3rd+Wiki+Assignment+-+RSS+-Heidi+Helgren

Heidi Helgren MGT 251 Business Law I Objective Assignment will meet: Increase student interest in law topics, and provide a broader range of topics for the students to pick from.

Description of previous assignment: MGT 251 is a "W" course, and as part of the writing requirement, students are required to pick a legal topic and write a paper about it. They must explain the topic, give case law or statutes, and defend their positions.

Rationale for assignment revision: Many students feel totally lost - when I just let them go in determing their own topics. It is not odd to get an email from a student in a panic - one week before the assignment due date, that they do not have a topic yet - and can I just pick something for them. I leave it so broad because I want them to write about something that truly interests them so they can commit to it and defend their position. I think requiring them to sign up with an RSS and subscribe to news blogs or legal sites would help them narrow down their topic.

Technology to be used: I liked bloglines, and it seemed pretty user friendly - so I would continue with that.

Instructions students will need to use technology: I thought the instructions provided by Richardson were really easy to follow - it seems too that the bulk of my students are pretty savvy in surfing around the internet and could probably figure out how to set up an RSS for themselves and I could suggest links for them to subscribe to.

Brief description of content: Textbook, lectures, lists of appropriate legal websites, surfing probably through Google, and then signing up also for the general news sites on bloglines.

Instructions to complete assignment: I think I would have the students print off the home page of bloglines - so I could see which sites they subscribed to. Then I would have a discussion board posting where students would share those sites with each other, and make comments about the recent additions they are receiving updates on.

Grading criteria, rubric, and assessment: I'm not sure it's fair to grade on the RSS - expect to give them points for doing it and sharing with others. I guess I don't feel confident enough yet that I could grade them on how precise or efficient they set it up.