[ Introduction and Description | Schedule and Readings | Assessment and Policies | Related Resources ]
In EN5210/6210, I will be making use of discussions on the NUS Integrated Virtual Learning Environment during my sessions, 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 post a response to one of a number of discussion questions on IVLE before each tutorial meeting. These postings should be made by 10 p.m. on the day before the class meets, thus giving your insomniac tutor the at least ten hours to look at them. You may be asked to elaborate upon your responses in our class meeting, and it thus will be useful to print out your response and bring it to class. Due to the small size of the class itself, however, this posting will be optional for the 2004 offering of the module.
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 tutors 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: 26 January, 2004