Student Resources for Better Writing and Thinking
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Student Resources for Better Writing

On-line Group Project

   

 

Professor: Dr. Elizabeth Rich
Office: SE 164
Phone: X 4317

 

The purpose of this project is to give students the opportunity to exercise their writing skills while investigating further topics that have interested them in class discussions. This project will not only assist students with practice writing about challenging ideas but also will give students a forum in which to sharpen their analytical thinking skills and strategies for working in a collaborative environment.

Getting on-line:

This project will be the result of students’ on-line conversations that use SVSU’s Blackboard server to further their discussions outside of class.

  • Students can access Blackboard through my webpage <http://www.svsu.edu/~rich> or by going straight to the Blackboard site <http://blackboard.svsu.edu>. All students can log in by using the portion of their e-mail addresses that comes before the <@>. All students’ passwords will be set initially to be their birthdays. Once students log in, they can change their passwords to whatever they want them to be.
  • The majority of the class’s information will be available from my website; however, we will be using the Blackboard site for its communications capabilities.

    Content:
  • The thoughts put forth in these projects should be engaged and substantive. Summarizing or organizing the group’s meetings or other things that do not necessarily work toward the development of the discussion should be edited out. Summarizing the texts that we read is not sufficient. Say something about them. While grammar and punctuation are not my foremost concern, some attempt should be made to ensure the readability of the text.
  • Asking questions of other students is a great way to make the discussion cohesive and to help it to stay on track. Avoid questions, such as, "What did everybody think about the reading?"
  • Referring back to what other students have offered in their postings is also a good way to create a sense of connectivity in the discussion.

    Form:
  • Each of the two submissions of the project should be 15 pp. long for 200-level courses and 20 pp. for 300- and 400- level courses, in 12-point Times font (or something compatible in size), the equivalent of double-spaced, depending on the entries. If the entries are a half-page single-spaced, then they will fulfill the requirement. If they are a quarter-page single-spaced with headers at the top, then they will not be suitable.
  • Entries should be clearly labeled, so that the author of each entry is identified.
  • Pages should be numbered.
  • Students may choose to use the Group Pages, which are designated for the members of each group, or the virtual chat, depending on the needs and schedules of the group. If students are able to include everyone in a live discussion, they may also use the Chat feature. Before the substantive chat begins, however, students should practice saving and printing initial introductions, just to be certain that the chat can be saved.

    Working with the Group:
  • Students will be assigned to groups and are expected to stay with that group throughout the duration of the term. If a group experiences severe problems with personality clashes or unequal work allotments, I will do my best to accommodate the people in that group by reassigning them. Groups, however, should make every effort to resolve their differences before any action is taken.

  • The Slacker Clause: All group members must participate in the work equally. Any group that does not show equal participation by all of its members will receive a low group grade. However, if there is evidence that other group members have worked hard to compensate for the "slacker," then those people will be eligible for bonus points at my discretion.

    Grading:
  • These projects will be graded according to the above criteria, and I will return to each group a rubric that shows how each group rated in each category.