They are intended to allow you to expand upon and apply the principles discussed in your textbook, the lectures, and/or other research you conduct.

The Discussions are not simply statements of opinion. They are intended to allow you to expand upon and apply the principles discussed in your textbook, the lectures, and/or other research you conduct. Each week a question will be posed for your consideration. Before answering, you should review the chapters covered during this week and the lectures.

This week we learned about a variety of animals. There are literally millions of animals that live amongst us, ranging from microscopic to huge land and sea mammals. Each has their special place in the biosphere and must live in harmony with millions of other creatures. Some of the creatures we have discussed are beneficial to humans and some are harmful.

For this week’s discussion, please select one organism from the Animal Kingdom that is either beneficial or harmful to humans to discuss AND you may NOT choose the same organism that someone else has already chosen. You cannot claim a topic. Your initial post to the Week 2 discussion is required to be completed and posted by 11:59 p.m. ET Thursday. Your initial post is required to be at least 250 words and this MUST be in your own words. You are required to include at least one reference in your initial post with proper citation and this includes BOTH an in-text citation and a full citation reference at the end of the post. Do NOT use Wikipedia, Blurtit, Yahoo Answers or ANY open blog or ANY open source where anyone can post responses and the information is not verified. These are unacceptable academic resources; be sure to use reliable sources of information and research carefully. Also, do NOT copy and paste from the Internet. If you DO quote a phrase, be sure to try and explain the phrase afterward, be sure it is enclosed in quotation marks (“”), and be sure that you show which reference the quote came from. Do not count quoted material or the citation in your 250 word count requirement. Please do not plagiarize. If you quote word for word (verbatim) from a source, you MUST put quotation marks around it AND you MUST cite the source at the end of your post. It is NOT simply enough to put a source at the end.

You are required to make at least two additional posts to two different students (or one student and the professor) on two separate days and not posted on the same day as your initial post. The response posts should be at least 100 words and be substantive in nature. While pleasantries such as “I agree” or “great job” are nice, they will not count as one of your required posts. A complimentary, philosophical, or off-topic comment does not count as one of the three required entries. For example, it does not help us to tell us that you did not know something before you read an entry. All entries should help everyone understand one or more of the concepts presented. Your posts are required to be posted on at least 3 separate days with all being completed by 11:59 p.m. ET Sunday of Week 2 (the end of the week).

Refer to the rubric below to see how points are allotted for the discussion board posts.