Participation

Throughout the course, I will be assigning specific discussion prompts designed to elicit online discussion. You are invited to also discuss other items relevant to the course material to expand your knowledge and add richness to our collective understanding.


Posting to Your Own Blog
Your online participation as a whole should represent your observations, thoughts, connections, analysis, goals and other artifacts of your learning throughout the course. By the end of the semester, you should have a collective minimum of 15 substantial blog entries on your individual blog. Note that these 15 blog entries include those that are required as part of an assigned interactivity.


Posting to Other Blogs
In addition, you should substantially contribute to your classmates' blogs—especially those classmates with whom you share the same content area specialty. (See the Groups menu) By "substantial" I mean posts that relate to the course content and are additive or transformative to the larger discussion. Do not simply reply, "Nice going, Bob. I completely agree with you on this point." If you agree with Bob, then point out specific points in which you're in agreement and provide additional information from your own experience or add/layer onto the point in a substantial way. It is possible to make a substantial contribution to another blog in 50 words; but sometimes your thought may require you to use upwards of 300 words. Part of your challenge is making that decision.
To succeed in the area of online participation (25% of your final course grade) I recommend using the 9-3-1 formula each week:

  • Read/browse through a minimum of 9 of your classmates' blogs
  • Respond to at least 3 of them
  • Post at least 1 course-related entry on your own blogspot (may be included in the weekly interactivity assignment)  
At the end of the semester, I will assess your online discussion participation according to the criteria listed below:
  • Comprehension of ideas. Your postings should illustrate your understanding of the readings and activities and reflect upon the topics covered—questioning and critiquing aspects of the assigned readings. 
  • Connection of ideas. Your postings should not just summarize the readings, discussions or activities; they should also illustrate your ability to draw connections across aspects of the reading, class discussion, current events, your own personal experiences and what you experience in your co-requisite courses in assessment, language and literacy this semester.
  • Clarity in communication. Your postings should present ideas in a clear, concise, and coherent manner so that the reader easily understands the message you are trying to convey. Keep in mind that when it comes to volume of text and the Internet—less is more.
  • Conventional expression. Your postings should adhere to the conventions of Standard English, (correct grammar, spelling, punctuation, usage) as appropriate to an academic setting and yet still conversational. Keep in mind that this is not text-messaging.
  • Consistency. Although blogging should in one sense be organic in nature, for the purposes of course assessment, you should blog on a weekly basis in rhythm with the assigned readings, online discussion, and any outside field visits. To generate discussion and responses from others, you should post regularly; however, your blog is ultimately assessed as a body of work at the end of the course. This means that you can add, change, delete whatever you like up until the last day of classes (December 15th).
  • Communal contribution. I expect you to read and contribute on a weekly basis to other classmates’ blogs as appropriate for a one credit course (see the 9-3-1 formula above). At the end of the semester, I will assess both the quantity and quality of your contributions to blogs other than your own according to the five criteria listed above.
And last, but not least, I have enabled the Comments feature on each of these course pages to invite you to assess each component of the module as we go. This is essential, given that you will be simultaneously engaged in your co-requisite courses (READ 411 and CURR 314). I invite your feedback in order to make any adjustments along the way.

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