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require removing the disrespectful student(s) from the class altogether, in which case those students
will be required to receive administrative consent before returning.
Threaded Discussions:
To receive full credit for a discussion post, a student will do the following:
Respond and fully address the initial question; reply with a substantive post to two or more peers and
follows up on questions asked of you while the discussion is current according to the weekly
schedule.
Note:
A substantive reply is one that acknowledges what peers have said, expands on what
was said, asks questions, or otherwise re-engages and expands the discussion.
Formatting Assignments:
The body text of all assignments will be formatted in double-spaced,
Times New Roman, 12-point font, on a page setup with one inch margins on every side. Always
include your name, my name, assignment name, and due date in the upper left hand corner. If you
make your fonts or your margins bigger, I can tell. Don’t do it -- it makes you look lazy and silly.
Netiquette:
Communication in an online environment can be tricky because physical cues and
auditory cues like intonation and loudness to help us decipher the communicator's meaning and intent
are absent. Violation(s) of the netiquette policy may result in being removed from the course. Given
that we only have the written word to determine a communicator's intent, here are some guidelines to
keep in mind when communicating with the instructor or other students (such as posts on the
discussion board):
•
When you are posting comments on the discussion board, remember that you are addressing
the class as a whole, not just the instructor, so do not say anything that you would not say
publicly.
•
Read your messages before you send them.
•
Avoid using ALL CAPITAL LETTERS BECAUSE MOST PEOPLE INTERPRET ALL
CAPITAL LETTERS AS SHOUTING.
•
Online discussions can be rather informal, but try to express yourself using proper spelling,
capitalization, grammar, and punctuation so that your message can be clearly understood.
•
Do not use text and chat abbreviations (e.g., OMG, BTW) because not everyone will know
these abbreviations.
•
Always respond to other people respectfully; do not attack.
•
Avoid offensive language because as a college student you should be learning to express
yourself more eloquently than the average person.
•
Do not make discriminatory or hurtful comments about anyone based upon race, sex, gender
identity, disability, religion, and sexual orientation. Remember, we live in a world that has a
lot of diversity of beliefs and customs.
•
Be careful when using humor and sarcasm because humor is highly subjective. Consider
using emoticons {e.g., :) ;-) :-0 } if you are not sure whether the reader will know you are
making a joke. Humorous comments are a great way to help people get to know you, but
again, carefully scrutinize the comments you make; many psychologists argue that most
humor is a form of aggression because there is typically a victim in a joke. (If you doubt this
viewpoint, watch a stand-up comedian on TV or the internet and you will notice that there is
typically a victim, i.e. a blonde, redneck, etc., in the jokes; sometimes the victim is the
comedian him-/herself.)
•
When you send an e-mail message, make sure that the subject line accurately describes what
the message is about.