Course Language - WKU



Student Online Learning Guide for LME 545

Compiled by Dr. Marge Maxwell

Course Language: English

Time zone: Central, remember there may be students from anywhere around the world.

Required Resources

• PC/Windows-based Compatible computer with Internet access or Apple Macintosh computer with Internet access

• Web browser (Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox); or Safari or Firefox on Mac

• Microsoft Office XP, 2003, or 2007 Pro for Windows (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access) or MS Office 2004 for Mac

• Media: USB drive recommended

• Teaching materials (teacher's guides, curriculum, anything to help create curriculum projects)

Communication with Instructor

1. Instructor Availability: I want to be available to you throughout the course. It is easiest to reach me via email. I will answer email almost every Monday through Friday during this course. You are welcome to call me at my office. You may schedule an appointment (in person or on the phone) almost any day. I will let you know via course announcements and/or email if I will be out of town.

2. Grading and Feedback: Your instructor keeps grades on an MS Excel spreadsheet, not in BlackBoard’s grade book. You will be sent a personal Student Feedback Form after each project is graded providing you with grades and feedback.

3. Positive, Fair Attitude: I promise to maintain a positive, fair, professional attitude. I plan to adhere to the course schedule as outlined in the syllabus. I am a real person just like you. I can make mistakes and forget things just like you. That’s why I document almost everything (and I suggest you do the same). I keep ALL of your emails, document all phone calls, and keep dates that projects are received.

4. Emails to Instructor: ALL emails to your instructor MUST be in the following format:

LME 545, Last Name, Topic

Emails without this format will (gently) be returned to you to correct the subject. I am not trying to be rude! My email program sorts mail according to the class number. If you do not use this standard email subject format, your message may get lost and has many times in past courses. Please help me with this! It will also help you and me if you will set your email options such that when you reply to any message, it will include the original message. When you email me, my email software (Outlook) will retain your original message when I reply. If you reply back, your message should retain both your original message and my response. This helps to remind me of our conversations. Thanks!! Also, please use correct English in your emails, no slang abbreviations or emoticons, do not use all caps or all lower case.

5. Naming Files: Directions for naming files are provided in the directions for each assignment on your syllabus. In general, all files submitted should begin with your last name, then a period, then a description of the assignment.

Successful On-line Learning Tips

1. Access to compatible computer technology and software is the student’s responsibility.

2. Try to get online as often as possible (especially to help ease beginner’s anxiety.) The more you practice, the better you will feel about the course.

3. Don’t be afraid if you do not know how to use computers as well as others. The more you use the computer, the better you get.

4. Communicate on a regular basis (via the Q & A Board, email, or phone) with one or more people from the class to be assured that you are on-track with others. This will help to keep up your morale.

5. Keep a saved copy of ALL assignments and email sent and received concerning this course. Document everything! In this cyberspace world where we cannot see and touch our messages and files, sometimes they get lost. Assignments will not be counted as late if you have dated documentation of saved files.

6. Don’t be afraid to ASK for help! You can ask your instructor or another class member. Feel free to use the Q & A Discussion Board (Question and Answer) to post questions or answer others. Sometimes I may post your question (without your name) because others may be struggling with the same issue. I may refer technical questions to our technical experts who maintain the network and BlackBoard.

7. DO NOT use the Q & A Discussion Board to make derogatory comments about other students, the course, the instructor, or to publicly air grievances. These types of comments should be addressed first to the person they concern. If it cannot be resolved, ask the instructor to assist. If it is about the instructor or course, I am approachable and always willing to listen.

8. Maintain a positive, helpful, professional attitude in communication with other students, discussion boards, and with the instructor.

9. Be sure to print the course syllabus and assignments as they are posted. In case you can’t get on-line to check email or complete an assignment, at least you have the assignment and phone numbers.

10. Get on-line every day or two, if possible, to at least check new posts or announcements. Read the assignments, comments, and other information and then log off to formulate your own responses. Then log on again to enter your information. It could take 2-5 days to get feedback from your instructor on what you submitted, and then respond back to the feedback if you like.

