FAQS for Online Classes

Transcription

1 Mark Widdel, Summer 2015 FAQS for Online Classes Section/Topic Instructor's expectations, course standards and requirements. 1. Instructor s Philosophy: What does Widdel believe about teaching? 2. Class Attendance: Am I expected to check into the class more than once a week? 3. Course Content & Assignments: Where is the weekly class information posted? 4. Participation in Discussion: How important are discussion groups? 5. Grades & Scores: How are grades determined? Where are they posted? 6. Course Withdrawal: What's the deadline for course withdrawal? 7. Dropped from Class: Can I be removed from the class roster? What constitutes "never attended" or "the last date of attendance?" 8. Class Absence & Technical Problems for Submission: What should I do if I need to miss a significant period of class time or if there are technical problems preventing the access to or submission of homework in D2L? 9. Late Homework: What if I miss an assignment deadline? 10. Homework Requirements: What are the Instructor's class standards for homework assignments? a. Required software b. Required document format and naming c. Document format reflecting business standards d. Required assignment information e. Required standards f. Academic dishonesty 11. Accelerated/Short Courses: What is the expected pace of an accelerated course versus a semester-long course? 12. Use/Expectations: I have an account - do I have to use the ARCC account? a. Activating and forwarding from the ARCC student account b. Inappropriate communications 13. Class Accommodation: What if I need special accommodation? 1

2 1. What does Widdel believe about teaching? (Instructor's philosophy) Welcome! I m happy to have you join my class. Hopefully this semester s experience will exceed your expectations. Are you wondering what to expect? The following statements should give you some insight as to how this class will be managed. Learning occurs from practice; practice usually involves making mistakes. Every week you ll be involved in applying the textbook information to a variety of realworld situations. Plan to make mistakes as new challenges are presented. Learn how to learn from them and you ll make great progress. You re very capable of reading and understanding the written content; I don t have to repeat the information in a PowerPoint slideshow or in outline notes. Time will be spent on clarifying and applying the assigned reading in online discussions and projects that are designed for analysis. It s worth your time to check the website on a regular basis. Assignments, updates and notices are posted on the class support website. You're responsible to checking the site for important content and deadlines. Class activities and homework assignments aren t make work activities nor intended as filler. I value your time. Activities are carefully designed to relate to previous information as well as expand upon given topics. The answers aren t meant to be obvious; they re meant to make you think. Participation in classroom discussions is expected. Verbalizing your opinion is an important life-skill. Learning to provide an opinion that is relevant and educated is critical to future on-the-job success. Class assignments are designed to provide lots of practice in offering an informed opinion to your instructor and peers. Business classes such as this must mirror professional standards and prepare you for the workplace. My job includes the requirement to teach you new skills as well as enhance existing skills that are needed for a business career. All of my activities and projects target this objective. In addition to your achievement on content-specific assignments, you're evaluated on your ability to meet a deadline, submit a professionally formatted document, write in a professional tone and show initiative in exceeding stated expectations - all factors of a normal work environment. I know you're busy, but I expect you to show priority to the requirements of the class. Life happens and time for homework may become limited but I expect you to do what's necessary to prepare for class and to meet the assignment deadlines. Always do what you can with the time that is given. Overall, a score reflects the amount of time you allotted for a given assignment and how good you were at following directions. If you re too busy or too distracted to spend enough time making sure a particular assignment is done right and by the stated deadline, don t complain too loudly if you don t achieve a high score. Please remember that late work is rarely accepted. Remember, I m a good person to include in your list of resume references. What would you like me to be able to say about you? Here are some of the behaviors and skills that I note throughout the semester: meets homework deadlines, is a good proofreader, engages in thoughtful discussion, demonstrates a good sense 2

3 of humor, has an eye for detail, is a discussion leader, has mastered the material, is a critical thinker, is excellent at problem solving, demonstrates creativity, learns from mistakes, shows initiative, consistently exceeds my expectations, etc. The final grade for the class is secondary to the amount of learning that occurred. If at the end of the semester you can say, I learned a lot in this class, you ve achieved the most important goal. 2. Am I expected to attend class every week? Short Answer: Yes. In fact, I expect you to check into class several times per week. New assignments are posted by 8:00 AM Mondays on the class website. Sometimes, clarifying directions are posted later than Monday, as a remedy to the original instructions flagged as unclear by class members. Many of the assignments require an initial posting by a given deadline and then a followup response by a new deadline within the same week. Experience has shown me that students who just download the assignments and submit final answers without participating in the weekend online discussions will fail the class. If you want a passing grade, engage in the discussions throughout the week. My class is dynamic, customized to the group, and delivered in real-time. I don t offer a publisher's prepackaged fill-in-the-blank rote learning experience. 3. Where is the weekly class information provided? Short Answer: Three places. On the class website outside of D2L/Brightspace and within D2L/Brightspace. Homework assignments and information links are posted at the class homepage at webs.anokaramsey.edu/widdel. Daily/Weekly notices and general critiques of the graded homework assignments are posted on the "News Item" page in D2L/Brightspace. Graded assignments originally submitted to a specific D2L drop box are uploaded to that same drop box. Assignment grades and a running cumulative percentage achieved of total points possible are posted in an Excel spreadsheet. The link is located on the class home page webs.anokaramsey.edu/widdel. 4. How important is participation in the in-class discussions? Short Answer: It s critical that you engage in online discussion forums with your instructor and peers it s part of learning to think critically and learn to express yourself in an job context. Online discussions are the major learning tool for my online classes. Your participation in them is critical to the successful completion of the class. 3

