Before we begin our semester of study together, it is important that you review all of the material in the Course Orientation and 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 COURSE INFORMATION QUIZ at the end of the orientation. You must get a score of at least 7/8 on the quiz to gain access to the assignment drop boxes for this course...and the answers are all contained in this orientation!
Have you looked at the Syllabus? This Course Orientation will complement and expand on the information provided in the Syllabus. Be sure to review that document carefully!
You should complete the Course Orientation before the first week of class. Please refer to the Course Schedule in the Syllabus for the specific time frames and due dates.
The following is an overview of the activities that must be submitted for the 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 consider posting them to our QUESTIONS? discussion forum, located under the Home tab in Canvas. There, other students may be able to quickly answer your questions, and you can have discussions. However, if you have an urgent question or concern for the instructor specifically, please contact him directly by CANVAS inbox message or e-mail.
On the following pages you will find important information about the course structure, requirements, and technical requirements and assistance — all of which you'll need to know in order to pass the COURSE INFORMATION QUIZ. Remember that you are also responsible for the information in the Course Syllabus.
Welcome to METEO 469!
I am Fan Wu, and I will be your instructor for METEO 469, a course offered by the Department of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science at The Pennsylvania State University. My connection with Penn State goes beyond my current role—I embarked on my academic journey here in 2019 as a postdoc, exploring atmospheric sciences and cultivating a profound interest in the influence of global warming. Prior to joining Penn State, I conducted research in coastal meteorology at the University of Connecticut from 2018 to 2019.
A fully online course may be new to you, which may require some adjustments or new approaches on your part, but I am available to help you with any questions or difficulties that may arise about the content and logistics of the course.
All the best for a great semester!
This course was created by Dr. Michael Mann, who was formerly a faculty member in the Department of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science at Penn State.
This course will be conducted entirely online. 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. These include:
The instructional materials in this site include lessons, plus the Orientation. Each lesson contains an introduction, reading assignments, links, assessments, etc.
Canvas is the learning management system currently being used by Penn State University. 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. A link to Canvas appears on every page.
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.
Here is the course author, Michael Mann, discussing topics covered in this course:
The content of this course is divided into 12 lessons. Each lesson will be completed in approximately 1 week. Lesson learning activities take the form of discussions, quizzes, and online climate simulations.
- Lesson 1: Introduction to Climate and Climate Change
- Lesson 2: Climate Observations, Part 1
- Lesson 3: Climate Observations, Part 2
- Lesson 4: Modeling of the Climate System
- Lesson 5: Modeling of the Climate System (cont.); Comparing Models and Observations
- Lesson 6: Carbon Emission Scenarios
- Lesson 7: Projected Climate Changes, Part 1
- Lesson 8: Projected Climate Changes, Part 2
- Lesson 9: Climate Change Impacts
- Lesson 10: Vulnerability and Adaptation to Climate Change
- Lesson 11: Geoengineering
- Lesson 12: Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions
What is special about this course?
This course will rely upon a variety of methods to assess and evaluate student learning, including:
Refer to the course syllabus for assignment weighting and final grade calculation.
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. A link to Canvas appears on every page.
If you are new to Canvas, it is strongly recommended that you complete the PSU: Canvas Student Orientation [2].
You may also want to review the Canvas Student Guide [3] to acclimate yourself further, and watch the following video:
Credit: Canvas Overview for Students [4] from Canvas LMS [5].
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.
Thanks for watching this Canvas overview video. To learn more about Canvas, ask questions, or engage with other Canvas users, please visit community.canvaslms.com.
The Canvas Help Center provides extensive, up-to-date documentation [6] 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 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 |
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Personalize your Canvas Profile |
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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.
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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 [8] and follow the instructions for setting up your notification preferences. The video below this table provides additional information. To ensure that your Canvas Inbox messages forward to your regular e-mail account immediately, check the "Notify me right away" option (the checkmark) for each item under "Conversations" in Notification Preferences. |
Set your timezone |
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Download the Canvas App | For information on using the app by device, please see the following:
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Sometimes, questions arise as to whom to contact about a certain issue. Generally, the following are the best options.
If you experience technology problems in Drupal (course content), please contact your Instructor. If you are a World Campus student and experience technology problems in Canvas, please contact the World Campus IT Service Desk [12]. If you are a University Park or Commonwealth Campus student, please contact Penn State's IT Help Portal [13].
It is in your own best interest to be as specific as you possibly can. Vague descriptions of a problem only delays assistance; try to include information such as:
A member of the Help Desk will be in contact with you to offer assistance.
