Mark Widdel, Fall 2008
FAQ Handbook for
Online Classes
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Home
Index
FAQ 1: What does Widdel believe about
teaching?
(Instructor's philosophy)
FAQ 2:
Does it matter
if I only check into class once a week?
(The
relationship between online interaction and final grades)
FAQ 3: How important are discussion groups?
(Critical utilization, participation and civility)
FAQ 4:
How are grades
handled?
(Calculating grades,
incompletes and extra credit)
FAQ 5: Can I skirt the
Federal financial aid requirements for loan repayment if I check into the class
but never participate? (What constitutes “never attended”
or “the last date of attendance”)
FAQ 6: What should I do if there is a
technical problem at the time of assignment access or submission?
(Steps to take if there are problems with the websites or site
functions)
FAQ 7:
What are some of
Widdel's special class standards?
(Document
format, Document names, Pager use, Homework, Etiquette, Civility, Scholastic
Dishonesty)
FAQ 8:
What if I need
special accommodation?
(Religious and Online)
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
FAQ 1:
What does Widdel believe about teaching?
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 real-world 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 textbook material; 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 check the website on a regular basis.
Our online class
sessions feature graded activities exclusively designed for completion during a
specified time. If they’re missed, no makeup or substitute activities are made
available.
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.
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.
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 great sense 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.
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, don’t complain too loudly if you don’t
achieve a high score. Please remember that that late work is accepted because
of very special circumstances - it's rarely accepted for credit.
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.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
FAQ 2: Does
it matter if I only check into class once a week?
Index Home
Yes.
Experience has shown that students who check into class only once per week will
rarely pass the class. My online class is dynamic – I don’t offer an
off-the-shelf prepackaged experience. Expectations may change throughout the
week as I adapt the class to student’s performance. As changes are made to the
assignment or my expectations, the information is posted on the class website.
I
expect class members to log into the class site more than once per week to ensure that they keep
up-to-date on the relevant changes.
Online classes are not intended to be a
correspondence class – where people receive the assignment, complete it
according to their individual timeline and then submit it for final evaluation.
Online classes are an alternative format for teaching and learning, where the
on-site classroom experience is replicated whenever possible and further
enhanced for virtual delivery.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
FAQ 3: How important are discussion
groups?
Index Home
Discussions are the major learning tool for this class.
As individuals post their responses and replies to exercise questions, I answer
questions and provide additional information in an effort to guide class
members to the correct conclusion. Each discussion has a minimum of two phases
with separate deadlines. In addition, the discussions should be used as a final
reference before the online submission of an exercise.
I tracked students’ frequency
of discussion group participation and viewing this past semester. There is a
direct correlation between discussion participation and final grades – the more
the discussion group was used, the higher the grade.
Participation in Discussion
The development of the skill of pertinent discussion is an
important job-related quality. You will be given ample opportunity to express
opinions, report facts and conclusions, present ideas, explain decisions,
debate positions and critique proposals.
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.
Civility On-line
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.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
FAQ 4: How
are grades handled?
Index Home
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 semester are weighted heavier to account for the first
weeks of learning.
Earning an Incomplete
An Incomplete
will only be granted for individuals who
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.
Extra Credit?
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.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
FAQ 5: Can I skirt the Federal financial aid requirements
for repayment if I check into the class but never participate?
Index Home
Federal law requires an
instructor to report the last date of class attendance for students who fail the class as well as for those that sign up for a class but never attend.
For an online class taught by
this instructor, the last date of
attendance reported for a failing student will be the last date an assignment or online discussion comment was
received or posted at the D2L class site. Personal emails sent to the
instructor for something other than assignment completion or online discussion
participation will not constitute class attendance.
Students who are enrolled
in the course but never submit an assignment nor engage in online discussions
will be reported as “never attended.”
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
FAQ 6: What
should I do if there is a technical problem at the time of homework access or
submission?
Index Home
Sometimes technical problems
prevent the successful submission of a quiz or the submission of a
document into a drop box. If this happens, please email the quiz
answers and/or attach the homework assignment to an email to your instructor…
mark.widdel@anokaramsey.edu
If email is down, please fax the assignment to your instructor
at 763.576.0048.
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 email to your
instructor or call him at his home
office – 763.576.0037.
In most situations,
a technical problem does not suspend the requirement for meeting a deadline. Please utilize one of the alternative methods of homework assignment
should an online feature not function properly.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
FAQ 7: What
are some of Widdel's special class standards?
Index Home
Required
Document Format and Required Document Names
Word processed
documents submitted as homework assignments must be saved in Microsoft Word format. For Microsoft Works users,
you need to use the Save As
function and save your document in MS Word format.
The document name 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, it will not be downloaded for grading.
Use of the D2L Pager
Please
do not use the D2L Pager function as
your primary method of contacting your instructor. Use email (mark.widdel@anokaramsey.edu) or
the phone (763.576.0037).
Receiving a page in a timely
manner, as well as responding to a page is highly situational and unreliable.
If you need to contact me for some reason, you can try paging me. If I do not
respond immediately (I may be logged into D2L but working on a different
website) then please send an email or phone me.
I
check my emails several times a day during the week.
Homework
Must be Professionally Formatted
Standard homework
assignments completed outside of the classroom must be word
processed/typewritten in a professional format reflecting business standards.
Format and grammar will be evaluated, as well as specific content.
Required
Assignment Information for Each Assignment
The first
page of each assignment printout should contain this information on the top
line of the document.
First name
Last name, Course Number, Assignment number
For example,
Your Name, BUS
2240, REX Assignment 01
Emailing an Assignment
When emailing a word-processed document, attach the document to your email - DO NOT copy the
formatted document into the body of the email message.
When emailing answers to an exercise, you may
key them into the body of the email message but please key them in an
easy-to-read format such as this...
1. 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
Deadlines are Important
Just
as in life outside the classroom, most deadlines, when missed, cannot be made
up. When your instructor communicates a deadline (or modified deadline) on an
assignment, acceptance of late work will not occur. All points will be lost.
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 Student Conduct Code Policy 3F.1 and Procedure
3F.1/11.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
FAQ 8: What if I need special accommodation?
Index Home
Online 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, students with special needs that require online
accommodation should contact Maria Barlage at 763-433-1872 to discuss possible
support services.
Religious
Accommodation
Students requiring 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.