1. Not only respond to my start-up question, but carry on a dialogue with your classmates as well. This is one of the items that make a good online course and established community. If you only respond to my question it makes our discussion more of an “exam” rather than a dialogue.

2. Do not get caught up in “winning” the debate. We are here to learn the material, have fun, and to discuss matters of importance (at least I think so).

3. Read all postings from your classmates, not just those from the teacher. This will take time.

4. When in doubt, ask.  If you have questions over the reading material (or audios) ask those as soon as possible. These could be either things you do not understand, disagree with, or agree with.  This helps others learn from you.

5. When you reply to a post, don’t just say “I agree”. Give the person or persons name you are agreeing with, a brief, sentence or two summary of what they said you are agreeing with, and then your views. You might also consider changing the subject line to reflect your posts.

6.  Respond to my start-up question by the first deadline and then have at least one more response before the ending deadline.   Two responses is the minimum, but more are expected for a discussion grade above a “C”.   Responses posted after the session ends, do not count.   You should also plan on posting on more than one or even two days in order to allow yourself to stay involved with the class.

7. If you express an opinion support it with material from our readings, videos or audios if applicable. When you quote, summarize, or paraphrase from the readings be sure to give the page number(s) if possible– This is important!

8. If you do not actively participate in our class discussions you will be automatically withdrawn from the course.   This is not an online correspondence course so your active participation is required.

9.  See the Frequently Asked Questions document under Files in Canvas as well as Online Discussion: Grading for more specific instructions and guidelines.