WHY WEBBOARD?
OBJECTIVES
WebBoard constitutes about 10 percent of the grade.
In the belief that writing and applying ideas is a critical part of the
educational experience, and because electronic media are rapidly becoming
the driving force of sharing ideas, the WebBoard component of the class has
several objectives:
1) To develop skills in written discussion of ideas
2) To enhance our critical thinking skills by moving beyond opinion and
provided instead reasoned positions
3) To develop self-directed learning skills in looking up information
and strengthening or changing our views as we process new information
4) To remember that GOOGLE IS OUR FRIEND
5) To learn from others and share ideas and information that builds on
class material
6) To engage others with different views in dialog in order to better
appreciate the complexity and nuances of our, and others' positions
7) To discuss material for which there may not have been time to develop
in class
8) To clarify concepts, ideas, and class material that might not be
clear
9) To learn independent thinking and how to substantiate our claims
10) To develop skills in asking and answering questions and in finding
information that we will use in our other classes and in future jobs
11) To provide the instructor information that can be used in class
to clarify issues and supplement lecture material
SOME TIPS FOR USING WEBBOARD
1) It's intended for discussion of class issues or other material that
builds on, or is related to, the course. This means that discussions
can bring in whatever ideas or issues that you want to discuss.
2) Although intended for class issues, there are topics or conferences
in which unrelated material can be discusses.
(NOTE: The main topics are called "conferences," and the
topics-within-topics are called "topics."). For example, the SOUND-OFF
conference is for discussion of anything you wish to discuss, whether
related to the class or not.
3) Discussion must be civil at all times.
4) You should be prepared to back up your claims. If challenged on
facts, use Google to back them up. WebBoard is intended to get us
looking into things (facts, beliefs) that we might take for granted, but
which might be backed up by data.
5) Right before logging off WebBoard, go to the top line of buttons
and click on "MARK READ." A screen will pop up that prompts you a second
time to "MARK ALL CONFERENCES AS READ?" Click on this. That way, the
next time you log in, you can click on the NEW MESSAGES link near the
top-left (at the top of the conference list) and will see only new
posts.
6) Click on the MORE button near the top and explore some of the
options
GRADING
1) There is no set number of posts required, but the expectation
is two or three a week. By "expectation" we mean the minimal amount
required.
2) HOWEVER: Quality counts more than quantity.
3) Quality posts include:
--engaging in susbstantive sustained discussion of issues
--asking strong questions that generate discussion
--providing substantive information in the form of data, links,
cites, or other material that provides reliable information
--catching the instructor in substantive errors of fact or
interpretation (you are encouraged to "catch the professor"
--Helping or mentoring others and contributings to others' issues
if they are getting stuck
4) You can see how many posts you have by clicking on MORE (on the line
of links near the top); Then click on SEARCH USERS; Then click on SEARCH
and scroll to the user you're looking for. It shows number of logins and
posts
If you have any questions, just email me: jthomas@math.niu.edu