Discussion boards are the primary way in which we interact with one another throughout class. Although we are working from different times and places in this online course, we can still have an interesting and productive discussion about how the ideas from class operate in the world, and to share our diverse opinions about the topics.

Timeliness

• Discussion posts will not be accepted after the final posting date for the board under any circumstances. If you are not posting while others are also taking part in the board, it’s not a discussion.
• Expect to post to the board on at least 3 days of the week.

Posting

Each Discussion asks for two kinds of posts: (1) Initiative posts, in which you initiate conversation with peers by responding to the prompt and draw in examples to demonstrate course concepts; (2) Responsive posts, in which you keep the conversation going by substantively replying to what peers have said, drawing in new ideas, and answering questions. 

• Please aim to comment on posts that don't yet have responses - all posts that are up on time should have peer replies throughout the discussion period.
• Are there any points you need clarity on in others' posts? Help one another develop your analytic and explanatory skills, asking for more information where you need it. It's likely someone just needs to reveal their thinking a bit more to help you know how they got from point A to point B. A common place this happens is trying to explain how an example demonstrates a course concept. 
• Ask questions to engage with the ideas and one another, tying examples back to course ideas. 
• Reply to any questions asked of you, follow up with any you've asked, and generally continue the conversation by engaging with what's been added to the discussion on your threads and others'.  

Interactions

You do not have to agree with one another; engaging in an argument about ideas, backed by evidence, is encouraged, and often results in a more productive and introspective discussion. As much as I can possibly make it one, this is a safe place for discussion where disagreements and debate can be productive learning tools. I encourage you to present alternate viewpoints through thought-out arguments. The class is not a space of knee-jerk opinion, but of carefully considered thoughtful contributions. “Politeness” is not required, but disrespecting others’ contributions to the discussion will not be tolerated. If you are unsure how to respectfully disagree in relation to personally difficult topics, you are welcome to brainstorm with me first.

• Notice that one of the categories of the rubric is "community membership", in which points are earned for your ability to respectfully communicate across differences and make space for others' perspectives and identities. 

Citations

• If you mention something you learned from a source that isn't your own original thought, remember to link to the source or add a reference to it at the bottom of the post.  Ideally, cite sources with (Author Date, page) so you include all the information someone would need to find it again.  
• Not sure what to cite? Basically, any information that isn't common knowledge and didn't come from your own head. For instance, you don't need to cite that Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492, but you would need to cite talking about the atrocities he committed when arriving in what are now known as the Americas (Matthews, 2015). 
• Quotations, even from course materials need a page number included in the citation (unless they are from a web article, which does not have pages). Again, this allows someone interested to go find the source. 
• When you embed a photo or video, you need to credit it (photo credit: XXXX)

Technology Skills

Whenever possible, photos and Videos need to be embedded within a post, not attached as a file. YouTube videos can be directly embedded, videos from other sources can be added as active links. Any links included in posts or references lists need to be active. 

• Using the "text edit box", called the "Rich Content Editor"
• Directions to add photos to Canvas Discussion Posts. (Links to an external site.)
  • Embed the photo in the post, don't simply add it as an attachment. 
• Directions to embed YouTube videos within a Canvas Discussion Post.
• Directions to upload a saved video file into a Canvas Discussion Post.
• Directions to record and embed a video in a Discussion Post.

Post References