surviving and thriving in distance learningpracticing required technical skills. by providing...

of 9 Last Update: 1/12/2014 @ 1:00pm

Surviving and Thriving in Distance Learning GENS 199. - NO1 (12014) | Spring 2014

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Distance learning offers an excellent study alternative to flexibly accommodate students’ degree completion needs. It also opens a door embracing teaching innovations and learning collaborations via the benefits of the Internet and emerging technologies.

However, distance learning students tend to underestimate their online study readiness level, which often leads them to face multiple learning challenges that hinder their distance learning success.

The purpose of this course is to provide a user-friendly learning environment that assists students in analyzing their readiness level, determining their online learning needs, and practicing required technical skills. By providing essential knowledge, guidance, and training support, students will strengthen their ability to study online effectively and efficiently for better distance learning outcomes.

COURSE OVERVIEW

This is a seven-week one-credit course that helps students prepare for their distance learning study. After completing this course, you will gain essential knowledge and skills by participating in weekly online class discussions and interactive learning activities that will prepare you to become an active, confident online learner.

All lectures and course content are available in the Blackboard Learn System accessible via the MyUSI portal at http://my.usi.edu.

Students are expected to check their USI eagles email and the Blackboard announcements daily to keep good communication between the instructors and classmates. To get started, please first review the entire syllabus and course event calendar carefully. These documents can be downloaded from the “Course Information” menu tab on Blackboard. If you have any questions about this course, please do not hesitate to contact your instructors.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Upon completing this course, students will be able to:

• Construct a holistic scope of common challenges and dilemmas that distance learning students often experience. Students will identify possible strategies and solutions to overcome them.

GENS 199.NO1 – 12014 Spring 2014

of 9 Last Update: 1/12/2014 @ 1:00pm

Wireless Router Modem

• Analyze individual student’s readiness level by developing a self-learning plan, which includes time management, commitments and responsibilities, essential knowledge, and technical skills.

• Identify USI’s policies, procedures, administrative departments, and support services to facilitate students’ online learning success.

• Orient students to Rice library’s online research tools and services.

• Demonstrate practical technical skills for online study success.

COURSE INSTRUCTOR AND CONTACT INFORMATION

Week* Instructor Virtual Office Hours Instructions

1, 3 Megan Linos [email protected]

1/13, 2/24, and 3/3 5:00 – 6:00pm CST

1. Enter the Blackboard course site

2. Click on the “Learning Tools” on the left side menu

3. Click on the “Collaboration” tool

4. Click on “Office Hours” to enter

2, 4 Laura Suero [email protected]

1/21/2014 12:00 – 1:00pm CST

3, 5 Julie Bordelon [email protected]

1/30/2014 1:00 – 2:00pm CST

4 Walter Fisher [email protected]

2/4/2014 6:00 – 7:00pm CST

5, 6 Vicki Bierley [email protected]

2/11/2014 5:00 – 6:00pm CST

6 Phil Orr [email protected]

2/20/2014 9:00 – 10:00am CST

* Lecture week(s) individual instructor is responsible for the content. Please note no lecture in week 7. Students are expected to work on the final paper and presentation in week 7.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

Online Student Readiness Assessment

Students are required to complete the Online Student Readiness Assessment and upload the results on Blackboard by January 17th, 2014. Instructions can be found on Blackboard under “weekly modules” à “week 1 assignment”

Stable High Speed Internet Connection

The wired connection means your computer is connected to Internet via an Internet cable. Students are expected to have access to the “WIRED” high speed Internet connection. Wireless Internet connection is not

of 9 Last Update: 1/12/2014 @ 1:00pm

considered as stable a connection since the signal strength may decrease or the connection may drop at any time. You can learn how to setup a wired internet connection at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HppQyv5z47k

Accounts:

Student should be able to access the sites below with their MyUSI username and passwords. Contact Help Desk at (812) 465-1080 or email to [email protected] for all technical issues.

§ Blackboard/Email: http://my.usi.edu (click on the icons)

§ VoiceThread: http://usi.voicethread.com

§ LinkedIn group: http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Online- Student-Readiness-Research-5102005.

