Note: Before you answer this question, please read the various course hints that I have since they will help you considerably in answering this, and all forums, in a clear, concise, and meaningful way. (Listed Below)
Discussion Questions:
Part I: Describe the roles, limitations, and expectations of intelligence in support of the homeland security enterprise. Think not only of the national level but state, local, and tribal levels.
Part II: Consider both legal and operational perspectives and explain your thoughts.
Part III: In addition, elaborate on how the roles of the U.S. intelligence community evolved since the end of the Cold War after the Berlin Wall fell in 1989 to September 11, 2001.
Part IV: Lastly, focus on the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) era and explain the two significant changes that occurred in the last 22+ years (besides the creation of the Department of Homeland Security), one must be within the last five years.
Do not include quotes in your posting since if you were in a class talking aloud, you likely would not be using direct quotes; instead, as necessary, paraphrase what you need to convey. You need to show me good critical thinking skills and not quotes written by others. Formulating your own thoughts from analyzing new information and studying established work is what we need for successful experts of the future. You must include at least one source per paragraph and thus include it in your reference section as best as you can (hint – not just a URL).
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COURSE HINTS:
Discussions, as you know, are a key component of APUS’s courses, and they allow students to interact with each other in the sharing of thoughts as they learn about new material. They also allow me to ask you comments.
However, as you also know, they play a significant role in your overall grade.
What I noticed in many classes is that students not completing the discussions as they should, such as not replying to other students and thus missing up to 45 points per week, not replying in enough depth and/or not responding to comments from each other or from me. All of these communications between each other add points to your weekly forum score.
Per the Rubric in the forums, created by the Department Chair for the Homeland Security degree, discussion participation is worth up to 45 points between your required three postings to other students’ original comments and the score largely reflects your ability to demonstrate your knowledge of the topic the other student discussed in a meaningful way – without the fluff and unnecessary stuff added in as word filler.
While there is not a strict length requirement, the following are some general guidelines:
Initial posting: More importantly than focusing on word count, you should examine the attached rubric and be aiming for Exemplary scores. I find that students who tend to write a paragraph or two for each concept tend to cover the material better than those that quickly put their thoughts forward in just a few incomplete sentences.
Postings to your classmates: While a couple of paragraphs is normally sufficient this can vary based on the content and how well you write the posting. Please examine the attached rubric and review the Discussion Participation section to gain a better grasp of what we expect.
Comments back to me or your classmates: A paragraph or two is normal. As a note, I grade these and add the points to your overall score for the weekly forum, so to help ensure you have the full 100 points for the week, commenting back to others is an easy way to earn points, plus it is polite to respond when someone asks you a question or provides you with additional information.
As a note, I do not count words but rather view the quality of what you wrote as well. While some people can be very concise and say a lot, others can be very wordy and say little. Please consider this as you make your postings and comment on your classmates or my postings.
Too often, and sadly, I see students who could have had an A in the course if they did the discussions correctly end up with a B+. Just something to keep in mind in this course and your future courses with APUS.
