Module 1 Discussion

Introductions

Introduction

Welcome to the class! It is important to feel engaged in this class – you shouldn’t feel isolated and alone at your computer. That is the purpose of these class discussions.

If you read the directions carefully, follow the listed suggestions, use proper grammar and spelling, make lots of meaningful replies, and post on time, you will have no trouble earning all of the required participation points in this class, and will likely earn lots of extra credit points, too!

For this discussion, you will write an intial post and reply to at least TWO of your classmates’ posts. Follow the guidelines for each posting below:

Basic Guidelines for Initial Post

(20 points, required)

Under the Discussion 1 topic, create a new thread. You need to include all of the following in your post:

1. Put your full name somewhere in the subject line. For example, you could write “Hello from so and so…”.
2. In the message box, start by telling us your preferred name, if you have one other than what the school assigned you, and let us know where you are currently located. It is fun to see who is located outside of Pima County, and it could help me to plan ahead for field trips.
3. Share with your instructor and fellow students why you are taking this class. Is it to fulfill your transfer or AGEC requirements, or the requirements of a particular program at this or another college? Explain. This information is particularly helpful to me in terms of future planning for this online course. If you are willing to share, I would also like to know why you chose this particular course and format (online), rather than enroll in a different one.
4. Tell us whatever else you want to share about yourself. You might consider including information about your major, current job, current classes, educational goals, family, recent accomplishments, etc. It is up to you what you want to include.
5. Talk about your experience with taking online classes. Is this your first online class, or have you taken many of them? If you are new to online, share your fears or reservations about this class format. If you have taken other online courses, please share your tips for success. What do you think are your personal challenges to success in this class?
6. Upload a picture of yourself. Be sure that it is large enough so that we can clearly see you, and tell us which person in the picture is you if there are multiple people shown. Being able to see what each other looks like will make us feel more like a community, and this class feel as much like a regular, face-to-face classroom as possible. Seeing each other helps a lot!

Basic Guidelines for Replies to Students

(10 points, required)

1. You are free to make replies to students with regard to either
   1. your own introductory post, or
   2. another student’s introduction (including mine).
2. Each reply must contain 6 or 7 meaningful sentences responding to a student’s post. Any encouraging phrases and support are welcome!
3. You must reply to at least 2 other students. (3, or more, for extra credit.)
4. If your replies are too short, you will need to make more than 2 replies to reach your full sentence count for the discussion (2 replies x 6 or 7 sentences each = 12-14 sentences required in each discussion).
5. Do not wait until the last day of the discussion to make your replies. You only receive credit for one reply (up to 10 points max) on the last day.
6. Reply early and often, and earning your full discussion points will be easy!

Extra Credit

(5 points, optional)

Make a third reply (or more!) to a student following the guidelines above.

Learning Outcomes

As a result of your participation in the discussion, you will be introduced to the other students in the course and your instructor. It will also give you a chance to evaluate yourself as an online learner, as well as an opportunity to share successful study tips with your fellow classmates.