Required Hardware and Software

§ Webcam: If you do not have access to a webcam (on your computer), you will need to purchase a webcam for live online meetings (Recommended Model: Microsoft LifeCam HD-3000 Web camera)

§ Headset: A headset can separate the audio input (microphone) and output (speaker) to avoid feedback/echo when participating in an online meeting live. (Recommended Model: Microsoft LifeChat LX-3000)

§ Computer – Students are required to have access to a computer with high speed Internet connection every day during the semester since they are expected to check USI’s Eagles email and the Blackboard course site at least once a day. For an economical computer, you can consider purchasing an Ultrabook, such as ASUS VivoBook X202E-DH31T (1.6 inches touch screen), HP Pavilion Sleekbook 14-b130us (14 inches), etc.

§ Free Software – Students are required to install these freeware: Adobe Acrobat Reader, JAVA, Firefox, and Chrome. For details, please refer to http://www.usi.edu/distance/students/current/requirements.

Recommended Hardware and Software

§ Printer, Copier, Fax, and Scanner – It is highly recommended that students have access to a printer, fax machine, and a scanner. It is ideal to get a multi-functional printer to serve all your needs (printing, scanning, coping, and faxing).

§ Software – It is recommended that students have access to the following software: Microsoft Office (PC | MAC), Adobe Acrobat Pro, and anti-virus software (Norton AntiVirus 2013 | McAfee AntiVirus Plus 2013 | Symantec Endpoint

GENS 199.NO1 – 12014 Spring 2014

of 9 Last Update: 1/12/2014 @ 1:00pm

Protection). If you do not want to purchase Adobe Acrobat Pro, you should consider installing one of the free PDF creation tools recommended at http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/best-free-pdf-tools.htm

Assignment Submission: All assignments are required to be submitted electronically in Blackboard online. No assignment submitted via email will be accepted. ZERO point will be given for any assignment submitted via email unless otherwise instructed.

How to access your grades: Your grades will be posted on Blackboard under the “Check Grades” menu tab in the Blackboard course site.

Deadlines: Please pay close attention to the assignment deadlines, which can be viewed on the course event calendar. Extensions will not be given unless it is under extreme circumstances with the instructors’ permission reviewed ONLY.

ASSESSMENTS AND GRADING METHODS

Learning Activities Deadline Points Extra Points Total Grading

VoiceThread Discussion (3) 1/15, 2/13, & 2/19 3/4/7 14

Readiness Assessment 1/17 5 5 A = 90 – 100%

Discussion Forum/Blogs (2) 1/17 & 1/31 3 2 8 B = 80 – 89%

Class Meeting (2) 1/22 & 2/4 5 10 C = 70 – 79%

Google Drive 1/26 3 3 D = 60 – 69%

Crosswords puzzle (2) 1/26 & 2/9 7 14 F = Below 60%

Knowledge Sharing Library (2) 1/28 2 4

Prerequisites (required!!) 1/31 0 0

Learning Plan Outline extra pt-analysis, word search, draft

2/2 5 6 11

Game Activity 2/9 5 5

Scavenger Hunt 2/11 4 4

Quiz (2) 2/16 & 2/23 5 10

Learning Plan Presentation and Final Paper

2/27, 3/4 20 2 22

Total Points Possible: 100 10 110

of 9 Last Update: 1/12/2014 @ 1:00pm

ASSIGNMENTS & LEARNING ACTIVITIES

Live Online Meeting on Blackboard Collaborate

Students are required to participate in a virtual meeting using Blackboard Collaborate in week 2 (1/22/2014) and 4 (2/4/2014). Your instructors will show you some of the technologies you need to know to be able to collaborate with other people in an online environment, and will open the floor for questions and comments. A headset and webcam will be required to communicate with the class online during the Blackboard Collaborate meeting. Students unable participate in any of the two virtual meetings will need to notify your instructor, Laura Suero ([email protected]), at least a week (7 days) in advance. An alternative assignment will be given to makeup the assignment credits.

Class Participation/Discussion

Students are expected to participate in six online discussions on three platforms (1) LinkedIn (2) VoiceThread, and (3) Blog. Two deadlines are associated with every discussion activities: one is for you to contribute/share thoughts with the class and the other one is for you to share your feedback to others’ posts. In order to receive full class participation credits, students will need to both post initial thread and provide feedback.

