Self and society in virtual contexts/Course policies instagram

Course Policies for Instagram Postings and Discussions
Our units may contain Instagram Discussions. These discussions last at least three days. By the first "deadline" date you are given, you are to place one initial post on the hashtag that relates to that week’s prompt. (You may post it earlier if you like.) See my prompts in this syllabus, though I reserve the right to change them. Then, until the second "deadline" date you are given, you will place three response posts on your classmates’ Instagram posts – in particular, you may want to respond back to someone who has responded to you! You can start responding to posts earlier if you want. Sometime after the discussion is over, read through ALL the week’s posts on the hashtag to get a sense of the discussion as a whole. This will take a while! If you haven’t done this by class time, do so as class begins, to kind of get you ready for class and “warmed up” for the topic we’ll be discussing in class. Things to keep in mind: I will read all the postings, but I do not post often…it is your chance to speak without me butting in too much.
 * See the Instagram Postings Discussion Rubric for info on how these discussions will be graded. They will receive a cumulative grade at two points in the semester, mid-semester and at the end.
 * Make sure your initial post is not too similar from another that is up there (this is an incentive to get your initial post up nice and early!) Make sure your response posts are substantive and do not simply agree or disagree with the initial post. Support or refute a point (and please do so in a constructive and never personal manner!) using concrete examples and sometimes even reputable web links to support your argument.
 * Extend the argument in a different direction. Expand the scope of the topic. Make the conversation interesting.
 * Try to see to it that all posts get responded to. “Spread” the posting around.
 * Do not take personally anything that a classmate says on social media, though I want you to all to be extremely careful not to be offensive in your posting. We are respectful and positive online, always, and are especially careful to be accurate, sensitive, and responsible when interacting with others.
 * Read what you have written before clicking the “post” button. Make sure it makes sense and that there are no glaring errors of spelling or grammar.
 * Don’t work ahead on Instagram discussions! Stay with the one being worked on.
 * Do the week’s reading before you start the discussion. Online/social media discussions are much more interesting when people are informed, and this is what I will be looking for when grading them…I want them to be informative, thoughtful, interesting!
 * Remember that hybrid classes meet only once a week in the classroom instead of twice and that THIS kind of activity replaces the second class meeting. So when it seems like you are doing a lot of work from home, remember: this time was set aside by the structure of the class as time you’d otherwise be in the classroom anyway. It’s all still taking place during “class” time – it’s just online instead of in a classroom.
 * You get to speak in a more leisurely way in these discussions than when trying to talk “live” in class. Enjoy that! Yes, it’s still “the class” – but in different modes, with many benefits.