Here are a few of the common reasons:
Your posts had a lot of misspelled words, poor grammar, misplaced punctuation, or no punctuation at all. You confused words like there, their and they're. You confused a possessive word (society's) with a plural word (societies.) These sorts of mistakes are just careless and indicate that you didn't proofread or spellcheck your post before you added it.
Your posts didn't add anything to the value of the discussion. You just agreed with someone else's response. You thanked another student for working a problem or answering a question the same way that you would have. You copied a link location without explaining why it was relevant to the conversation. You copied a solution from the ones that are posted in the course materials without discussing how you derived the solution, what alternatives might exist, how to use a spreadsheet to calculate the answer, or do anything besides showing you know how to copy and paste.
You waited until the last minute to add your posts. It's amazing to see how much is added to the discussion board after my last check on Sunday night! This class runs continuously throughout the week but many seem to think that the class is only available after 9:00 p.m. the day before assignments are due.
You raised a question for the class, or posted a solution, and started a conversation, but didn't follow up when you received a response. Of course, if you just participated at the last minute, no one had the time to consider what you added.
You repeated what had already been posted. Someone before you had answered a question, but since you didn't read their response, you went ahead and added nothing new and original.
You posted something based on hearsay and personal observation using emotional and illogical arguments that were not supported by logic and evidence.
You didn't do the minimum requirement! The minimum requirement is three postings that add value to the overall conversation. And, meeting the minimum requirement does not mean that you will earn the maximum grade. The grade for doing the minimum is 6 points out of 10. To earn more you need to add more than the minimum amount of value.
Your posts didn't add anything to the value of the discussion. You just agreed with someone else's response. You thanked another student for working a problem or answering a question the same way that you would have. You copied a link location without explaining why it was relevant to the conversation. You copied a solution from the ones that are posted in the course materials without discussing how you derived the solution, what alternatives might exist, how to use a spreadsheet to calculate the answer, or do anything besides showing you know how to copy and paste.
You waited until the last minute to add your posts. It's amazing to see how much is added to the discussion board after my last check on Sunday night! This class runs continuously throughout the week but many seem to think that the class is only available after 9:00 p.m. the day before assignments are due.
You raised a question for the class, or posted a solution, and started a conversation, but didn't follow up when you received a response. Of course, if you just participated at the last minute, no one had the time to consider what you added.
You repeated what had already been posted. Someone before you had answered a question, but since you didn't read their response, you went ahead and added nothing new and original.
You posted something based on hearsay and personal observation using emotional and illogical arguments that were not supported by logic and evidence.
You didn't do the minimum requirement! The minimum requirement is three postings that add value to the overall conversation. And, meeting the minimum requirement does not mean that you will earn the maximum grade. The grade for doing the minimum is 6 points out of 10. To earn more you need to add more than the minimum amount of value.
1 comment:
Hear! Hear!
I use four criteria:
--25% Engagement—How active were you
--35% Understanding—Did you actively demonstrate your grasp of the argument being made in the readings
--30% Critical Thinking—Did you venture a well-supported critical response to the readings (note: this is more than the expression of an opinion and provision of a few undeveloped examples)
--10% Fit-and-Finish—Was your writing clear, organized, and logical with correct spelling and grammar
Then I spend time giving them verbal feedback (via mp3) on each of these aspects. For the most part my students seem to be taking this seriously although that does not translate into early instead of last-minute participation.
-R
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