Online Orientation Activity

Overview:

Through nearly 200 courses we have taught via the World Wide Web, since 1996, we have determined that there is a need for a pre-course Orientation. As enrollment has grown in our Web based courses, so has the student base broadened to a much more diverse group. We have students who have never logged onto the Internet (although very few at this point) to high-tech Information Technology "experts." To accommodate this diverse group of typically adult learners a set of projects has been developed for students to complete before or on the first day of classes.

Starting with a somewhat "level playing field" is essential for success in navigating within the Web-based course and for using the Internet in general. Since ALL activities, including exams and discussions, for our courses are ALL on the Web, it is only practical and logical that an Orientation uses the Web. Completion of some Web-based practice before will establish a common basis of skills and understanding. An in-person Orientation is still offered once every semester, with hands-on practice and an opportunity to meet the faculty and students.

Student competencies:

After completion of these Orientation Activity you, the prospective new student will be able to:

1. Identify important aspects of learning on-line.
2. Locate selected buildings on the UCF campus in Orlando.
3. Cite references according to protocol.
4. Follow UCF student conduct policies.
5. Accept grading policies for our courses.

Overview

This activity is divided into:

"Learning on-line" tutorial

WebCT Technical Competencies

Virtual Tour

Grading Criteria

Ethical Policies

Introduction

Confirmation

Completion of these components is critical--therefore required. The benefits to you include:

1. Success using Web-CT, the software program UCF uses, for our online courses.
2. Ability to perform basic word processing skills.
3. Clear understanding at onset of this course of the grading plan and grade scale.
4. Interaction among students in this course in a non-graded manner.

There are NO points attached to this activity, yet it coincides with the beginning of each course. The benefits are many and we feel a need to incorporate this in ALL our courses.

Learning on-line

When UCF began using the Web for courses in the summer of 1996, and we adopted it fully for our courses then. There was no infrastructure as we have now. Initially our courses were very technically challenging by today's standards, and yet our students not only survived but thrived.
However, because of growth and access by a wider range of skilled students a tutorial was developed. Of course the tutorial is on-line, teaching people how to be on-line using Web-CT and providing refresher training in basic word processing.

Completion of this tutorial can take up to one hour--time well spent up-front, for technical success later. You are asked, urged, cajoled, pressured, and even required to complete the tutorial as soon as possible.

1. Access "Learning on-line"
   Review:
• Skill Requirements
• Technical requirements
2. Complete:
• Orientation Activity

As a reminder, use the checklist below as review in your Web journey.

Web-CT Technical Competencies

Just as you would not embark on a long-distance trip without knowing something about the vehicle you are traveling in, you should not enroll in web courses without acquiring some skills of the vehicle used to transfer your knowledge to the instructor.

Following are some competencies you must achieve before leaving today. Be sure to be checked off by the instructor or a mentor to show that you have the basic knowledge to use Web-CT.

You must be able to do the following:

1. Access the Web-CT course(s) in which you are enrolled.
2. Log in with your username and password.
3. Access course components.
4. Post comments to Discussion Topics.
5. Enter Chat room and post comments.
6. Access Course Mail to select specific addresses, write notes or respond to mail.
7. Find mail in your Inbox and the Outbox
8. Copy and paste to and from Web-CT
9. Include URL's in your postings. (copy & paste)
10. Access "My Grades"
11. "My Participation".

UCF Virtual Tour

For your visit to the UCF main campus in Orlando it is best to be prepared. There are many buildings and we do not want to lose you wandering around campus all day. A "virtual tour" has been developed. We are asking you to "walk" around campus using your computer and the Web for this tour by "Ryan." Follow the steps below to complete your tour.

