Class Participation

As you will note on the syllabus for this course, 10 pecent of your grade
is based upon "Class Participation."  You might think that the format of
this course (with its distance ed structure of videotaped lectures and web
based material) would make class participation difficult.  However, it is
my hope and intent to actually make it more interactive than your typical
course.

The method I will be using to invoke this interactivity is the use of 
WebCT (Web Course Tools).  This on-line environment allows for several useful
functions: an on-line grade book where you can check your grades, and a
threaded discussion.  A threaded discussion is a discussion list that you
access periodically throughout the week, and it allow you to read how the
discussion is progressing and to post your thoughts.  Unlike a "chat room" it
is asynchronous -- which means not everybody has to be on-line at the same
time.

Thus, to this end, I will post issues, readings or other thought provoking ideas on
the Class WebCT site for you to react to.  I anticipate for these discussions to
commence the WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 9th and continue through the WEEK OF DECEMBER 9th
(A total of 13 weeks).  To receive full credit for "Class Participation," you must
post your thoughts at least TWICE/week to the issues at hand.  Thus, this would
necessitate a total of 26 responses/postings.

Your class discussion grade will thus consist of 2 components: 1) Your on-line
discussion will be graded on the thoughtfulness and value of your contribution.
2) I will "grade" the WebCT component on a percentage of the postings that you
actually make -- thus if you post 90% of the time (23 postings) you'll receive
an "A" for class participation, and so on. One posting can be a new "topic,
while the second should be a response to a previous posting made by a class member.
This is to encourage interactive discussions.  Think of this as mimicing a
roundtable discussion.

Your responses/postings must be somewhat well thought out and
significant.  They don't need to be particularly verbose, but rather
should be succinct and to the point.  In other words, just a "Sure I agree
with Susan's comments," is not sufficient.  Tell the class why you agree
with Susan's comments, and add some additional thoughts as well.

Two of the weekly assignments will actually take the form of posting
useful sites in lieu of discussion for the week.

System requirements are: a Pentium class computer with at least a 28.8
baud modem connection and Netscape or Internet Explorer 3.0 or above.

To enter the WebCT site for this course, you will first need to enter your login id (I
e-mail everyone instructions on this), followed by your password. The program should
recognize you and let you into the class environment.

Your first assignment -- for the week of 9/2 is to complete a profile of
yourself for the class.  I will e-mail detailed instructions for doing this
Off-campus students -- if you want,you can scan a picture and e-mail the
scan to me as an attachment (we're checking your technological prowess here!)
Please give plenty of information in your profile, to enable others in the
class to get to know you.  You can also change your password in your profile. 

Here is the link for WebCT:


WebCT