Each student will be part of a peer group of bloggers (aka a "blog roll"). You are expected to read the postings of the other bloggers in your group. You should comment, critique, and respond to their postings on a regular basis. If you don't find anything interesting to comment on within your blog roll, you are welcome to comment on the blog of any student in the class. This class is intended to emulate a social network and your participation in the online community is an important part of achieving this.
Note the high percentage given to your contribution to the class in person and online. The quality of interaction that you have with other students is simply the most important determinant of your learning experience and ultimately what you will take away from this class. Thus it needs an appropriate incentive tied to it. You should view posting and commenting as the most important writing assignments that you do.
Here are some things that I will look for in evaluating the quality of your posts. The posts should attempt to respond to what other people have said indicating either additional support or alternative views. They should ask questions of other students. They should answer questions previously posed by other students. Where possible they should bring in material from outside of the class. For example, if you find a web link that illustrates a point in discussion please post it and explain why you agree or disagree with what the source of that link is arguing. You can disagree (or agree) with somebody as long as you support your argument and you are respectful.
Every week, I will record a score documenting your comments.
| n | n comments |
| 3 | 3 comments |
| 2 | 2 comments |
| 1 | 1 comment |
| 0 | no comments |
Halfway through the semester, I will publish your grade "to date". This will allow you to adjust, if needed, to receive a higher grade at the end of the semester.
| "100" | 3 or more comments every week |
| "75" | average of 2 comments per week |
| "50" | average of 1 comment per week |
| "0" | no comments |
One factor that will NOT be included is your command of the English language. The important thing is to get your point across and back up what you say.
A Few Ground Rules:
- Please remember that you are in a class and that you are representing yourself and AU in your comments. Keep them clean. No profanity.
- Over time, you will get to know some of the people in the class quite well. This will make it hard(er) to separate the personal from the professional/academic. Don't censor yourself but do use good judgment and be professional.
