Here are the answers to some questions about how and what to contribute to the website:
Who can contribute to this website?
The focus of this website is the class: BUS 477 at SFU. Since the topic of new venture planning is of interest to past and future students as well our guest speakers and other enterpreneurs, participation in the Class Discussion forum is open. Students who are currently registered can post whatever they want to the forum. To keep things focused on the class, I moderate the posts of non-students.
How do I get a username (UN) and password (PW)?
Everyone who is on the class list has been given a UN and PW. Your UN is your first name and last name as it appears on the class list. Your password was distributed to you in my introductory email to the class. If you're not registered in the class and want to be a regular contributor, please contact me for a UN/PW.
Yes, you have to use your actual name not your dog's name or your zodiac sign.
How do I change a username (UN) or password (PW)?
Your UN is your name, so it shouldn't change. It should be in the format Firstname Last name. There should be a space between them. In some cases, there may *not* be a space, so try both ways if you have trouble. Your UN is case sensitive.
Note: The name I used is your name as it appears on the class list I was given by SFU. (I assume the name you used when you registered at SFU, rather than your nickname or English name.) If you are new to the class, auditing, a former student or you change your name, I will need to add you or edit your UN, so please contact me.
I recommend you change your password, as otherwise, your
buddies may post stuff under your name that could get you into hot water.
How do I make a post in the class forum?
- Log in with your username and password. (The login box is on the left-hand side of the page.)
- Click on Class Discussion Forum on either the left hand navigaton bar or the top of the page. This will take you to the main forum page where you will see an overview of the discussion topics and activity
- Click on Post new forum topic. This will take you to the editor.
- Subject. Give your topic a relevant subject name such as "Assignment #2 question", "Chapter #6 comment"
- Forums. From the drop-down list, pick the appropriate discussion
- Body. Enter your comments in the box labeled "body". You might want to preview the message to make sure its what you want to say. If not, you can always edit later
- Existing topic? Click on the topic you want to comment on, then "Add a new comment". Don't forget to save your comment.
What do I post to the forum?
That's up to you! Part of your grade for this class is for class and community participation.
- If you thought something we covered in class sucks, then say it.
- If you found a great resource that other students in the class might benefit from, share it.
- If you have a question about the class or class content, ask it.
I will seed some discussions that I feel are relevant to the class such as "What did you think of the assigned reading?" If you posted a question or opinion on the website or raised the issue in class, I will know you were not sleeping... otherwise, I might assume you were. If you don't ask questions, I assume you understand.
Note, I am looking for quality when it comes time to assign your participation grades. If you want your comment to count toward your grades, be sure to make a good arguement. Why do you think something sucks? Compare and contrast the resource you are suggesting to other resources.
How can I keep track of new discussion topics and imporntant information about the class?
You will find new content in two (2) places:
- Main page. This is information posted by the instructor that is relevant to everyone in the class. You will find the agendas for upcoming classes, guest speaker bios and similar information. You can not comment on these postings. If you have questions about something on the main page, please start a discussion topic using the relevant subject
- Discussion forums. Anyone can contribute to the class discussion forum. To keep thing simple, there are only 3 discussion categories, as clarified below.
Note: If you log in with your UN and PW, updates to the discussion forum topics will be flagged for you in yellow so you can very easily keep track of what's new.
How do I classify my contribution to the forum?
To make it easier for you and others to follow our discussion threads, please try to classify your posts according to one of the categories in the drop-down box. Those classifications are clarified here:
Text and Readings
- If your question or thought refers to something from the class text book or one of the assigned readings.
Assignment
- If your question or thought refers to one of the assignments
Other
- any contribution that doesn't relate to the readings or assignments
Moderation queue message. What's that about?
If you make a contribution to the discussion forum, and you get the message "
Your comment has been queued for moderation by site administrators and will be published after approval", it is because you are not recognized as someone in the class.
Check to make sure you have logged in with the UN and PW that was assigned to you at the start of the class.
The discussions are open to people from outside of the class, but to prevent spam, any postings from non-students need to be approved by the instructor.
Commenting on a discussion topic
I strongly encourage you to comment on the discussion topics. This is an extension of our in-class discussions and your contributions count toward your class participation grades.
Leaving a comment is very simple:
- from the list of topics in the forum, click on the topic you are interested in. The details of the topic and any discussion thread will be shown
- at the bottom of the topic, you will see the name of the person who contributed it, the date and a link to "Add New Comment". Click the link to add your comment
Hints about adding comments:
- be sure you are logged in as otherwise, your comment will be seen as being annonymous and will have to wait for approval.
- be sure to use a relevant subject name so you and others will be able to find the commnet in the future.
