Discussion Forums:
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Each class session will have an
associated discussion forum that contains
one or more topics. Each week, students will read some additional materials or perform an
activity, and then address some
questions/issues. Students are expected to
post once per week throughout much of the
semester, but they are encouraged to make
more than just the required contributions,
if they so choose. I rely on the Moodle
forums to see that students are processing
the content, developing an
understanding of information
organization-related issues, and exploring
tools and topics on their own. The following are guidelines for the
discussion forums.
Posting
- A posting should comment on the
topic, discussion point, or question.
Think about the topic or question in the
context of the class, the readings,
other postings, personal experiences,
etc. Postings should address only one
question/topic at a time. If a student
wishes to respond to more than one
discussion topic and get credit for it, there should be
another posting under the other
topic(s).
- A posting may be an original comment, or it may be a reaction to someone else's
posting. A reply is a posting
(as long as it has substance).
- A posting should be more than one or two brief sentences. It
should be succinct, certainly, but it
should also adequately express the
thoughts of its author.
- Students should proofread their postings before submitting them to
the discussion board. Moodle allows 30
minutes to edit postings for typos,
errors, etc. Some students
prefer to compose their posts
elsewhere and then paste them into the
Moodle discussion boards once it is
completed.
- If a posting is less than adequate, I
will email that student
privately. If you don't hear from me,
then you may assume that you are on the
right track.
Reading and Reacting
- Students are expected to read other
students' postings to learn what their
fellow classmates have to say. I know that no one, except me, will read them all, and that's okay, but please read a sampling at least.
- When responding to a particular
posting, please use the Reply button so that the comments are found
together in the thread.
- It is fine to agree with someone, but
additional thoughts should be expressed
either in this posting or another
separate posting. If you disagree with an idea,
interpretation, or comment, you are
encouraged to address that in your
posting, but only if you are
respectful in doing so.
- Please do not wait until the last
minute to contribute. It does not help
discussion if no one sees an interesting
posting because it was added so late in
the week.
Logistics
- Discussion forums will appear in Moodle
in the folder for their associated
units. The topics will be introduced in
class and you will have one week to respond. The forum will typically close
one week later (if there are exceptions
these will be mentioned in class). So,
if we begin a unit on a Thursday, students usually have until the
following Wednesday at 11:59 pm to post to the board.
Any postings after that time will be
considered late and will not count
toward the discussion-board grade.
- The discussion boards are mostly
unmoderated. I read each
discussion-board posting, but I don't
often comment in the boards (unless
there are factual errors or there is
confusion about an idea). I do pay
attention to what is said and by whom.
It really helps me to get to know
students better.
Grading
- Each student is required to post to 10
different forums over the semester. This
means you can skip 3-4 forums
during the term. (Note:
Later discussion forums have more
advanced/interesting topics.)
- If students complete all 10 of the
required postings, then the final
discussion-board grade is 100%! If
students do not complete all the
postings, they will earn a reduced
percentage for the discussion-board
assignment.
- Being active on the discussion board
is a relatively easy way to participate
in class; not posting
is an easy way for students to lower their final grades.
- Extra postings can help boost your
discussion-board grade (though
subsequent postings are not worth the
same points as the required postings)
and they can help to strengthen your participation grade. You may receive up to a maximum score of 110% for your discussion board grade.
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