As part of the course orientation you should review material on these pages and resources located on Canvas and you should take a cursory look through the lessons themselves. This will prepare you to be successful in this course
This course orientation will complement and expand on the information provided on our syllabus. Be sure to review that document carefully! A link to the syllabus is located in the main menu.
You should complete the Course Orientation before the end of the first week of classes. (See the syllabus [1] for our semester plan.)
As you work your way through these online materials for the Course Orientation, you will encounter additional reading assignments and hands-on exercises and activities. The chart below provides an overview of the requirements for the Course Orientation. For assignment details, refer to the orientation page noted.
ACTIVITY | LOCATION | SUBMITTED FOR GRADING? |
---|---|---|
Create your Canvas profile | page 4 | No - If you are new to Canvas, create your Canvas profile (follow directions on the "About Canvas" page of this lesson). Please add a photo! |
Forward your Canvas e-mail | page 4 | No - But this is an optional/important step to make sure you don't miss any important course communications |
Login to this Web site | page 8 | No - But you will need to know how to do this later on in the course |
Introduce yourself and meet the rest of the class! |
Canvas: Discussions section | Yes - this activity will count toward your overall Class Participation grade. |
If you have any questions, please post them to our Questions discussion forum located under the Discussions section in Canvas, or contact me, Eliza Richardson, via Canvas e-mail. I will check the discussion forum frequently to respond. While you are there, feel free to post a response if you are able to help out a classmate --this is a good time to establish a sense of community, and group learning, for the course.
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 (see the Resources menu).
EARTH 540 will be conducted entirely on the World Wide Web. There are no set class meeting times, but you will be required to complete weekly assignments. Registered students in this course will need to navigate between several environments in the World Wide Web. These include:
Registered students should begin with the Course Orientation, located in the "Orientation" menu.
Not registered? Students who register for this Penn State course gain access to assignments and instructor feedback, and earn academic credit. Information about registering for this course and about the online Master of Education in Earth Sciences is available at http://earth.e-education.psu.edu [3].
EARTH 540 introduces knowledge and broadens understanding of the oceans and their role in climate, coastal processes, and life within the fluid Earth. You will gain insight into the physical and chemical processes that determine properties of the ocean and govern interactions between the ocean, atmosphere, groundwater, and the fluid/solid Earth. Topics will reinforce fundamental scientific principles such as heat transfer, chemical equilibrium, and conservation of energy.
The course will consist of topical lessons within three broadly defined units, plus a course orientation week at the beginning of the semester.
EARTH 540 will rely upon a variety of methods to assess and evaluate student learning. You will be required to:
This course will be conducted entirely online. There are no set class meeting times, but you will be required to complete weekly assignments. Registered students in this course will need to navigate between several environments. These include:
The instructional materials on this site include lessons, plus the Orientation. Each lesson contains an introduction, reading assignments, links, assessments, etc.
Canvas is the learning management system currently being used by Penn State University. In Canvas, registered students may consult course calendars; communicate with instructors, teaching assistants, and fellow students; submit assignments; receive feedback from the instructor and teaching assistant; take online quizzes and surveys; and check assignment scores and course grades. A link to Canvas appears on every page.
Following is information about Canvas, Penn State's Learning Management System (LMS). In Canvas, registered students may consult course calendars; communicate with instructors, teaching assistants, and fellow students; submit assignments; receive feedback from the instructor and teaching assistant; take online quizzes and surveys; and check assignment scores and course grades. A link to Canvas appears on every page.
If you are new to Canvas, it is strongly recommended that you complete the PSU: Canvas Student Orientation [4].
You may also want to review the Canvas Student Guide [5] to acclimate yourself further, and watch the following video:
Credit: Canvas Overview for Students [6] from Canvas LMS [7].
In this video, you will learn how to navigate your Dashboard, courses, and Global Navigation Menu in Canvas.
When you log in to Canvas, the first thing you see is the Dashboard, which provides a high-level overview of your current courses. The Dashboard can be displayed in three different viewing options.
Card View displays a course card for each of your favorite courses. Each card can include clickable icons for Assignments, Announcements, Discussions, and Files. List View displays an agenda view of graded items from your courses, as well as any non-graded items your instructors designate for a course To Do list. You can also add your own items to the agenda.
Recent Activity View displays a stream of recent notifications from all your courses, including announcements, conversations, assignments, discussions, and peer reviews.
You can also access the course grades page from the Course Card and Recent Activity Views by clicking the View Grades button. The Grades page displays grades for all of your courses. To view grade details for a specific course, click the name of the course.
To view a course, click the Courses link in Global Navigation and click the name of the course you want to view. The course opens to the home page set by your instructor.
You can use the Course Navigation links, breadcrumb navigation, or the sidebar to navigate to different areas of the course.
