It is from Vanderbilt (search by that) called Online Games: Literature, New Media, and Narrative. We decided to do the track without the gameplay much to dc's distress! ;) It has been very interesting. We have covered quite a bit about romance literature mainly in relation to the Fellowship of the Ring and some other shorter poetry. Last week was devoted to the different ways of telling the story literature/movie/online game.....The professor is extremely enthusiastic so I suspect he will do more courses soon.

The requirements should be spelled out a bit better for certificates on Monday. I am going to "take" the course with dd. For me that will mean reading plus lectures so I can give feedback on her work. Also planning to take ds through as much as possible but not sure what the reality of that will be. I doubt I will qualify for a certificate because too busy with our new house to do more. Dd plans to do papers and will receive a certificate for sure -- she loves to get Coursera certificates so will make sure she completes all requirements. :lol: One of the best things about Coursera is you can use the course however you want. I have been doing the Lord of the Rings course with dc's and really enjoying it. I hope you enjoy this one because it looks like it will be really interesting! :)

FYI on October 7 a Fantasy and Science Fiction course is starting on Coursera from University of Michigan. Stoker's Dracula is one of the books along with several other interesting choices. Dd wants to take it -- she wants to do most of them. :lol:

I thought I would add a bit more "travel" info to the list! I was surprised to see Cromford on the list. Lovely village but a bit out of the way compared to most of the other stores on the list. Somewhat easy to picture a visit to a store in NYC but much harder to imagine one in a somewhat sleepy (popular holiday for walking area--beautiful views) village. The town is a World Heritage Site because of the mill which was the reason for our first visit. Been back for the walks several times. Anyway here is a bit of information about the town. I have visited the store, it is good one! :) http://www.derbyshireuk.net/cromford.html

Stacia -- The Historian is worth it. It is a reread for me and I love it.

I need to read the Dexter books. I noticed them awhile ago but hadn't had time to try one yet. Your reviews have moved them up my wish list by quite a bit. So there is an audience.....The show is a favorite. Dh hates it. I am currently watching season 4. :lol: no fish harmed...

Since dh and I, both American born and raised, decided to immigrate (since the rest of my family already had UK citizenship I am not sure if it is really the right word but I immigrated) back to the UK we connected pretty strongly with our ethnic past. We actually live about an hour away from where my ancestors lived for many century's. I do feel a strong connection to their moors and feel oddly at home there. Dh does not care for my moors but he is a Scot! One moor is actually named after my ancestor's. Friends here that I share that with laugh -- the American lady is a bit more local then many of them who are from the South or Wales. I frequently hear from people in the UK "my great grandmother was American". It is a bit weird to think that my being American will be recorded as a bit of an odd footnote in the family history. I doubt they will even remember dh, the Scot, was too.

I have shifted my focus to finishing The Historian. It is a Kindle library book which will be snatched on the 5th. It is going really slow. I am not sure that I have ever read a 700 page book on the kindle before. It is a bit disconcerting to only increase my percent finished by one or two percent when I have actually had a fairly long reading session! Thank you for the interesting lists last night. I spent awhile looking. Much prefer the spooky characters. The posts about that poor little fish are hilarious. Dd watched the youtube and proclaimed it obvious -- narrative ends so the little fish must be dead. A strange choice for little ones in her opinion. :lol:

I am not familiar with the speed at which CC moves through the book. We have used the first MP which equals roughly 1/4 of the first year text. We liked it alot. We switched to the MODG with each book equaling half the first book and love it. Both are great programs. I would pick the one that allows you to do a quiz weekly or close to weekly.

Great article, thank you! Both dc are heavily involved in things like code academy. They would love that.

I know the medal levels have to be someplace on that website but I can't find them. Dd is interested but is quite busy this fall. As bad as this sounds I would hate to have her put the time into prep if it is unlikely that she would medal. Any ideas on approximately what percentage for each medal? I know I sound like a really pushy mom. It is more not letting her give up her free time if apt to be completely disappointed. She doesn't have that much of it!

