Discussion Group Participation Criteria

Every module you will receive up to 50 marks based upon your participation in the module's discussion group in FirstClass. This participation is in addition to any regularly assigned discussion group paragraphs that may be assigned in the module. The participation mark is assigned to voluntary questions, responses, observations and personal reflections that you post to the discussion group. So, start a discussion (via New Message) or join one that is already under way (via Reply); the more you participate, the more we will learn and the more we will get to know each other. An active discussion group creates a community of learners! Hopefully, you will greatly exceed the minimum requirements below.

Quantity - At least five discussion questions and/or responses (your choice):

• responding to one of my voluntary questions
• responding to another student's paragraph
• responding to another person's response
• creating your own question
• discussing a personal observation or reflection
• five responses/questions x4 marks each = 20 marks maximum

Title - All questions and/or responses must contain a short but meaningful title in the Subject column:

• each title approximately 3 to 7 words long
• it clearly indicates the topic of your question/response
• it is properly and tactfully worded
• it must have an original title and avoid, if applicable, the automatic reply of "re:..."

Quality - All questions and/or responses must exhibit the following qualities:

• each question/response must be at least 2 (full) sentences long and a maximum of 15 sentences, even if you're just posting a question
• questions/responses must show evidence, examples or other reasoning, and not just opinion; questions should be prefaced with an explanation or context
• questions/responses must be thoughtful and relevant to the module in question
• even though it's e-mail, your writing should be as formal as possible, and should avoid improper spelling, punctuation and grammar

All responses must be tactful and respectful of other people's opinions!