Discussions
Our American Capitalism discussion presents us with a unique opportunity to engage the world in a discussion about the topics presented in the course. We ask you to build community and share, in your own words, your thoughts about the course content and news or research related to the class. We ask that you use the discussion space as:
- A forum for discussing topics raised in the course.
- A medium to discuss questions about assignments, readings, and course content with peers and course staff.
- A medium for collaboration and the exchange of ideas.
- An online meeting place for social interaction among peers.
Discussion boards are moderated by the course instructional team. There are a variety of discussion boards set up for the course.
- General Q&A discussion board – A general Q&A forum will be set up at the beginning of the course. Here, you can post and answer questions regarding the course.
- Discussion boards embedded in subsections – A few discussion boards are embedded in the subsections of the course. These are very specific questions that you can discuss with others in the class and are related to the content within a subsection.
- Homework discussion boards – There will be space set up for you to discuss specific homework questions with others.
- News of the week boards – These will be made available for you to share news items and ideas related to American Capitalism with others.
For more information on discussion boards, please see below and refer to the discussion board details https://www.edx.org/blog/getting-most-out-edx-discussion-forums.
In order for discussion boards to run smoothly, please refer to the guidelines below for basic discussion board etiquette. How you phrase your posts is important. Please remember that the participants in the MOOC come from all over the world, representing a variety of cultures and speaking many different languages. Be respectful of others and be aware of the tone of your posts. Think through and re-read your posts before posting! A few guidelines are outlined below.
- When notifying the course staff of bugs or technical issues. Include [STAFF] at the beginning of your post’s title – this will help us identify your question or problem and respond to it quickly.
- Please limit your posts/responses to 200 words or less (by request of EdX). In other words, be concise in your posts/responses.
- Reflect on and respond to Discussion Board questions and post your contribution, in your own words.
- To build community, we ask that you review 1-2 items posted by your classmates and respond to at least one of those postings.
- Before posting, read what others have previously posted to avoid repeating comments. You can always upvote good posts. Click on the green “plus” button so that good posts and/or responses can be found more easily. You can search by votes to find the most interesting posts.
- Never use derogatory language or make insensitive comments. (You should flag inappropriate posts!)
- Do not personally attack people. It’s fine to disagree, but use facts and reasons to back up an argument, not personal attacks.
- Stick to the topic of the discussion board.
- Remember that humor is often difficult to convey in text – avoid it if people might not understand what you are trying to say.
- Avoid slang and use appropriate spelling – given the diversity in the class, what might mean something to you will not mean the same thing to someone else. Correct spelling and grammar will help others to understand you and provide useful responses. Avoid using ALL CAPS, abbrv of wrds (abbreviation of words), and excessive punctuation!!!!!!!!!
- Use correct grammar.
- If you reference something, provide everyone with the link or reference.