Units 5 and 6 – What to do

By | March 25, 2015

Since I’m late getting the directions and assignments up for Unit 5, I’ll just go ahead and combine Unit 5 and 6.

For Unit 5 and 6, I want you to do the following:

  1.  You need to read:
    •  Read and listen/watch as needed to Jim’s Posts for Unit 5 and 6; post to your own blog your thoughts and reactions
      • I’ve been relatively quiet lately due to unexpected demands for meetings at the school.  However, I have a couple of interesting public presentations regarding healthcare, Social Security, Medicare, and intergenerational transfer economics.  Plus I’m presenting on the change in higher education at the Higher Learning Commission annual conference too.  (busy boy).  I’m making next week.  I’m putting together a series of posts that will appear over the coming few days explaining the key points.
    • While I’m going to explain some things in posts (and develop a few quiz questions based on them), for these units, I’m shifting the emphasis a bit.  I’ll be posting some links to several articles, some short, some longish, about healthcare, social security, education, and intergenerational economics.  You need to read some of them.  You don’t have to read all of the links, although you’re welcome to if you have time.  I expect you to react, post, and comment on at least a couple of them.
    • Read each other’s posts as they come in.  I recommend checking the course home page each day or every other day if possible.
  2. Take the quiz on the required Jim’s Readings/Viewings.  Quiz 5 and 6 will be combined in D2L.
  3. Continue to surf the web and follow links, etc. to try to find interesting things – particularly related to this topic. 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.
    • If you still haven’t gotten your book and you’re being stopped by the cost issue, seriously consider going to your local library or school library.  You can check one out, read it, return it, all for free.
  5. Make some posts. At this point, you need to make 8 posts for units 5, 6, and 7 together.   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.
  6. As you get closer to April 12, get some thought to which of your posts have been your “best work”.  In mid- to late-April I will ask you tell me which 2 posts you consider your “best”.  Those posts will be assessed using a rubric to determine points.

The revised syllabus says to be done with all this by around April 12 if we’re to have time to handle Unit 7 and 8 properly.

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