Discussion Board Criteria

Discussion Board Rubric (80 pts)

Participation in class discussions will be completed in a flexible manner. Your ten BEST posts will be graded at the END of the semester. Only posts in the MAIN class discussion area (Theoretical Foundations of Educational Technology Discussion Forum) count toward participation credit. Criteria for discussion posts include the following:

Discussion responses should reflect your knowledge of the subject matter through critical analysis. Discussion at a critical level means discussing things such as your opinion of the point mentioned, why you hold that opinion, what you see wrong with the point mentioned, how you see the point consistent/inconsistent with what you have learned so far, implications for the future, consistencies/inconsistencies within the article or reading itself, and so forth. In other words, analyzing the good and/or bad aspects of the point and justifying your analysis.
I am looking at quality over quantity. With this in mind, answers should be between 200 and 250 words. I'm not going to count the number of words, but please try to limit yourself to no more than 250 words per response - it's very difficult to get through many long winded responses - and I read them all.
Include citations and references in your responses when necessary. This does not need to be a formal citation/reference - just make sure that you give proper credit in some way.
It's ok to write in the first person and include personal experiences in your responses.
Please distribute your participation posts over four or more weeks time. This will assure high quality ongoing discussions throughout the semester.

Examples of discussion board posts may include (but is not limited to) the following:

responding to a question or comment posted by the instructor;
responding to a question or comment posted by another student;
providing information and/or commentary about a great online resource with the link provided;
Starting a new discussion thread on a topic consistent with what we are studying;
helping another student solve a technical problem and posting the fix;

Participation in the discussion board will be graded during week 16. The last day to submit posts that count toward participation is Tuesday, December 8.

Criteria	Outstanding 90-100%	Proficient 70-89%	Basic 50-69%	Below Expectations 0-49%
Number of Posts 10 points	9-10	6-8	3-5	0-2
Quality of Content 20 points	Rich in content, full of thought, insight and synthesis with clear connections to previous or current content and/or to real life situations made with depth and detail.	Substantial information, thought, insight and analysis has taken place with some connection to previous or current content and/or to real life situations but lack of depth and detail	Generally competent in summarizing learning, but information is thin and commonplace with limited connections and vague generalities.	Rudimentary and superficial regurgitation of content with no connections and/or completely off topic.
Relevance 20 Points	The key issues within the prompt are identified and answered. The discussion is consistently clear with few digressions.	The key issues within the prompt are identified but not all answered. The discussion is clear most of the time.	Some of the key issues within the prompt are identified but not answered. The discussion is not clear.	Confused, hard to follow and the key issues within the prompt are not identified or answered.
Readings and Resources 10 Points	Readings and other resource materials are used to support comments.	There is some reference to readings and other resource material.	Little if any reference is made to readings an other course materials.	Readings and resources are not mentioned.
Professionalism 10 Points	All posts are written in a professional manner, free of typos, spelling and mechanical errors.	Most posts are written in a professional manner, free of typos, spelling and mechanical errors.	Some posts are written in a professional manner, free of typos, spelling and mechanical errors.	Most posts are NOT written in a professional manner, free of typos, spelling and mechanical errors.
Timeliness 10 points	All required postings are made consistently throughout the semester.	All required postings are made but in a limited timeframe and/or not in time for others to read and respond.	Some or all of the required postings are made, but most are at the last minute without allowing for response time.	Some or all of the required postings are missing.