The Discussion Board (DB) is part of the core of online learning. Classroom discussion in an online environment requires the active participation of students and the instructor to create robust interaction and dialogue. Every student is expected to create an original response to the open-ended DB question as well as engage in dialogue by responding to posts created by others throughout the week. At the end of each unit, DB participation will be assessed based on both level of engagement and the quality of the contribution to the discussion.

At a minimum, each student will be expected to post an original and thoughtful response to the DB question and contribute to the weekly dialogue by responding to at least two other posts from students. The first contribution must be posted before midnight (Central Time) on Wednesday of each week. Two additional responses are required after Wednesday of each week. Students are highly encouraged to engage on the Discussion Board early and often, as that is the primary way the university tracks class attendance and participation.
The purpose of the Discussion Board is to allow students to learn through sharing ideas and experiences as they relate to course content and the DB question. Because it is not possible to engage in two-way dialogue after a conversation has ended, no posts to the DB will be accepted after the end of each unit.

Assignment Details

As you move through your academic and professional journey, you will be called upon to work with teams and colleagues to share your skills and to collaborate toward the completion of projects and requests. Therefore, the ability to objectively, clearly, and accurately communicate process steps to others is a critical and high-impact skill that is requested by employers. Mastering process writing will enable you to fully participate and articulate what may be needed for a successful outcome.

For this Discussion Board assignment, consider something that you have mastered and that you do frequently. Your choice can be something that you do for work, home, or fun. It can also be something that you do well as a volunteer for your community or civic organization. The choice and process steps of the activity that you choose to present must be original work. Use the rhetorical mode of the process analysis to conduct a process analysis of the steps one would need to follow to complete the activity.

Prewriting before posting your process analysis papers should focus on identifying the steps or stages in the process and putting them in logical order. Remember that the steps should also be in chronological order. Create a post that provides the steps of your process for your classmates to successfully duplicate on their own. Your process must have at least 6 fully developed steps. Post your completed process steps. You may include still images to support written steps. Review your classmates' process posts, and respond with evidence of an attempt to duplicate their process steps.

Sample Process Analysis Writing

Excerpt: How to Change Your E-mail Signature

1. Log in to your e-mail account by pulling up the Webmail extension page and typing in your log-in name and password. Your log-in name is first initial and last name, and you should have received your password separately.

2. Once you are logged in to the e-mail account, open the "Options" tab. This page will describe several kinds of options you can change in order to customize your e-mail account.

3. Scroll down to the fourth bullet point on the "Options" tab, the "Signature" button, and click on it.

4. A new page will open, containing a signature form and drop-down menu. Here, you can compose your signature (the company recommends including your full name, e-mail address, and extension number) and select a font, text size and color. Additional information, like a quotation, is permitted but not required by the company. Keep mindful of the company's policies regarding professionalism if you opt to include a quote.

5. Next, use the drop-down menu to select where in the e-mail you want the signature to appear (above or below any previous messages).

6. Click "save" and close the page. Now the next time you begin to compose an e-mail, your signature line should automatically appear.