The purpose of the Discussion Board is to provide
students a forum for describing their expereinces and voicing opinions.
In a large class it is very difficult to conduct meaningful discussions—from
the problem of there not being enough time for each student to speak to
the problem of some people’s discomfort with speaking up in a large group.
Also, it is not always easy to organize your thoughts “on the spot.” An
opportunity for thoughtful reflection is desirable. The forums literally
give you a place to speak up when you are ready and to whom you wish. Studies
have shown that students love this outlet. It is also very likely that
your overall performance in the class will improve because of this opportunity
to think critically about difficult topics.
There are several rules that all students who participate
in the forums on the Discussion Board are expected to follow:
The topics for each discussion are organized into
four sections to correspond to the four sections of the course. You are
expected to select a Try It exercise from those specified for a particular
section. During each section of the course, you are expected to participate
in at least one Try It exercise and complete your participation by the
deadline given on the course calendar. You are expected to complete the
exercise and then report your experience (results/reaction) in the discussion
forum (minimum of 5 sentences). You must also react to at least one other
student's posting (minimum of 3 sentences). You may move ahead and address
topics scheduled for future times, but once a deadline has been reached
you may not revisit a topic.
Each Try It exercise is worth up to 10 points and distributed as follows:
-
Description - max 6 points
-
Reaction to at least one other student's report - max 4 points
1. The URL for the new server is http://blackboard.uncg.edu
. Please use INTERNET EXPLORER rather than Netscape to access this
site.
2. Login with your UNCG username and your NOVELL (Netware) password.
Anyone who does not know their Novell password can reset their password
at http://accounts.uncg.edu . Select the Self Service Password Resetting
and answer the questions. On one screen you will be asked to indicate
the account password you are changing. Select the Novell Directory (Netware)
password. You do NOT need to know your current password to do this.
IMPORTANT: Unfortunately, the Novell
password expires every 90 days (this is set-up through Client Services).
Therefore, it is essential that you and
your students are aware of how to access the Self Service Password
Resetting page. Blackboard now retrieves all usernames and passwords through
an
automatic process, therefore instructors and system administrators
can no longer reset passwords.
3. Individuals who have not activated their UNCG accounts will
not be able to login in Blackboard since they have not been assigned a
UNCG username.
Accounts can be activated at http://accounts.uncg.edu by selecting
Unix Communications, Netware & Campus Pipeline Account Creation. If
you are not
sure if you have an account, complete the form and the system will
either give you an account or will tell you the account username if you
already
have one.
4. Email accounts are AUTOMATICALLY set in Blackboard to the
UNCG account. However, an individual may chose to forward their UNCG account
to another email address. This can be done at http://email.uncg.edu.
You will need to know your UNCG email username and password to do this.
If you have previously activated your account and do not know your UNCG
email password, go to http://accounts.uncg.edu and select Self-Service
Password Resetting. On one screen you will be asked to indicate the account
password you are resetting. Select the Unix account. If you have
not previously activated your account, see item 3 above.
Students who are not enrolled
in the course do NOT have access to the discussion forums. The discussion
forums are limited to members of PSY260. Click
on the "Courses" tab at the top of the Blackboard window.PSY260
will be listed as a course in which you are participating as well as any
other of your courses using Blackboard.Click
on PSY260. You will then go
to the PSY260 Announcement page.Watch
for announcements from your Instructor. There
are rectangular buttons on the left.There
are some very useful tools for you to use in this course as well as for
your personal use. They are very easy to learn. No
one else can use your calendar or tasks list. Find
the help button and explore that link.
Now select the Discussion Board button the left. The first
forum is an example provided by your instructor.You
may practice adding New Threads to this forum. Choose
the forum in which you want to participate and click on it.
To add your comments, click on Add New Thread and fill in the subject (put
"Try It--name" in this box) and message boxes. You are advised to
prepare your commentary in Word and then paste it into the message box.WARNING:
Blackboard has been known to crash and all postings lost. It is essential
that you save copies of all your postings.
If you wish to reply to someone’s commentary or reply, select the Reply
button and proceed to compete the subject (put "reply" in this box) and
message boxes. When you are finished, select the OK button at the bottom
of the page.
When posting commentaries and replies please remember
to distinguish these in the subject box by labeling your post as TRY IT
or REPLY
.
