Guidelines for eCompanion Discussion
Writing about what you read can be a valuable critical thinking tool. Responding in writing helps to clarify what you have learned about the topic and to identify what you still need to find out. Often you don’t really know exactly what you think about a topic until you sit down and try to put your ideas into words. The act of finding language for your thoughts helps you understand what you know and believe about the topic, especially if it is unfamiliar. To this end, you will participate in an online discussion in eCompanion, where you will post your response to what you have read. Your teacher will provide questions--or "prompts"--for you to guide you in your eCompanion writing each week. Your writing--or "posts"--may take many forms including:
In addition to posting your reaction to the readings or class discussions, your instructor may also ask you to respond-- or "reply"-- to your classmates. You will get to know your classmates better, learn from their perspectives on things, sharpen your own perspective, and become acquainted with a variety of writing styles.
It is important to the success of the online discussion that you post in a timely fashion so that your classmates have a chance to reply to your posts. For this reason, the deadline for posting will be Sunday evenings at 6 pm. You should plan to post and reply by this time in order to receive credit for your work.
A few hints to help you succeed in your posts include:
· Compose your thoughts offline first
· Post early in the week
· Post in paragraph form, not less than 100 words
· Reply on Friday or over the weekend
I look forward to reading your writing online, and expect that you will come to enjoy it!
Your teacher,
Prof Sucher