What's all the fuss about?

There seems to be a great deal of confusion about the first online assignment. So let me break it down into parts.

Joining the site. If you have ever signed up for an email account, you can do this. All you need to do is supply a name and an email address and you are done. Once you have been confirmed as a member then you will be able to add and make changes to the site. I know that you have to wait to be confirmed, but you have had a week to do this. Waiting until the last minute to get the work done never allows you the time required for sorting out any problems which arise.

Writing the assignment. If I had asked you to write the answers on paper you would have done it without any complaint. Two questions, both of which require answers that you make up yourself, is not a tough assignment. Not for IB anyway. Having to put this text online does not make the assignment itself any more difficult. Your answers will be the same regardless of how they are submitted. Perhaps the idea of commenting on your classmates made you nervous. This should be less difficult than the original writing, all you need to do is agree or disagree. You do this automatically when discussing your assignments outside of class. Critical analysis of written pieces is an essential skill for IB and this course.

Posting the assignment. As I demonstrated in class, your answers need to be posted as a reply to the original thread. If you post it in a separate thread you will not receive marks for the assignment. It is like turning in your homework to the wrong teacher. Scroll down to the bottom of the page write your answer and click 'Post'. Any problems experienced are on your end. I have been using this site for assignments like this for two years now without difficulty.

Why are you given an assignment like this in the first place?

Why submit it online and include responses?

At this point in your life you should possess the problem solving skills to work out the details of a new situation. Ignoring the problem doesn't work. Making excuses doesn't work either. Waiting until the last minute and hoping that someone does it for you will not make you successful in this class, in IB or in life.

This is the easy part of our course, the introduction. The real work begins this week and continues until May 2010. I hope you will be there for it.