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Eng  2 23 5 Specific D2L Directions                 Introduction Basics--How To Do the Weekly Messages Talking as an Academic Community               Questions for Set "A--Readings" Questions for Set "B--General" FAQ's--Frequently Asked   Questions                                           Introduction  (1-10)           Because we have few meetings in person, the discussion boards replace class attendance.  You generally must attend two discussion boards per week, with two messages of 200+ w. each (which makes a weekly grand total of 4 messages and 800+ w. per week).  In these discussion boards, you will use "prompts" (questions) to write half of your messages each week - about the readings and about general matters concerning our course.  The other half of your messages will be responses to other students.  Full instructions are below.      What are discussion boards? Discussion boards also are known as bulletin boards (or "BB's").  They are online pages for posting messages to all others in the class, and for reading their messages.  When you post messages in a discussion board, it is like putting up a message on a corkboard: usually people are not online at the same time.  Instead, you post messages whenever you want-- and read them w  whenever you want-- like you would add a message on a corkboard or refrigerator.  Please start with the "Introduction," below, and then go to "Signing Up."        How do you sign up?  If you have registered for the course, you are already signed up.     How do you start? (1) Start by going to the IHCC D2L web site and sign in:  The web site is at                 https://inverhills.ims.mnscu.edu/shared/login/index.htm       To sign in, you'll need your Tech ID # (e.g., 00001234) and your IHCC password.  If you do not know what these are, there are instructions on the sign-in page to help you.       (2) After you've signed in, find the name of our class and click on it.      (3) Once you are in our class's D2L web site, click on "Discussions" (just below the IHCC logo and name).     (4) Then the D2L page directs you back to this web page to read the instructions below.  You may want to create two windows to do it easily: one window for these instructions and one for the D2L page.         (5) Once you've read these instructions, then on the D2L page, scroll down to the beginning: "Week 1," "Week 2," etc. What is the due date for each week's discussion boards?  It is Thursday midnight.  In actual practice, I accept whatever discussion-board messages and email homework I find when I look at them.  I look at them once a week sometime between Fri. noon and Sunday evening.    How long is discussion-board class supposed to take?  The length of each bulletin-board class is supposed to be about the same as a regular class in a building.  However, I am unable to determine your BB attendance time by the clock.  Instead, I determine it by how many words you write--the length of your bulletin-board messages.  Each message must be 200+ words, and there are two to four messages to write each week.       How can you make up late discussion boards?  Please send discussion board (bulletin board or "BB") make ups by following these three steps: Add the messages you need to the real BBs in the week(s) you need them.   Then copy just your own messages (not other people's), box and all (or as much of the box as you can get copied: i.e., all the info in the box).  (Why?  This is so I can see that you have put each message on the BBs before sending them to me.)   Then paste each message into an email and send the email to me, with the proper heading or note at the beginning telling me what it is you are sending, who you are, what week it is for, etc.  In the subject line, tell me why I'm getting the email.  (See "2" below for what to put in the subject line.) Please send everything in-text--in the text of your email itself--not attached (unless otherwise instructed). That means you should simply write them as an email message or, if you already have them on a word processing file, you should use your mouse and your "Edit" function to mark, then "Copy," and then "Paste" them into a regular email message.        Return to top.                            BASICS--HOW TO DO THE WEEKLY MESSAGES (1-10) GENERAL DIRECTIONS FOR HOW TO DO EACH BB IN ENG 2235 (1-10) THE BASICS:  There are usually two required BB sessions or "sets" each week (sometimes just one), Set "A" and Set "B," and each set has 3 steps: (Step 1) On this web page, read the "QUESTIONS" (either for Set "A" or Set "B," depending on which one you are about to do); then go to the current week and the set (set "A" or set "B"), find and open the earliest ("Oldest") email--the first one from me--and then click on "Compose" in it to answer one or more of the questions for at least 200 words.    (Step 2) In the same week and set, skim others' messages; then compose a message to at least 3 other people in ONE message of your own (not in three separate messages, but rather in just ONE message with your responses to three people in that one message), for a total of 200 words or more for all three responses in the message.    (Step 3) Then go back to the previous week to skim the message that others wrote in response to you or after you.    (Step 4: If after completing the above, you need to add more words because your responses do not total 400+ w., you may do a "Step 4": simply go to your message that is too short and "Edit" it.) Here is a more detailed description of these three steps: LONGER DETAILS: Step 1--ANSWER QUESTIONS: First, review the questions on this web page for Set "A" or Set "B."  Read the questions and choose one or more to answer.  Second, open the week and set ("A" or "B") that you want to do in D2L.  In the majority of weeks, you should do both "A" and "B."  Third, find the earliest message--the oldest, starting message--from me.  Depending on how you have your D2L set, you may have to scroll down to the very bottom of the messages to find the oldest one.  Or you can set the order near the top, changing it from "most recent first" to "oldest first."   Fourth, open that message from me, and then click on "Compose" in the upper-left corner to write your own first message.  Then start your message by discussing one or more of the questions you chose.  You can remember the questions by going back and forth between the two web pages (this one and the D2L web page), or by copying your questions to your message's beginning using "copy-paste."  Fifth, answer one or more of the questions. Be sure to write at least 200 words in each message, or you won't get credit for the message.  Sixth, mark your entire message and choose a font style and font size for it: make sure it is at least 10 point so it can be easily read by others. Hint: If you have trouble finding my beginning message, you may have to reset "20 per page" on the top right side to "50 per page." ----- Step 2--RESPOND TO 3 PEOPLE: Then, each week and set in the same set of messages, you also should skim other people's messages to see what they have said.  Once you've done that, then "compose" a response to three or more of them in just ONE message (but do not reply three times in three separate messages - just write your responses to all three people in ONE message).  If there aren't three people on the BB, yet, then you may also reply to yourself.)   In other words, start your second message simply by reading several or more of any of the messages from others.  As you read, use a separate piece of paper (or a Word doc) to write the first name of each person to whom you want to respond, along with a few notes about what you want to say.  Then, to start your own message, click on "Compose."  Please remember to respond to at least 3 different people, and to do it in just ONE message (not three).  And as you write your message to the three people, please tell us all who they are: for example, write "To Josephine:", "To Jack:", "To Moua:", etc.  Then after each, write your individual response to that person.  Be sure to write at least 200 words in each message, or you won't get credit for the message.  While creativity is not a requirement, the more original you are in your response (rather than just saying, for 200+ w., "Cool, I agree, That's what I think," etc.), the more enjoyable you will find using the discussion boards, and the more interesting the discussion boards will be to others, as well.  Remember that it is fine to disagree as long as you do so respectfully and in a caring way.  If you are disagreeing with someone, it is especially important to reread what you have said to see whether it sounds warm and respectful--and if not, then you should revise it.  A few ways to state your own thoughts are to suggest another way of thinking: "I also think," "Another thing to add to this is...," "I agree but believe, too, that...," etc. Hints: (1) If you have trouble seeing all the messages, you may have to reset "20 per page" on the top right side to "50 per page."            (2) Remember that if there aren't 3 people on the BB, yet, you may also reply to yourself. ----- Step 3--READ AN OLDER WEEK : And finally, you may want to go back briefly to the most recent older week that that set of the bulletin board class was held; then read what people said in their answers and in their replies to you and others. ----- Note 1: The total number of messages you write in the current week usually will be four, each of them 200+ words in length.  This means a grand total in a typical week of 800+ words and four messages.  In a few weeks, there will just be two messages (and a grand total of 400+ words) to write.  And in some weeks, there will be nothing to write.  Note 2: If you are a beginner at bulletin boards, I strongly recommend that you keep these directions up on a separate web page all the time, ready to access, during your first several weeks on the discussion boards. If you run into problems, check the "FAQs" section on this page.  It can be very helpful for basic, common questions.  If you read the FAQ's and can't get an answer, please do give me a call (612-870-7024) or send me an email at richard@jewell.net. Return to top.                            