Tarleton State University

Music Appreciation

MUSC 313

Dr. Vicky V. Johnson

vjohnson@tarleton.edu

254/968-9238

Requirements and deadlines:  You will have a discussion question each week.  You should post an answer to the question by Friday at midnight.  At least two additional posts (responses to other students' posts) are due by Sunday at midnight.  Points will be deducted from the week's discussion grade if posted late.  Be aware that doing the bare minimum will not earn an "A."

NOTE:  You should read all posts, not just the ones to which you intend to respond.  Blackboard logs all activity and I am aware if you only read 2 posts in a discussion.

Answer the question entirely, not just one thought.  Don't just paraphrase something in the lecture - do some thinking, reading on your own.  It doesn't have to be a long answer, but it should not consist of a single point.  It should also not be a simple yes or no answer, even if you put the word "definitely" in front of it.

In responding to others' answers, feel free to ask them for clarification or for further information to justify their answers.  "I agree" is not a discussion.  Neither is a paraphrase of their post.  Your response should add something to the original post, ask, or answer a question.  Ask questions like "I wonder why . . .," "Why is it that . . . ," "Do you think . . . ," to encourage others to delve deeper into the subject.  Be aware, however, that if your question is not answered, no discussion has happened, so don't leave an unanswered question as one of your only two responses.   Remember that chit chat responses ("I saw you at the movies last night," etc.) will not be counted toward the response post requirement.  As a matter of fact, those belong in the Water cooler!

Also, you are welcome to respond to as many posts as you like, but again, with something of substance, not just a "me, too!" answer.  I am suspect of any answer that begins with "I agree . . . "

Please write in complete sentences and use correct punctuation, capitalization, etc.  We do become accustomed to shorthand in e-mails and text messages, but you should be able to communicate in a more formal manner also, and this is a good forum in which to practice.  You will be graded on this as a writing assignment, both on content and form.

Please begin your response posts with the person's name to whom you are responding.  Some of the threads go back and forth between people and when read in compiled format, become very confusing.

These submissions are time and date stamped, so don't miss the deadlines.   I read all of your posts in context, in the discussion forum.  However, when I grade them in Blackboard, I am looking at only your posts, so keep that in mind when you judge your own participation.

Criteria

Performance Indicators

Failing

Incomplete

Acceptable

Good

Excellent

Original Post

No original post

Incomplete answer

Minimal answer; mostly opinion

Complete answer showing knowledge of reading material

Insightful answer well supported by reading material

0 points

35 points

40 points

45 points

50 points

Responses

No responses including “I agree” responses with no new information

One response missing or one response is an “I agree” response with no new information

Minimal responses  with very little new information

2 complete responses that include new information

More than 2 responses that include new information

0 points

21 points

24 points

27 points

30 points

Peer Review

No ratings given

1-2 ratings given

3-4 ratings given

5-6 ratings given

More than 6 ratings given

0 points

7 points

8 points

9 points

10 points

Posts Read

includes responses

No posts read

Less than 5 read

Less than 10 read

More than half read

All posts read

0 points

7 points

8 points

9 points

10 points

 Writing form

 Posts unavailable to grade writing form

Multiple errors in punctuation, capitalization, grammar, and sentence form

 Several errors in punctuation, capitalization, grammar, and sentence form

Minimal errors in punctuation, capitalization, grammar, and sentence form

Correct punctuation, capitalization, grammar, and sentence form

0 points

7 points

8 points

9 points

10 points

Total points

0

70

80

90

100

Each exam will be available within a two-hour window of time, from 8:00pm to 10:00pm on the test days.  The exams will only be available during the specified times. Each exam should take about 30-40 minutes.  You will have one hour from the time you begin the exam to finish it. 

Each exam will consist of two parts:  1) multiple choice questions based upon the lectures, reading, and other links, and 2) identification of songs from your listening list.  There is a complete list of the audio excerpts on your Study Guide.

In order to do the listening portion of the exams, you must print out the Listening List.  The answers to the listening questions will be the numbers assigned to the songs on that page (without a period after the number).  Do NOT try to type in the name of the song.

Each time you answer a  listening question, a media player will play a song excerpt.  Behind the media player will be a white screen.  You will have to close that screen as well as the media player screen to get back to your test questions.

You will need Windows Media Player installed on your computer in order to listen to the audio clips. Go to http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/10/default.aspx  to download Windows Media Player.

Do not try to take the exam using dial-up as it will take too long to load the audio files and you might not have time to finish the test.

If your computer freezes during the exam, just log back in, and click on 'Continue Assessment' and it will pick you up right where you left off.

Some of the test questions will have more than one correct answer.  Here's an example:

Mickey Mouse is

A.  a Disney character

B.  a cartoon

C.  a character on Law & Order

The correct answer would be to select both "A" and "B".  If you select only "A" you would receive half credit on that particular question.  Always be aware of the possibility of multiple answers and select all that apply.

Submit assignments as  Word documents unless specified otherwise. 

Save the document as Assignment1_YourName.doc (substituting the correct week and correct assignment number and using your own name :-)

Use a heading at the top of the page which includes your name and the assignment number. Use a heading on every assignment you submit.

Upload the Word document in the assignment section as an attachment.  Do NOT send your assignment to me via e-mail.  If you can't submit it, contact me and I will reset the submission.

Occasionally your assignments may be returned to you for a redo.  Make your corrections and resubmit through the Assignment section as before.  If I send it back to you, I will not count it late even though Blackboard automatically marks it "Late" in the Assignment section.  If your original submission is late, you will be penalized 10% of the point value.

Note:

 It is very important that you name your file according to the instructions above.  Otherwise, I have to rename each file.  So please take a moment to rename the file before submission if you do not name it as above originally.