COMP6023 NewsU course

I asked students to take an online course at NewsU and to report back with their results and anything they found interesting. Some students have questioned whether this was a task that formed part of the minimum requirements for Week 04, or whether it was a suggestion. Was it an obligation or merely a suggestion.?

The works "should" has a few meanings:  

should |SHo͝od| modal
verb ( 3rd sing. should )
1 used to indicate obligation, duty, or correctness, typically when criticizing someone's actions: he should have been careful | I think we should trust our people more | you shouldn't have gone. 
• indicating a desirable or expected state: by now students should be able to read with a large degree of independence. 
• used to give or ask advice or suggestions: you should go back to bed | what should I wear? • (I should) used to give advice: I should hold out if I were you.


So clearly "should" could have several meanings. In future I will try to use the word "must" so there is no confusion.

I have reviewed the recording of the class I made on 10 October when I discussed it further and I believe that anyone who was there that day should not have been in any doubt that I meant it to be a requirement.

However, I am still keen for students to take the course. Students may take the course if they wish at this late stage, and provided they complete it and post about it by noon on Monday next, I will assess it as if it had been completed in Week 04.

For minimum marks for Week 04 students must

• summarize what we did in class
• take the course
• take the exam until a score of 80% or greater is achieved
• select the option to have the result sent to me by e-mail

To earn more marks students may

• comment on anything they found interesting about the course, or anything that surprised them
• express an opinion on something related to the course or the content from class

Students who posted nothing in Week 04 may post an entry up to noon on Monday.

Students who took the course and reported their result, but did little else may still report on anything they found especially interesting.

Any students wishing to avail of this opportunity should title the post Week 04 - Late, so as to distinguish it from the Week 05 entry.

The Week 04 entry and the Week 04 - Late entry will be treated as a single entry made on time.

Update: someone asked me in class if they should make a new entry or edit the old one. I said to make a new one. But if there are grammar or spelling mistakes in the old entry they should be corrected.