Online Forums and Chat Sessions

While you will each be studying individually, this online course will have a group participatory element to it. The website includes online forums where you will be able to write questions and comments and which will be accessible to all students in the course, as well as teachers. You can imagine these forums as a sort of virtual group study session, in which you can exchange questions and ideas, seek advice, and respond to your fellow classmates’ inquiries. Just as in a normal classroom, others can learn from your questions and you can learn from other’s questions. Your participation in these forums is required for this course and we expect you to contribute by posting questions, responses, or comments.

In addition to the online forums, there will be four live chat sessions scheduled throughout the course - one every two weeks. These will occur during weeks 2, 4, 6, and 8. In these chat sessions, all students and teachers will connect at the same time for 45 minutes in order to address any challenges or questions and discuss your progress.

Together, the online forums and chat sessions make up the participatory aspect of the course, and participation in them will contribute to your final score. This evaluation will be based on the quantity and quality of your contributions to the online forums each week and in the live chat sessions every two weeks.