#ids26 Discussions and Discoveries Assignment

Discussions and Discoveries Assignment Specifics

Your assignment will be completed in a GoogleDoc; Bill will share an individual GoogleDoc with each student that is only viewable by Bill and that student. Each entry will be composed in the document under a particular bi-weekly heading. You must compose the full entry in that document; do not compose it elsewhere and paste it in.

Most entries, especially at the beginning of the semester, will be composed in response to a prompt Bill provides based on the assigned readings or other texts. Each entry will have three sections, the What I Learned, Discoveries, Questions:

1. What I Learned: The Discussion should be 175 – 200 words and address the text(s) based on the prompt Bill provides. These should be engaging, insightful, and written in a way that shows you what you have learned about the subject(s) from that week(s). It should include at least two quotations from one or more of the texts we read or watched.
2. Discoveries: In 75 – 100 words, discuss what you discovered about the subject matter by doing outside research and/or activities about the readings in class. You can also write about how the texts/subject matters may have challenged you as a learner and what you discovered about yourself as a result. Be specific and link to any sources. When doing research, do not rely on AI or Wikipedia alone. You may start with Wikipedia for summary, but always go further by looking into the citations. AI summaries are not reliable. Do not use them. You can actually remove that Google-generated AI response at the top of search results by including “-AI” in any search term, such as “how are semiotics applied in communications designs -AI.” Research does not need to be found online or academic; it can be in the form of examples you have found (online or offline) that have helped you understand the readings.
   
3. Questions: List 1 or 2 questions informed by the texts. The questions can be for clarification purposes, such as, “What did the author mean by so and so on page 12?” Or, they can be application, such as, “How might we apply the author’s theory to what we are seeing in social media?” Or, more open-ended, such as, “What are the ethical implications of what the author discusses?” Avoid yes/not and fact-based questions that you can figure out with a simple Google search.

Use paragraphs and complete sentences. Use author’s names and make sure to refer to the author with the correct pronoun. Cite page numbers when quoting and/or paraphrasing. Use bolded headers to make distinct What I Learned, Discoveries, and Questions.

Due Dates

Biweekly entries will be assigned on a Friday and will be due before the start of class the following Monday.

If I add questions in your comments, those must be answered within 2 days.

Late Discussion and Discoveries entries will be handled in the following manner:

• 1 – 3 days late: -5pts
• 4 – 7 days late:  -10pts
• 8 – 14 days late -15pts
• 15 or more days late: -20pts

Grading

Each entry will be graded on the basis of 50 points — 30 for What I Learned, 16 for the Discoveries, and 4 for the Questions. Bill will add grades to each student’s GoogleDoc. The Discussions and Discoveries grade is 20% of your final grade.

Rubric

45 – 50pts
Thorough, nuanced, insightful, and organized discussion of the text(s) clearly framed by what you have learned. Prompt directly addressed. Thoughtfully includes discusses at least one quotation. Discoveries section very nicely shares what you have learned and includes working links to sources. Questions are insightful and not yes/no or fact-based. Overall the at this level, the entry significantly exceed expectations.

40 – 44pts
Interesting, engaging, and thoughtful discussion of the text(s) that includes what you have learned. Prompt directly addressed. Includes at least one quotation but it is not well integrated or discussed. Discoveries section shares what you have learned and includes working links to sources, but they may not be working. Questions are generally discerning. Overall the entry generally meets or exceeds expectations.

35 – 39pts
Generally thoughtful but slightly disorganized discussion of the text(s) and what you have learned.. Prompt not fully addressed. No quotations. Discoveries section suggests that you have not discovered much and there are no sources cited. Questions aren’t that interesting or discerning. Overall the entry is below expectations.

34pts and below
At this level two things could have happened. A thoroughly engaging Discussion but no Discover and/or Questions. Or, a generally disorganized Discussion that does not address the prompt, does not engage the texts, and does show reveal what you have learned. No quotation. An okay Discoveries section. Questions are missing or are yes/no, fact-based. Overall the entry significantly below expectations.