Evidence of Engagement with Class Material

Rationale:  In a course such as this one, where much of the work is done in workshop format, it’s easy to lose track of what you do.  For some books or assignments like the Hicks or Kadjer texts, you have Nicenet posts.  You are doing mini-lessons, following along to those of your peers and learning from those.  Sometimes, I have assigned a percentage of the class grade for those kinds of engagements.  This semester, I’m asking you to do something a little different.  Because I think that active participation is vital to learning, I’m asking you to consider the ways in which you’ve been active this semester.  Some of you are listeners or lurkers and don’t feel the need to speak up in class or even post publicly on the NiceNet site. I recognize that’s a valid form of learning.  However, I also want to acknowledge those for whom verbal and written participation is a primary way of learning.  Getting your students to do the reading and to participate in class is a big issue for a lot of you, too, or soon will be. I also want to encourage you to speak up in class, though I know that some of you are "shy" or that your preferred method of processing information is to listen, and I want to validate and encourage that.  But I also want you to get out of your comfort zone once in a while, which means speaking up (for those who are usually silent) or being quiet (for those who process information by talking) occasionally.   
 
What I've come up with as a compromise between giving points for participation (which can be a subjective process) and quizzes over the reading material (which I'm REALLY opposed to) is to put the responsibility back on you to "prove" that you have been engaged in the class material.  There are a number of ways to do that, and I encourage you to think of additional ways not listed below:
       
You could include in the portfolio:

• your reading responses
• your responses to other people's postings throughout the semester
• the notes you've taken during individual class discussions (to "prove" you were paying attention, though quiet)
• a "reflection" on individual class discussions, commenting on points you specifically made that day or on points others made that made you think
• reading responses which refer to specific class discussions (highlighted) activities we've done in class, like writing activities
• a record of your attendance in some way (perhaps in an intro to this section)
• some reflection on your group work and your role in the group
• a record of the postings and contributions you’ve made to the links sections of the NiceNet
• evidence that you’ve followed and responded to others’ reading blogs

In order to meet the target goals for evidence of engagement section of the portfolio, you should:

• demonstrate a sound understanding of technology operations and concepts
• demonstrate knowledge of the practices of oral, visual, and written literacy            
• persuade the reader in a formal introduction of your level of and consistency in engagement with class material.     
• include all relevant evidence, grouped by logical means