WEEKLY QUESTIONS FOR SET "A--READINGS"  (1-09)   THE QUESTIONS FOR SET "A--READINGS" RESPONSES EACH WEEK Each week you should answer both set "A" and set "B" questions.  Here are the set "A" questions, below.  (Unless otherwise noted, do a total of 4 messages per week and 800+ words.) Set "A" (Questions about Readings): Answer one or more of these questions each week in the set "A" bulletin board for that week, 200+ w.; then respond to one or more other people's comments for 200+ w. (2 messages & 400+ w. total in "A"--for more details, see "How To Do A Wk." in the left-hand column):   Please pick out specific points or parts of the reading to use as starting points or examples:  What moved you most, positively/negatively, about this week's readings, and why/how?              How do the readings (or parts within them) compare/contrast to each other (and/or to past readings)?                    What are some of the meanings you got out of this or last week's readings and how/why, or what do you think the author(s) may have been thinking or feeling, consciously or unconsciously, as they wrote?                  How/why, in your opinion, might these readings affect or change other people/society?               What lessons about life, if any, do the readings suggest?          What makes them particularly or especially "mythic"--either in some way that Joseph Campbell means it or in some way that you think or feel it?                    What other responses/thoughts about the readings do you have? Return to top.                            WEEKLY QUESTIONS FOR SET "B--ANYTHING" (1-09)   THE QUESTIONS FOR SET "B--GENERAL" RESPONSES EACH WEEK              Each week you should answer both set "A" and set "B" questions (unless told otherwise).  Here are the set "B" questions, below.  (Unless otherwise noted, do a total of 4 messages per week and 800+ words.) Set "B" (General Questions): Answer one or more of these questions each week in the set "B" bulletin board for that week, 200+ w.; then respond to one or more other people's comments for 200+ w. (2 messages & 400+ w. total in "B"--for more details, see "How To Do A Wk." in the left-hand column):   (At the beginning of class & possibly in the last few weeks:) How would you define "myth," "mythology," and/or "literature?"  What do literature and mythology mean to you now, and why/how?             How would you compare and/or contrast something in a recent week's assigned readings (in this course) to other literature you've read, seen, or heard in the past?              If we (or you alone) recently went to a museum or literary play or saw a literary TV program or video, what were the best and worst parts of it and why/how?  More on a play, program, or video:  Why is the play "mythic" and/or how does it contain "myth"?  How does it compare/contrast to other reading assignments in this class?  What are one or two things Joseph Campbell might have to say about the play?  How does it compare/contrast to other myths you've read or seen?  What was the "moral of the story"--the "lesson"--of this play?  What do such "lessons" have to do with myth?  What questions do you have about the play that you're hoping others might be able to answer?           What is an important myth that you have learned from the course readings, and why/how would you apply it to life?          How would you compare/contrast any of your readings for this class with seeing them in plays, videos, or museum art, and what conclusions can you draw about the value of and/or problems with each way of experiencing myth? How else can myth be experienced?              How do mythology and culture intertwine, one creating or following the other, and what examples from this class can you find for what you say?           (In or near Week 10:) What questions would you like to ask others in the class about the term paper (please read about it in the course Web site, first)?     (Near the end of class:) What has this class meant to you, what worked and didn't work, what did you get out of it, and/or how will it affect you in your future? Return to top.                              TALKING AS AN ACADEMIC COMMUNITY (1-09)    www.umn.edu/home/jewel001/AcademicCommunity.htm              Dear members of the class,             Good academic behavior on the bulletin boards is like good academic behavior in a physical classroom.  Sometimes people writing bulletin board messages forget this, but it is of great importance.  To make these boards work well for everyone, we must treat each other with respect, caring, and balance.              There is also a tendency sometimes for people to think that bulletin boards are a place to complain--to or about each other, the assignments, or even unrelated events--but they are not.  Rather, the bulletin boards are a place--as in a regular classroom--to stick to the topics at hand.          If you have a problem with someone in class or feel you have been unfairly treated or hurt by someone on the bulletin board or elsewhere, let me know, but do it by email, phone, or in person.  