Discussion Forum Grades posted

Hey everyone:

I've posted the discussion forum first grades. I also send individual emails with comments and suggestions, so let me know if you have questions, and let me know if you didn't get an email!

My responses were individualized to discuss your particular contribution, but overall I can say that their are two things I'd like to encourage overall:

(1) When you see that you've become part of an "exchange" (that is, people are responding to a post you've made) try to see what you can do to continue to extend the conversation (keep it going). This might be done by expanding the discussion (making new point or arguments) and it can also be done by challenging (respectfully) the ideas or assertions of others

(2) I'd like to see more direct citations in these posts (of other posts, readings, and outside materials). I don't want you to think that you need to bog down every post you make with a load of citations, but in general I think we could move somewhat away from just creating a dialogue about what we think, to create a "network of ideas," that connects what we think more directly to what others (within this class and outside of it) think. So I want to encourage everyone to think about that and see what you can do in the next week.


Also -- I'm starting to comment on the Blog's right now, and I'll do these in the same way. I will read the post you've made, and send you an email with comments and suggestions, and then post a grade in Blackboard. Again, let me know if you have questions.

I also PROMISE that I will post something further (I'll email it too) about the research projects today, so that you can all move forward in selecting topics -- I'd like everyone to have a topic selected by Monday.

Finally, I want to note that I hope you will use my comments and suggestions in both your lab notes and your "proof-of-learning." Remember that you are not just learning about the topics, you are also learning about the genres we're using (in this case the discussion forum). So if my comments made you think about how you might alter your posts, or if you spend some time looking at the posts of others and thinking about how your could use their techniques to improve your posts -- PUT THAT IN YOUR LAB NOTES. This is evidence of your learning. If you are planning to try experiments to see if you can encourage others to respond more in the discussion post, then make note of that, along with examples of your posts and the posts of others. It's think kind of thing that I will ultimately be looking for -- and will be grading for.

So, look for more emails from me today.

Cheers,

Joyce