Most of the knowledge input that we acquire daily comes to us through discussions and interactions with other people. Moreover, any professional discussion whether face-to-face or online is more likely to be submitted to some rules that help make it successful and productive.
In these short lines, Deborah Healey, one of the greatest instructors in
Ground Rules: 1st Draft
1. All comments should be respectful. We can and should disagree with ideas, not people. This discussion group should feel safe for everyone.
2. All comments should be clearly and directly related to the discussion topic.
3. Comments should look professional. Consider spelling and grammar (we're English teachers, after all), write in full words rather than chat-speak, and don't use all capital letters. (Remember that you can click Edit to edit your own message.)
4. Focus on ideas. It's good to cite sources and experience to support an idea, but not everything needs to be researched. If you share something useful that you have found, include the URL so that others can also read the full article.
5. When you respond to someone else's idea (a very good thing), make sure you mention the person's name and repeat enough of their idea that everyone is clear about what is being discussed.
6। Remember that our goal is to help each other। I'm learning from all of you as well, so helping is a multi-way street. We have a number of wonderful teachers in this group, so there's a lot of expertise here!
It is our chance to say 'yes' or 'no' for the rules we'll follow. You can also suggest any other rules that you see helpful for our discussions। Our aim is to reach an agreement due this week about which rules to apply for our coming online discussions.
(Your comments and suggestions should be posted to nicenet discussion of this week)
-- Khaled Alparaty
