Course Orientation
Orientation Overview
Before we begin our semester of study together, review all of the material in this course orientation.
What will we learn about in the Course Orientation?
- The structure of EARTH 801
- An overview of Canvas, Penn State's course management system
- Technical requirements for EARTH 801
- How to succeed in this course
- Where to get course assistance if you need it
What is due for the Course Orientation?
You should complete the Course Orientation during the first week of class. I made a table with due dates below.
The following is an overview of what you need to do for the Course Orientation. Detailed directions and submission instructions are located within this orientation. If this is not your first online course at PSU, you probably won't have to do all of these things but check to make sure. My due dates are generally Tuesdays.
| What to do | Due Date |
|---|---|
| Personalize your Canvas space [1] | 15 May 2021 |
| Forward your Canvas email [2] and other notifications [1] | 15 May 2021 |
| Introduce yourself and meet the rest of the class [3] ("Meet and Greet" discussion in Canvas) | 15 May 2021 |
Questions?
If you have any questions, please post them to our Questions? discussion forum (not e-mail), located in the "Stuff Pertaining to the Whole Course" Module in Canvas. It is also accessible from the Discussions menu in Canvas. 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.
Keep reading!
On the following pages, you will find important information about the course structure, requirements, scheduling, technical requirements and assistance.
Canvas and Other Technical Requirements
Communication
Meaningful interactions among students and instructors are the hallmark of a successful online class. The learning environments used in this Penn State course support several kinds of communication, as described below.
Communications in Canvas
- I use Canvas in this course to give you feedback and grades on your assignments.
- I also use Canvas to post announcements.
- The calendar in Canvas is populated with due dates.
- The discussion forums in Canvas are where we will "talk" asynchronously about a scientific paper pertaining to the lesson topic or about teaching/learning strategies that go along with the lesson topic. These discussion forums are accessed from the "Discussions" link in Canvas and also from the "Modules" page.
Communications via your PSU e-mail account
The World Campus and Penn State will both use your PSU email account (e.g. abc123@psu.edu [4]) for official communications. If you want to have your PSU email forwarded to another email account, please visit the ITS Secure Server [5]. I will also use your PSU email account to send out course announcements in case you are not adept at checking the announcements page in Canvas.
Other communications
You can e-mail me directly if you need to talk about something you don't want the whole class to know (eliza@psu.edu [6]). If you have a question about how to proceed on a problem set, or you want clarification of due dates, or something like that, it is better to post that to the Questions? Discussion Forum because then the whole class can profit from finding out the answer.
Have questions? Need help?
There are many ways to get the help you need. See the Help! link in the "Resources" menu to learn more about the people and resources available to you.
Course Structure
The Learning Environment
This course 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 two environments in the World Wide Web. These are:
This site
We will use this website to house instructional materials that I have created.
Canvas
Canvas [7] is Penn State's course management system. We will use Canvas for turning in assignments, receiving feedback and grades, reading assignments, and discussions.
NOTE: Only students who are registered for this course will have access to the Canvas space for this course. Students who register for this Penn State course gain access to assignments and instructor feedback and earn academic credit.
Penn State Library
You will use library e-reserves to access the scientific articles we'll read in this course. There's a link to the PSU library site in the Resources drop-down menu on this website.
Topics of Study
There are seven procedural lessons total that will be completed at a rate of either one or two weeks per lesson. Lesson learning activities will be in the form of programming exercises and reading and discussion revolving around data and concept visualization in the Earth sciences. For the projects, you will use skills you've learned to create visualizations and a teaching instrument of your choice.
Lesson 1: Introduction
Download and get familiar with the programming language we'll use in this course.
Lesson 2: Loops, colors, variables
Write programs with colors and for loops. Discuss visualization skills and their classifications.
Lesson 3: If-else structures
Write programs that simulate animation using if - else if - else structures. Discuss strategies to teach visualization skills.
Lesson 4: User input, functions
Write programs that involve interactivity. Discuss how to measure the worth of a graphic.
Lesson 5: Text, scaling, rotation
Write programs involving typography. Discuss strategies to incorporate animations as learning tools.
Lesson 6: 3D, image i/o
Write programs using a 3D renderer. Save program output.
Lesson 7: arrays
Use data arrays to manipulate and plot data.
Small Projects
Create two projects that make use of skills learned in Lessons 1-7.
Capstone Project
Create a lesson plan on the topic of your choice.
Course Assignments
In EARTH 801, I will rely upon a variety of methods to assess and evaluate student learning, including:
Required participation in online discussion forums
These provide opportunities for me to gauge your progress and ability to articulate key concepts. I will assign weekly readings and ask you to discuss and debate the significance of these readings within the larger framework of the current lesson's topic. The discussions will also be a venue for you to get help or give help when performing the data analyses.
Programming exercises
You will write small procedural programs.
Projects
These will be used to evaluate your knowledge and skills through the production of programs that demonstrate your ability to visualize a data set and to use data viz skills to teach course concepts to your own students.
