Hi,
As mentioned in class, I’m going to be adding a little to your assignment load with an online discussion with Carol Osborne’s freshman students at Coastal Carolina University (http://www.coastal.edu/humanities/faculty/details.html?x=325) and Michael Stracco’s AP students at Benet Academy in Chicago (http://www.benet.org/Teachers/MStracco/index.html). Please read through the procedures below AND see if you have any problems or questions BEFORE we review it in class.
There
are 10 stories posted on Coastal Carolina University’s Blackboard site.
Because we’ve already read and discussed 2 of these, each of you have been
assigned one of the other 8, as follows:
Shiloh
- Lopez, Lukauskis, Nessim
Cathedral
- Spataro, Ventura
Gryphon - Calderon, C. Carvajal,
Correa
Doe
Season - Barberi, Caicedo
Seventeen Syllables - M. Carvajal,
Crespo, Escobar
The
Disappearance - Garces, Garcia, Joerns
And
of Clay We Are Created - Obando, Ortiz, Potes
Mad
Dog - Romero, Saavedra, Shiwa
You
need to go to Coastal Carolina University’s Blackboard site at http://www.coastal.edu/blackboard/
Click
“Login to Blackboard”
Here
you will want to run a Browser Check before logging in to make sure you have
the right java software. If not, you can download it and then continue. You
will also want to disable your popup blocker.
You
will also need a PDF reader (adobe) since the stories are in this format.
Once
your system is cleared with the Browser Check, login:
USERNAME:
First Initial of First Name+Complete Last Name+06 (dventura06, ccarvajal06,
jgarces06, etc, etc)
LOGIN:
cali106
Click
on FA08XENGL102CO
- ENGL 102-10-11-E2 Composition and Literature (COsborne) under Course
List (There’s only one listed)
On
the Home Page are links to the stories in PDF right at the top - Short
Stories for Online Discussion. Click this and find your assigned
story
PRINT
(my suggestion) and read your assigned story.
After
you’ve finished closely reading (a couple of times) and thinking about and
pondering deeply the short story, go back into Blackboard using the steps above
and from the Home Page, click on DISCUSSIONS in the menu on the left
under Course Tools.
Choose
the discussion named for the short story you’ve been assigned.
Once
you’re in the discussion board for your story, you can
Create
a new topic or thread. Click on “Create Message.” If you click
on this, a subject and a text box will appear. You should put a short phrase
that indicates the main focus of your post in the subject box and then write
your comments in the text box. When you have finished, you can either Preview
or Preview and then Post. (You have to Post to have the message
appear on the Discussion Board.)
Respond
to someone else’s comment or topic. Once someone has posted a topic
for discussion, that post, along with all the other topics, will be listed
below the Create Message button. You can EXPAND the threads
to see not only each topic but also the responses to that topic. If you
click on a topic, you can also see the message and the responses to that
message in a popup window by clicking on DISPLAY COMPLETE THREAD below
the original message. Once you’ve read these other comments and the
original post, you can add to the discussion by clicking the appropriate REPLY
button (depending upon which comment you want to reply to, either the original
message or someone else’s reply to that message) and composing your own
message.
What
are you required to do?
Obviously,
read the story and come up with some kind of analysis or insight. It doesn’t
have to be grandiose or even “correct”; the process of working with others in
your interpretation is what will lead to a greater understanding for
everyone. Just like we do in class…
You
should post AT LEAST one new topic/thread for discussion (one or two
paragraphs of interpretation) along with one or two questions you have to help
fine tune that interpretation (lingering doubts, aspects which don’t seem to
fit, etc). As part of this post, you should also introduce yourself
to the group in a paragraph before you write your interpretation. This
is due by Thursday, November 13.
You
need to read ALL the original topics and responses for your story and
respond to at least three. This is due by Sunday, November 16.
Finally,
you should read ALL the responses to your original message and offer
some kind of conclusion for that thread. This is due by Wednesday,
November 19.
That’s
a total of 5 posts AT MINIMUM. Blackboard offers instructors
the tools to see who’s logged in, for how long, what they did, etc, etc, so I
will be able to double check your activity.
What
will I do for you, since this wasn’t originally scheduled. It’s still
mandatory…
I’ll
postpone the formal essay due on November 16 until November 23 (even though
that means TWO essays will be due within three weeks of each other).
I’ll
count the online discussions as additional credit for classroom discussions.
I’ll
add up to three late days for those who go above and beyond the call of
duty. This means well-composed and thorough post, posting more than the
minimum, reading and participating in a second story, etc.
PLUS,
you can use the material from the online discussion to construct either your
current formal essay or your second quarter formal essay due before Christmas.
I want to have some clear parameters and goals for this opportunity, but I also want you to have some fun. Working with others should offer some insight into a different analytical process we don’t get in class. Also, getting to know Blackboard, which is the standard in most college courses now, will help you next year.
If you have any questions, please let me know. You can start any time!