educators should approach the way Business English writing courses should be taught to facilitate the successful acquisition of the communication skills that Business student need to be successful in their professional facet.

     We celebrate this moment not only because obtaining a doctorate degree is an important step in a person's professional goals, but because our colleague has excelled beyond the walls of this academic achievement.  He is a colleague who has supported the projects our Department has established and looked for ways to collaborate in making them possible.  He has participated actively within our Department as well as institutional committees.  He has coordinated the INCO (Business English) component and has dedicated much of his professional career to this academic area.

     As a professor, he has won the appreciation and admiration of his students for he is always looking for ways that his students acquire the knowledge needed to be successful and obtain their academic goals.  His compromise for his students has been proven to be authentic throughout these years.

     And in our Library Committee, he has been a member that has supported and collaborated during these years in achieving the goals set by the members.  No matter the tasks assigned, many times with his agenda completely compromised with his work and studies, he has looked for ways to collaborate with these activities so the end result has been a successful moment for our committee. 

     We congratulate Dr. Artemio Peñalbert for this new stage in his life.  We wish you and your family happiness, success and blessings.

       

Storytelling Activity Centro de Cuidado Diurno UPRH

    

 On Tuesday, April 9, 2013 students Eliane Soto and Jailene Rodriguez of Children's Literature participated of a storytelling activity in the Centro de Cuidado Diurno of the University of Puerto Rico Humacao.  

      Elaine and Jailene presented the story "Everywhere Coquis!"by Nancy Hooper.  Jailene presented first the key vocabulary and then Elaine narrated the story to the children.  The closing activity was the song "Coqui"which was greatly enjoyed by the children.

    Prof. Carmen Milagros Torres wants to thank Elaine and Jailene for sharing this story to the children of CCD of UPRH. She also is grateful  for the collaboration and support given by Prof. Carmen Luna, director of CCC as well as to Prof. Raquel and Prof. Carmen.  Thank you for opening the doors to your school so students of Children's Literature could enjoy the experience of storytelling.

Stars Like Fish Book Presentation

     On Friday, April 5, 2013, students from Introduction to Literature II had as a  guest the writer Alejandra Reuhel.  She presented an interactive conference about the creative process of writing and her recently published book Stars Like Fish.
     Alejandra shared her creative writing experience and motivated students into sharing their experiences when writing creative pieces.  Students participated actively and shared their creative works.  Many shared their drawings, painting, poetry and even a video of a creative project completed for another course.
     Students were able to see part of literary work that appear in this creative and innovative book titled Stars like Fish.   This work invites the reader to explore the creative world of Alejandra through poetic prose and images of photography taken by this artist.  It was a journey to the world of words and images transforming our everyday perception of life.
     Students from Introduction to Literature II and Prof. Carmen Milagros Torres are grateful that Alejandra took time to visit our course and share her creative world.  It was an honor to have Alejandra Reuhel as a guest of our course.