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Course Orientation

Before we begin our semester of study together, it is important that you review all of the material on the course orientation pages (there are several) and on the course syllabus. These resources will not only prepare you to be successful in this course, but they will also help you prepare for the "Syllabus" quiz at the end of the orientation. You must get a score of at least 80% on that quiz to gain access to the assignment dropboxes for this course...and the answers are all contained within the syllabus or in this orientation!

Have you looked at the syllabus? 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 main menu.

What will we learn about in the Course Orientation?

The structure of EGEE 102.
An overview of Canvas, Penn State's course management system.
Technical requirements for EGEE 102.
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 as soon as you begin the first week of class. Please refer to the Calendar in Canvas for specific time frames and due dates.

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.)

Personalize your Canvas space.
Forward your Canvas email.
Take the "Syllabus Quiz" and score at least 80%.

Questions?

If you have any questions, please post them to our General Course Questions discussion forum (not email), located under the Discussions section 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, 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 in our course syllabus.

Course Structure

About Canvas

About Canvas, General Orientation

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.

Quick Guide for Students

If you are new to Canvas, it is strongly recommended that you complete the PSU: Canvas Student Orientation [1].

You may also want to review the Canvas Student Guide [2] to acclimate yourself further, and watch the following video:

Video: Canvas Overview for Students (3:29)

Credit: Canvas Overview for Students [3] from Canvas LMS [4].

Click for Transcript of Canvas Overview

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.

This guide covered an Overview of Canvas for students.

Supported Browsers and Computer Configuration

The Canvas Help Center provides extensive, up-to-date documentation [5] 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.

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.

Setting Up Communications
Task	Instructions
Personalize your Canvas Profile	Go to Canvas. Click on the 'Account' link. Click on the 'Profile' link. Follow the instructions on the Canvas Profile and User Settings page [6] to customize important aspects of your profile, including your preferred e-mail address(es) and text (SMS) contact method for course notifications, your time zone, and your profile picture.
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. Log in to Canvas Click on the "Account" link Click on the "Settings" link. In account settings, add a personal email address on the right-hand side. Go to Account>Notifications to set specific notification settings, as described in the next section.
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 [7] and follow the instructions for setting up your notification preferences. The video below this table provides additional information.
Set your timezone	Go to Canvas. Click on Settings in the Course navigation menu. The Course Details page will open. In the Time Zone drop-down menu, select a time zone for your course. Scroll down and click Update Course Details.
Download the Canvas App	For information on using the app by device, please see the following: Android Device [8] iOS Device [9]

Video Tutorial: How do I manage my Canvas notification settings? (3:24)

Click for Transcript of How do I manage my Canvas notification settings?

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.

Credit: Notification Settings [7] from Canvas LMS [10].

Technical Requirements

How to Succeed in EGEE 102

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.

How To Succeed in an Online Course

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 EGEE 102 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 time lines; 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 EGEE 102.

Six specific steps to help you succeed in this course

Intentionally schedule your time! Treat this course like a traditional face-to-face course and you should be fine.
- Schedule a time to read the instructional materials and take notes on what you read.
- Schedule a time to review your notes.
- Schedule a time to take the weekly quizzes and exams.
- Finally, work on your Home Activities soon after they open. Do not procrastinate.
- Use the calendar and set regular reminders for yourself.
Read, Read, Read
- Read the Unit overview. This is a link on the unit Introduction and unit Wrap Up pages.
- Read and take notes on all lesson materials.
- Read, understand, and take notes on all the animations.
- Read all email, discussion forum posts, and class announcements.
- Read all the instructions that accompany all assignments—they are there to help you succeed!
Take Notes! Again, treat this course just like a traditional face-to-face course.
- Take notes when you read!
- Write down what you don't understand and ask about it in the discussion boards.
Communicate with the Instructors.
- Use the Discussion Forums to ask general questions about the course set-up or content.
- Email your teacher(s) and/or TA(s) for private questions.
- Again, let me reiterate, email your teacher(s) and your TA(s) every time you send an email—even if you are replying to a message sent directly to you. This expedites the response time and increases the likelihood of getting a speedy reply.
Be Familiar with all of the Technical Requirements [11].
- Just like other courses that have prerequisites, this course requires you to have certain technical specifications and knowledge. Do NOT bypass the tests on the Technical Requirements page. Failure to do so may result in poor learning outcomes. Pay specific attention to the browser [12] you are using—this is critical to your success in EGEE 102!
Understand and know how to use Canvas.
- Read our page on using Canvas [13] and become familiar with where things are located and when things are due.
- Use the Canvas help if you have questions (question mark icon on the left hand side of the Canvas page).

Course Communications

Meaningful interactions among students and instructors are the hallmark of a successful online class. Canvas supports several kinds of communication, as described below.

In addition, registered students have a Penn State email account (<Access Account ID>@psu.edu) that they need to monitor for any official communications that come from the University or from the Penn State World Campus.

Canvas Communications

The Canvas course management system supports several modes of communication, including discussion forums and course mail.

Discussion forums are a kind of public email known as "threaded discussion." Everyone enrolled in the class can post messages of their own and can read and respond to every other message. A series of messages that make up a conversation is called a "thread." Discussion forums are included in each chapter and project module.
- In general, questions and comments about project assignments, and about topics in the course text that pertain to more than a single page, should be shared with the entire class via the discussion forums. That way, everyone can benefit from the discussion.
Course mail is private email; only the recipients you designate can read your messages. Course mail is also internal to Canvas.
- Please use course mail only for private messages to instructors or fellow students.
- Many instructors prefer to keep course mail within the course management system, except for emergencies. Please do initiate and reply to course related mail within the Canvas Inbox, even if you're reading your email in one of the forwarded methods discussed below.

Note:

Whenever you post a message in a forum or send course mail, please title every message with a descriptive subject line. Subject lines that include the gist of a question or comment increase the chances that students and instructors can retrieve the messages we're looking for. Poor subject lines, such as "Question" or "Lesson 1," are not very useful as search keywords. When replying to a prior message, consider whether or not the subject line should be altered to indicate the content of your reply!

Communications from the University and from the Penn State World Campus

Occasionally, the University or the World Campus needs to communicate with students. To do so, they use the @psu.edu email address that each registered student has, not Canvas course email.

So, it is important that you regularly monitor your @psu.edu email account.

To monitor your @psu.edu email, you can use the Penn State web mail system, described here [14].
However, I recommend that you simply have your @psu.edu email forwarded to your preferred email account. [15]

Summary and Final Tasks

You should have read the material on the course Home Page, Syllabus, and all of the Orientation pages and you hopefully have a much better idea of what this course, and the online course environment, will be like. Now, it is time to test your skills!

Activity

Time to take the Syllabus Quiz!

You will need to take the "Quiz on Syllabus" and pass it with a score 13 out of 14 in order to unlock the Canvas lesson modules for this course. You can take the quiz as many times as you need until you obtain at least 13 out of 14 .

Go to Canvas (using the link in the Resources menu).
Click on the Modules tab.
Click on the link to the "Quiz on Syllabus" and complete the quiz.

Good luck!

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 page to make sure you have completed all of the activities listed there before you begin Lesson 1. (To access Lesson 1: Energy and Society, use the link in the "Lessons" menu.)