1. Knowledge Sharing Library on Linkedin http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=5102005 Student will search two articles related to the topics of online student readiness, common challenges, tips/tricks, distance/online learning, etc. Post the links of the articles on the “Student Readiness Research” LinkedIn group as well as a short comment. You will also have a few days to read the articles others posted and share feedback.

2. VoiceThread http://usi.voicethread.com Three Voicethread (VT) discussions will be conducted ion this class. The first one is “introducing yourself” to the class, the second one is to discuss on the distance learning policy/guidelines from the recorded lectures, and the last one is to introduce a student service available at USI that can benefit distance learning students.

Please note for VT 3 assignment, you will present an assigned student support services offered at USI. The presentation must include visuals and voice narration. You will explain what these services offer to students, how they benefit online students, hour of operation, events, etc. You will also answer questions from the audience, so you need to become a subject matter expert on the topic.

Students are expected to post an audio or video comment for all VT activities (text feedback will only be counted 50% of the grade). If you do not have a headset/webcam to post a voice/video comment on VoceThread by the assignment

GENS 199.NO1 – 12014 Spring 2014

of 9 Last Update: 1/12/2014 @ 1:00pm

due date, you can use the equipment in the Faculty Innovation Studio (FA 46) on campus. Contact the Department of Distance Learning (812/228-5124) for the studio operation hours.

3. Blogs – link can be found at the Blackboard Learning Tools area We will use blogs as a reflective piece to help you analyze the things you have learned. You will write two blog entries during these seven weeks.

Student Readiness Assessment and the Learning Plan

1. Assessment: students are required to complete a 30-min online assessment to determine their readiness level for online learning. Once the assessment is completed, students will save/print the result in a PDF file and upload it to Blackboard. Students completed the assessment but fail to upload the results to Blackboard by the deadline will receive a zero point grade for this activity.

2. Assessment Analysis: After completing the assessment, students are expected to take a look of their assessment result and analysis their strong and weak areas for improvements. Some reflection questions will be given. The students that answer these questions in the Blackboard Discussion forum will receive 3 extra credit points!!! Students who respond to other’s posts will receive up to 2 extra points.

3. Learning Plan Outline: Students will be requested to draft an action oriented learning plan outline to improve their online learning readiness level based on the assessment results. The outline should contain at least 5 top priorities, strategy to accomplish them, and a timeline.

4. Final Presentation: Students will (1) create a PowerPoint presentation that explains their learning plan, (2) present the plan on VoiceThread, and (3) provide feedback to other classmates’ presentation. Students providing valuable feedback to their classmates will receive up to 3 extra credit points!!

5. Final Paper – the Learning Plan Students will write a learning plan on how they will improve their online study readiness level based on the assessment results in order to succeed in their future online courses. The learning plan will be based on the outline that was drafted earlier in the semester.

Learning Activities

1. Scavenger Hunt To complete this activity you will access USI’s website to look for the answer to the questions posted on the Activity 1: Scavenger Hunt assignment. This activity is very simple, and it will help you remember where to look for important information.

of 9 Last Update: 1/12/2014 @ 1:00pm

2. Crosswords Puzzle You will complete a crossword puzzle in both week 2 and 4 to evaluate your learning in regards to the content that was introduced to you during these two weeks. You can submit this puzzle as many times as you like BEFORE THE DEADLINE.

3. Game Activity

In this activity/game you will assume the role of a new student. You will walk around a local electronic store looking for items that will help you thrive in an online learning environment; however, the store will be full of items that you may not need. To receive full credits for the assignment you have to checkout the correct items. You can attempt submitting this activity as many times as needed BEFORE the deadline.

4. Google Drive Activity Students will use Google Drive to participate in two group learning activities where the entire class will collaborate and work on the tasks together. (1) A comparison chart between l compare Google Drive, SkyDrive, Evernote and Dropbox features. (2) Identifying advantages and disadvantages of the tools listed in activity 1.

Quizzes

You will complete two quizzes during the semester. You can take them as many times as you like on Blackboard until you get a perfect score.

