Dr Philip Holden (email: ellhpj@nus.edu.sg)
[ Introduction and Description | Schedule and Readings | Assessment and Policies | Related Resources ]In EN2101E, we will be making use of discussions on the NUS Integrated Virtual Learning Environment to expand the classroom learning experience, and to give you the chance to share your responses to readings and questions in order to prepare for class discussions.
During the module you will be asked to make regular postings before each tutorial to a topic thread in your individual tutorial groups forum on the IVLE. The initial introductory post you can make should be made to the general forum. These postings should be made before the tutorial meets up, preferably by 12 midnight on the day before the tutorial meeting. Some suggestions regarding posting will be given on the forum itself. Remember you may be asked to elaborate upon your responses in our tutorial meeting, and it might thus be useful to either print out your response and bring it to class, or at least to remember what you said!
The introductory posting is optional. You may miss one further posting during the semester without any effect on your grades; the final grade given for this section of the module will be combined with class participation.
1. Your ability to engage intellectually with the questions posed.
2. Your ability to relate your response (either explicitly or implicitly) to the ideas, perspectives, and approaches discussed in class.
3. The evidence you use to support any position you take.
4. Your ability to communicate clearly and engage in active dialogue with the others, including the quality of your criticism and response to criticism from others where appropriate.
1. Try to address your comments to a community of classmates, rather than to your lecturer or tutor exclusively. Don't be overly conscious that you're being assessed: aim for an informal but engaged tone.
2. It's difficult to legislate the length of posts, but 100-200 words might be a good guideline for a substantive post making an argument. You should feel free to make additional short postings in response to others, but try for at least one substantial posting a week in which you express your views.
3. IVLE is fairly stable, but we've all heard horror stories of earth-shattering philosophical statements which remain frozen on a crashed computer just before they can be posted. If you are writing at length, it's best to compose in a word processing programme first, and then cut and paste into IVLE.
Last updated: 6 November, 2007