As part of any good assignment, we provide clear expectations in relation to the objectives outlined to ensure that students know how best to proceed. The following expectations are used in my online Art, Society, & Culture class (formerly Art Appreciation) and are provided here as a reference for what I physically use in my classes.
I structure my online course to include peer review (Pod Reviews) and interaction to keep students engaged and also to create a feeling of accountability not only to me, the instructor, but also to the students who will be reading their work. Knowing that their work is read by both the instructor and their classmates generally motivates students to be more conscientious about the quality of their submissions.
Blogging Expectations (& Pods): A General Overview
You will complete 10 blogging assignments throughout the semester. Some are fairly easy and quick, some are silly and intended to get you to think more openly, some may require a little research, and a few actually require you to create some kind of visual response (don’t worry, no artistic skill required!).
Additionally, you’ll be assigned to a small group 4-5 of your classmates (what I call a “Pod”). You will be expected to read and comment on your Pod member’s posts frequently throughout the semester and will have 4 individual review dates which relate to specific posts.
As stated in the course syllabus, various assignments will be compiled in a personal blog throughout the course. You will complete a total of 10 blog assignments which are collectively worth 450 points (45% of your course grade). GSU provides personal blogs for free and you will follow the instructions provided to you in iCollege so that you can complete your assignments as advised. Your personal blog will be able to be viewed by other students in the class.
As students begin to add me to their blog as an administrator (as instructed in the set-up instructions) I will receive information about their blog addresses, this information and individual Pod assignments will be updated in the list of “Student Blogs & Pod Assignments” document in iCollege. Once everyone has completed this step, I’ll send you an email confirming all the members and blog addresses that you’ll be responsible for reviewing.
Remember to Adhere to the Academic Honesty policy at all times!
A variety of small written and project-based assignments will be completed and uploaded to your personal blog throughout the semester. While some assignments will require a small amount of research and writing, there are also several assignments which will offer you the ability to respond in a variety of alternative and creative ways so that you can engage with the course material in a way that feels meaningful to you personally.
For assignments that require research you WILL be required to correctly site your courses and provide links to these references in your blog post. Failure to do so will result in an automatic 0% for the assignment due to plagiarism (read more in the section on Academic Honesty). You will also need to learn how to create a hyperlink in your blog posts.
For assistance with citation of your sources please review how to correctly give credit to others in your blog posts as well as how to appropriately provide information about where you got photos (if applicable) used in your blog post. Ignorance of this responsibility is not acceptable. Ask questions and learn how to avoid claims of plagiarism.
Blog Assignments
You are assigned to create a personal class blog – instructions are provided in the “Setting Up Your Blog” document in iCollege. You must use the provided WordPress blog that all GSU students have free access to – log in to this blog using the link provided and your GSU Panther ID and password. There are multiple resources mentioned throughout the documents in this section (as well as in the Supplemental Information section in the Content section) to assist you and you’re welcome to email me whenever you run into issues that haven’t already been addressed (or that you’re confused about).
In addition, view the class blog and sign up with the email of your choice to receive notifications of any class blog posts. I will share particularly awesome blog posts from your classmates here from time to time and will also give some feedback or additional blogging assistance through the class blog.
Important! Blog Assignments should be posted to your personal class blog only in order to be considered submitted correctly for assessment. Do not email me your submissions*. You will have to pay attention to ensure that you are posting to the correct blog. To do this, visit your own blog after you submit each post and double check that your posts appear there after posting.
You will be assigned an average of one blog project per week throughout the semester. There are a total of 10 Blog Assignments. You may not have a blogging assignment some weeks and some assignments may be assigned several weeks in advance of their due date to provide you more time to successfully complete the objectives. You may complete assignments ahead of schedule so long as they are posted by the final deadlines for each assignment.
Late Passes ARE permitted for Blog Assignments, however, all late submissions must be posted within 72 hours of the original deadline to be considered. All late assignments (without application of Late Pass) will be assigned a 0% for that assignment.
You are welcome to begin any available blog assignment at any time and to work through the material at your own pace, however, the deadlines listed above and in the course calendar must be met. These deadlines help space out some of the course content so that half the class doesn’t wait until the last minute to complete all 10 assignments. This would make it very hard for other students who wish to complete material early to be able to do so.
*If you experience some kind of major technical difficulty at the last minute and are unable to post for some reason – you may email me with your content to ensure that you do not get a 0% on your assignment, however, you will still be expected to address any issues and post the submission correctly as soon as possible so that your classmates (POD) can see your work and comment on it. Your grade will not be posted to the grade book until you post the submission to your blog.
Pod Reviews
You will be paired with 4-5 of your classmates – what I call a POD – during week 3 of the course. You will receive an email in iCollege clarifying who these individuals are and providing you links to the personal blogs that have been created. Throughout the course you will be responsible for checking in with your Pod-mates and reading what each of them has posted. You are expected to comment at least 1 time on every post that your Pod members share.
You will have 4 Pod Reviews throughout the duration of the course – at this time I will record your level of participation with your Pod-mates and review your comments. Late Passes are permitted for Pod Reviews, however, all late comments must be posted within 72 hours of the original deadline to be considered. All late assignments (without application of Late Pass) will be assigned a 0% for that assignment.
I will look at your overall involvement with your Pod-mates after the Pod Review deadlines and assess your level of participation. Assessment is quality based; however, I’ll be looking to see that you responded appropriately to each of your Pod-mates blogs at least 1x. In addition, you are required to follow up on possible comments that are made on your responses.
If, at any time, you are confused about what is expected of you – please contact me ASAP so that you do not risk falling behind.