BlackBoard discussion forum Foss S11

Return to ENGL 335B, British Romantic Literature.

BlackBoard discussion forum
As I mentioned on the syllabus, you will have the opportunity to supplement your in-class participation with extra-credit posts on a Blackboard discussion forum. I will demonstrate how to submit a post in a few minutes if anyone needs me to do so. What I want to cover on this handout is the what rather than the how of this means of participation (with the help of material I am stealing, with permission, from Professor McAllister).

For this forum, many posts hopefully will be substantive and thoughtful, but short questions and comments are very welcome as well (just, of course, not weighted equally with longer posts). Quality definitely counts over quantity, however; you should have something interesting to say and you should think carefully about it. Don't B. S.

Try different post types. For instance, (1) add to an idea raised in class or on the forum, (2) disagree or point out a problem with an idea raised in class or on the forum, (3) ask an interesting question, (4) analyze a short section of the text carefully, explaining why you think it's worth the attention, (5) raise an issue no one has talked about yet, (6) try to provoke a friendly argument (7) compare two things we've read, and/or (8) point out an interesting detail in a text and talk about what it might mean.

Compose your postings in a word processing file and then cut and paste. This will prevent a Blackboard crash from erasing your message. It also allows you to spell-check and fix grammatical mistakes. Label each post with a clear subject heading. Start a new thread if no one has written about your topic; otherwise, post your comment as a reply. (Doing otherwise implies that you didn't bother to read other people's posts, and it leads to a disorganized forum.)

Above all, this is your forum. I want you to direct your questions and comments to your fellow students rather than to me. I usually only will jump in to clear up what appear to be misunderstandings--and when I do join the discussion, it will not be to shoot down individual postings. I intend to step in only when a particular idea has become a line of discussion on a number of posts and it seems some forum members actually may be confusing/misleading others. So, you should understand that this is a subjective forum and that therefore I do not want to squelch participation by correcting every little error or disputing every interpretation I find unconvincing. It is part of your job as a reader of the forum to make your own evaluative decisions about (and, of course, if you wish, to respond to) the comments that are posted.