4 There are three major types used in my classes: 1. Discussions intended to help you derive the correct answer to a problem, before you submit your final answer. In these exercises, your are asked to post an opinion with rationale regarding your idea about the best answer to a given problem. (Think of this as a first draft of a problem resolution.) Your class peers and instructor will give feedback to your posted answer. You'll then have an opportunity to revise your original response before completing the assignment. Most discussions have a minimum of two phases with separate deadlines. 2. Discussions intended as a way to publically display your opinion about a given topic. During the semester, I'll be asking you to post several statements summarizing the major lessons that you've learned so far in the class or the major concepts derived from an assigned reading. This type of discussion post is intended to be a one-way communication - no replies are expected to be given from either your class peers or instructor. 3. Discussions that are originated and moderated by you, with input from your class peers. You may be assigned to take the lead on a given topic by posting your opinions and then responding to the comments made by your class peers and instructor. Participation in the discussion may require several visits to the D2L topic group. The development of the skill of engaging in pertinent discussion is an important jobrelated quality. You will be given ample opportunity to express opinions, report facts and conclusions, present ideas, explain decisions, debate positions and critique proposals. In a given week, you may need to visit a particular discussion group several times so that adequate questions have been asked and replies to your comments are made before the final deadline. Every student should expect to respond to questions asked in a discussion thread. In this instructor s class, a student should be prepared to accept guidance in the structure and delivery of appropriate written responses. I tracked students frequency of discussion group participation and viewing in last summer s class. There is a direct correlation between discussion participation and final grades the more the discussion group was used, the higher the grade 4

5 Civility in Online Discussions Respect for your peers and instructor should be reflected in every one of your online discussions. A student engaging in impolite, disruptive, sexist, or discriminatory critique will be asked to stop. In severe cases the uncivil behavior will be reported ARCC administration. Professionalism Should Be Reflected in Your Posted Comments The expected writing style for online discussions may be casual but your posts are expected to reflect standards of professional business writing, in tone, style, and grammar. Be sure to run the D2L spell-check function for each posted reply. Use good grammar. Use short paragraphs and include a blank line between them. Use headings to communicate the topics of your comments. 5. How are grades determined? Where are they posted? Short Answer: The scoring/grading criteria are provided on every assignment. Points are allotted for numerous goals. Every assignment identifies the total point value and all writing assignments contain the scoring criteria by which your submission will be evaluated. The final score on each assignment will be entered in the grade book which is linked in the class website at webs.anokaramsey.edu/widdel. I do not use the D2L grade book option. Your ongoing scores and cumulative point value can be viewed in the Excel spreadsheet posted on the class website. Typically, I will assign grades according to the following scale: Of the total points possible: 90% and above = A 80%-89% = B 70-79% = C 60-69% = D Below 60% = F Be careful with assessing your progress because assignments have different point values and are weighted differently. Typically, the assignments that are given in the last half of the course period are weighted heavier to account for the mistakes make during the first weeks of learning. 5

6 Data Privacy Laws and Your Posted Scores By law, your scores and grades need to remain private. It's up to you to ensure this outcome. After grading the first set of assignments for a class, I you a grade book code number to the ARCC student account which is assigned to you atrandom. It is important that you do not share this grade book code with others, especially other class members. Earning an Incomplete An Incomplete will only be granted for individuals who meet these three criteria: Extra Credit? 1) have completed at minimum of 80% of the total outstanding points for the class and 2) have a passing average of 70% or better of the existing point total and 3) can complete the course within a mutually agreeable time line. Sorry, there are no extra credit assignments provided in any of my classes. If you complete the weekly homework assignments and stay on deadline, you ll not have the need for any extra credit work. Official End-of-Semester Grade Grades posted on the class web site or in D2L are not the official grades. Students should log into their e-services account and click on Grades and Transcripts for their transcript grades. The transcript is the student record that reflects the final, official grades. Keep your copy of the graded homework assignments Always keep your copies of the graded homework assignments so that you can prove you completed it, if a score is missing from the class grade book. Delete them at the end of the semester after you ve received an official grade for the course. 6. What's the deadline for course withdrawal? Short Answer: The last day to withdraw from the class this summer session is Tuesday, July 14. Please be aware that if your personal schedule cannot accommodate the homework and class requirements and you cannot successfully complete the class, you may withdraw. This will result in a grade of W being recorded on your transcript. A W has no impact on your grade point average. If you stop engaging in the class and do not withdraw from the class by the required deadline, you will receive a grade of "F." 6

