Week One Introductory Discussion Board
Please post your initial introduction by the deadlines posted in the schedule.
Hello, all. And welcome to RHET 3326: Technical Writing. Before you begin this class, please review this short video for an introduction to technical writing in general and the outcomes in this class in particular.
You can see my introduction to you in the Week One Discussion forum in Blackboard.
Now I'm interested in how YOU would introduce yourself to others. Because this is a professional writing class, I'd like you to introduce yourself to two audiences: an informal audience and a professional audience.
The first introduction, your informal introduction, you will post to the Discussions tab in Blackboard.
Informal introduction: The first audience is a friendly audience: your classmates. You're all in this class together--these will be your peers and colleagues for the next 16 weeks. What would you like them to know about you as a person that will help them work more effectively with you over the course of the semester? What do you think defines you as an individual?
In this informal introduction, please ask a question of the rest of the class that you'd like others to answer. Then, answer the questions of at least three others. The goal for your question: What kind of question can you ask that you think will REALLY help you best get to know others in your class? So, in other words, will asking their favorite color REALLY allow them to provide an answer? Think about what you'd really like to know about your classmates, and ask a truly telling question.
So to recap:
Hello, all. And welcome to RHET 3326: Technical Writing. Before you begin this class, please review this short video for an introduction to technical writing in general and the outcomes in this class in particular.
You can see my introduction to you in the Week One Discussion forum in Blackboard.
Now I'm interested in how YOU would introduce yourself to others. Because this is a professional writing class, I'd like you to introduce yourself to two audiences: an informal audience and a professional audience.
The first introduction, your informal introduction, you will post to the Discussions tab in Blackboard.
Informal introduction: The first audience is a friendly audience: your classmates. You're all in this class together--these will be your peers and colleagues for the next 16 weeks. What would you like them to know about you as a person that will help them work more effectively with you over the course of the semester? What do you think defines you as an individual?
In this informal introduction, please ask a question of the rest of the class that you'd like others to answer. Then, answer the questions of at least three others. The goal for your question: What kind of question can you ask that you think will REALLY help you best get to know others in your class? So, in other words, will asking their favorite color REALLY allow them to provide an answer? Think about what you'd really like to know about your classmates, and ask a truly telling question.
So to recap:
- Introduce yourself to a informal, friendly audience in the Blackboard Discussion Forum "Week One Introductions."
- Ask a question at the end of your post that you'd like others to answer.
- Answer the questions of at least three other students. Feel free to answer more questions or to respond to others' answers as well.
Think About It
Audience Awareness
The audience for your informal introduction is your classmates. You will be working with these classmates over the next 15 weeks in a variety of ways: in brainstorming projects, conducting peer reviews, and completing a collaborative website project. Thus, this introductory discussion board is a way to get to know classmates with whom you might potentially want to work in the future, and for those classmates to get to know you. The purpose of this introduction is more than to just check off a requirement for the course; presenting yourself well in this introduction will help you convince others that they will want to work with you later in the term.
Collaboration
Responding to the introductions of others is an important part of this and all discussion boards in the class. Be sure to respond with substance (more than a "nice to meet you!" post). If you are annoyed when you open a post and the content isn't worth reading, so will your classmates. Make sure to respond clearly and courteously to those who respond to you. And remember: RESPOND! If someone takes the time to answer the question that you pose in your introduction, take the time to engage with their response.
Information Literacy
No research is required in this discussion board, but if you think of websites or sources that your classmates might enjoy based on their profiles, take this opportunity to practice providing working hyperlinks in the body of discussion board posts (see this video on how to hyperlink an item in a Blackboard Discussion Forum--only you will click on the link icon instead of the world icon as indicated in the video).
Digital Literacy
Just as with any other communication platform, discussion boards have particular conventions. Subscribing to discussion board threads you post will allow you to receive UALR Gmail alerts any time someone has responded to your initial discussion board post. You should respond to those in discussion board who respond to you in a timely manner (just as you would respond to others who respond to you in regular conversation) with subject lines that indicate the content of your post. Discussion boards will be evaluated according to the depth in which you engage in a few discussions, not the overall number of posts you provide (see the Week One introductory video for a demonstration of how to subscribe to a thread in Blackboard).
Audience Awareness
The audience for your informal introduction is your classmates. You will be working with these classmates over the next 15 weeks in a variety of ways: in brainstorming projects, conducting peer reviews, and completing a collaborative website project. Thus, this introductory discussion board is a way to get to know classmates with whom you might potentially want to work in the future, and for those classmates to get to know you. The purpose of this introduction is more than to just check off a requirement for the course; presenting yourself well in this introduction will help you convince others that they will want to work with you later in the term.
Collaboration
Responding to the introductions of others is an important part of this and all discussion boards in the class. Be sure to respond with substance (more than a "nice to meet you!" post). If you are annoyed when you open a post and the content isn't worth reading, so will your classmates. Make sure to respond clearly and courteously to those who respond to you. And remember: RESPOND! If someone takes the time to answer the question that you pose in your introduction, take the time to engage with their response.
Information Literacy
No research is required in this discussion board, but if you think of websites or sources that your classmates might enjoy based on their profiles, take this opportunity to practice providing working hyperlinks in the body of discussion board posts (see this video on how to hyperlink an item in a Blackboard Discussion Forum--only you will click on the link icon instead of the world icon as indicated in the video).
Digital Literacy
Just as with any other communication platform, discussion boards have particular conventions. Subscribing to discussion board threads you post will allow you to receive UALR Gmail alerts any time someone has responded to your initial discussion board post. You should respond to those in discussion board who respond to you in a timely manner (just as you would respond to others who respond to you in regular conversation) with subject lines that indicate the content of your post. Discussion boards will be evaluated according to the depth in which you engage in a few discussions, not the overall number of posts you provide (see the Week One introductory video for a demonstration of how to subscribe to a thread in Blackboard).