If you have a question about why the class is being run the way it is, then keep it at that simple level--a polite question--and ask me privately--again by email, phone, or in person.  This is only good academic ethics and polite behavior, just as in a regular, physical classroom at school.            Please do not use the bulletin boards as a place for emotional disagreements.  In particular, be careful of the words you use and how you put them together in sentences, as they might have an emotional message that you did not intend.  Reread what you've written before sending it.  Show respect to other students and to me.  Stick to the topic, and try to be kind to others.  And be willing to disagree with each other as long as you do so respectfully in a balanced, caring way.           Please read a longer statement, "Talking as an Academic Community," by clicking here on www.umn.edu/home/jewel001/AcademicCommunity.htm.           You also can find it by going to the home page of the course Web site, and then to the "Bulletin Boards" section.           I appreciate your serious attention to this matter.            Sincerely, Richard Jewell                 Return to top.                    FAQ'S--FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS   Here are the questions.  To see answers, scroll down. (12-08)   A-1. WHAT IF YOU DID BB (Bulletin/Discussion Board) CLASS, BUT YOUR MESSAGE NEVER APPEARED ON THE BB? A-2. HOW CAN YOU WRITE THE MESSAGES LATE AND STILL GET CREDIT? B. WHAT IF THE ATTENDANCE RECORD SAYS YOU MISSED BB CLASS (or only got 1/2 credit), BUT YOU THINK YOU DID IT? C. WHAT ARE THE STEPS FOR CHECKING MESSAGES ON A BB? D. WHY DON'T I JUST CHECK THE BB MESSAGES FOR YOU? E. IS IT OKAY TO DO BBs AHEAD OF TIME? F. WHY ALL OF THIS ONLINE STUFF? G. HOW DO YOU FIND THE HOME PAGE IF "www.Richard.Jewell.net" IS DOWN? H. WHY AREN'T WE USING D2L (Desire To Learn)? I. HOW IS BB CLASS TIME COUNTED? J. CAN YOU COPY YOUR HOMEWORK AND PASTE IT INTO THE BB OR VICE VERSA? K. WHY ARE ALL THE INSTRUCTIONS AND WEEKLY QUESTIONS ON A SEPARATE WEB PAGE?   ----------   A-1. WHAT IF YOU DID BB CLASS, BUT YOUR MESSAGE NEVER APPEARED ON THE BB? (1-10) First, check the bulletin board to see if your message is missing (see question "C." below).  If it is, there are three possibilities: (1) Did you remember, after writing your message, to click on the "post" button? (2) After sending your message, did you then keep the bulletin board open and running, doing nothing else on it, until you actually saw your message appear on the BB at the bottom? (3) Did you accidentally put your message on the wrong BB, week, or wrong course?    If you're having trouble with the BB, it may pay to write your message on MS Word first, save your copy, and then paste it into the BB message box.   If you do this, be sure to mark your entire message and then choose a font style and a "10" or "12" font size for it so it is easily readable to others. A-2. HOW CAN YOU WRITE THE MESSAGES LATE AND STILL GET FULL CREDIT? (1-10) You can always get full credit.  Simply do anything missing.  Then give it to me.  To show it to me, follow these instructions: (a) Write what is missing on the BB itself so others can see it.  (Do not just give the messages to me alone.) (b) Copy BOTH OR ALL of your own messages from that week or set so that I can see that you have done everything due on that BB.  Copy them BOXES AND ALL: this is so I can see they come from the BB. (c) Paste them into an email and send it to me, labeled in the "subject" line as what it is--BB & week number.  B. WHAT IF THE ATTENDANCE RECORD SAYS YOU MISSED BB CLASS (or only got 1/2 credit), BUT YOU THINK YOU DID IT? (2-07) For starters, relax.  You can always get full credit--see the answer above for "A-2."  If you think you did do the BB but didn't get credit, read the rest of the answer below, first, before trying to take care of the problem.  First, here's how the BB attendance credit works. A "0" means I didn't see any messages from you at all (see "A-1." above). A "\" or "/" means I saw just one message, or one of your messages was too short.   An "X" (or, in fully-online classes, a "\/")   means I saw two messages and gave full credit. Second, what if you only got 1/2 credit (or no credit) and don't understand why? There are several things to check before asking me: I only record the "Attendance Record" once per week.  Check the date at the top.  If you sent me something on or after that date, it probably won't be recorded for another week.  If the date you see is more than 7-8 days old, you may need to click on the "refresh/reload" button on your computer screen—the button at the top that has one or two arrows in a half circle or full circle (depending on whether you use Explorer or Netscape).  Just click on it and see if a newer version--with a more recent date--appears.  (Or instead, you may click on "View" and then "Refresh" or "Reload.") If you got a "\" or "/," did you only write one message (two are required)?  Or was one of them too short (200+ w. are required.  You can add more and still get full credit—see "A-2." above. Did I accidentally forget to give you credit?  