Evaluation:  How Discussion Forum Posts are Graded.

A Primary Post is your direct response to a class activity discussion prompt. You click on 'Start a new thread' and share your thoughts.  You are expected to make a Primary Post for most required weekly activities.

A Secondary Response is a post made in reply to your colleague's thoughts.  This kind of reply is vital to the development of online community and our sense of collaborative interdependence.  You are encouraged to respond to your colleagues, but you are not required to respond for grading purposes unless a secondary response is specified in the prompt .  Grades will be based on Primary Posts responding to weekly class activities.

A Simple Rubric for Evaluating Primary Posts

Outstanding (Full Credit ): A clear and articulate statement or question that amplifies or advances the discussion. The post is 'on topic' and tends to deepen the discussion by prompting critical thinking and further discussion*.  A post that summarizes and clarifies the thinking of the group is also acceptable.  (* It is the content of the post, rather than the number of responses that it sparks that is assessed. *) 

Supportive (Half Credit): A primary post that simply agrees with a previous statement.  This type of response is sometimes called a 'Me Too!' response. 

Off Topic or Missing (No Credit 0 points ):  Posts that do not relate to the discussion will not receive credit.  Additionally if you miss a required post, you receive no credit.

Optional Posts:  Optional posts are not graded.  Optional activities should be addressed after the weekly requirements have been met.  Optional activities are designed to enhance community and deepen the learning environment.  They also serve to provide flexibility and help to differentiate the learning environment for learner's needs.

Posting Tactics

You are expected to make a Primary Post (you start a new thread for your thoughts) in response to the required weekly activities. It is common for new online learners to feel that everything has already been said.  This is particularly true for those who post later in the week after reading all of their colleagues' messages.  Common ideas and themes are to be expected.  It is assumed that your post will sometimes say much the same thing as another post in the Discussion Forum - don't let this concern you. 

If you find this, 'It's already been said' feeling to be inhibiting, consider approaching the Discussion Forum in a different way.

Consider posting your work before you begin reading or replying to others.  As you work through the weekly activities, compose your posts offline using a wordprocessor.  When you login, start a new thread, and copy and paste your work into the message box before reading and replying to the other messages in the Discussion Forum.

Alternately, you can also read your colleague's messages before you post your own thoughts and incorporate their thinking in your own work.  Sometimes summarizing the main ideas of the Discussion will help you clarify and define your own thinking.  This kind of synthesis often creates an Outstanding and valuable post.