Comments from students with NO instructor interaction
Student 1
The discussion boards were good interaction between all the students. Most of them were receptive to critiques as well as fair in delivering them as well. I feel it is always beneficial to gain access to other students' opinions as a progressive learning tool for self-development. I enjoyed completing the peer review essays because it gives the other students an additional opportunity to view the difference ways we all think. Seeing others' viewpoints and writing styles helped to make me (in my opinion) a better writer.
Student 2
I would first like to start off with saying that I enjoyed this class being in the military and attempting to convert back and fourth between the two different writing styles is sometimes difficult. This was not the case in your course I didn't dread it like previous English classes. I personally enjoyed the peer reviews that were the first time that I have ever done anything like that and when I took the advice from my peers and the instructor I noticed a dramatic change in my grades. The discussion boards were fun and informative I enjoyed discussing topics with my fellow classmates.
Student 3
I can say without a shadow of a doubt that I did learn to think in more critical ways. The weekly assignments that we did after we read helped me immensely. The questions were thought provoking and gave me a new way to look at each reading assignment. I think that the discussion boards were thought provoking and gave me a new way to look at each topic. Being that this is an online course the discussion boards were the only way to see how someone else interpreted the reading assignments. I think that the peer reviews were outstanding. The thing that I liked the most was that my peer editors didn't hold back and just say "good job".
Student 4
Thinking in a new way is something that was accomplished by me reading the discussion boards of others. I thought the discussion boards were really thought provoking. You start to see that some people think one way and some another. It was funny to see how so many different factors can affect your decisions and thoughts. By reading the discussion boards I could see that race, geographical location, sex, birth location, job, political party, economic stability, marital status, kids or no kids, all played factors in people's thoughts. There are so many more characteristics that you could see in peoples writing. I really tried to place myself in their situations while reading their discussions instead of just thinking I agree or I disagree. Despise is a strong word, but I would have to say that I disliked the peer reviews the most. First of all they never seemed to work right. Next, I didn't enjoy having to critique a fellow student. Especially grading a student had a better grasp of the subject than I did.
Student 5
My only negative feeling, was with the peer reviews. I did enjoy reading the other students' writings. However, I was on shaky ground myself with the MLA format, so I felt it unfair for me to judge those documents. I just didn't feel like I was giving them the quality review they deserved. Discussion boards were as always hit and miss. In actuality my last couple (peer group 3); I was the only one participating, so it felt like a huge waste of time (1). Participating in the DB did force me to read all of the assignments and give a point of view on them whether I got a response or not.
Student 6
The discussion boards, peer review and feedback assignments were helpful in getting through the course of work. The enjoyment that I experienced with this class is the feedback from other students in reference to discussion board submissions and peer reviews. In submitting my papers to be reviewed by my peers allowed me to see how others viewed my work from their standpoint. The exciting part about this process was the fact that some of my peers had little or no experience editing papers as I had little experience as well. The peer review also taught me to think in a more critical and new way when editing my paper. I really enjoyed the interaction that I experienced with my peers and their feedback on the given subjects.
The discussion board activities were another means of critical thinking being activated. When during the research for my weekly discussion board I ran across some interesting articles and events. The discussion board exercises offered another avenue to explore and to see what the world is up to in technology. The activity opened windows to the world of technology so that one can keep abreast on what is happening and to see how the world can benefit from inventions.
Briefing