EDF 6481 - Discussions

Course Discussions

The purpose of the threaded discussions available for students enrolled in this course are to facilitate sharing of thoughts, ideas, resources, and information related to EDF 6481.

To begin participating in threaded discussions you should first read the brief description and instructions for posting and replying to threaded discussions below. Following this brief description you will find links to each discussion under each week's heading along with the due dates for posting and replying.

Thread:
A thread is a directory or sequence of "posts." You can also think of it as a sequence of responses to an initial message posting. This enables you to follow or join an individual discussion in a newsgroup from among the many that may be there. A thread is usually shown graphically as an initial message and successive messages are "hung off" the original message. Each thread must have one original post and can have an unlimited number of reply posts. Any registered users can contribute to any thread. There is no restriction on the number of posts in any given thread.

Post:
A post is any message or comment that has been submitted. There are two kinds of posts: original posts and reply posts. An original post begins a new discussion and acts as an anchor for a new "thread." A reply post is submitted in response to an existing post.

Participation:
It's easy to participate in a Threaded Discussion. Threaded Discussions allow you to share ideas and discuss topics of interest with other class members. All assignments that require you to post to a threaded discussion will also require you to read all of your peers' posts and reply to at least three of them. Although you may complete your participation in a single visit, it is wise to frequently check back to the thread to see if others (peers and/or instructor) have replied to your post with a query for you to answer.

Posting to the threaded discussion:

Click on the Threaded Discussion link in the directions of the assignment.
Read the topic of discussion and click on the word Post at the top of the page.
Fill in the Subject box with the topic of the week (Assignment ? Name of Assignment).
Fill in the From box with your first and last name. This is important! It is the only way for your instructor and mentor to identify that you completed that portion of your assignment.
Fill in the Comments box with the ideas you wish to share.
Click on Post Article at the bottom of the screen, when you have everything filled out.
After you have posted a message, return to the main page and hit "refresh" or "reload" on your Web browser to view your remarks. (Note: After submitting a post, you should always check the main page to confirm that the post was submitted successfully.)

Responding to an existing message:

After reading an existing message, click on the Reply button at the top of the screen.
Fill in that form, and Click on the "Post Article" button at the bottom of the form.
After you have responded to a previous message, return to the main page and "refresh" or "reload" your Web browser to view your remarks. (Note: After submitting a reply, you should always check the main page to confirm that the post was submitted successfully.)

Troubleshooting Tips

I strongly suggest that you use your word processor to construct your original post for each threaded discussion. This will allow you to spell check your assignment as well as save and keep a copy of it in case technical difficulties arise and your post does not get submitted successfully the first time.

If you are unable to submit a reply or use the reply link, the problem may be due to Internet security software, such as Norton Antivirus or Internet Security. When you attempt to submit a reply, you should pay attention to whether any type of prompt or alert appears. If you are using Norton Antivirus, the following box may appear briefly on the screen:

You may also receive a prompt like this one:

If you receive one or both of these prompts, you should configure your security program to allow communication with the reply form. The steps for changing your settings will vary depending on which program (and which version) you are using, but the concepts are similar across programs. Below are steps for configuring Norton Antivirus:

If the prompt you receive looks similar to the one shown above (but it allows you to select whether you want to permit [allow] or block the attempt), select the option for "permit" (or "allow").
If you do not receive a prompt (or if the prompt you receive does not give you the option of making a selection for "allow" or "block", open your security program.
Click the button or command that allows you to view and change options. In most programs, the button will be labeled as "options", "settings", or "configuration".
In the Options dialog box, click the link for Internet Worm Protection.
Click the button labeled configure exclusions.
Scroll down until you find an item labeled "HTTP IIS SHTML Request". Remove the checkmark from the box, and click the OK button. (Note: If the initial prompt you received listed something different in the instrusion line, you need to uncheck that item on the list.)
Click the OK button until you turn to the main screen for your security program.
Exit the security program, and try to submit a reply.

If you have Norton Internet Security installed, you can add the server that runs the discussions to the list of trusted sites in your security program. To do so:

Open Internet Security.
Click the personal firewall button or link (or double-click on the personal firewall icon).
Click the networking button or link.
Click the trusted button or link.
Click the add button or link.
Click the option labeled "individually".
Enter the following IP address: 143.88.89.10.
Click OK until you return to the main page of the security program.
Close the security program, and try to submit a reply.

You may link directly to any of the threaded discussion links below to read, post, and reply or you may reach the appropriate discussion via the corresponding assignment page. Please remember that participating in threaded discussions and posting messages to the course listserv are two different things.

WEEK 1: