Welcome to the orientation week for GEOG 868: Spatial Database Management for Geospatial Professionals. I hope that by now that you have reviewed the syllabus for important course information. If you haven't, please do so now.
Have you looked at our syllabus? This course orientation will complement and expand on the information provided on our syllabus. Be sure to review the syllabus carefully. A link to the syllabus is also located in the main navigation bar.
In addition to introducing some core concepts for this course, the orientation also serves as your guide to the structure of the course and to our online learning environment.
At the successful completion of the Course Orientation, students should be able to:
The next page in this lesson outlines the steps you need to perform to successfully complete this orientation.
If you have any questions now or at any point during this week, please feel free to post them to the Orientation Discussion Forum. While you are there, feel free to post your own responses if you are able to help out a classmate.
Each lesson in the course will have a list of "Steps to Complete." This checklist will always appear on the second page of each lesson.
To get started with the course, please follow the required steps below. The Course Orientation is one week in length. You may find it useful to print this page out first so that you can follow along with the directions.
Step | Activity |
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1 | Read through Course Orientation. |
2 | Set up communications in Canvas. See the Setting Up Communications section of the Orientation material in Canvas. |
3 | Go to the Lounge Discussion. Introduce yourself to your colleagues. Read and post comments based on the introductions. |
4 |
Go to the Orientation Discussion. Read and post comments and questions posted by fellow students regarding the Orientation content. Use this forum for any questions regarding the Course Orientation content. |
5 | If you haven't already done so, carefully review the course syllabus to learn about the course and its requirements. |
6 | Begin the course! |
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. Registered students can log into Canvas to see an orientation to the Canvas system.
This site includes the majority of the instructional materials for this class. There are a few things you should know about this website.
This site uses a "tab" interface to organize content. The tabs are used as follows:
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 [2] 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 (2:30) 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 [3], and World Campus students should contact the Outreach Helpdesk [4]. 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:
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.
Task | Instructions |
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Introduce yourself and meet the rest of the class! |
We will use a discussion forum in Canvas to post and read self-introductions. To access the discussion forum:
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Start a conversation. | View other students' postings to learn more about them. Chime in and welcome them to the class! Find someone you have something in common with, or better yet, someone you don't! |
Ask questions. |
Read and post comments and questions posted by fellow students regarding the Orientation content. To access the discussion forum:
|
Here are some quick tips to keep in mind when preparing to be successful in an online course:
You should plan to devote at least the same amount of time to your online courses as you would do attending lectures on campus and completing assignments. Other good study habits, such as attending class (logging on) regularly and taking notes, are just as important in an online course as they are in a lecture hall!
You should plan to devote 10-12 hours per week to completing lesson readings and assignments. Your learning will be most effective when you spread this participation out and engage with the course on a daily basis, if possible.
Take every opportunity to interact with the content, the instructor, and your classmates by completing assignments and participating in discussion forums and group activities!
Keep in sync with what's going on in the course and stay on top of deadlines and upcoming assignments.
Ask for guidance when you are in need of clarification. You can also use the Discussion Forum to ask general questions about the course set-up or content.
To support your successful online learning experience, follow the Resources for Online Learning [5]link under the Resources section of the main menu.
This course orientation is meant to prepare registered Penn State students for success in this online environment. 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).
If you understand what you've read in this orientation, and make every effort to follow these guidelines, then you'll be well on your way to having a successful experience this term. I look forward to interacting with you throughout the term, and hope you'll take every opportunity possible to get the most out of the learning experiences you encounter in this class.
Registered students should now review the Orientation Checklist to make sure that they have completed all assigned tasks.
Click the Lesson 1 link.