You can add more and still get full credit—see "A-2." above. C. WHAT ARE THE STEPS FOR CHECKING MESSAGES ON A BULLETIN BOARD? (12-08) To check on your messages, (a) click on the week's bulletin board. (b) Then look at the list of all the people who have sent messages. (c) Your name should appear twice on this list, along with the time you posted your messages. (d) Next, check your word count. Is it about 200+ words for each of the messages? If it is, print it out right then. (e) Then click in the left column on the week number again, look at the list of names, and click on your second message. Check its length, too. If you're going to ask me to give you additional credit, print out this message, too. D. WHY DON'T I JUST CHECK THE BULLETIN BOARD MESSAGES FOR YOU? (2-07) I, like you, only go on the BBs once a week.  For each additional message beyond that, it takes me a lot of time to turn on the BB, find all the messages from one person, and open each one to see how much is there.  That's why if you're late or need to add more, it is so much faster for me to have you put it up, then copy it to give to me.  I appreciate your time in doing this.    E. IS IT OKAY TO DO BULLETIN BOARDS AHEAD OF TIME? (1-23-05) Sure.  Anyone can do "Step 1" ahead of time--in as many weeks as you want.  And if you're the first or second person on the BB, you can still do "Step 2," as well: either respond to someone from a previous week about a previous subject, or respond to your own self as if you were someone who thinks very differently.  You also can simply leave two starting messages--responses to the questions--in two very different ways.  F. WHY DO WE HAVE TO DO ALL OF THIS ONLINE STUFF? (1-10) For this course, it is a required part of class time.  Online classes are not classes where you "skip class."  Instead, all time you normally would spend in class must be accounted for in other ways.  Bulletin boards are one of the major ways of doing this in this online class.  G. HOW DO YOU FIND THE HOME PAGE WHEN "www.Richard.Jewell.net" IS DOWN?  (2-07) Plan ahead on your own computer by going to the course Web site, to www.richard.jewell.net, and to this BB site—and bookmark each one.  That way, if one is down, the other can get you to many of the related sites and info anyway.  To bookmark a site, go to it, and then click on "Bookmarks" (sometimes called "Favorites").  However, if you use school computers, you should copy all three Web site addresses to an MS Word document, then print it and keep it in your billfold/purse.  You also can use this BB Web site to go directly to the course Web site.   H. WHY AREN'T WE USING D2L (Desire To Learn)? (12-08) We are using it for the discussion boards.  The rest is done by Web.  That is easier for me; and for you, there are fewer chances of the system being down because the web server I use goes down less often than does D2L and the servers it is on.  I. HOW IS BB CLASS TIME COUNTED? (1-10) All the time you are assigned for this online class is added and spread out to equal the same amount of time you would spend if this were an on-campus, non-online course.  An on-campus course and an online course are supposed to require the same amount of time of a student whether in class or in homework.  A typical first- or second-year 3-credit college course is supposed to take about 3 hrs. of class and 6 hrs. of homework time per week.  A 4-credit course is supposed to take about 4 hrs. of class and 8 hrs. of homework per week. In an on-campus section, we would have 3 classes per week for 16 weeks, plus a 2-hr. final, or about 50 class meetings.  Each BB class (and, in a fully online course, each set) is supposed to equal one class hour.  In a 4-cr. class, a class hr. is about 70 min.  In a 3-cr. class, a class hr. is 50 min.  Some of the attendance for the overall course is counted as physical (in-person) attendance, and some of it as BB attendance.  Vacation and teacher-development days also are deducted if they fall on a Thurs.-Sat., just as for any on-campus course, because Thurs.-Sat. is when I read BBs and take their attendance.   J. CAN YOU COPY YOUR HOMEWORK AND PASTE IT INTO THE BB, OR VICE VERSA? (2-07) Nope.  Please do not copy homework to BBs, or BBs to homework.  They are two entirely separate activities, just as in a physical, in-person class.  You can use some of the same words and discuss the same subjects, but do not copy your work—write and say something different about the subjects.                K. WHY ARE ALL THE INSTRUCTIONS AND WEEKLY QUESTIONS ON A SEPARATE WEB PAGE? (1-10) These are on a separate, permanent web page to save me time.  Each semester, I have to recopy all of the old beginning messages from me from the previous year or semester's web site to the new one.  It saves me a lot of time to just be able to keep these instructions--questions, FAQs, etc.--on one web page that is always there.  It isn't very hard to learn to have two web pages up at the same time, especially if you have the more recent Explorer browsers that allow you to use two different tabs.  Nonetheless, I appreciate your time and patience in using two different web pages.  :-) Return to top.