Thank you so much for all the wonderful information! Ds13 is fascinated by code and seems to have done a pretty good job self educating at this point. Which is at the very start and he knows it. Dh works with a programming firm in finance so ds has some exposure to professionals (not as much as your ds by any means) and we frequently hear really serious compliments about his knowledge. He has talked about working on a certificate and dh is enthused about him doing it. One of those things that will be easy for me because I know dh will want to lead the way. ;) I am happy to hear that it was a productive activity for someone who is University bound. I will do my best to arrange for the AP too. Slightly more difficult living in the UK. I haven't looked for that one yet since not ready at all. Arranging for dd to take the calculus one next spring is my first attempt to line up AP exams. Thank you so much for all the advice! I love reading about the college visits.

I didn't ask in my original post with the youtube. I figured he must have or probably no award. ;) Thought I was just missing something. Now that I am thinking about this since you have an actual copy of the book is the little fish on the endpapers? We used to read a book about a flea that you were not sure if he survived until you looked at the inside of the back cover.

Thank you for the great information. I was thrilled to read the part about the Java certification being so well received. I had wondered how a University would look upon that as opposed to AP exams. Ds is definately heading more that way. I can't tell you how much better I feel after reading your post! :)

Remember I read this book on youtube but my first thought was the little fish had been eaten. Big fish looked terribly pleased. I figured poor picture quality meant he was hiding somewhere since the book was obviously really popular. Interesting that your dd really liked it. I thought it was so so. I don't have a little one to try it out on, wish I did! I miss the picture book stage.

There is one in the village. I don't know the owners but it plays with a black lab. No one looks concerned. Go for it!

JennW, my dc's read your post about your son's new job and are thrilled for him. That is a REALLY great job according to ds. Congratulations!!!

Hunter -- Are you using a kindle reader now or a fire? We have used some of these materials as a pdf on fires but never exclusively. I print some too. Since we have used them on fires some I thought might work for you since I remember you using one in past posts. I would email them and ask. I have heard great stories about their customer service.

Yes, sorry. My brain locked onto something said about poor examples and explanations and all I could think of was how much better EIL was for our literature. Forgot all about the history part.

Jane, we drive by Castle Howard on the way to Whitby. We haven't gone partly because it is a pricey attraction. Nothing can be seen from the road. I have never read or watched Brideshead but other people who are fans have said what a great visit it is. Still reading my three Dracula books. Really interesting set against the history found in the "Dracula Prince of Many Faces" by Florescu and McNally. Thank you Stacia for publishing your list which included your history book -- making sur the author was the same was something on my to do list.

Stobaugh was very hard going for dd and I also. As a kindle person for as many books as possible I knew sourcing was going to be a problem. My independent worker, who has never been completely defeated by a text before, begged to quit. Too much is missing. Hunter, Have you downloaded a sample of EIW? Approximately half the books seem to be free on the kindle. Dd has not been defeated yet-- the required "helps" seem to all be there. Halfway through book 2 and loving it. The units stand on their own so you can skip what you cannot source inexpensively. So far everything has been easy to find at our library, on kindle, or already owned as a hard copy. She has been doing the "Honor's " track because loves to read. The reality is 9 books can do this course. Dd needs closer to 20 for her chosen track.

I also dislike Twilight to a huge degree. Many reasons why-- Most of which have been listed. Dislike the pregnancy storyline also and all that follows with the other boyfriend. I am so grateful that Dd has no interest in it. She figures if vampire loving mom says they are dreadful they probably are and her friends lack taste. :lol: I never understood why a friend loved those (as in bought first day available for daughter) and banned Wurthering Heights. Not much difference to be honest. At least no horror pregnancy amoung other things.

I returned "The Glass Castle" this morning. Also "The Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao" which I just never felt the need to finish. Over one hundred pages read and I really never engaged. I feel a bit lighter now! :) I finished "The Cuckoo's Calling" and it wasn't bad. It is worthwhile if you are curious about JK Rowling and if she can write something other then Harry Potter but it is not a wow mystery/thriller imo. Robin, I tend to hide in romance novels and serial cozy mysteries when upset. This time trying your paranormal suggestion. Started my spooky challenge today. Working on Dracula while I read "Dracula Prince of Many Faces -- His life and times" by Florescu and McNally. I think this is an earlier version of Stacia's Vlad book. Fascinating so far, the authors are doing the journey that Jonathon Harper took as much as possible. Staying inthe hotels and eating the food. Switching back and forth. Catching many details that would not normally be noticed.

Thank you for your kind thoughts today. It was emotionally draining. So many things happened that were so unexpected.

:grouphug: Mom Ninja