Hello eveyone!
 
Here are some teaching suggestions related to the course content.
Each of these can count as student participation, with you evaluating
the quality level as you see fit.
 
1.   Students read the articles by Coates and Parrillo and post separate
     analytical commentaries (one or two paragraphs) on Forum.
 
2.   Students go to HateWatch (under specific conflicit site information)
     and do a brief demo report in a computer lab as other students
     view same site (on individual monitors or projection screen).
 
                        and/or
 
     Students post analytical report on Forum, giving the URL address,
     and commentary on the site's subtlely, cleverness, crudeness, etc.,
     and they also try to cite the fallacies of the site, if they can.
 
3.   Possible student activities during study of international conflict
     sites, continent by continent.  Varying the ideas below is best,
     but you can adapt these for your own purposes.
 
     ROLE PLAYING.  One or two students take one side of the
     conflict and one or two students take the other.   The rest of the
     class is the "Court of World Opinion."  Each side presents its
     case with the assignment to verbally "blow the opponent out of
     the water."  They can interrupt each other, put forth "evidence"
     of the rightness of their position or the brutality of the other
     side.  Try to get all the conflicts listed under the "Contemporary
     Conflicts" source covered.  Allow 10-15 minutes for each conflict.
 
     REPORT TO THE PRESIDENT: Each student becomes an
     advisor to the President and files a briefing report on a particular
     conflict on Forum under that continent's thread.
 
     CLASS DISCUSSION.  Students come to class prepared to
     the issues and merits of the conflict.
 
     CURRENT EVENTS.  Often incidents or newspaper stories
     offer material relevant to the course.  Students should post these
     on Forum on their own initiative.  Another approach is to raise
     questions, challenge others' comments, offer provocative
     thoughts.
 
Got your own ideas?  Share them with us!
 
Please remember to have your students use the Forum back button, not
one in Netscape or Explorer.  Simultaneous multiple use in a computer
lab may temporarily freeze Forum.  If that happens, have everyone exit
Forum, wait two minutes, then do it one-by-one.  While waiting, students
can prepare their writing on the word processor or explore the web sites.
 
                                                Vince Parrillo