Discussion List Instructions
To use the discussion list, go to Blackboard
(http://bb.uvm.edu)
and then click on
Soc 196b.
The class will be divided into subgroups for discussions.
Be sure to post in the appropriate folder, which will be
named "Group 1," "Group 2," or "Group 3." (If more than one
group is listed, or if no group is listed, please
let me know.)
Please use "reply" instead of "Compose Message" when
posting, unless you have a very good reason to start a new
thread!
The
class discussion list is a place to discuss the readings
and ideas from the course. (In a few cases, you will be
asked to respond to other students' writings and work.) The
idea is that you will have a conversation about the course
materials with each other, as your interests dictate. Use
the discussion list to help sharpen your understandings by
interacting with the other students. So do not be afraid to
post questions, reactions, disagreements, thoughts. Make it
fun and enlightening.
Your
postings will be graded, and it is useful place for you to
really think about the material.
You are required to post at least once a week -- by Sunday
night at midnight
before
the readings are due. (For
the first week of class, postings are due Thursday at
midnight.) The postings generally should
focus on the readings.
Postings can be a
comment,
a
question,
or a
response
to someone else's posting. Read the latest postings, and
then post your own message or two. It is a good idea to use
the syllabus questions to formulate your postings. Try to
quote directly from a reading in of your postings. Avoid
simply stating likes and dislikes about things without any
connection to the readings; your thoughts are interesting
to us when they are supported with evidence, good
arguments, and logic. (Without that -- not so much.) When
you do post, it's almost always better to hit the reply
button (or "quote") than to start a new thread by hitting
"compose message." Start a new thread only when that's what
you want to do, i.e., when you want to start a discussion
on an entirely new subject, like another reading that no
one has talked about yet.
If you join the class after the first week, it is your
responsibility to make up your postings to the list. If you
have technical problems with the list, contact me or
computer tech support immediately; I'll be happy to help
you.
Technical problems are not an excuse for missed or late
postings. (Please,
please, please do not come to me in
the fifth week of classes and say you haven't posted
because you couldn't get online. Technical problems can
almost always be fixed in a day or two if you just
try.)
Principles
for Grading Postings
Postings
are graded according to how well you do the following:
- that you do all the postings;
- that you do them on time; and
- that you comment on the topic of the week, offer some original insight, refer to the week's reading, particularly with a relevant quote, respond to someone else's idea, and ask a question to spur further discussion.