DE Oracle @ UMUC

Beginning of Semester Checklist for Online Classes

CSI Staff

Staff Writer

Center for Support of Instruction

Category: » Semester-checklist » Gsmt-checklist

No teaching is expected to take place in online classrooms prior to the official class start dates; however, it is UMUC policy that all online classrooms adhere to the following minimum setup standards, most due by one week prior to the start of classes. These standards are detailed in the official UMUC "Expectations" documents that apply to online and face-to-face classes; these are available in the Resources section of the DE Oracle.

Early provision of basic course materials allows students to evaluate courses before the last date to drop classes without a minimum 25% financial penalty, which is the day before classes start. Students also appreciate being able to coordinate their study schedules with their business and personal schedules before the semester begins.

Provided below are a

• Items required by one week before classes start
• Optional items for online class setup
  

Also available is a SHORT-FORM of the Checklist.

In the event that an instructor is unable to provide the basic materials listed below by one week before the course start date, s/he should contact the program director and the CSI Instructional Support Specialist for the course.

Items Required by 1 Week Before the Start of Semester for a Fully Online/Hybrid Class

1. ____ Faculty Biography

Create and post a generic biography in WebTycho via Options-->Biography anytime after you have login access to TychoUSA, but no later than one week before the official start date of a class.

If you've already created a biography, you may edit it at any time. The same biography is available in all WebTycho classrooms in which you are rostered.

If you haven't already added a photo (.jpg or .gif image) to your biography, consider doing so to make your biography more lively and personal. In addition, you may add a link to a personal website in your biography. If you are unsure how to add an image to the Bio area, or your image is too large you can contact your CSI Instructional Support Specialist for assistance.

2. _____ Accurate email address

Your email address in WebTycho must be accurate at all times. Email address changes need to be done through MyUMUC. When you update your email address in MyUMUC, your email address in WebTycho will automatically be updated.

3. _____ Welcoming Initial/Introductory Class Announcement

Faculty are encouraged to post a Welcome announcement as soon as they gain access to their new classrooms, since students can see the announcement areas once they register for courses. The first announcement should be posted no later than one week prior to the formal class start date.

The first announcement(s) should set the tone for the class and can include such information as official class dates, the link for MBS direct where students can purchase course textbooks, and information about how students can navigate the class menu and/or get started once the class menu becomes available to them.

The announcement is a good place to add an audio introduction to your class.

4. _____ Course Syllabus and Schedule

Faculty must provide a detailed course syllabus including a course schedule in accordance with departmental guidelines by one week prior to the official course start date. The syllabus (and schedule, if separate) may be posted as webpage(s), as pasted text, or as attached document(s). It should be as accurate as possible; free from grammatical, spelling, and date errors; and it should contain,

• Faculty contact information
• Course goals and objectives as approved by the department and the Graduate Council.
• Required text(s) and other course materials, as approved by the department and the Graduate Council.
• Grading criteria, including explicit expectations for participation and policy on late submissions.
• Descriptions of all projects/assignments (preferably detailed). These should be closely aligned with course objectives and include sufficient detail (including rubrics, as applicable) so that students fully understand the assignments and instructor expectations of them.
• Detailed course schedule, including inclusive dates for units/modules and dates for all deliverables. Instructors should focus on reasonable pacing and wherever possible, provide graded activities early in the course so that students have both information and time to adjust to faculty expectations and grading styles.

5. _____ Course "Housekeeping" Information

Providing various types of course "housekeeping" information helps manage student expectations and support student success. Faculty should provide the following to students when setting up their courses:

1. Adminstrative resource information and guidance to help students succeed technically in WebTycho classes. A standard "Read Me First" document is provided at info.umuc.edu/de/faculty/rmf/. This document is updated each semeter by the CSI group. This ensures that the information contained within the document stays current and relevant. Graduate faculty must provide this link in their Syllabus or Course Content areas.

2. Course-specific, instructor-specific "class roadmap" notes, which may be provided by individual instructors as Syllabus or Course Content items, and/or in class announcements, and reinforced as needed during the term.

