Once you are successful with Unit 1 or Unit 2’s Learning Discussions, then you may not need to look at this. If you need help, just ask.
Why
Concepts and Why Learning Discussions?.
Requirements
for Using Blackboard for Moderated Discussions and Timing of Grading
Requirement
for Your Using Only Three Sources for Detailed Definitions
Requirement
for a Clear Subject Line
Examples
of Kinds of Postings That Earn Points – Concepts, Etymologies, or Questions
The
Requirement to Copy a Definition in a Useful Way
The
Requirement for Signaling What You Wrote and What Merriam-Webster or Dr. Bibus Wrote
Why
Can’t You See Your Post Until After I Read It
Understanding concepts is frequently essential to understand accurately what you are reading, but students have different backgrounds. With on-campus classes, it is comparatively easy to cover key terms or concepts with a group. With distance learning classes, it has been difficult. I have permission from my Department to try this method to help students with concepts and to do in a way that means:
· That every student does not have to look up every concept but instead could share the labor by posting definitions that all can use
· That students can ask or answer questions about those concepts, Study Guide items, a question on a Learning Quiz or an Evidence Quiz,
Click here for the rubric. Notice:
· The description for the rubric says, if your only posting is in the last 2 days of the Unit, you lose points.
· The rows of the rubric say how many definitions you must post to earn each level of points.
· This rubric means that students can earn a B- by reading posts. For example, if you read posts and reply as explained in the rubric, you can earn a B-. Choose 3 to 5 of the definitions that were most helpful and reply to them.
Do not type the definition. The best method for the words in a definition is to copy and paste and then place those words in quotation marks (an opening “ and a closing “). Do not change, add, or delete any words between the opening “ and the closing “. For details, see the bottom heading.
Some browsers permit copying and pasting; others do not. Experiment to find out
so you can do this easily.
You may use only these sources for definitions:
1. You may use Merriam-Webster’s Online Dictionary available at http://www.merriam-webster.com/ FYI: Merriam-Webster’s is not perfect, but it is safer than many.
Provide the exact link to the place in
the online dictionary as shown in
the examples. If you cannot give the direct link because Merriam-Webster
Online provided another link, then see the examples below for how to reveal
exactly where to go to the other students if
Sometimes Merriam Webster Online provides links to other kinds of information
about a word. For example, students find that the definition for English It
still uses the same URL in the browser, but other students would have trouble
finding what you used unless you told them you click on this:
o
2.
You may use definitions I provide in some
sections of the course. For example, with United States history for the period before 1877, I provide definitions about
the servitude and the types of governments; with United States history for the
period after 1877, I provide definitions in the Constitution tool provide at
History Tools and other locations in the course.
If you copied a definition from my file, you would type copy and paste at the bottom
Copied from the definitions provided by Dr. Bibus.
3.
Once we are in content after the Constitution is
written, you may use the definitions I provide at the end of the searchable
Constitution.
If you copied a definition from my file of the Constitution, you would type at
the end
Copied from the definitions provided in the Constitution file.
|
If you looked up the word slave and copied the words to the right, do not leave it this way, including its taking up so much space in the posting. Also be sure to copy the URL where you found these words. |
Middle English sclave, from Anglo-French or Medieval Latin; Anglo-French esclave, from Medieval Latin sclavus, from Sclavus Slav; from the frequent enslavement of Slavs in
central Europe during the early Middle Ages |
|
If you want to use this text, use Format Painter to make it simpler to read. If you do not know how to use the right mouse to use Format Painter to copy a format to another, just ask. For how to use this in a posting, look below. |
“Middle
English sclave, from Anglo-French or Medieval Latin; Anglo-French esclave,
from Medieval Latin sclavus, from Sclavus Slav; from the
frequent enslavement of Slavs in central Europe during the early Middle Ages” |
A fellow student should not have to click on every discussion posting to find what he or she needs. Make it clear in the Subject line.
Treat a Discussion posting like work where you get paid: no
one pays you (if the boss) or no one likes you (if fellow workers) if you waste
time. The examples apply to all Unit Work and they all count as what the rubric
calls “focused participations.”
These are examples of kinds of postings you can make.
·
Concept:
If you went to look for a definition that helped you with a concept covered
briefly in a Learning Quiz
Need a reminder of what
is a concept? Click here for a definition and 2 examples.
