Monday, August 27, 2012

Week of August 27 - September 2

Hello Folks!

Here is what is listed on the Participation Page from D2L for this week.  If you haven't already, please get to know the materials well, that I have uploaded to D2L.  It is recommended that you keep a binder for this class, and print out the materials on D2L so you can have them close to you at all times.

Due this week:
*Read Chapter 6 in the Boss text - Recognizing, Analyzing, and Constructing Arguments
*Read Chapter 2 in the Small Group Text - Participating in Small Group Communication.
*Participate in the discussion (see questions below)
*Complete the Plagiarism Tutorial and email instructor results.  Click HERE to take you to the tutorial.
*Get in touch with the group you will be working with for the first group assignment - Critical Thinking in News and Politics (I will post more detail to my blog about this early this week).



Discussion Questions:
Answer one question in its entirety in each of your three separate posts, at least 12 hours apart. Please make sure you are creating a NEW POST for each question on your blog. You MUST WAIT at least 12 hours from the first post in order to create a second post. The same is true for the second and third post. I will record dates and time of your posts, so make sure they are at least 12 hours apart. EACH POST MUST BE 150 WORDS OR MORE. Each post is worth a maximum of 5 points.

1). First, read Chapter 6 in its entirety.  Then, go back and read over "Perspectives on Same-Sex Marriage" on pages 194-198.  Answer the following question:  President Barak Obama opposes legalizing same-sex marriage on a federal level but supports civil unions and equal rights for same-sex couples.  Evaluate whether his position is consistent with his beliefs in equal rights and opportunities for all people, regardless of their sexual orientation.  Discuss also how Obama might respond to Nava and Dawidoff's argument that prohibiting same-sex marriage is a denial of the basic rights of gays and lesbians who wish to marry.

2). After reading Chapter 6 in its entirety, answer the following question posed on page 169:  Has there ever been a time when you stood your ground on an issue despite the risk of losing your friends or even a job?  Discuss how your critical-thinking skills helped you to stand firm.

3). Pick one concept from the reading (either Boss or the Small Group Comm book) and discuss it in detail.

Comments - Remember to post ONE comment ON THREE DIFFERENT BLOGS between 12:01am on Monday and 11:59pm on Sunday. This means that you will log onto MY BLOG at: http://comm41perez.blogspot.com/ to see a list of your colleagues blogs. Click on those blogs, read what was posted for this week and respond. You need to make sure you are responding to only what was discussed THIS WEEK (starting Monday and ending Sunday of the current week). Comments posted to blogs that were NOT within this week will not be counted for points. Each comment must be a minimum of 100 words and is worth a maximum of 3 points.

Note about comments: When you leave a comment on another blog, make sure you are logged into your blogspot account. In other words, you will need to make sure your "Display Name/Alias Name" shows up on the blog you are commenting on. I record the locations, dates and times of your comments. Please keep record of your posts and comments in case there I have questions about where they are located. 

In case there is any confusion, here is how you create a new post using the old blogger interface:

*Log into your blogger account
*Click "New Post"
*Type a Title
*Type your post into the big box
*Click "Publish Post"

If you do not Publish Post, your post will not become public.

For the upcoming discussion week, you will do the same thing for each question I pose, but you will write and publish your posts at least 12 hours apart. (See the "Participation Page" on D2L for more detail about participation in this course).

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