Discussion Forum Guidelines

This is an asynchronous web class, meaning that the class does not meet at some scheduled time. However, there are deadlines (every Tuesday and Thursday), and regular and fully engaged participation is required. But you may submit your work at any time prior to the deadline.

Students will have until 11:55pm on the first scheduled forum day to post a 200-word response to the assigned discussion prompt, and until 12:00pm (noon) the next scheduled day to post the two 100-word responses to other students’ initial posts. Each forum assignment, then, consists of two parts over two days:

This means that by the end of the first day of a typical four-prompt phase (phases 2-5), you must post a 200-word response to that day’s prompt (1a). By noon on the second day you must post your two 100-word responses to the previous day’s student contributions (1b); and, by 11:55pm on that same day, you must post your 200-word response to the next prompt (2a), etc. The only exception is the final respond-to-students day (4b) at the conclusion of a phase:

  Day 1   Day 2   Day 3   Day 4   Day 5
  1a: respond to prompt   1b: respond to students   2b: respond to students   3b: respond to students   4b: respond to students
     2a: respond to prompt   3a: respond to prompt   4a: respond to prompt   

A three-prompt phase (i.e. phases 1 and 6) looks like this:

  Day 1   Day 2   Day 3   Day 4
  1a: respond to prompt   1b: respond to students   2b: respond to students   3b: respond to students
     2a: respond to prompt   3a: respond to prompt   

See the course Schedule for deadlines.


©Robert Whalen, 2025