(URL: http://www.cjbibus.com/GS_Good_Habits_What_Is_a_Concept.htm
)
· Etymology: If you want to provide the root word for the term
· Question: If you are asking a question about a concept, a question in Learning Quiz, a question in an Evidence Quiz, an item in the Study Guide for the Unit, a statement in one of the Instructor’s links, or anything else you need.
Tip: If you believe some other type of information than Questions, Etymology, or Concepts will help others, email me and I’ll add a word for its Subject line here and provide an example.
Whatever the type of posting, you want the other students:
· to be able to look exactly where you looked
· to know what kind of information is in your posting—either Questions, Etymologies, or Concepts
Most of the time the main definitions (the ones Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary displays first) work pretty well. Slavery is a complex term so the definition below might not help most people much.
|
In the Subject line |
Concept: Slave |
|
In the Message, copy and paste your
cleaned up text. (How to clean it is explained above.) At the bottom of the message, type the word Source and then copy the
URL from Merriam Webster |
“a person held in servitude as the chattel of another” |
The most common definitions that students choose that are from a link such as “See slave defined for English-language learners. If another student clicked on the link in the example above or below, they would not see your definitions. To help the other students, if you use one of the English-language definitions, add the phrase as shown below after the source.
|
In the Subject line |
Concept: Slave |
|
In the Message, copy and paste your
cleaned up text. (How to clean it is explained above.) At the bottom of the message, type the word Source and then copy the URL from Merriam Webster and then add the phrase shown in the ( ) |
“someone who is legally owned by another person and is forced to work for that person without pay” Source: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slave (From the link “See slave defined for English-language learners) |
Example of an Etymology – Only use etymologies from the Merriam-Webster
Online Dictionary.
|
In the Subject line |
Etymology: Slave |
|
In the Message, copy and paste your
cleaned up text. (Explained above) Type the word Source: and provide the exact URL from Merriam-Webster Online |
Middle
English sclave, from Anglo-French or Medieval Latin;
Anglo-French esclave, from Medieval Latin sclavus, from Sclavus
Slav; from the frequent enslavement of Slavs in central Europe during the
early Middle Ages |
Example of a Question
|
In the Subject line |
Question: Anthony Johnson, an African, was an indentured servant, not a slave? Could you explain? |
|
In the Message, state the source of your
question |
Source of my question: I looked at the information visible just after I took a Self-Test. The folder it is in is ”Quiz to Help with Lesson 2 (and the Rest of Your Life): Scarcity and Surplus.” Also why say “the Rest of Your Life”? |
If you decide to provide a definition in addition to what is in the course, be useful. Do these things:
· Read the definition to see what is about history and our current content and copy only those lines.
· Copy only lines from the definitions. (Don’t copy any of the website coding. Don’t make a huge glob of software coding.)
There is not a specific measure of
quantity, but look at what you have copied. Ask yourself "If that is
all I knew, would it be enough?" If it would not be enough, do things such as
· If Merriam Webster gave 3 explanations and they all fit the current content, then give all 3.
·
If Merriam
Webster includes in its explanation a link to a definition of another word
then add to your post the definition of that other word.
Example: a definition of exploration uses the word explore with a link
·
If Merriam Webster gives a simple definition and right below it a full definition, give both.
You place:
· An opening quotation mark (“) at the beginning and end of the words you are quoting.
· A closing quotation mark (”) at the end of the words you are quoting
If you insert words into another’s words, you must use square brackets ( [ ] ). If you remove words from another’s words, you must use ellipses (…). A better method is avoid all of these rules by using the Brain Trick in this link from the Good Habits for Evidence tutorial.
You will not be able to see your post until after I read it to be sure it is accurate. The reason is that once a false definition is in your head it will stay there. If I cannot accept your post, I will tell you how to fix it. You should do that quickly before someone else posts on the same word you chose.
Most days, I will read them each afternoon.
|
Copyright
C. J. Bibus, Ed.D. 2003-2018 |
|
WCJC Department: |
History – Dr. Bibus |
|
Contact Information: |
281.239.1577 or bibusc@wcjc.edu
|
|
Last Updated: |
2018 |
|
WCJC Home: |
