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 our course syllabus. These resources will not only prepare you to be successful in this course, but they will also help you prepare for the "Course Information" 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 on the syllabus or in this orientation!
This course orientation will complement and expand on the information provided on our syllabus. Be sure to review that document, too...carefully!
You should complete the Course Orientation before the end of the first week of class. In particular, before you can open the course modules, you'll need to complete orientation.
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.)
If you have any questions, please post them to our Questions About EME 801 discussion forum, located in the Start Here! Module. 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. You can also send me email through Canvas Conversations. In some cases, I'll respond to the entire class if it seems appropriate, or post the question and response on the Questions about EME 801 discussion forum.
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.
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 several environments in the World Wide Web. These include:
Penn State uses the online course management system called Canvas to deliver most of its online courses to registered students. (For more information about Canvas, visit the Canvas Getting Started [2] page). Canvas organizes content using different sections in its site.
Main Menu in the left pane:
Menu of links once inside a course:
For a more complete introduction to Canvas, please see the Canvas Getting Started [2] page.
To get the most out of Canvas, registered students should configure their Canvas profiles as follows:
When in Canvas, at the bottom-left corner of the screen, you will see a round icon with a question mark. Click this question mark icon for a list of options, including "Search the Canvas Guides," which provides lots of information about how to operate in the Canvas site.
For this course, we recommend the minimum technical requirements outlined on the World Campus Technical Requirements [4] page, including the requirements listed for same-time, synchronous communications. If you need technical assistance at any point during the course, please contact the IT Service Desk [5] (for World Campus students) or Penn State's IT Help Portal [6] (for students at all other campus locations).
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 web site, 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 on our Technical Requirements [4] page to view the mixed content.
You will be required to perform some spreadsheet-based analysis in this course. Either a commercial spreadsheet program such as Microsoft Excel, or an open-access program such as Google Spreadsheets, will be sufficient. Please note that you will need to learn how to use your preferred spreadsheet program on your own. I will not provide instruction on using Excel.
Just like on-campus students, as a Penn State student you have a wealth of library resources available to you!
Please review the online guide for Online Students Use of the Library [9]. Understand that all Penn State students qualify as eligible users of the library and can borrow materials.
Eligible users include currently enrolled or employed Penn State faculty, staff, and students in good standing who do not have access to a Penn State campus.
Via the Penn State Libraries, you can:
So that we can be sure you are able to access reserve readings and other library resources in this course, follow these steps:
How do you define and achieve success in an online course like this one? It depends on your goals and perspective. A 19-year-old undergraduate student who registers for an online course in 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, lead us to recommend the following three study habits that will maximize your chances for success in your online class:
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 Influencing the Success of Online Learning. Proceedings, WebNet 2000 World Conference on the WWW and Internet. San Antonio TX, October 30-November 4.
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 (you can forward this email; keep reading).
The Canvas course management system supports several modes of communication, including discussion forums and course mail.
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!
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.
In addition, a letter, in PDF format, that reports your final course grade will be automatically generated and sent to your @psu.edu email address.
So, it is important that you regularly monitor your @psu.edu email account.
There are many ways to get the help you need. See the Getting Help link in the Start Here! module to learn more about the people and resources available to you.
Links
[1] http://psu.instructure.com
[2] https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-2036
[3] https://accounts.psu.edu/
[4] https://www.worldcampus.psu.edu/general-technical-requirements
[5] https://student.worldcampus.psu.edu/help-and-support/technical-support/it-service-desk
[6] https://pennstate.service-now.com/sp?id=get_it_help
[7] https://student.worldcampus.psu.edu/help-and-support
[8] http://www.itservicedesk.psu.edu/
[9] http://guides.libraries.psu.edu/onlinestudentlibraryguide
[10] http://guides.libraries.psu.edu/c.php?g=516093&p=3540332
[11] https://libraries.psu.edu/services/interlibrary-loan-services/world-campus-and-distance-researchers
[12] https://office365.psu.edu/