CDR: Twitter Assignment

Photo: Colleen Hayes / NBC.

We will be using social media, on Twitter, to engage with each other throughout the course. In particular, I want you to use Twitter to post your thoughts about course readings and activities, ask questions when confused, discuss negotiation and conflict resolution with your classmates, and connect course topics to current events.

I will be regularly checking on your tweets while using them to structure what I cover during class meetings. Feel free to follow me on Twitter (@ProfessorDEG). I also suggest that you follow leaders within your future fields. You may be surprised to see them discuss issues related to negotiation and conflict resolution!

Instructions

You are required to tweet a minimum of 5 times between each class meeting. There are 41 between-class periods, so at least 205 tweets are expected from you.

When tweeting for this course, please always use the course hashtag #CDR21 (which stands for Conflict & Dispute Resolution 2021). This hashtag is essential since I will not be snooping on your non-course-related tweets. Instead, I will be using an automated program to collect all #CDR21 tweets for me to read. So using that hashtag ensures that I will have and count all your course-related tweets.

Just to repeat: if your tweet does not contain #CDR21, then it is extremely unlikely that I will see that tweet.

Evaluation & Grading

Given that the purpose of using Twitter is for us all to have informal conversations about course material, I would strongly prefer that the majority of your tweets are in response to either a classmate or me. However, I understand this may be difficult at times, so I will not penalize you for tweeting your thoughts in monologue form.

In any case, tweets are graded pass/fail. I will determine your base participation grade by taking the number of tweets that pass (capped at 5 tweets between each class meetings) and normalizing that number to the 100-point grading scale, with a maximum possible base participation grade of 95.00 (a solid A). The reason for that maximum is that your other forms of participation, especially those done to earn participation points, determine how much higher (or lower) your overall participation grade will go.

# Tweets	Normalized Points	Letter Grade
201–205	93.15–95.00	A
195–200	90.37–92.68	A−
188–194	87.12–89.90	B+
180–187	83.41–86.66	B
173–179	80.17–82.95	B−
167–172	77.39–79.71	C+
158–166	73.22–76.93	C
152–157	70.44–72.76	C−
145–151	67.20–69.98	D+
130–144	60.24–66.73	D
0–129	0.00–59.78	F

In order to pass, a tweet must do three things: it must be (1) relevant, (2) substantive, and (3) respectful.

By relevant, I mean that your tweet is clearly connected to ethics or some other aspect of this course. Of course, I highly encourage you to chat with each other over Twitter, but non-relevant tweets will be ignored.

By substantive, I mean more than generic commentary, a retweet, or simply quoting from course material.

For instance, do not simply say that you agree with something; provide your reasoning behind that judgment. Similarly, a relevant retweet is great, but be sure to include some of your own thoughts about the original tweet. The same holds with quoting course readings. Such a quote should be followed up with your own commentary. While I will only count your substantive comment, the retweet or quote will provide valuable context.

Do not forget to have fun while tweeting at least 5 times between each class meeting using the #CDR21 hashtag.

Considerations for Your Account

This means that you need a Twitter account. If you do not have one—or if you prefer not to use your personal account—feel free to create a disposable one. You are also not required to use an account connected to your real name or any other personal information.

I strongly encourage you to create a disposable account if you prefer not to use a personal account for this course.

In making these decisions, keep in mind that people outside of class—and even outside of the UB community—can see what you are saying.

For my part, I will never reveal which student is connected to which Twitter account. I want you to be comfortable having open and honest engagement with the course material.

Alternatively, it is also fine if you use multiple Twitter accounts for this course. That is, you might use your regular account to tweet about things that your Twitter followers and friends may find interesting, while also using a disposable account to tweet about things you would rather not have connected to your name. While juggling two different accounts can be tricky, this offers you the potential of having the best of both options.

I do require that you send me the name(s) of the account(s) you want me to track for this class and that you make sure the contents of your account is publicly viewable. So even if your account is not connected to your real name, I will still know which account belongs to you and can determine your base participation grade.

Once more: I will never share your account information with anyone.

Finally, if you have any trouble using Twitter do not hesitate to seek help from me or one of your classmates.