Welcome to the Class Blog

 First of all, "Thanks" in advance for using this class blog as an online forum to openly discuss your ideas about what we've read and learned in class.

With that being said, here's a list of friendly reminders:

1. Keep it academic. Think of this site as an extension of the classroom. Obviously, you should aim to communicate as intelligently as possible. You should be using (or at least trying to) academic vocabulary that is used in class. (You know, words that are usually reserved for English class.)

Be sure that if someone disagrees with you, or vice versa, you keep your cool. It's OK to respectfully disagree. In fact, that's how a lot of real thinking and learning happens. It's the way you frame your argument that will reflect the kind of person you are. One of the reasons I'm having you do this is because knowing how to communicate well online is an increasingly necessary skill. If you start now, your college professors will be so impressed, trust me.

 2. There are no right or wrong answers - only levels of thought based on text. If you can give enough text evidence to prove your point well, then you're golden. Clearly, having a point of view is of the utmost necessity, first and foremost.

3. You don't have to answer each part of every question - just be in tune with the spirit of it. One question might have 5 parts that are all connected by one idea. Address that idea, use your evidence, and that's that. Remember, everyone MUST address my discussion question first before responding to a peer.

4. Keeping the conversation going is a part of this activity. You're required to thoughtfully respond to at least 1 other student. It will also boost your score if you bring others in. For example, you've just made a bombastic point about something really awesomely smart. (Go, you!) Now, you can choose to:

• ask another academically-related question for peer response <-- But don't do this if you HAVEN'T ANSWERED MY QUESTION FIRST.
• ask another peer to directly respond to you <-- Be sure it's NOT a "Yes" or "No" question. They MUST show critical thinking and use text evidence.

5. Avoid encouraging a one-on-one conversation that excludes others. Basically, this is rule #4 in reverse. If you've ever participated in a Socratic seminar, you know this is a "No-no."

6. Read your rubric. You don't want to get surprised when you check OnCourse later to discover that you didn't quite earn the score that you had anticipated.