While your instructor will discuss key ideas and raise important issues, parts of this course will be guided by dialogue, discussion, and inquiry. Think about this course as a guided conversation that begins on the first day we meet and ends on the last scheduled day of class. For this learning experience to be beneficial and worthwhile to everyone, it is imperative that you read the assigned material, contribute to the discussions, and participate in all class activities, and in the blog space. Conversations and ideas develop best when everyone has read the assigned material, reflected on their relevance, and meaning, and\/or contributed to the class discussions and blogs. Participation should be thoughtful, meaningful, timely, and relevant. Participation should also provide active support to the learning community, by attempting to motivate contributions, acknowledging alternative viewpoints, and supporting others. And finally, although there are no assignments in this course other than Assignment 3 that require a blog, you are encourage to continue your dialogues and reflections with blog posts as part of your participation in the course and the community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In responding to your colleagues, you should feel free to suggest that they explore appropriate websites or resources to expand the discussion to a deeper level. However, please do ensure to provide explanations on why such resources are relevant and interesting to the rest of the class and provide an accurate reference to the resource. For example, the response \u201cIn the document that I am attaching, Jalin Scholar gives examples of cases where technology brings people closer together and argues that empathy matters more than technology\u201d is a much better response than \u201cPlease see the attached document for a different perspective.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In responding to others, strive to work towards a culture that is collaborative, respectful, encouraging, and supportive. You should be receptive to change and use conflict resolution techniques when required. Posts that show evidence of ongoing negative behavior, that impede the flow of discussion, and seem unaware of or uninterested in responding to others without being prompted degrade the learning experience and do not advance opportunities for everyone to learn from each other. Also, please consider how your contribution will advance and extend the discussion. For example, in your response, you can<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When responding to your classmates, you are expected to respond in ways that respect others\u2019 values, perspectives and world views.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this course, the contribution and participation grade is instructor-assessed based on evidence provided by your blogs, your comments on others blogs your active participation in the MACAL annual conference, and peer feedback as outlined in the course activities. Please see the Contribution Rubric<\/a> for guidance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n