Subject:  Week Two Discussion Assignment -- Please read in detail

Hi!  I'm glad to see that you found your way to the Week Two Discussion forum.  This week, we are discussing several summary reports from the Pew Internet Project (PIP):  How the Internet has woven itself into American life and Internet Penetration and Impact.

Please take time to read the following in detail, and contact me if you have any questions about what I expect of you.

Your assignment for this week's discussion is to moderate your own threaded discussion on a topic covered in any of these reports.  I refer to this as a "student-led discussion".  Post a question related to this week's readings - note that you must post your question no later than Wednesday evening.  Then moderate the ensuing discussion.

Once you have read the research reports, composing a thoughtful question should take you less than an hour.  Good questions will require thoughtful answers and perhaps some research, not just opinions.  I suggest that you use a word processor to compose the question in your initial posting, since this may help you with grammar and spelling, and you do not have to be online while doing this work.

To start your own discussion, click on the + Thread button to create a new thread.  You will find that button (after reading this message), by clicking on the OK button at the bottom of the screen.  This button will appear at the top of the window, just above the listing of the threads for this forum.  Pick a specific topic that was covered in one of the reports.  Post a question related to this topic (see more below).  Then moderate the ensuing discussion.  Note that this requires active participation on your part!  You must engage the other students who answer your question.

Remember the Two Cardinal Rules that apply to our online discussions:

• Create the message first.  An excellent message is accurate, original, relevant, and well-written, it teaches something new, and promotes additional discussion.
• Create the Subject field last.  Your subject must convey the main point of your message or it will not be acceptable.

You might want to re-read the full description of "student-led discussions" that is at:

http://online.uis.edu/oakley/Sp08/StudentLedDiscussions.html

I also have posted a rubric that describes how I will grade your weekly discussions.  See:

http://online.uis.edu/oakley/Sp08/DQ_GradingCriteria.html

What would be a good question for this week?  Here are some examples that would lead to some good discussions:

Select a topic from one of the Pew reports that is related to what people do online.  Then ask questions such as:

• What demographic groups seem to participate most in this activity (and why)?
• How do you personally participate in this aspect of Internet use, and how does this impact your life?
• Is this area expected to grow in the future - in what ways - and why?

List five ways in which the Internet has become part of your everyday life, explaining how you had used other methods to accomplish those activities in the past.  Discuss in what ways the Internet is superior to what you did before (presuming you wouldn't have changed to Internet use for this activity if it were not better for you in some way).  [Note that you don't have to ask a question.  You can ask for discussion of a topic.]

One last question might be:

Propose three uses of the Internet that you believe will significantly increase in the next three years.  What will drive this increased use?  How will this impact our lives?

Finally, with 25 active and engaged students in this class, please don't try to respond to each student's discussion question.  We will be overwhelmed if you do.  I would rather see thoughtful participation in 4 or 5 discussion threads than short responses in 10 or 15 threads.

Good luck!

-- Burks