All official administrative communications from the Penn State World Campus are sent to students' Penn State email accounts. Be sure to check your Penn State account regularly or forward your Penn State email to your preferred email account [14], so you don't miss any important information.
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.
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
We have made an attempt to remove almost all of the Flash and other older format content in many of the lessons in this course, but some may remain. Chances are good that you already use a web browser that is configured to open all of these items, but you can test it out below. If these files run smoothly for you, then you are ready to go. If you cannot get one or any of the files below to play on your computer, then please refer to the steps at the bottom of this page to troubleshoot your problem.
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.
Just like on-campus students, you have a wealth of library resources available to you!
As a registered user of Penn State Libraries, you can...
To make sure you are able to take advantage of Library resources in this course, please follow these steps now:
In addition, the University Libraries has put together special listings of library resources related to meteorology [21] that you might find useful. Many other subject guides [22] are also available!
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 cannot 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, leads us recommend the following three study habits that will maximize your chances for success in your online class:
References
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 types of communication, as described below.
In addition, registered students have Penn State e-mail accounts (<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.
Please note that this is a comprehensive list of communication tools available in Canvas. This course may or may not utilize all of the options below.
These are messages from your instructor that contain important information. Current announcements can be accessed through the Announcements link in Canvas. Announcements may highlight assignment due dates (also published in the course Calendar), lesson recaps, a preview of an upcoming lesson and other essential course information.
The Inbox is the equivalent of e-mail in Canvas. It's great to use for a quick e-mail to another student, instructor, or a whole team. Keep in mind that the text editor is very minimal, and does not have much formatting capability. Please use the Canvas Inbox only for private messages to instructors or fellow students.
Discussions allow students to interact with the instructor and other classmates. Threaded discussions allow multiple posts and replies. New posts appear in the Course Activity Stream page, so you will know when something has been posted.
Conferences allow instructors or student Groups to host synchronous meetings online. Canvas integrates with BigBlueButton, a conferencing tool similar to Adobe Connect. Recordings made in BigBlueButton are available for a period of only two weeks after creation.
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!
Now that you have had a chance to learn about the course and the online learning environment, you need to introduce yourself and to get to know the rest of the class. Please complete the activities below and then continue with the remainder of the Course Orientation.
By now, you hopefully have a much better idea of what this course and the online course environment will be like. Time to test your skills! Once you have reviewed all of the materials for the Course Orientation and the Syllabus, you need to take the Course Information Quiz and pass it by correctly answering at least 7 out of 8 questions in order to unlock the assignment drop boxes for this course. You can take the quiz as many times as you need until you pass.
Good luck!
You have reached the end of the Course Orientation. Double-check the to-do list on the Course Orientation Overview page [29] to make sure you have completed all of the activities listed there before you begin Lesson 1. To access Lesson 1, use the link in the Course Outline menu on the left.
Links
[1] https://psu.instructure.com
[2] https://psu.instructure.com/courses/1780857
[3] https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-4121
[4] https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Video-Guide/Canvas-Overview-Students/ta-p/383771
[5] https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Video-Guide/tkb-p/videos
[6] https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-1284
[7] https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-1285
[8] https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-10624-4212710344
[9] https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-1559
[10] https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-1666
[11] https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Video-Guide/Notification-Settings-All-Users/ta-p/383690
[12] https://student.worldcampus.psu.edu/help-and-support/technical-support/it-service-desk
[13] https://pennstate.service-now.com/sp?id=get_it_help
[14] https://pennstate.service-now.com/sp?id=kb_article_view&sys_kb_id=76e0cebc1bff90d413b599ba234bcbec
[15] http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/win.html
[16] http://student.worldcampus.psu.edu/technical-support/
[17] http://www.dessci.com/en/products/mathplayer/download.htm
[18] https://libraries.psu.edu/services/interlibrary-loan/world-campus-distance-researchers
[19] http://cat.libraries.psu.edu/uhtbin/patroninfo.exe
[20] https://psu-illiad-oclc-org.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/illiad/upm/illiad.dll
[21] http://guides.libraries.psu.edu/meteorology
[22] http://www.libraries.psu.edu/psul/researchguides.html
[23] https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Student-Guide/tkb-p/student#Announcements
[24] https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-1293
[25] https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Student-Guide/tkb-p/student#Inbox
[26] https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Student-Guide/tkb-p/student#Discussions
[27] https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Student-Guide/tkb-p/student#Conferences
[28] https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-3537
[29] https://www.e-education.psu.edu/meteo469/260