7 Note This: There is no refund of tuition or fees accompanying a course withdrawal by the date specified above. Partial refunds are given for earlier withdrawal dates. Go here for the specific dates and other important deadlines during the semester: To Withdraw from a Class (online) 1. After going to the following address, log into the system using your starid: 2. Click on Courses & Registration 3. Click View/Modify Schedule and complete the actions to withdraw. 7. Why would you be automatically dropped from a class or removed the active class list? What constitutes not attending, "never attended" or "the last date of attendance? Short Answer: You ll be dropped from the class and receive a grade of F as a noshow if you do not engage in the class during its first week. If at any time during the session you stop engaging in the class for a two-week period, you ll be removed from the active class list. This will also result in a grade of F. Details regarding several scenarios are given below. Federal law requires an instructor to report the last date of class attendance for students who fail the class as well as for those who sign up for a class but never attend. Students who are enrolled at the start of the class but do not complete the full set of week 1 assignments at a 60% level of competency, will be reported as having never attended. This results in a grade of "F" and an automatic drop from the class. (Late enrollees are excluded from this policy.) Those who successfully complete week one of the class but 1) stop engaging in the class and 2) don t submit the homework assignments for two consecutive weeks and 3) don t contact the instructor during that period of time, will be reported as "not attending" and will be removed from the active class list, resulting in a grade of "F". The last date of attendance reported for a failing student will be the last date an assignment was submitted for evaluation. 8 A. What should I do if I cannot participate in class over an extended period of time? Short Answer: your instructor. the homework that is due. Download any other homework that you missed - from the class website. Sometimes a personal conflict, job or event makes it impossible to participate in class. 7

8 Here s what you need to do: Step 1. Step 2. Step 3. Notify me via anokaramsey.edu) with a simple message of who you are and what period of time you ve missed or will be missing. Turn in any homework that was due that missed class period (do not hold it for late submission the following week.) your assignments to mark.widdel@anokaramsey.edu or if directed, upload them to the designated D2L drop box. Download the pending homework assignments from the class website at webs.anokaramsey.edu/widdel. 8 B. What if there are technical problems preventing the access to or submission of your homework? Sometimes technical problems prevent the successful submission of a quiz or the submission of a document into a drop box. If this happens, please the quiz answers and/or attach the homework assignment to an to your instructor. If there is an unscheduled technical problem with the D2L website or a link problem at the instructor s website, please flag the issue in an to your instructor or call him at his home office In most situations, a technical problem does not suspend the requirement for meeting a deadline. Please utilize one of the alternative methods of homework submission should an online feature not function properly. 9. What if I miss an assignment deadline? Short Answer: Submit your assignment it before the answers are released or the assignments have been graded and returned. All of my drop boxes and discussion forums remain open after a stated deadline. If you miss an expressed deadline and if I have not downloaded the items from the drop box or graded the discussion postings, then I ll accept your work as late. Once a batch of assignments are downloaded and graded by me, late submissions will not be accepted and I'll post a notice stating so. Quizzes do not remain open after the stated deadline. If you miss a quiz deadline and I have not yet released the answers after grading, I will accept your late answers. Just them to me. Don t waste time asking my permission, just send them; if they qualify for grading, I ll score your answers. If they don t, I ll let you know in a reply . 8