COURSE POLICIES

Class Communication Guidelines

Contacting your Instructors

Students are expected to communicate with course instructors by emails or meet the instructor online during the virtual office hours. Emails usually are responded to within two business days (most likely after 4:30pm CST). No appointment is necessary to meet your instructor during the posted virtual office hours.

Getting Help from your Classmates

Students are encouraged to support each other with their questions and learning needs using the Q&A Discussion Board Forum on Blackboard. Your instructors will check the postings periodically. The top three students who assist their classmates using this forum may receive 2 extra points for volunteering their services, depending on the degree of interactions.

Academic Dishonesty

GENS 199.NO1 – 12014 Spring 2014

of 9 Last Update: 1/12/2014 @ 1:00pm

Students are expected to maintain complete honesty and integrity in the academic experiences both in and out of the classroom. Any student found guilty of dishonesty including, but not limited to, plagiarism and/or cheating on an examination will be subject to disciplinary action. Students are encouraged to review USI's academic dishonesty policy at http://www.usi.edu/deanofstudents/academic-dishonesty-policy-and-procedures.

Participation

In order to obtain full credit for participation, students need to be actively engaged in the weekly online discussion through VoiceThread. Course participation constitutes 20% of your grade. Your participation will be evaluated by the quality and the quantity of your posts (comments).

Diversity Issues

The classroom should be considered a safe space for all students. The pursuit of an intellectually open setting for class discussions is one of the goals of the course. Students should feel free to articulate respectfully different perceptions of the social world; however, belittling, abusive, and discriminatory language will not be tolerated under any circumstances. For more information about diversity resources at USI, please visit http://www.usi.edu/diversityresources/

Disability Statement

If any member of the class feels that she/he has a disability, please advise the professor of desired accommodations by the end of the first week of class or as soon as you have written documentation. The professor will work with you and the staff of Disability Support Services to provide reasonable accommodations to ensure that you have a fair opportunity to perform and participate in class. For more information about student disability support services at USI, please contact the disability office (Ronda Stone, Disability Resources Coordinator at 812-464-1961) or visit their web site at http://www.usi.edu/counselingcenter/disabilityguide.aspx.

Class Withdrawal and Incomplete Policy

It is the student’s responsibility to officially drop/withdraw from any courses before the deadline. The university does not withdraw students from any classes. Please refer to the USI Academic Calendar (http://www.usi.edu/reg/pdf/UNIVCAL2010-15.pdf) for specific dates. For more information, please visit the Office of the Registrar at http://www.usi.edu/reg/withdraw.asp.

Under special circumstances, students may petition for an incomplete grade. However, it is up to the course instructor to decide if an incomplete will be granted. Students receiving an incomplete grade will need to complete all course requirements by the

of 9 Last Update: 1/12/2014 @ 1:00pm

agreed deadline to avoid an “F” grade.

SUPPORT RESOURCES

Technical Support: Since your professors are not trained as technology experts, they will not be able to assist you with your technical needs. Please contact the Help Desk at (812) 465-1080 or send an email to [email protected] for all your technical support needs. To learn more about the USI helpdesk, please visit http://www.usi.edu/distance/students/current/help-desk.

• USI Blackboard Support http://www.usi.edu/it/blackboard-online-help BB On Demand for Students http://ondemand.blackboard.com/students.htm

• VoiceThread Support http://usi.voicethread.com/support/howto/Basics/ For issues involving VoiceThread, please contact the department of Distance Learning at (812) 228-5124 or send an email to [email protected].

• Blackboard Collaborate Support http://www.blackboard.com/Platforms/Collaborate/Services/On-Demand-Learning-Center/Web-Conferencing.aspx#freetraining

• GOTO Meetings http://support.citrixonline.com/GoToMeeting/ (800) 263-6317

Academic Skills and Consulting Services:

• The Writing Lab: http://www.usi.edu/acadskil/tutoring-writinglab.asp

• APA Guidelines: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/ http://www.nova.edu/library/dils/video/format_assignAPA6th/ \

• David L. Rice Library: http://www.usi.edu/library

• Consulting, Disability, and ADA Support: http://www.usi.edu/counselingcenter/

surviving and thriving in distance learningpracticing required technical skills. by providing...

Documents