Blog ground rules

Blogging Guidelines:

Blog assignments:  Entries will be posted by students in the class page on Blackboard every two weeks or so on readings or lecture topics chosen by the student. These entries are not reading summaries but will demonstrate the extent to which the student is engaging thoughtfully with the materials presented in class. Each entry will be 700 words (about 2 regular pages double-spaced) in length minimum.

Blog Responses: After each round of blogs is posted, students must respond to blog posts by 2 other students (total responses = 12).  Responses must be 1-2 paragraphs in length minimum and must be constructive and analytical. The goal of responses must be to add to the original post in a way that adds to our understanding. Students may respond to a blog response on one of their own posts, and/or engage with other commentators.

Exchanges which are identified as worthwhile (by the students) will be given extra-credit points.

Hostile, or non-constructive responses will immediately be deleted by the moderator.

IMPORTANT:  Write your blog post in a word-processor program BEFORE you load it onto the website.  Otherwise you run the risk of the website crashing and taking your post with it.  This is very frustrating and can lead to all manner of bad language.

Other tips:

1. Try to read the source you choose actively.  Ask yourself the following questions: Who are the people involved here.  What issues does this address directly? What historical or political issues are being drawn upon here by the author of the piece or by the people who the author is referencing?  What are the other issues this raises that people are NOT directly addressing?  Don’t worry if you aren’t able to come up with the “right” answers initially:  If everyone were able to do this well, it wouldn’t be a class. Instead

2. This means reading the article or piece you have chosen for each blog session at least twice. Once to get the overall idea and then again more carefully bearing the discussion questions in mind.  THERE ARE NO SHORTCUTS. You may think you can speed read your way through all these articles but you cannot speed read for substantial content.

3. Respond carefully to your classmates’ emails.  Say why you agree or disagree with someone’s interpretation of the reading.  Don’t just say “I don’t agree” or –even worse “you suck”.  The goal of any email exchange should be to increase the knowledge flow and give people a chance to discuss WHY they disagree with one another.  This is not the same thing as shouting one another down or trying to score points off one another.

4.  Be respectful of other people’s opinions. It’s easy to get caught up in your own opinions online and sometimes it’s tempting to put other people down in a way that you wouldn’t if you had to talk to them face to face.  Bottom line is, if you wouldn’t say it to someone face to face, then don’t say it online.  This is really very close to point 3 but I thought it was worth saying again.

I will be monitoring the discussions very closely so anyone who flames others or who acts in a way that is disrespectful of others will draw a reaction from me.  

This is not to say that you cannot express your opinions, but that you have to be able  to phrase them in a way that is an accurate reflection of how you feel, why you feel this way and with an eye to treating other people with respect.  A good illustration of this dynamic in action can be found at

http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2011/09/unemployment-math/244907/

You don’t need to focus on the math itself.  The tone of the discussion is the most important part of the thread to pay attention to.

5.  Be ready to take the discussion beyond one response and one response to a response if you think something needs to be clarified or explored in conversation with someone else. 

Referencing:

You don’t have to have a bibliography in your post, but do refer to the sources you use in such a way as to allow your reader to identify what it is. 

E.g. “In a recent post on the  “Indian Country Today” website, …”  or “I like what Sissons says in chapter 4 where ...” or “ In class yesterday you said …” or “This is confusing because in Trask’s article “Lovely Hula Hands” she says …”

Remember, a good conversation will only start if there is a good base to draw upon.