Directions for Blog Posts and Discussion
Blog posts and discussions about them will take the place of a typical in-person class discussion for this course. Every student will write one blog post per week (by Tuesday at noon) and participate in a weekly discussion of other’s blog posts (by Thursday at noon).
What exactly are blog posts?
As stated on the syllabus, your blog posts should be critical, insightful responses to what we read and view every week.
I provide Discussion Prompts (embedded in the Course Calendar); they should help you start thinking critically about the readings and viewings. You can directly answer the Discussion Prompts to complete your blog post, or you can feel free to make points about the weeks’ viewings and readings that are different from the “food for thought” I provide in the Discussion Prompts.
What should your blog post look like?
All of your blog posts should:
- Be at least 300-500 words long (which is approximately 1-2 pages of double-spaced, size-12 font). You can certainly write more than this, but don’t go overboard.
- Loosely follow the standard essay format. Most importantly, this means starting your blog post with a clear thesis statement (a main argument you’ll work to “prove” throughout your response) and supporting that thesis statement throughout the rest of your post.[unique_solution]
- Informally cite sources you reference.
- Be written in accordance to the most basic collegiate standards (use good grammar and full sentences, give credit to any sources you mention, etc.).
- Be posted by noon on Tuesdays into the discussion section of Carmen.
Additional tips for a good blog post:
- The best posts will reference the assigned reading and viewing materials often, giving examples from them.
- Don’t be afraid to include your personal experiences and observations in your blog post. The best responses will be both personal and professional.
- Look at the example blog post on Carmen to get a sense of what a complete blog post looks like.
How should you go about discussing everyone’s blog posts?
After everyone has “handed in” their blog posts on Tuesday at noon, we’ll spend two days commenting on other’s blog posts and otherwise “digesting” the readings and viewings for the week. You are required to comment on at least two of your classmates’ blog posts. Discussions will close on Thursday at noon.
Your comments for each discussion session should do the following to be considered high quality:
- Display a deep familiarity with the assigned readings and viewings for the week.
- Display that you’re contemplating the issues addressed in the week’s lesson materials. None of us are experts in considering questions of race, sexism, or other knotty cultural issues. But we can respectfully consider those issues with our peers and that’s what I’m asking to see on display in your discussions.
- Maintain an active and ongoing engagement with the conversation begun with your blog posts during the period between Tuesday at noon and Thursday at noon. Contributing only near the deadline of every discussion session is not active and ongoing engagement.
Online Communication Guidelines: Below is a list of general guidelines to consider as you take this and all other online courses at the Ohio State University. Students in an online community should be:
- Considerate: Treat each other with respect. Take the time to read and respond to each other in such a way that a learning environment can continue to develop. Format your post so that everyone can learn from your knowledge, skills, and experience.
- Encouraging: Not everyone may be familiar with the Discussion Board format; be wary of making any assumptions about computer/internet literacy. Notice the habits of your classmates. Provide encouragement for creative and critical conversation.
- Helpful: Even a well-presented and structured course may create some confusion. It is very easy to lose your place or misread information on certain links or pages. When other students are lost, offer a helping hand by pointing them in the right direction so they can regain their confidence in the online classroom.
- Aware: We all have had different life experiences. Be aware that your written word is the only form of communication in an asynchronous learning environment. Use your words carefully. Ask yourself if your comment could possibly be interpreted as insulting, disrespectful, discriminating, mocking, or rude. How would you feel if this comment were directed toward you? Avoid using all capital letters when communicating in an online environment (known as shouting). This is considered a rude method of communicating.
Quality of Discussion Board Writing: Think of everything you post on the boards as an informal essay (albeit brief) that is to conform to college-level writing. That is, proper spelling and grammar are expected, and the use of chatspeak or emoticons is discouraged.
How formal does this all have to be?
This should be the most fun and laid-back part of this course. While your blog posts and discussion contributions should follow the guidelines I detail above, they needn’t be literary masterpieces polished to perfection. Minor mistakes will not hurt your grade, and you can speak casually with your peers. Save the obsessive polishing for your formal essays.
How will your blog posts and discussion contributions be scored?
I’ll assign your blog post and discussion contributions for each week a percentage out of 100.
At the end of the semester, I’ll average those percentages and give you that percentage of the 30 points assigned to blog posts and discussions. So, if your average percentage turns out to be 85 at the end of the semester, you will have earned 85 percent of the 30 possible points, or 25.5 points.
I won’t provide automatic updates on your blog post and discussion grades, but please know that you can ask me for updates as often as you want.