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Web Discussion Board Instructions, Guidelines, Tips, and Links
Assignment from the Syllabus:
Participation in an asynchronous online discussion format. For this course we
will use the web discussion board available through Blackboard, a course management
system. We will not be using other components of the system. On Friday, Jan.
18, Andreas Brockhaus, UWB Educational Technologist, will introduce the system
and do a short workshop on suggested posting strategies for this course. For
the first half of the course, postings must deal with formalist analysis, with
an emphasis on the function and/or effect of cinematic elements. The purpose
of this exercise is to give you practice in doing formalist analysis, including
extending or challenging the analysis of others. For the second half of the
course, postings must contain ideological interpretations informed by formalist
analysis. The purpose of this assignment is to give you practice doing this
type of interpretation while also providing you with a creative forum for discussing
your critical reactions to the films. There will be a number of examples of
excellent, good, and inadequate postings available for your review on the web
discussion board. I will inform you by personal e-mail if the posting does not
meet the criteria for the assignment or is a particularly excellent example.
Otherwise, I will inform you by personal e-mail the first time a posting meets
the criteria, but will not communicate with you again unless a posting is either
substandard or excellent. I will also participate from time to time in the discussion.
For access information and other tips, click here (not yet available). (25%
of grade).
Instructions for the first half of the course:
During weeks 2-4, we will be focusing primarily on formalist analysis. All postings
must use the terms and concerns of formalist analysis. While it is permissible
to include interpretation of the film's meaning, formalist insights should make
up the bulk of the posting. When posting, read through what others have written
that week so that you know whether your posting is original and deserves a new
thread, or whether it is better as a response to someone else's posting. Whenever
appropriate, draw on other participants' insights when making your analysis.
You must post at least one message by Wednesday at 10pm of each week. You may
post as many as three messages a week. (For postings in excess of three, you
may post on the Additional Comments Board.)
Remember that positive outcomes derive not only from learning to do formalist analysis through the practice of posting, but by reading the postings of others and their responses. If I correct a misperception in your posting, I urge you not to see it as some kind of personal slight, but a necessary and important part of the learning process that will also help others (who have probably held a similar misconception.) For the purpose of both your learning outcomes and your grade, you are much better off being corrected before completing your assessed and graded assignments that after.
Because discussions can be hard to follow with over 30 participants, I have created two separate discussion boards, one for students whose last name begins with A-G, and one for students whose last name begins with H-Z. You may read postings on the board other from your own, and draw on any insights you gain from reading them (with proper attribution, of course), but please only post on your own board.
Instructions for the second half of the course
During weeks 6-10, postings for the web discussion board should focus on ideological
interpretation which uses formalist analysis to provide the evidence. Every
posting should include a critical engagement with at least one of the assigned
readings for the week, either challenging it or expanding on its conclusions.
Every post must also use the formalist analytical tools gained in the first
half of the course to make your point. I would therefore encourage students
to go back to the film, either by examining the film at the Media Center of
by renting it on their own, and making their analysis based on a close and repeated
viewing of the film.
The postings in this half of the course will resemble a more traditional discussion than the first half, as you work to engage the ideas of your classmates and myself along with developing your own ideas. Students should be willing to explain their interpretation when necessary in follow-up postings and/or to concede and expand points of others they find compelling. Because this interaction is central to the learning experience, students who post on a subject that has already been posted without reference to that posting, and in a new thread, will be asked to remove and repost their message in the proper area. Their performance will also be assessed less positively.
Postings will be assessed as in the first half of the course, with week 6 constituting a new start for all students. Thus everyone will receive an e-mail evaluation of their posting on week 6, reflecting that this type of assignment contains some new outcomes and learning processes than in the first section.
As with the first half of the course, you must post by 10pm Wednesday each week. However, I would encourage students to post earlier and to return to the board to answer other's comments about your posts even after the Wednesday deadline. Consistent, informed involvement in the discussion board will result in a more positive assessment than simply posting once and not engaging other's comments.
"Additional Comments" Board:
In order to give students a forum for topics not covered by the guidelines for
the official class discussion boards, I have created an "Additional Comments
Board: that anyone in the class may use to discuss a variety of topics, including
aesthetic judgments, ideological analysis in the first half of the course, favorite
food contribution, etc. Please label your subjects with care so that students
can skip those postings that don't interest them. And of course, maintain basic
civility and "Netiquette" at all times.
Blackboard Administrator:
Andreas Brockhaus is the administrator of UWB's Blackboard software. If you
are having problems, please contact him. The material he handed out in class
regarding logging on, features, :"netiquette," and other topics will
soon be available online.
Andreas's e-mail:abrockhaus@bothell.washington.edu
Andreas's phone: 425-352-5393
© 2001 Michael Lewis Goldberg: intellectual property information