Your Canvas Profile and Notification Preferences
Your Canvas Profile and Notification Preferences
Your Canvas Profile and User Settings let you control your personal information in Canvas. Take a few minutes to personalize your Canvas profile and set your Notification Preferences by following the instructions below.
| Task | Instructions |
|---|---|
| Personalize your Canvas Profile |
|
| If you use PSU OneID |
Students who are enrolled with OneID will not receive emails automatically from Canvas due to not having PSU email access. We advise that students set up a personal email address for notifications.
|
| Set your notification preferences |
You have the option to select how, when, and for what information you would like to receive notifications. This can be very helpful when keeping track of items such as discussion posts, assignment due dates, and exams. Visit Canvas Notification Preference Support [9] and follow the instructions for setting up your notification preferences. The video below this table provides additional information. |
| Set your timezone |
|
| Download the Canvas App | For information on using the app by device, please see the following:
|
Video Tutorial: How do I manage my Canvas notification settings? (3:24)
Narrator: How do I manage my Canvas notification settings?
In global navigation, click the Account link. Then click the Notifications link.
On the Notifications Settings page, you can manage how you receive notifications for your Canvas account, and/or manage how you receive notifications for individual courses.
A banner describes the settings you are managing. Another banner indicates the times when daily and weekly notifications will be delivered. To dismiss a banner message, click the close icon.
By default, the "settings for" dropdown menu displays the Account option. Account-level notification settings apply to all of your Canvas courses; however, any course-specific notification settings override account notification settings.
You can view your current account-level settings. Account-level notification types are listed by category. There are notifications for course activities, discussions, conversations, groups, scheduling, and conferences.
You can also view your contact methods, such as email addresses, and push notifications for mobile devices.
Each notification has a default delivery frequency setting. To view the current notification delivery frequency for a notification type and contact method, hover over the notification icon.
To view details for a notification, hover the cursor over the notification name. View details such as the activities that trigger the notification.
Each notification is set to a default setting.
To change the notification for a contact method, locate the notification and click the icon for the contact method.
To receive a notification right away, select the "Notify immediately" option. These notifications may be delayed by up to one hour in case an instructor makes additional changes, which prevents you from being spammed by multiple notifications in a short amount of time.
To receive a daily notification, select the "Daily summary" option. The date and time of your daily notifications are posted in a banner at the top of the notification settings page.
To receive a weekly notification, select the "Weekly summary" option. The date and time of your weekly notifications are posted in a banner at the top of the notification settings page.
If you do not want to receive a notification, select the "Notifications off" option.
Unsupported notification types display the unsupported icon. You cannot manage unsupported notifications.
If you have enabled "Push Notifications" in the Canvas student mobile app on an Android device or on an IOS device, you can manage your settings in the "Push Notification" column. Push Notifications can only be sent to your mobile device right away or not at all. Daily and weekly notification options are not supported.
Some categories include limited availability for push notifications. For full details about supported notifications for push notifications, refer to the Canvas notifications resource document.
This guide covered "How to manage my Canvas notification settings.
Getting to Know You
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 activity below, then continue with the remainder of the Course Orientation.
Meet and Greet Discussion
Directions
Introduce yourself and meet the rest of the class!
We will use a discussion forum in Canvas [7] to post and read self-introductions. To access the discussion forum, go to Canvas and navigate to Earth 801. Find the Meet and Greet Discussion in the Course Orientation module.
Post a new message containing your personal introduction:
- Who are you?
- What do you do when you are not taking this class?
- Any programming experience?
- Which computer platform? (Mac? PC? Linux? something else?)
Check back to read and reply to your classmates' posts.
How to Succeed in EARTH 801
How to Succeed in an Online Course
Keep these tips in mind when preparing to be successful in an online course:
Treat online learning as you would a face-to-face class
You should devote at least the same amount of time to your online courses as you would to attending lectures on campus and completing assignments. Other good study habits, such as attending class (logging on) regularly and taking notes, are as important in an online course as in a lecture hall.
Intentionally schedule your time
You should devote 10-12 hours weekly to completing lesson readings and assignments. Your learning will be most effective when you engage with the course every day.
Engage, Engage, Engage
Take every opportunity to interact with the content, the instructor, and your classmates by completing assignments and participating in discussion forums and group activities!
Be organized and keep up
Keep in sync with what is happening in the course and stay on top of deadlines and upcoming assignments. If you fall behind, it can be difficult to catch up.
Ask for help
Ask for guidance when needed. Email the instructor directly through Canvas.
Other Resources
The links below will connect you with other resources to help support your successful online learning experience:
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Tips for Being a Successful World Campus Student [13]
This website links to resources on everything from taking notes online to managing your time effectively. Please note that you must be a World Campus student to receive some of the support services mentioned on this website.
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Penn State World Campus Technology Resources [14]
This website provides resources to help you learn to use technology, access Penn State tools, and purchase and download software.
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Penn State World Campus Blog [15]
This blog features posts by Penn State staff and students on a variety of topics relevant to online learning. Learn from online students, alumni, and staff members about how you can get the most out of your online course experience.
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Penn State iStudy for Success! [16]
The iStudy online learning tutorials are free to all Penn State students. They cover a broad range of topics, including online learning readiness, time management, stress management, and statistics - among many others. Check out the extensive list of topics for yourself to see what topics may be of most use to you!
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LinkedIn Learning at Penn State [17]
This website provides access to an extensive free online training library, with tutorials on everything from creating presentations to using mobile apps for education. There is a wealth of information here - all provided free of charge to Penn State faculty, staff, and currently enrolled students.
Summary
Reminder - Complete all of the Course Orientation tasks!
You have reached the end of the Course Orientation! Double-check the to-do list on the Course Orientation Overview [18]page to make sure you have completed all of the activities listed there. Go on to Lesson 1 [19] and work through that because the first week of this course is meant for you to complete both the Orientation and Lesson 1.