9 10. What are the instructor's class standards for homework assignments? Short Answer: The following guidelines must be met. Don t lose points for easy things such as these that are within your control. a. Required Software The Microsoft Office 2013-suite of programs is the official software used by the ARCC business division. My classes utilize Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint. It is your responsibility to use at least the 2010 version when submitting assignments and reviewing feedback by your instructor. Great News. As an enrolled ARCC student, you can download the Microsoft Office suite of programs, free of charge. Instructions for doing so are at this location: b. Required Document Format and Required Document Names Word processed documents submitted as homework assignments must be saved in Microsoft Word format. For Microsoft Works, Google Docs or users of other word processing software, you need to use the Save As function and save your document in MS Word format. The document name for you to use for submission in a drop box will be specified in the assignment guidelines. If you do not submit the assignment with the required name or in the required format, points will be docked. c. Homework Must be Professionally Formatted Standard homework assignments completed outside of the classroom must be word processed in a professional format reflecting business standards. Format and grammar will be evaluated, as well as specific content. A format guide showing the required structure of the document is often provided in an assignment s instructions. You will be held accountable for following the given guidelines. Note This: You re expected to run the spell and grammar check function on any word-processed document created for submission. It s important to correct the flagged errors. You will be held accountable for doing so. d. Required Assignment Information Needs to be Included on Each Assignment The first page of each assignment printout should contain this information on the top line of the document. Your Name (always include first and last), BUS 1101-(class section number), Application Exercise 01 (or other relevant assignment Identifier) For example: Mark Widdel, BUS , Application Exercise 01 9

10 If your name and the course information is missing, points will be deducted. e. ing an Assignment Each needs to include your specific request in the subject line. And in the body of the , include your first and last name as well as the class and section, in which you re enrolled. When ing a word-processed document, attach the document to your - DO NOT copy the formatted document into the body of the message. When ing answers to an exercise, you may key them into the body of the message but please key them in an easy-to-read format such as this a 2. c 3. d 4. b 5. b 6. a Instead of this... 1 a 2 c 3 d 4 b 5 b 6 a f. Academic Dishonesty Academic dishonesty is defined as cheating, plagiarizing, or aiding and abetting another person in cheating or plagiarism.* Cheating includes, but is not limited to, the use of any unauthorized assistance in taking quizzes, tests, examinations or other instruments of evaluation such as application exercises, case problems, presentations or projects. The definition also includes the dependence upon the aid of resources beyond those authorized by the instructor. Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to, the use, by paraphrase or direct quotation, of the published or unpublished work of another person without full and clear acknowledgement or the unacknowledged use of materials prepared by another person or agency engaged in the selling of term papers or other academic materials. Any student who commits an act of scholastic dishonesty is subject to discipline which may include a verbal warning, a requirement to redo the assignment, the completion of an additional assignment, having the assignment grade lowered or stricken, having the course grade lowered or course failure. For additional information, refer to the ARCC Student Conduct Code Policy at 10

11 11. What's the pace of an accelerated course versus a semester-long course? Short Answer: The homework load is more intense in an accelerated class. It s critical to keep up-to-date on completing all your assignments. Don t skip assignments the negative impact of doing so is substantial. An accelerated course contains almost the same course content as its semester-long counterpart. You should plan to spend twice the amount of time normally spent per week for the completion of assigned work. Students enrolled in an accelerated course should expect an intensive use Internetbased research and online discussion. Careful attention to assignment and quiz deadlines is even more critical in an accelerated course. In exit surveys, students have reported that it helped greatly to maintain a personal class calendar for tracking assignment deadlines. 12. I already have an account - do I have to use the college account? Short Answer: Yes, and don t ignore it check it often. But you can reduce the hassle by setting your college account to automatically forward s to your personal account. ARCC Student Account The college account is the only client established to work within D2L. All official communications originating from Anoka-Ramsey, as well as all s sent by your instructor to you, will be to your college address. One of your major student responsibilities is to check that account for college-related communications. The rationale, I don t use that account will not excuse you from the responsibility for accessing the information, notices and clarifications sent to you by your instructors and the College. Activating ARCC Accounts and Forwarding the s to a Different Account Instructions for activating the college account are posted at If you wish to automatically forward the college s to a different account, follow the instructions at 11

12 Do you need technical help? (It s free!) Contact the ARCC Technology Help Desk for Computer, Software and Technical Problems Phone or In-Person Coon Rapids Technology it.helpdesk@anokaramsey.edu Cambridge Building F Inappropriate Use of a Student Account communications whose meaning, transmission or distribution is illegal, unethical, fraudulent, defamatory, harassing or irresponsible are prohibited. Comments and material that may be considered inappropriate, offensive or disrespectful to others should not be sent or received as electronic communications. Receipt of Inappropriate Communications If you feel that you have received an inappropriate online communication from a class peer, contact Mark Widdel. 13. What if I need special accommodation? Short Answer: Notify your instructor of your special needs before it becomes an achievement problem. Classroom Accommodation Anoka Ramsey Community College does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, religion, age or disability in the provision of student services. Within the first week of class, if you are a student with special needs requiring specialized online accommodation please phone the information desk at and ask for support services for students with special needs. Religious Accommodation If you require accommodation for sincerely held religious beliefs and/or for observance of religious events that conflict with class requirements should inform the instructor of the need for these accommodations during the first week of class. 12