Good morning SDG Asia project participants!
Some of you may have noticed the course completion status block on the right side of the workshop course (just under Online Users).
This block tracks the activity of each participant, and records if their participation has reached the required level.
See the attached screenshot, with two yellow arrows pointing to the number of activities completed, and a link to "More details".
In order to complete this course satisfactorily, each participant should post at least ONCE on the Introduction Forum, and at least THREE times on each unit discussion forum.
As you can see in the attached screenshot, I have completed 2 out of 9 activities required.
For more information on your course progress, click on the link for "More details".
I'm sure you all understand that while the workshop course can track the quantity of participation, what is more important is the quality of the participation!
A major goal of this project is to facilitate the exchange of ideas and perspectives between the participants.
For a good example of this, see the SDG 11 discussion in the Lady Doak College team area! Maheswari and Krishna are discussing carpooling and terrace farming, and Madhavan, Manju, and I are discussing how cow dung can be used for cooking (pros and cons), and elephant dung can be used to make paper!
In the YFEED area of the SDG 11 forum, Krishna, Manju, Abinash, and Gokul are discussing sustainable city design, urban traffic, and satellite cities!
These are great examples of exactly the sort of peer-to-peer exchange we are hoping will develop on this course, focused on the four SDGs and eventually the creation of a multimedia essay! Notice how Manju starts out by addressing who she is talking to, e.g. "Hi Abinash". You can also see that it is a Reply to him from the way her post is indented under Abinash's post, but it makes it more personal to clearly address who you are talking to, similar to email etiquette. Also, put your name at the bottom to "sign" your post, especially if you want people to address you less formally than your registered user name, e.g. "Bram" for Abraham, and "Mahe" for Maheswari.
Also note that the contributors are including links back to news, research articles, and relevant YouTube videos. Finally, notice that they are having a conversation, not making speeches! A good online discussion is very similar to chatting with someone at a party: try to keep it interesting and informative, react to what other people contribute, and don't try to dominate the conversation. A bit of humor now and then is always welcome, too!
Discussions are timely activities, so try to login to the workshop every day or two to see what people are talking about, contribute your perspective, or start a new topic! Posting in other team areas is strongly encouraged!
Note that participation in each discussion forum is tracked for 2 weeks: a week before the associated web conference, and a week after. If you haven't completed 3 posts in the SDG 7 discussion forum, time to get busy, as posts after June 2 will not count towards completion! (but you are welcome to continue discussing topics there, for the duration of the course)
Finally, I have put a link to a Doodle poll asking each participant to indicate "When is the best date & time for this week's web conference?". The link is in the "Getting Started" section at the top of the course. Open the poll, enter your name, and select the best block of time on Friday June 1 or Saturday June 2 for you to attend the web conference about SDG 11: morning, afternoon, or evening. (there may be an advertisement in the middle of the choices, so look below it for more choices. Aiyah Doodle, what a place to put an ad!)
Best wishes for your success,
Brant
