This is a message for my MW sections of HST 102. If you are in the M section, ignore this.

It has come to my attention that there has been a problem with some students signing up for wiki groups and then not contacting their groups, contributing any work, or doing much of anything. Presumably these students assume they are going to earn grades for these wiki groups despite not doing anything — what we might term free-loading.

Consider this, then, a reminder (because I apparently need to remind some of you of this) that if you sign up for a wiki group and then do nothing to help the group write the wiki, prepare the presentation, or whatever, and this comes to my attention, you will receive NO POINTS for that particular wiki module.

It is incumbent on you to make an effort to participate in the wiki groups. It is not the responsibility of the rest of the group to chase you down.

Just a head’s up…

This is a message for my MW HST 102 sections. If you are in my M HST 102 section, you can ignore this.

I have opened up the materials for Module #4 on European imperialism. This includes the module sign-up sheets. In terms of schedule, this is how things will shake out:

Your Module #4 Presentations will take place on Wednesday, November 2, 2011. Your Module #4 Personal Interest Essays will be due by the start of class on Monday, November 7, 2011. You will also have a quiz over Module #4 on that Monday as well.

We’re going to dip in and out of this one pretty quickly. Materials for Module #5 should go live later this week.

This message is for my HST 102 MW sections. If you are in the Monday section, ignore this.

Tomorrow (Wednesday, 19 October 2011) you have your first set of wiki exhibit presentations. There’s a couple of papers you need to bring to class so that everything runs smoothly. First, you must print off and bring five (5) copies of the Student Presentation Evaluation Form, which you can find on your course syllabus page under the heading that describes the Wiki assignment.

Second, you will need to print off, fill out, and turn in a copy of the Group Peer Evaluation Form, which you can find in the same place as above. This is due by Monday, 24 October 2011.

Lastly, I have posted the Instructor Rubric Form that I use to grade your wiki presentations. This is for your information; you do not need to print this off or do anything with it. It’s there to give you a more specific idea of how I approach grading your presentations.

Also, I will be opening up the materials for modules #4 and #5 shortly, including the Google Documents for module subtopic sign-ups. I’ll ping you again when it’s all up and ready for you.

Oh yes, and when it comes to some questions I have had about your Personal Interest Essays, please remember that, per your assignment sheet, you must create a new page and post your PIE to the course wiki (placing it in the Personal Interest Essays subfolder). You must then create a link to it on the main module place in the appropriate spot (the bottom left box; it’s labeled). If you do not link your essay on the main module page, I will not count it as submitted nor will I grade it.

We’ve had an issue pop up with people uploading RRQs as different files but using the same file names actually overwriting the previous owner’s file on the wiki. I have two things to say about this. First, I would prefer that you post the text of your RRQs to your individual student page, not upload a distinct file (pdf, docx, or whatever). If you have already done this for tonight’s RRQs, that’s fine. Don’t rush around and change it, but in the future, put your text directly on the page. Second, if you must absolutely upload a file and post links, please make sure you give the file a unique name (preferably including your name; “Devenney RRQ 1″ is much better than “RRQ 1″).

First a reminder, then a pointer, and finally a new assignment:

If you have not done so already, please remember to complete the first assignment on the course wiki (http://hst102.pbworks.com) before 5pm on Tuesday. This includes creating your personal page, placing it in the correct file folder, and listing and linking the page on the wiki’s front page. I have noticed that there is a large number of students who have created a page, but have not linked it on the front page. Please note: I will not grade the later wiki work of any student who does not complete this first assignment. This is not an optional exercise. If after viewing the video tutorial you are still unsure how to insert links, remember that the “Add Link” button in the editing tab is your best bet here.

Second, for those of you still feeling a bit overwhelmed by the wiki experience, I have created a Practice Page, which is a page you can enter and mess around with, testing features, learning the very basic PBWorks syntax, and whatever else you want to vandalize, all without messing up the other core pages of the wiki. Feel free to use and abuse that page as you see fit — however, no obscenity or lewdness please.

Finally, I have posted another assignment to the wiki main page. This activity must be completed by this Friday at 5pm and involves posting a short biography/statement of personal interests to your individual student page (please see the assignment for full details). This is a seemingly innocuous but rather important assignment needed for you to complete later assignments in the course, so please do not blow this off. If you have any questions about this, or anything else in this post, please don’t hesitate to contact me or ask me after class on Wednesday.

Update: The assignments in this message are only for my MW sections of HST 102. If you are in my M section, disregard this. I’ll make sure to brand the specific messages better next time.