The sidebar includes a To Do list that displays links to announcements and other items that require action in your courses, such as assignments, quizzes, discussions, and pages.
If your course includes student groups, you can view a list of your groups in Course Groups. Click the group name to view the group homepage. View recent assignment feedback in Recent Feedback. Click the assignment name to view feedback in the Submission Details page.
Canvas displays a Global Navigation Menu that gives you direct access to your courses and other areas of Canvas.
Click the Account link to log out of Canvas, specify your notification preferences, upload and view personal files, modify your user settings, manage ePortfolios, obtain a QR code to log in to the Student app, view global announcements, and enable a high-contrast user interface.
Click the Dashboard link to return to the Canvas Dashboard. Click the Courses link to quickly access your favorite courses and view a list of all your courses. Click the Groups link to access groups in which you are enrolled or view a list of all your groups.
Click the Calendar link to view your personal calendar and course calendars. Click the Inbox link to view and send messages to your instructors and peers within Canvas. Click the History link to view a list of course content and content areas you have viewed within the last three weeks.
Click the Help link to access help resources for your institution.
Thanks for watching this Canvas overview video. To learn more about Canvas, ask questions, or engage with other Canvas users, please visit community.canvaslms.com.
The Canvas Help Center provides extensive, up-to-date documentation [8] on making sure your computer is configured properly for Canvas. Failure to follow these recommendations may result in significant issues while viewing materials, taking assessments, and using drop boxes. Use of unsupported browsers is at your own risk.
Sometimes, questions arise as to whom to contact about a certain issue. Generally, the following are the best options.
If you experience technology problems in Drupal (course content), please contact your Instructor. If you are a World Campus student and experience technology problems in Canvas, please contact the World Campus IT Service Desk [9]. If you are a University Park or Commonwealth Campus student, please contact Penn State's IT Help Portal [10].
It is in your own best interest to be as specific as you possibly can. Vague descriptions of a problem only delays assistance; try to include information such as:
A member of the Help Desk will be in contact with you to offer assistance.
All official administrative communications from the Penn State World Campus are sent to students' Penn State email accounts. Be sure to check your Penn State account regularly or forward your Penn State email to your preferred email account [11], so you don't miss any important information.
It is possible to customize and personalize Canvas. Follow the directions below to do so!
You have the option of sending Canvas e-mail to your personal e-mail address as well as internally within Canvas. This enables you to be notified of e-mail sent to you in the course so you can be sure you don't miss any important course communications. If you are new to Canvas, and you want your create a new address (I highly recommend it), follow these directions [12]:
To make sure your computer is configured properly for Canvas, first refer to the "Recommended Browsers and Computers [13]" listing on the Canvas site.
Any problems with Canvas, especially those occurring during graded assignments, must be reported to the Outreach Helpdesk [14], preferably AT THE EXACT MOMENT that they occur. That way they will be able to validate glitches and fix system problems as they may occur.
If you are new to Canvas, please review the Quick Guide for Students [5] to acclimate yourself further! And even more how-to resources can be found by clicking on the Help button in the far left of your Canvas window.
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 wifi hotspot. If you anticipate that you will have connectivity problems while taking this course, please contact me right away so we can discuss your situation.
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.
We have tried to replace all (or we are in the process of doing it) Flash movies and turned them into Quicktime videos or another format that is universally compatible, such as youtube. Any time you can't see a video let me know. You can post to Questions? or just shoot me an email. This helps me find and fix all the stale links. I usually find them myself but sometimes I miss them, or I can play them but other browsers can't.
To be sure you are able to access reserve readings and other library resources in this course, visit the library’s Online Student's Use of the Library [15] site. This guide outlines all that Penn State libraries offer you as an online student. It is strongly recommended that you visit the Services for Students [16] page.
If you have questions, just ASK! [17] a librarian! The ASK! page will connect you to librarians in a manner that meets your needs; e-mail, phone, or chat for a quick response.
Meaningful interactions among students and instructors are the hallmark of a successful online class. The two learning environments we will use are Canvas and Drupal. They will provide several types of communication, as described below.
The Canvas course management system supports several modes of communication, including discussion forums, course mail, announcements.
How do you define and achieve success in an online course? It depends on your goals and perspective. A 19-year-old undergraduate student who registers for an online course without a plan for reviewing and studying the course materials and with the hope of earning an easy “A” is unlikely to be successful, no matter how adept he or she may be with information technology. However, Palloff and Pratt observe that “in general, distance education has been applied to and seen as most successful in the arena of adult and continuing education” (Palloff and Pratt 2001, p. 109).
“Much of the research done on successful students in distance education programs suggests that students who are attracted to this form of education share certain characteristics, including that they are voluntarily seeking further education, are motivated, have higher expectations, and are more self-disciplined. They tend to be older than the average student and to have a more serious attitude toward their courses, education, and learning. They are what most would consider to be nontraditional students.” (Palloff and Pratt 2001, p. 109)
This is not to say that younger students can’t succeed in online classes. Indeed, “most [undergraduate] students today are older, are working, and need more flexible schedules” (Palloff and Pratt 2001, p. 109). The question is, assuming that a student is motivated to get the most out of an online class, and that the class is well-designed and led by attentive instructors, which attitudes and behaviors increase the student’s chance of having a satisfactory experience?
Swan and colleagues (2000) surveyed approximately 3,800 students enrolled in 264 online courses through the SUNY Learning Network. Of the 1,406 responses received, the researchers analyzed data associated with 73 courses for which there was a 40 percent response rate or greater. Among their findings were statistically significant correlations between student satisfaction and (a) perceived learning gains; (b) interaction with instructors; and (c) interaction with fellow students. Additionally, respondents who rated their own level of activity in online classes as high also tended to report higher levels of satisfaction.
Research results like these, along with lessons learned in our more than ten years of experience in distance learning, leads us to recommend the following three study habits that will maximize your chances for success in your online class:
1) Devote sufficient time and effort. Time-on-task is a necessary--if insufficient--condition for learning (Gibbs 1999; Chickering and Gamson 1987; Bransford et al 2000). Schedule several blocks of time during each week to study the text, to work on project assignments, and to read and contribute to discussions.
2) Communicate effectively. Post succinct, specific questions and comments with informative subject lines. Whenever appropriate, share questions and comments with the entire class (through text commenting or discussion forums) rather than using private email. Read the questions, comments, and replies of others. Compose project reports with the same care and skill that you’d hope your instructor or employer would devote to a letter of recommendation on your behalf. Be civil. If frustrated or angry, wait until the next day to post a message.
3) Approach learning reflectively. Be aware of your strengths and weakness as a learner. Students who develop strong “metacognitive” skills tend to be the most effective learners. Also, those who are able to relate what they learned to situations outside the classroom (real or virtual) are most likely to retain that knowledge (Bransford, J.D. et al 2000).
Bransford, J. D. et al (Eds.) (2000) How People Learn: Brain, Mind, and Experience. Washington, DC: National Research Council.
Chickering, A. W., and Gamson, Z. F. (1987) Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education. AAHE Bulletin, 39(7) 3-7.
Gibbs, G. (1999) Planning Your Students’ Learning Activities. In McKeachie, W.J. (Ed.) McKeachie’s Teaching Tips, 10th Ed. Pp. 20-33. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Palloff, R. M. and Pratt, K. (2001) Lessons from the Cyberspace Classroom: The Realities of Online Teaching. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Swan, K. et al (2000) Course Design Factors Inflouencing the Success of ONline Learning. Proceedings, WebNet 2000 World Conference on the WWW and Internet. San Antonio TX, October 30-November 4.
Now that you've had a chance to learn about the course and the online learning environment, I'd like to get to know you...and help you get to know each other! Complete the activities below, then continue with the remainder of the Course Orientation.
Introduce yourself and meet the rest of the class!
We will use a discussion forum in Canvas to post, and read, self-introductions. To access the discussion forum:
Read through the Syllabus, which you can access from the main menu.
Peruse the nine lessons for a good overview about what each will cover.
You have reached the end of the Course Orientation! Double-check the to-do list on the Course Orientation Overview page to make sure you have completed all of the activities listed there before you begin Lesson 1. (To access Lesson 1, use the "Lessons" menu to the right.)
Links
[1] https://www.e-education.psu.edu/earth540/syllabus
[2] https://psu.instructure.com
[3] http://earth.e-education.psu.edu
[4] https://psu.instructure.com/courses/1780857
[5] https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-4121
[6] https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Video-Guide/Canvas-Overview-Students/ta-p/383771
[7] https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Video-Guide/tkb-p/videos
[8] https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-1284
[9] https://student.worldcampus.psu.edu/help-and-support/technical-support/it-service-desk
[10] https://pennstate.service-now.com/sp?id=get_it_help
[11] https://pennstate.service-now.com/sp?id=kb_article_view&sys_kb_id=76e0cebc1bff90d413b599ba234bcbec
[12] https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-1286
[13] https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-4121#jive_content_id_Computer_Specifications
[14] http://student.worldcampus.psu.edu/student-services/helpdesk
[15] http://guides.libraries.psu.edu/onlinestudentlibraryguide
[16] http://guides.libraries.psu.edu/c.php?g=516093&p=3540332
[17] http://ask.libraries.psu.edu/?stream=8
[18] https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-4121#jive_content_id_Discussions
[19] https://www.e-education.psu.edu/earth540/sites/www.e-education.psu.edu.earth540/files/Discussion%20Rubric.pdf