11. Keep up with assignments. Procrastination can be hazardous! It is not recommended to wait until the due date to send an assignment, what if you experience technical problems? If you had tried to send it several days earlier, the technical problems may have been resolved before the assignment was due.

12. Copy the names of classmates and projects that are interesting, establish networks/contacts for future use.

13. Consider setting aside the same time every week to go on-line to work on this course. Allow approximately four to six hours of time and don’t miss a week. It is easier to concentrate if it is away from children, spouse, homework, etc. The work cannot be done quickly, and it’s important to take the time to read the other students’ comments and to go back and read the instructor’s comments on previous discussion threads. The statements of others can be invaluable.

14. Remember the saying, “Only a poor workman blames his tools.” Persevere through technical difficulties. TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES WILL NOT BE AN EXCUSE FOR A LATE ASSIGNMENT WITHOUT 24-HOUR NOTICE. You could have attempted to send the assignment a few days earlier. We may have had time to resolve technical problems then. (In other words, you did not wait until the last minute.)

15. Make sure your computer is working properly during the first week of class. You cannot afford to lose a few weeks of time to have a computer repaired during the course.

16. Arrange access to a backup computer, perhaps at a friend or relative’s home or at your work site. Of course, WKU has several computer labs on the main campus and on satellite campuses always available. If you cannot send an assignment from your computer, try again at a different time or try from another computer.

17. Inform your instructor as early as possible of absence from class, i.e., if you will be out of town for a week. Due dates can be adjusted for good reasons.

18. Do not recycle assignments or projects. In other words, all assignments for this class should be original and not assignments revised from or used in another class.

Computer tips

1. If you need assistance, you are welcome to schedule an appointment with your instructor or get some assistance from a computer-savvy friend. However, remember all work on assignments is to be yours only!

2. If you are not comfortable with some of the Microsoft Office Pro 2000 or XP for Windows applications (Word, Access, Excel or PowerPoint), there are numerous online tutorials. You can locate some of them at .

3. ALWAYS complete ALL assignments off-line and save the file(s) on a disk or your hard drive. Then go on-line and copy and paste the text for posting on the discussion board or send as attached file to email. This can eliminate assignments lost in cyberspace and keep your frustration level in check. Watch the file size. The WKU email will allow you to transmit up to a 5 mb file size. However, most other ISPs (Internet Service Providers) will only allow up to 1 mb file size transmission.

4. BACKUP, BACKUP, BACKUP! You cannot backup too often. This means not only saving the file you are working on, but to make a duplicate of your file either on your hard drive or a diskette. The rule for saving a file is, "Have you done enough that you don't want to do it again?"

5. You can be inadvertently “kicked off-line.” How? If you are using one phone line in your house, it could happen if someone picks up a phone extension. You may need to disable “call waiting.” Some ISPs (Internet Service Providers) only allow a specified number of minutes on-line at a time or a certain number of minutes when no response has been sent or received. It could be difficult to get on-line during “peak time” in the evening. Sometimes telephone line noise (especially with country lines) can kick you off. If a problem persists, call your ISP. You can change the amount of time you are online before being kicked off in Internet Options in your browser. I would highly recommend a DSL (Distance Satellite Link) which is connected all the time. It is faster and much more reliable. I use a DSL connection at my home from Bell South (give them a call and tell them I sent you.)

6. The best time to work in BlackBoard is mornings up until 11:00am. Afternoons and evenings are very busy for the BlackBoard server. If you have technical problems with BlackBoard, call the WKU Helpline at (270) 745-7000. The helpline is staffed during regular business hours (8:00am to 4:30pm M-F). If you call after business hours, leave a message and they will contact you as quickly as they can.

Course Requirements

Emails

The subject of all emails to Dr. Maxwell should begin with the course, LME 537, your last name, and a 2-3 word phrase describing the topic of your email. (Example: LME 545, Johnson, Question about web project). You are in one of my four online classes. Thank you in advance for helping me keep my email and files organized. If you do not use this format, I may (gently) return your email and ask you to revise the subject.

