About

Discussions are an important part of any online class. They have at least 20 points per week; therefore, taking discussions seriously will help your final grade. You are required to post each week, both an initial post, followed by usually two replies to your fellow students. Some discussions will have different requirements such as a certain word count.

Discussions are where you engage with your classmates in other points of view. After thoughtfully reading comments, you reply with helpful comments, adding your own original thoughts and sources. It could be you disagree and it is fine as long as you support your point of view with citations and links to reliable sources.

Each post should be longer than 150 words, 250 -300 works well.

Don't rush to answer a post. Discussions allow you to add considered, meaningful, and well thought out reply.

We don't get to meet in person but at the end of the term, we will get to know each other.

Rubric

Discussion contributions are scored on a 0-5 scale as follows:

5 = substantive posting with meaningful comments, including connections to the materials (reading, watching) and insight into the issue

3-4 = substantive posting AND meaningful return comments to your classmates

1-2 = substantive posting

0 = no, late or inadequate posting

Discussions points will vary. They will be anywhere from 5 - 20 points but rating with the same proportional weight.

Discussions

Online Discussion Tips for Students University of Waterloo

Course Netiquette Guidelines

Behind Every Name There is a Person

1. Respect the privacy of your classmates and what they share in class.
2. Ask classmates for clarification if you find a discussion posting offensive or difficult to understand.
3. Avoid sweeping generalizations. Back up your stated opinions with facts and reliable sources.
4. Understand that we may disagree and that exposure to other people’s opinions is part of the learning experience.
5. Be respectful of each other. We’re all in this together. Before posting a comment, ask whether you would be willing to make the same comment to a person’s face.
6. Keep in mind that everything you write, indeed every click of your mouse is recorded on the network server. On the Internet there are no take backs.
7. Keep in mind that you are taking a college class. Something that would be inappropriate in a traditional classroom is also inappropriate in an online classroom.

Online Communication

1. Be aware that typing in all capital letters indicates shouting.
2. Be careful with humor and sarcasm. Both can easily be misunderstood!
3. Review all discussion postings before posting your own to prevent redundancy.
4. Check your writing for errors by reviewing what you’ve written before submitting it.
5. Acronyms (LOL, etc.) and emoticons (smilies) are commonly used online, but be careful not to overuse them.
6. Many communications with your instructor or fellow students are best handled through email. Only post on the classroom discussion board if the conversation is relevant to others in the class.

Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 (Lake Superior Connect)

To compose a post, start typing your response to the question in the field marked "Reply" just below the question. To compose a reply, click on the icon labeled "Reply" in the bottom, right-hand corner of another student's post.