Before we begin our semester of study together, it is important that you review all of the material on all these pages and on our course syllabus. These resources will prepare you to be successful in this course.
Have you looked at the syllabus yet? This course orientation will complement and expand on the information provided on our syllabus. Be sure to review that document too...carefully! A link to the syllabus is located in the menu.
You should complete the Course Orientation during the first week of class.
The following is an overview of those activities that must be submitted for Course Orientation. Detailed directions and submission instructions are located within this orientation.
(You may want to print this page to serve as a checklist as you go along.)
Tasks |
Page of Orientation |
---|---|
Sign up for the New York Times. |
Canvas "Sign up for the New York Times" |
Download Google Earth Pro and complete the tutorial. |
Google Earth Tutorial |
Introduce yourself. |
Canvas "Getting to Know you" |
If you have any questions, please post them on Yammer under Earth 103. I will check that discussion forum daily to respond. While you are there, feel free to post your own responses if you, too, are able to help out a classmate.
On the following pages, you will find important information about the course structure, requirements, scheduling, and technical requirements and assistance...all of which you'll need to know in order to pass the course. Remember, you are also responsible for the information located on our course syllabus. A link to the syllabus is located in the menu at the top of this page.
Before you begin working through the course content, you need to make sure the computer you are using is configured properly for the multimedia that you will encounter. Below are specifications and tests to help make sure everything is in working order.
For this course, we recommend the minimum technical requirements outlined on the World Campus Technical Requirements [1] page, including the requirements listed for same-time, synchronous communications.
Access to a reliable Internet connection is required for this course. A problem with your Internet access may not be used as an excuse for late, missing, or incomplete coursework. If you experience problems with your Internet connection while working on this course, it is your responsibility to find an alternative Internet access point, such as a public library or Wi-Fi ® hotspot.
This site is considered a secure website, which means that your connection is encrypted. We do however link to content that isn't necessarily encrypted. This is called mixed content. By default, mixed content is blocked in Internet Explorer, Firefox and Chrome. This may result in a blank page or a message saying that only secure content is displayed. Follow the directions below to view the mixed content.
We have YouTube video material in many of the lessons in this course. Chances are pretty good that you already use a Web browser that is configured to view YouTube videos, but to be safe, here is a "test" file that you should try out now to make sure you won't have problems later in the course. If this video (2:30) runs smoothly for you, then you're ready to go. If you can't get the video to play on your computer, then please refer to the steps at the bottom of this page to troubleshoot your problem.
Request Help. If you still have not had any success, then it is time for you to contact the HelpDesk. University Park or Commonwealth Campus students should contact the ITS Service Desk [2], and World Campus students should contact the Outreach Helpdesk [3]. It is in your own best interest to be as specific as you possibly can. Vague descriptions of a problem only delay assistance. Try to include information such as:
In real estate, you hear the phrase, "Location, Location, Location!"
In music, as in sports, the phrase goes something like "Practice, Practice, Practice!".
And in the world of cooking, everyone knows that "the better the batter, the better the cake!".
In other words, what you put in greatly influences what you get out. And that is what this page is all about: Quality in - quality out.
For online courses, the advice most likely to lead you to success is "Engage, Engage, Engage!"
What does this mean? Quite simply, it means being active in the course on a regular basis. It means keeping in sync with what's going on in the course, staying on top of deadlines and assignments, asking for help when necessary, and taking every opportunity to interact with the content and the instructors. It means making EARTH 103 a regular part of your routine. Do this, and frankly, it will be difficult for you NOT to succeed in this course.
In online courses, the role of both the instructors AND the students tends to shift from the traditional classroom roles. The instructors' role is similar to that of good supervisors, and the students' role is closer to that of a good employee. The instructors define and set overall goals, outcomes, and timelines; make the information, resources, and experiences available to you to meet those goals; and, provide the support, guidance, communication channels, and feedback to help you succeed. The students' primary responsibilities are to stay on task; to manage their time and energy in order to get everything done on a weekly basis; to ask for guidance when in need of clarification; and to take every opportunity available to improve their chances of success.
So, the very best advice we can offer you is to be engaged in this course at least nine hours each week, and log on 5-6 days of the week to spread out your study and thinking time. In the final analysis, completing multiple online sessions of quality study time is a tried-and-true recipe for success in EARTH 103.
Google Earth is an incredible geospatial tool that can be used for a wide variety of educational and research purposes. This digital globe software is very easy to use. Individuals can download the software for free and can easily browse, carry out inquiry, create new knowledge and data, and can save and share information using KMZ data files, or you can easily output the content as image files for incorporation into presentations or reports. Google Earth is a great research tool and with it anyone can collect information. A wide-range of imagery including historical imagery contains a great deal of information about both natural and human landscapes around the Earth's surface. Street View functionality is also expanding in major cities and some rural areas and this adds an incredible array of 360° panoramic views as though the user were actually in place on the street. Built in features also provide terrain views to add to 3-D visualization. A whole range of additional tools (measuring tools, image overlay tools, video touring tools, and others) allow for both qualitative and quantitative analysis of landscapes through time. Google Earth layers offer additional geographic information sorted by thematic area, provide labels, political boundaries, and more. Google Earth is also searchable and allows you to fly to most any location by name or coordinates.
For all of these reasons, this software will be the principal tool that will be used in this course to help you develop critical geospatial skills.
Go to the Google Earth [7] website and download Google Earth Pro version suitable for your laptop.
Note: There are a number of instructional elements on the Google Earth Help Center, so make sure you refer to the Help Center when necessary.
Sometimes questions arise as to whom to contact about a certain issue and where. Use the information below to guide you in seeking answers to your questions.
If you have any questions about the course content or activities, at any point in the course, please post them to "I need help" in the Yellowdig discussion (see Canvas for instructions on how to log on to Yellowdig). That way, everyone can benefit from seeing the question and the answer! If you need immediate help type @ProfessorBralower in your post and I will get a notification. Otherwise, that forum will be checked at least twice per day, Monday through Friday, and once a day on weekends. While you are there, feel free to post your own responses if you, too, are able to help out a classmate!
If you have a question that you would prefer not to share with the rest of the class, such as about your grade, you are welcome to contact me by email (tjb26@psu.edu [10]), via Canvas, anytime. I am usually able to respond within 12 hours.
If you experience any difficulty in using this website, please email the site editor [11] for assistance.
If you experience technical problems of any kind in Canvas, please click on the Help icon in the lower left corner in Canvas.
It is in your own best interest to be as specific as you possibly can. Vague descriptions of a problem only delay assistance. Try to include information such as:
Links
[1] https://www.worldcampus.psu.edu/general-technical-requirements
[2] http://itservicedesk.psu.edu/#
[3] http://student.worldcampus.psu.edu/technical-support
[4] https://www.e-education.psu.edu/earth103/orientation/techspecs
[5] http://courses.worldcampus.psu.edu/public/diagnostics/general.shtml
[6] https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-10701
[7] https://earth.google.com/web/
[8] https://support.google.com/earth/?page=guide_toc.cs#topic=4363013
[9] http://serc.carleton.edu/sp/library/google_earth/UserGuide.html
[10] mailto:tjb26@psu.edu
[11] http://editor@e-education.psu.edu