Unit 4 – What to do

For Unit 4, I want you to do the following:

1.  You need to read:
   • Read and listen/watch as needed to Jim’s Posts for Unit 4; post to your own blog your thoughts and reactions
   • Read each other’s posts as they come in.  I recommend checking the course home page each day or every other day if possible.
   • Read Parts IV, the last part of Maddison book; post to your own blogs your own thoughts or reactions
2. Take the quiz (10 questions MC in D2L) on the required Jim’s Readings/Viewings and the Maddison book.
3. Continue to surf the web and follow links, etc. to try to find interesting things. If you find something, try posting about it.  Something about what? Well anything that seems related to the kind of stuff we’re talking about so far in the course.  It’s open.
4. If you haven’t already selected which book you want to read & review do it now. Create a minor post to announce it.  The book store page lists suggested books. You may pick any books off that list OR you may suggest to me another title. I’ll generally approve most books, but I just want to make sure the book is relevant.  Also, there have been a few times in the past when somebody has suggested a book I’m familiar with and I can offer some tips like “are you sure?  That book is really written at an advanced graduate, technical level with a lot of math”. There’s guidance for this assignment at the How To posts.
5. Make some posts. At this point, to receive the full points credit for posts for unit 2, you need to make at least two substantial posts. Feel free to post more times and to post shorter types of things or just links with brief comments, but I’d like to see at least two posts that try to make some kind of point.
   • Suggested ideas for post topics include, but are not limited to:
     • What in Maddison readings surprised or intrigued you – perhaps something you didn’t realize before.
     • What reaction do you have to the required readings posts I (Jim) made?  Is there a point you wish you disagree with, don’t understand, strongly agree with?  Did I cause any questions to rise in your mind that you’d like either me (Jim) to respond to?
     • Have the readings prompted an idea/question/issue in your mind that you’d like your fellow students to weigh in on?  Why?

The revised syllabus says to be done with all this by March 16, the end of spring break and also the half-way point in the term.