Email writing style: Please use grammatically correct English in email communication. This is the major means of our professional university communication. Therefore, do not use all caps or all lowercase, do not use common informal abbreviations like BTW (by the way), and do not use excessive emoticons or faces (once in a while is OK).

Submission of Assignments

1. WKU subscribes to TurnItIn, a plagiarism service which gives professors an originality report for each student paper turned in. Your assignments may be checked through this service.

2. The preferred method for submission of your assignments is to upload your assignment file through BlackBoard.

a. View the assignment under Assignments in our BlackBoard course.

b. Click on the link “View/Complete Assignment: AssignmentName.”

c. Type a comment to your instructor about your assignment. It will not submit if you do not type something.

d. Click “Browse” and locate your assignment file on your hard drive or diskette.

e. If you have another file to upload, click “Add Another File” and Browse to locate your file.

f. Click “Submit” to send your file to your instructor.

3. If for some reason you cannot upload your assignment file, you can send it as an attachment to an email message. (Please scan for viruses first.) If your assignment is more than one file, I would rather for you to send a zipped folder with all your files. Then you are sending only one file. (To zip a folder, within Windows Explorer (Windows XP version), right click on the folder with your assignment, select Send To compressed zipped file. Then send that file as an attachment to an email message.)

4. Snail mail (regular postal mail) a diskette or CD to your instructor. Remember that this method is slow and it may be difficult to meet timelines. Note: If you mail assignments by regular post, they will not be returned to you.

Participation

Participation is required. First, the Orientation Activity is required to be turned in by the posted due date. (I understand this may be impossible for some of you if you added late but communicate with the instructor.) Other participation includes discussion boards, turning in completed assignments on a timely basis, maintaining contact with the instructor, and maintaining a positive, professional attitude.

I would enjoy the opportunity to meet you any time during the semester. If you are coming to campus for any other business or class, I hope you will schedule an appointment to meet me. Feel free to call anytime.

Emergencies

In the event of an emergency local to you (but not to me) that results in loss of connection (a technology breakdown, typhoon, dust storm, hurricane, earthquake, war, etc.) do your best to contact me by any means once it is reasonable to do so (phones, fax, snail mail). Continue to make reasonable independent efforts toward course completion as per the syllabus. Due dates will certainly be adjusted for you in these cases.

It would be wise to arrange a back up plan for Internet access in case your primary computer fails. Libraries may offer a terminal, for example. WKU tends to do maintenance tasks on the weekends so you may experience periodic outages.

Characteristics of On-line Learners

1. They take command of their own learning, master more things, and master them better than those who rely on being taught. They tend to have greater zest for learning and make better use of their time.

2. They learn differently than children. As working adults, online learners have a different sense of themselves, of their time, and of what’s worth learning.

3. Adults tend to take responsibility for their own learning. Online learners are able to tailor learning for themselves, not just accept something ready-made.

4. How well online learners learn depends, to a great extent, on their temperaments, circumstances, needs, tastes, and ambitions. Success in learning depends not so much on the subject itself (or maybe even on the medium) as on the learner’s own engagement.

5. Virtually (not a pun) every aspect of the adult online learner’s life(work, leisure, personal relationships, community activities(has the latent power to enhance his or her learning, but only if the adult learner can find or create the ways to utilize it.

Needs of Online Learners

1. The online student needs support services.

2. The online learner needs a social context for learning.

3. The online student needs to experience effective online communication and teaching practices.

4. The online student needs clear guidance through the online curriculum.

5. The online student needs tolerance for differences.

6. Occasionally an online student needs extra motivation.

7. An instructor should let the online students know that s/he can and does track attendance/participation in class.

Resources

Schweizer, H. (1999). Designing and Teaching an On-Line Course. Needham Heights, Massachusetts: Allyn & Bacon.

White, K.W. & Weight, B.H. (2000). The Online Teaching Guide. Needham Heights, Massachusetts: Allyn & Bacon.

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