Before we begin our semester of study together, it is important that you review all of the material on the course orientation pages and on our course syllabus. These resources will introduce you to the scope of this course and will help you to properly plan your activities. Familiarizing yourself in advance with the learning environment and web tools used for the course delivery will help you to be more efficient with assigned tasks. So let us start!
This course orientation will complement and expand on the information provided on our syllabus. Be sure to review that document! Click on the "Syllabus" tab on the top menu to access it.
The following is an overview of those activities that must be completed for Course Orientation. Detailed directions and submission instructions are located on the following pages of this orientation.
(You may want to print this page and use it as a checklist as you go along.)
If you have any questions, please post them to our Questions? discussion forum, located in the Orientation module in Canvas. You can use that space to chat about course topics or to ask questions. While you are there, feel free to post your own responses if you are able to help out a classmate. I will also periodically check the forums and answer questions.
Use the menu on the right-hand side to navigate through the Orientation. On the following pages, you will find important information about the course format, requirements, scheduling, and technical requirements and assistance—all of which you'll need to know in order to work effectively on the course. Remember, you are also responsible for learning the information 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:
The instructional materials in this site include syllabus, 11 weekly lessons, course orientation, and other supporting info. Each lesson contains an introduction, followed by several pages of reading materials, commentary on reading and questions to consider, and directions on the homework activities. The final weeks of the course are reserved for completing the individual course project, with some directions given at the bottom of the lessons list.
When working through the pages on this course website, you will notice some information put in color boxes. These boxes are meant to give you a visual cue to some action items (readings or activities) or important or helpful material that supplement your learning. These are some of the items you will see presented in boxes:
Any references or links presented as Reading Assignments are required reading items. These items are also listed in the front page of each lesson and also appear throughout your lesson topics. All of the required reading materials in this course are available online either through links or via Penn State library system.
The items marked as "self-check questions" or "check your understanding" provide you with a quick and simple way to test your knowledge on the topic and give you an opportunity to reflect on your learning. These questions are ungraded, and the solutions are usually provided to you so you can compare your answers. While these questions are ungraded, completing these before checking the answers will help you learn.
Some examples and additional explanations and comments related to lesson content are also placed in boxes sometimes. These materials will give you a chance to take a step aside and contemplate on the concepts presented in the lesson.
Notes placed in yellow boxes re-iterate important take-aways from the lesson materials, conclusions, or punchlines.
In Canvas, Penn State's learning management system, registered students can access the course calendar, communicate with instructor and fellow students, submit assignments, receive feedback from the instructor, take online quizzes and surveys, and check assignment rubrics and grades. Also some additional lesson materials, such as activity worksheets, addendums, PDF documents, etc., may be also posted on Canvas. Note that a link to Canvas appears as a tab on your menu. In Canvas, you will also find links back to this site from corresponding modules.
Penn State uses Canvas to deliver most of its courses to registered students. (For more information about Canvas, visit the Getting Started with Canvas page). Canvas organizes content using different sections as follows:
Main Menu in the gray left-hand pane:
Menu of links once inside a course:
For a more complete introduction to Canvas please see the Getting Started with Canvas page.
To get the most out of Canvas, registered students should configure their Canvas profiles as follows:
When in Canvas, in 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.
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 [3] 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 (1:14) 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 IT Service Desk [4], and World Campus students should contact the Outreach Helpdesk [5]. 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:
This course uses many equations. In order to view the equations, you must use one of the following browsers. This list supersedes the list of browsers found on the Technical Requirements page.
If you use any other browsers, there will be pages that do not render properly.
You can customize your browser to zoom in on the equations by following the steps below.
Below is an example of a formula. Right click (Mac users Ctrl-click) on the formula to access the Zoom settings.
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 synch 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 instructor. It means making the course work a regular part of your routine.
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 student's 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. Completing multiple online sessions of quality study time is a tried-and-true recipe for success in an online course.
In EME 812, you should not only be ready to cover certain content, but also be ready to combine information, evaluate, and think critically. The topics we study still have many open questions, and the sources we use do not necessarily provide you with complete answers. Be ready to investigate and filter information that is relevant and useful. That said, communications and discussions on specific topics will be especially important, and your findings may contribute to team learning and eventually help further improve this course.
Meaningful interactions among students and instructors are the hallmark of a successful online class. Most communications in this course are via the Canvas system. Canvas provides several kinds of interactive tools, as described below, which will be used during the semester.
The Canvas course management system supports several modes of communication, which include:
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! Please complete the following activities below:
This brief activity (which will take only 10 min) will allow me to learn a little bit about your background, experience, and level of comfort with online environment. This course is relatively new, so knowing my audience would help me adjust things accordingly. I appreciate your participation in this survey!
We will use a discussion forum in Canvas to post and read self-introductions. To access the discussion forum:
Who are you? Where are you located? What do you do professionally? What are your interests? Anything else you want to share?
Links
[1] http://angel.psu.edu/
[2] https://www.work.psu.edu/
[3] https://www.worldcampus.psu.edu/general-technical-requirements
[4] http://itservicedesk.psu.edu/#
[5] http://student.worldcampus.psu.edu/technical-support
[6] http://www.dessci.com/en/products/mathplayer/download.htm
[7] https://www.e-education.psu.edu/eme812/node/787
[8] http://kb.its.psu.edu/cms/article/383
[9] https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-4121#jive_content_id_Conversations