1. Access the Virtual Tour
2. Select Accessible Version instead of Select either Flash or HTML verions, etc.
3. For general information complete each of the "Tour stops"
4. Specifically for the College of Education find the "Campus Map" use the pull-down menu to select the Education building, click directly on the building, and identify where it is with respect to the University Blvd. entrance and nearby parking at Gemini Blvd. West.
5. Find Classroom Building I - where our hands-on practice is located.
6. Wow, a pretty neat technology eh? You can wander around, print maps and be ready to come to campus.

Grading Criteria - Undergraduate Courses

All of our courses, undergraduate and graduate, follow the same format for grading and use the same grading scale. This is based on specific principles:

1. the work you do is performance--based, assignments are actual or simulate real world work.
2. there is one opportunity to revise selected work within one week of scored date.
3. work is assessed using criterion and not norm-referenced; a "normal curve" is not used in calculating grades or activity scores in our courses.
4. exams, as such, are weighted lower than in most other college courses, hence we attempt to treat adult learners as adult learners.
5. a "participation" component termed "Professionalism" is included in each course to simulate required participation in real-world work.

The following components are used in determining your grade in each course.   Please note that these components may vary at the discretion of the Instructor.

1. Activities (80%)
   
   a. Your written work must be professional in appearance. It should be free from grammatical and spelling errors. You may revise assignments only once and resubmit them for evaluation. You have five days to make these corrections. The time and date will be determined by the time date stamp when your assignment is posted and initially scored.
   
   b. It is very important that you work be posted on or before the published due date and on time. You will have until a specific date and time noted for each course (see Schedule). Points will be deducted from your total activity score if the due date is not met. There are no exceptions! Again, the time and date will be determined by the time and date the posting of the final product is made in the assigned location in the course.
   
2. Examination (10%)
   There will be one overall exam at the end of the course. It is weighted at 10% of the total course grade. Turnaround dates for these varies-but are usually one week Pay attention to course Schedule.
   
3. Reflection (5%)
   In each course we require a reflection at the very end of the course. It is done to offer you an opportunity to sit and think about the course-any aspect of it-and note your reflections.
   
4. Professionalism (5%)
   Part of being a professional in education is modeling behaviors. You are or will be a professional educator/trainer and as such are expected to adhere to quality standards in the (virtual) classroom. Five points will be assigned about midway through the course. Your professionalism in the virtual classroom will be monitored and reviewed as to the extent you:
5. a. participate regularly in Discussion Topics
   b. interact regularly with peers and instructor through course mail,.
   c. submit completed assignments on time,
   d. demonstrate appropriate net-etiquette, and
   e. provide on-line assistance to peers in the course.
6. Grading scale:
   
   A = 94 - 100
   B = 87 - 93
   C = 80 - 86
   D = 73 - 79
   F = 72 and below
   
   The faculty in this program have chosen NOT to adopt plus or minus policy for grades.

Grading Criteria – Graduate Courses 

All of our courses, undergraduate and graduate, follow a similar format for grading and use the same grading scale. This is based on specific principles:

1. The work you do is performance-based, assignments are actual or simulate real world work.
2. There is one opportunity to revise selected work within one week of scored date.
3. Work is assessed using criterion and not norm-referenced; a "normal curve" is not used in calculating grades or activity scores in our courses.
4. The exam is weighted lower than in most other college courses, hence we attempt to treat adult learners as adult learners.
5. A "participation" component termed "Professionalism" is included in each course to simulate required participation in real-world work.

The following components are used in determining your grade in each graduate course. Please note that the components and percentages may vary at the discretion of the Instructor. The grading scale will still remain the same.

1. Activities (70%)
   a. Your written work must be professional in appearance. Word or PDF format will be used. It should be free from grammatical and spelling errors. It is entirely possible that selected products may be submitted for publication – always write with that perspective. You may revise assignments only once and resubmit them for evaluation. You have five days to make these corrections. The time and date will be determined by the time date stamp when your assignment is posted and initially scored.
   
   b. It is very important that you work be posted on or before the published due date and on time. You will have until a specific date and time noted for each course (see Schedule). Points will be deducted from your total activity score if the due date is not met. There are no exceptions! Again, the time and date will be determined by the time and date the posting of the final product is made in the assigned location in the course.
   
