Participation

This course applies the co-creation approach which relies on active participation both in-class and online. Co-creation means that you:

• Review the assigned material and comment on how it relates to learning objectives and your personal experiences
• Bring in new content and persuade others on why it is relevant
• Critically evaluate content and comments so that as the course progresses we develop a better shared understanding of the value and relevance of the material

Class participation

Please read the material prior to each class so you can respond to the following:

• What are one or two key points you took away from each assigned reading?
• What are one or two summary points you learned from the set of readings of the session?
• If you were facilitating today’s discussion, what question would you ask your fellow classmates?

We will start each session with the above opening questions posed to students at random. If for some reason you feel unprepared to respond, you may say pass and I will call on another student. To earn full credit, keep the number of passes to a minimum.

An additional important aspect of class participation is completion of in-class assignments and contribution to break-out group activities.

Grading: Plan on raising your hand at least 10 times during the term. About 1/4 of the grade is for meeting the quantity guideline. The remaining 3/4 grade is for quality of participation. Quality is more important than frequency. Quality means having the courage to form and express a reasoned opinion. It does not matter if you are right or wrong – it is the process of reasoning that is valuable. All students start with a ‘C’ for participation and depending on the frequency and quality of participation, the grade will increase or decrease. You can ask the instructor your current standing in the class at any point.

Online participation

A key approach to facilitate learning is to co-create content with the instructor and actively engage on an equal footing with others. As part of this model, please:

1. Author 7 new posts relevant to the class that are spaced evenly across the semester.
   • Do write about a paragraph. Don’t write more than that. The post should be readable in one ‘screen full.’
   • Do apply class concepts, terms, and theories.
   • Do ask questions, pose ideas, provide explanations and examples backed by careful analysis. Don’t post streams of consciousness or news releases.
   • Do provide insights or resources on how to solve class related problems.
   • Do include a picture or some kind of visual. It will grab the reader’s attention. You are more likely to get positive ratings and the maximum number of views. To add an image, use ImageInject, start a new post and scroll down until you see the ImageInject box.
   • Don’t post copyrighted material (it is acceptable to paraphrase the material and link to the original source).
   • Don’t wait till the end of term to start. You will not get the credit.
2. Comment on 7 existing posts to provide thoughtful critique or added insights.
   • Do respond to a discussion question with your own analysis.
   • Don’t agree (or disagree) without providing a reason.
   • Do provide additional examples to illustrate the post.
   • Do question the logic and analysis of the post.
3.  Rate all student posts and comments. All ratings are tracked by the instructor, you will remain anonymous to your colleagues.

Grading: At the end of the term the instructor will count and review every post, comment, and rating. About 1/4 of the grade is for meeting the quantity guidelines above. The remaining 3/4 grade is for quality of participation. Quality is judged by: 1. Number of views – the number of people that read your post or comment, 2. Ratings – the number of high ratings, and 3. Review by the instructor – the depth and insights of the post/comment.

How to post, comment, and rate

Getting access

• All students have ‘student’ level access to the class site. This means that you can post and edit new content on the class site.
• To confirm correct access, log-in to Community by clicking on log-in above and to the right (use the Temple Accessnet id and password).
• At the top of this site, you should see your name listed under Blog Authors. (if you don’t see your name, contact the instructor).

To add a new post

• Log-in to Community and navigate to the class site.
• At the top of the screen, hover over New and then click Post.
• Start typing your post.
• Use a descriptive title – this is important if you want to encourage people to read your post – think of a newspaper style headline.
• Select the Student category on the right (this will allow the instructor to find your posts later). Do not add new categories.
• Select or create new tags. Categories are for the kind of post you are making – tags are for the actual content of your post. They are similar to keywords. The tags are displayed in the “tag cloud”  – the more a tag is used the larger the word appears in the tag cloud. So it is useful if you pick existing tags.
• Tags are critical – we are using a very unstructured medium – they provide a way for others to find your content.
• When done, click Publish on the right hand side.

To edit a post

• Log-in to Community.
• Come back to the front end if you see the Dashboard by hovering over the name of the course at the top and then click Visit site.
• Find the post you want,  and click Edit next to your name.

To comment

• Log-in to Community.
• Come back to the front end if you see the Dashboard by hovering over the name of the course at the top and then click Visit site.
• Find the post you want to want to comment on, and click Leave a comment at the bottom of the post.

To rate

• Each post and comment on the site will have a rating bar underneath the post. Click the 10 point scale to rate.