The main purpose of this Orientation is to help registered Penn State students understand how their online class works. The class that currently uses this as a required text is:
GEOG 160: Mapping Our Changing World - online and resident sections (3 cr.) A social science general education course required for students pursuing the BA or BS in Geography, offered through University Park campus [1] and other participating Penn State campuses through the e-Learning Cooperative [2].
This Orientation should also be useful to prospective students who are considering enrolling in this course. If you are not interested in formally enrolling in the course, proceed directly to Chapter 1 (See the Lessons tab).
Registered students who successfully complete this Orientation should be able to:
The next page in this lesson outlines the steps you need to perform to successfully complete the Orientation.
As a registered student, your role is to read chapters, complete activities and quizzes, produce and submit original project reports, respond to surveys, and complete a final exam on schedule. The schedule of assignment due dates is published under the Calendar in Canvas. In addition, you should read and participate in discussions that take place in Canvas discussion forums as well as on particular pages of the course text. Students who contribute to discussions and help other students out are the ones who gain the most from the class experience. The amount of time you invest in your course will vary depending on the number of academic credits you will earn. At Penn State, one academic credit is equivalent to approximately 40 hours of student activity. Thus, a student in a 3-credit, 15-week class should plan to invest about eight hours of study each week. Time needed to cover assigned reading material and to complete assigned exercises will, however, vary depending upon the background and experience you bring to the course. Although there are weekly assignment deadlines, you are typically free to study at places and times that are most convenient to you.
It is also essential that you read and understand the details of the course structure and expectations, grading policy, and other important course policies, as detailed in the course syllabus. To read the syllabus:
Go to Syllabus page in Canvas.
Remember that the Canvas course management system can be reached at Penn State's Welcome to Canvas web page [3].
The course Syllabus is your go-to reference concerning the structure and policies of the course as the semester progresses.
This preliminary chapter is meant to prepare registered Penn State students for success in one of the online classes in which this text, Nature of Geographic Information, is assigned. It should also be informative for prospective students considering future enrollment at Penn State (or in online programs offered by other institutions, for that matter).
The Learning Environments section described the two learning environments we use to deliver our online courses--the content management system called "Drupal" in which we present this text, and the password-protected course management system called Canvas in which registered students submit their assignments and receive feedback from instructors.
Sections of this Orientation chapter also outlined roles and responsibilities of students, instructors, and other groups involved in providing this outreach service, and described the assignments that registered students complete to earn academic credit. The chapter described the various modes of communication among registered students and instructors and recommended three study habits that will maximize students' chances of having a satisfying educational experience.
Click the Chapter 1 link in the Lessons menu.
Registered GEOG 160 students are welcome to post comments, questions, and replies to questions about the text. Particularly welcome are anecdotes that relate the chapter text to your personal or professional experience. In addition, there are discussion forums available in Canvas for comments and questions about topics that you may not wish to share with the whole world.
To post a comment, scroll down to the text box under "Post new comment" and begin typing in the text box, or you can choose to reply to an existing thread. When you are finished typing, click on either the "preview" or "post" button ("post" will actually submit your comment). Once your comment is posted, you will be able to edit or delete it as needed. In addition, you will be able to reply to other posts at any time.
Note: if the Subject box is left empty, the first few words of the Comment become its "title" in the thread.