2. Professionalism (5%)
   Part of being a professional in education is modeling professional behaviors. You are or will be a professional educator and as such are expected to adhere to quality standards in the (virtual) classroom. Five points will be assigned about midway through the course. Your professionalism in the virtual classroom will be monitored and reviewed as to the extent you:

a. participate regularly in Discussion Topics
b. interact regularly with peers and instructor through course mail,
c. submit completed assignments on time,
d. demonstrate appropriate net-etiquette, and
e. provide on-line assistance to peers in the course

3. Final Examination (20%)
   This is a graduate course, therefore, to prepare you for the Masters degree Comprehensive Examination at the completion of ALL your courses, the weight of the Course Final Examination is higher. The exam is in more depth and is to develop your skills in answering research based essay type questions.
   
4. Reflections (5%)

In each course we require a reflection at the very end of the course, after activities and final exam. It is done to offer you an opportunity to sit and think about the course—any aspect of it—and note your reflections. As I said it is a requirement.

5. Grading scale: 
   A = 94 - 100
   B = 87 - 93
   C = 80 - 86
   D = 73 - 79
   F = 72 and below

The faculty in this program have chosen NOT to adopt plus or minus policy for grades.

You are referred to the Program Web site under Orientation for more details:

http://reach.ucf.edu/~technicaled/orient-actvt.htm

Ethical policies:

At UCF adhering to acceptable ethical practices is considered essential. To that end you are asked to:

• Access the Golden Rule on line
  
  
• Read thoroughly Student Rights and Responsibilities
  
  
• Rules of Conduct
  
  
• Student Academic Behavior

Plagiarism & Turnitin

Our courses ask of you to visit many web sites, as part of using what has been done at other places and actually reviewing research. It could be very easy to forget to offer a complete citation. Some could also omit entirely a quote or reference. While the former may happen, the latter should never occur. When it does it is plagiarism and is very serious.

The faculty at UCF now have access to a site to which we can submit student work for comparison to previously published work - Turnitin. You do NOT want to plagiarize or not include a complete citation for any reference or quotation. Above all else include the complete citation information when required.

Introductions

Our Web courses are very interactive. Therefore, it is important that you participate as scheduled and in the proper location within the course as assigned. To practice this and to get to know others in this course you are asked to offer an introduction when you start each course. We use the "Discussion" area with one titled "Introductions." Once you are permitted access to the course on the first day of class (our in-person Orientation) go to "Discussions" and select "Introductions." Type your name in the "Subject" line.

The following items should be addressed in your introduction:

1. Name
   
2. Email address
   
3. Where you work (if you do)
   
4. What you do (if you work)
   
5. What technical (work) background do you have?
   
6. All types of education (High School, certificates, licenses, degrees)
   

This would be a good place to practice copy and paste skills by copying these headings to a word file of some type, answering the items, and pasting the answers to another file, just for practice before your course starts. Always review your posting BEFORE actually posting, add spacing, make headings capitalized or different from the regular text, and then post.

Immediately upon starting the course:

1. Post your Introduction with your name in "Subject" line to "Introductions" Discussion Topic.
2. Reply to peers using "Reply Privately" NOT just Reply or Quote. Each person should post only one posting to the Introductions area.

Confirmation:

Upon completion of this Online Orientation Activity and upon access to your course(s):

1. Copy and paste the following to the "Message" portion of the Discussion titled "Orientation Verification":

I verify that I have achieved the following:

a. Learning on-line tutorial
b. UCF Virtual tour
c. WebCT Technical Competencies
d. Grading Criteria
e. UCF Technical Procedures

Type your name in the "Subject" line.

Post this message.

Thanks very much.

Dr. Jo Ann M. Whiteman
Dr. Michelle Snider

http://reach.ucf.edu/~technicaled