Computers in the Classroom

Regular participation in the Discussion Forums in Blackboard and the Course Blog count toward the application project grade as well as class participation. Be sure to post to all the forums in this course, and do not delay, as you will find that the discussion boards will proceed in chronological order. If you do not join in early and return to a discussion board, it will be difficult to do well for this component of the course. You are expected to be on Blackboard Discussions Forums throughout the week, not just on one day. Participation during class time does not count toward the grade though feel free to post during class, as time permits. I will be checking to see if you are carrying on a discussion as opposed to just posting comments cumulative in succession within a matter of minutes. The point of a discussion board is to discuss with others, not to put out random posts that others may not read or may not respond to. You want to post in ways that encourage your peers to carry on conversations among classmates. As for the Course Blog, you should post at least once a week, and feel free to check the archives for older blogs. You need not post comments just about recent blogs. Many older blogs remain relevant to course content and your teaching needs; check them out, using the archive feature.

Grading Criteria

Your participation will be evaluated weekly and updates of your contributions grade will be emailed periodically throughout the course. You will be graded on the following:

· The minimum number of times between classes as outlined on the course schedule, which is usually twice weekly for Blackboard and once weekly for the Blog.

· Contributing in ways to initiate and sustain the conversations with others.

· In-depth nature of your contributions to the specific topic. Minimum postings such as short responses will not be calculated in your grade.