I find the online forums to be a crucial part for this course, as students have limited opportunities to engage in class. In my opinion their format and materials are very well put together and for me personally at least, they were successful in providing me many more opportunities to engage in a deeper discussion about the material being covered. Maybe some students misjudge this class to be an easy A and don't expect to put in the amount of time outside the classroom that is required to pass this course.

I think the forums are helpful and make up a fair portion of the grade. I myself didn't complete all of them but this was due to my own choice and really doesn't reflect the quality of the forum itself. For the forums I did participate in I found the information was generally quite interesting and had me engaged with the information that learned myself and from other students.

I liked the forums - I felt a little intimidated at first but then the more I did them the more comfortable I felt! 

Interesting materials and I liked having different subjects to discuss rather than just one. 

it was hard sometimes to respond to people who wrote a full page plus for one post I did not even want to read them let alone respond to. I think to make the post a paragraph or two is the best length but it was a little difficult to respond to those post if someone already responded.

It's important to post often, this ensures an easy A for this part of the class.  It's worth the time and the effort, and the engagement helps to see issues from differing points of view.  This provokes thoughtful contemplation of the material.

I could've done more to interact throughout the weeks, I mostly made an initial post and then waited until the last night to reply to a few more posts. I don't know about other people, but online assignments I feel like are less-motivating to complete in general.

This feedback was anonymous, so I can't tell you who wrote it.  However, I can tell you that any students who post on only two days of the week will have their scores penalized 10%, a full letter grade deduction.  Read the instructions.

I really enjoyed the forums because they allowed me to say what I thought, in an environment that was less intimidating, and then allow me to see what others thought in my group and get a better perspective on our topic, if I had any confusion. I was fortunate to have a good group for all the posting, so there was a lot of thoughtful information, some of which I didn’t think of, helping to clarify. For future students, if you schedule a designated time everyday to post, you won’t forget to do it, and your grade will thank you. 

I didn't do too well on the forums, but I really liked that there were multiple choices for topics that you could choose from, that really helped. 

I was just never very interested in the forum topics.

the feed back I have for future students is to just if you think theres nothing you can write to respond to someone else then write on another part of the question or evaluate on your own question or say that you agree with someone and why you agree with them I guess 

Most of the forums felt like there was too little reward for a genuine effort.

If you had any questions about your scores, or the scores you earned did not match the How Forums are Graded instructions, I sure hope you contacted the instructor.  I would have been happy to give you an explanation of the scores.

My concerns were not with the forums material to post from, my concerns were that having to have a "discussion" with other students. If we all are posting and some as you say only post once or never, then who are we really having a discussion with? If the information in someone else's posts are not differing from your own and you go in to have a conversation with that other student it really just comes across as a nod in agreeance and no real depth to add to what was already said. I also find it difficult to compose as you suggested long posts on google docs on my phone. I work and go to school, I also have multiple other assignments in these classes. I have to be wise about my time. If im waiting around until after work late in the evening for others to post on these forums then its a pain to add to a discussion and it mean anything and carry any weight. Some things that require opinion were easier to comment on but I found the amount of times needed to contribute to the conversation was excessive. This class is a challenging class which is good and truly interesting, the hybrid part of it is not my favorite part of it though.

I appreciate your feedback.  I change the group members around for each forum.  It sounds as if you may have had a forum with students who did not participate "throughout the week" as they are required to do.  As for composing posts on your phone, I'd definitely advise student to avoid doing that.

Forums can be very confusing when you have more than one Hybrid course. Different due dates only exacerbates the problem.

I am on both ends of the spectrum; I failed the first forum but did well on the rest. It really boils down to doing the work. The topics were interesting and relevant and we were given choices of topics, so you could post about something that interested you. The materials were very manageable and sometimes just required looking at a cartoon and reflecting on it. The deadlines are important, or else someone like me (who procrastinates) would not have posted at all. The grading scale seemed fair and the topics changed and kept things fresh. 

All and all, I liked the forums. It was fun to discuss with classmates and be able to think about your response, instead of talking on the spot in the classroom. i would keep this activity in the curriculum as I felt like it was a good way to apply the knowledge gained in class.  

At first it was very confusing but after I went and talked to you made it very clear on what to do. I just did not originally understand the grading portion of it.

This is the most challenging part of the class, but I think it is crucial to understanding the subject. 

Not much information on what we were specifically supposed to write about in the forums. We had topics, but not much instruction.

