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:

o Shiloh - Lopez, Lukauskis, Nessim

o Cathedral - Spataro, Ventura          

o Gryphon - Calderon, C. Carvajal, Correa      

o Doe Season - Barberi, Caicedo         

o Seventeen Syllables - M. Carvajal, Crespo, Escobar 

o The Disappearance - Garces, Garcia, Joerns

o And of Clay We Are Created - Obando, Ortiz, Potes

o 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”

o 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.

o 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:

o USERNAME: First Initial of First Name+Complete Last Name+06 (dventura06, ccarvajal06, jgarces06, etc, etc)

o 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

o 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.)

o 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?

o 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…

o 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.

o 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.

o 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…

o 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).

o I’ll count the online discussions as additional credit for classroom discussions.

o 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.

o 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!