STARTING OFF STRONG Instead of asking a student about his/her previous class experience, some faculty members require a CREATIVE initial post. First issue that comes up: student posts the “normal” intro…hello! Guess what, this student may not READ anything that is posted...ALARMS. On the flip side, the content of the introduction provides an insight into one’s creativity, abilities, and how much energy a student will expend in the class. At what level of Bloom’s taxonomy is s/he functioning? These postings are often quite telling. Other things that can be gained from the postings: grammar, spelling, development of an idea and logical thought, and tendency to COPY other people’s work. It is amazing how many students post an intro that is nearly identical to another. In the past, around 75% of the students who did this would plagiarize the 1st assignment.