Discussion Journal Expectations
One day each week, you will be asked to respond to the discussion board and the question for the week. The question alludes to the readings and other pertinent information. Please read the question, then think about it before responding. Give yourself plenty of time to frame your response. In other words, do not sit down and spill your thoughts on the page. A well-written response will be anywhere between 400 to 600 words in length, which equates to one to two pages -- how could they be any less if you are truly following the prompt.
I would suggest that you prepare your response in your word processing program, then paste it into the discussion board after your have spell checked and proofed for errors.
Always respond to the week's thread rather than start a new one. To do so, click on the week's question in the top part of the screen. The question should appear in the bottom part of the screen.
Above the question a row of commands should be listed:
[home - contents - search - post - reply - next - previous - up] .
When you are ready to post your response, click on the reply button. If you have done this correctly, you will open a screen that says, Post Message, followed by a slot that states,
Subject:
RE: Week .... (this should be fill in for you if you have
completed this task correctly).
From: Jan -- jstrever@scc.spokane.edu
(please include both your name and your email address, so that I can award your points
accurately).
Comments: (you will paste your response here)
When you have finished your response, please add your name, then click on the post button. If you want to see your message, click on the refresh button on your web browser. Please click on the post button only once. Check it the next day and repost if it has not appeared by then--this is why it's important to write your journal on the word program. Also, be sure to make copies of the week's notes and final copy to include in your three clasp binder which I will collect at the end of the quarter.
Typed journal entries (TJEs) are given points rather than grades. A check (
) is worth 10 points, a
plus (+)=12 points, a plus-plus (++)=14 points, and a minus (-) will earn zero points,
check-minus (-) will
earn 7 points. You will receive points only if you respond within the allotted time
frame. You will have exactly one week to respond, from Sunday to the following
Saturday.
Journal Hints:
Read the question as
soon as they are posted;
put it in a little notebook, jot ideas, thoughts, quotations, news articles, etc., in
the notebook during the week;
on
Wednesday read through your ideas and write your response in your Word program;
save, reread, proof, then post;
be sure to include author, title and source if you choose to allude to other writers (as
you should at times);
take risks, be brave, use vocabulary that is exciting and lively--make us think about
what you say!