I loved being able to pick from a few topics to talk about. If you didn't understand or didn't like something you could go and pick a different topic. I especially loved the political cartoons. However, it was very frustrating to see people comment half thought out things and then not even bothering to reply when people ask them about their comments. It was very easy to tell who the lazy people were and there were many people that didn't even analyze the cartoons they just put their opinion in one sentence. It is frustrating to be the only one talking in the forum but I felt like the forums made you analyze the material in more detail (that is if you actually participate). Word of advice to future students - take the forums seriously, you signed up for this class so act like you're in it. Do not be that person that comments one sentence or say "wow that was interesting" 700 times. If you join a HYBRID class, expect there to be online work.

I liked the forums that dealt with a yes/no issue because for me that was easier than something completely open-ended. I aced this activity by making sure I posted at least 5 times on each forum. Mathematically, I figured that even one 2 and four 1's would give me an A+. So I think that as you said, continual participation throughout the week is key. Forum 4 was a bit scary at first because it a lot of reading attached to it.

If group size was made smaller, it might lead to more focused and meaningful discussions. At the same time though, it could also hinder participation because of a smaller number of replies and fewer opinions.

Congratulations on figuring out the points and the math and what it takes to guarantee and A+, 100% each forum week.

My advice for future students is to just write, write, write! Check your grammar, check your spelling, and also, don't be afraid to include outside sources. Can't remember the direct quote Joe had about Chinese and their depiction in 1800s comics? Look up hairstyles in China, racism in Chinese portrayals, and Asian Americans during the gold rush. Can't figure out how to sum up the whole comic? Choose to analyze just a part of it. The forums were very open ended.

Also, I appreciated the options in it. I could talk about whatever interested me instead of being forced to study just one part, and I could talk without feeling like I was going to die or start sweating. When you have anxiety it can be really hard to speak up in class, so I found that this a safe space to share my thoughts and read what others thought. I always liked helping people expand their horizons, too.

I agree 100%.  Very few students like to speak up in class, and almost no one likes to be called upon to answer some question "on the spot" while we are in the classroom.  Forums in this class make sure that EVERY student can be heard.

The forum posting is a great way to get students to discuss issues with one another. I think that the last forum had a couple too many materials to read in order to fully understand the subject. I was not a huge fan of the first post deadline as well. I think you should consider adding another forum, just to keep them constant throughout the term. 

I mean I think 4 forums for a 10 week class is very good enough for me. When I am in the UO we used to have discussions very week. And the forums are pretty much free and easy to do for me. Like I said if you just think a little you can do this easy.

The forums were a bit tricky for me. A lot of students really nailed their posts and I felt like my posts were not up to that level. I should have participated more and studied on the topics harder, but I had 4 class loads of work. Not an excuse, just my reasoning. I do think they are beneficial to the class and offer shy students a way to speak their mind. However, if I'm being completely honest, most of the topics weren't exactly all that interesting. I understand that it is hard to relate the 19th century to teenagers and young adults, so I don't blame the instructor.

Its an easy yet effecting assignment that teaches students and also allows students to receive feedback from there peers. The group size does need to be expanded because few participate and give feedback in small forums.  

It was hard sometimes because I would forget about them or miss the deadline to post but if you just keep a schedule it could really help you keep caught up. It was worth my time because a lot of that stuff is on the exams and it is just important to know.

Well worth participating in 

I loved writing about the cartoons and found myself leaning towards those options every time they were a possibility, i also found the videos to be fun watches and easy ways to feel like i was going to be able to be a little bit ahead or understand what you will be talking about in the coming class due to the reading and the videos which i feel was a great blend to help me when i felt existed of one i could just flip flop to the other.

I did not participate in a few online forums. I found them hard to do since I am quite shy. When I did do them, it triggered my anxiety a lot. I would have personally preferred just writing 1-3 page opinion papers on the topics. I thought some of the topics and materials were interesting, but I could not find interest in them all. I think that is mostly due to the fact that the most interesting part of history to me is the 1900s. I did appreciate having the choice between what topic to do, and I thought they were scored fairly.

It was really helpful that the materials for the forums was easy to access and the questions of the forum were clear. It was also helpful that there was a deadline for the forum and they contained very interesting and in my mind important topics. They were definitely worth all the time and effort. 

Interesting and relevant materials

I keep accidentally signing up for hybrid classes without realizing I'm doing it. I would've preferred not being in a hybrid class but I stuck with it. With forums I feel uncomfortable sharing my thoughts with the other students. I'm fine if the teacher knows I'm stupid but I don't want other students to know. I did the work for one of the forums but I never posted it. I also would miss the first deadline for posting and felt discouraged about posting to it late.

Any student, with proper planning, could have had me read their posts BEFORE they posted them to the group.  I would have been glad to provide guidance/inspiration/direction/etc.  Sadly, very few students take advantage of this offer.