In these notes, instructors may introduce the course and department or program, their expectations of students, and their class management styles. They should include the following types of information:

• information on their own standard response time to emails (usually 48 hours)
• turnaround time on grading assignments (depending on complexity, but generally under 10 days to 2 weeks).
• guidance to students on appropriate use of email vs. discussion in the online classroom, preferred file types for homework assignments, method of assignment submission, policy on late assignments, etc.

6. _____ Introductory/First Week's Conferences

Many students appreciate being able to start getting (re)acquainted with each other prior to classes beginning; instructors should provide at least ONE conference where students can post in the week leading up to the start of class.

We recommend that instructors create the following types of conferences, either separately or in combination, before the start of the semester:

A. Student Introductions: Create a conference where you ask class members to respond to a brief series of questions designed to help them get to know each other. (This is not necessary in any but the first class of cohort programs.) Although the Biography area is available to students as well as faculty, an Introductions conference serves to get students talking to one another, allows more focused introductions, and gives new students practice using the Conference area. And just as an instructor would not likely be silent in a face-to-face introductions session, the instructor should participate as well. (Students don't know you are "listening" unless you post a note.)

B. Administrative Q&A: Create a conference where students can ask questions about administrative issues (e.g., exam or paper questions) not strictly related to specific course content. Be sure to let the students know how often you'll be checking into this conference. Let them know if you encourage their answering each others' questions.

C. Cyber Café: Create a conference for students to interact on non-class-related topics. This helps foster a strong virtual community among class members. Generally, Cyber Cafés are more successful if faculty participate to some extent. If faculty plan not to moderate the Cyber Café, they should notify their students via the conference policy note or other means.

D. Weekly Content-Related Conferences: Create a conference each week or each module that is designed to strengthen student's understanding of course readings and other materials, as well as to solicit class members' insights on course material based on their varied backgrounds and practical experience. While most valuable if open-ended and geared to promote critical thinking and analysis, the format of content conference can vary from week to week, class to class; for example,

• focused on open-ended questions from the instructor
• structured around student presentations (can be moderated by students)
• designed to allow discussion based on a guest lecture or interview

Conference "permissions" options. Conferences are intended to promote class interaction, which is crucial to successful learning and student satisfaction in the online environment. Consider these options (see image below) when selecting the permissions students have for interacting in a conference:

• Read and Write allows students to create Main Topics, which is particularly important where students need the opportunity to ask new questions or initiate discussions.
• Respond Only allows students to post only as a response to the instructor's main topic, which helps organize discussions neatly but can make it difficult to follow complex discussion threads.
• Read-only should be used sparingly; for example, after a discussion period has ended, the conference access level can be edited to "Read Only" so students can continue to read but not post. (Materials intended from the start to be Read-only should generally be posted in Course Content.)

 

 

7. _____ Gradebook

The Gradebook is required to be completely setup before the start of the semester, setting up and using the Gradebook IS a requirement of WebTycho classroom management and the total value of all assignements need to total 100% or 100 points. No letter grades can be used when grading assignments. Please use points or percentages when grading assignments.

There are seval resons why getting up the gradebook before the start of the semester is required:

• Issues that might arise when setting up the Gradebook sometimes cause an instructor to rethink his/her grading plan, which would impact the Syllabus document.
• Once the semester begins, dynamic management of class activity becomes the instructor's primary focus. Setting up the Gradebook before class starts helps avoid the delays or distractions of doing it later, as well as helps avoid student complaints when there isn't a way to submit assignments
• No Gradebook item = no way for students to privately submit an assignment online.

8. _____ Course Content (Items Required by the Start of Term or Shortly Thereafter)

Provide the first week's instructional content and activities plan for student review by no later than the first day of class, preferably by one week before the start of class. (No class Content area should be left blank.) Post your introductory housekeeping and/or content and lecture material in Course Content, via the Faculty Center management options.

Optional Items

Unlike the items above, there are other features of WebTycho that are optional for individual instructors. These features may be turned on/off (removed from or added to the class menu) via the Faculty Center checkboxes for these items. This streamlines your class menu and helps reinforce your planned management of your classroom activities.

1. _____ Reserved Readings

UMUC's Office of Information and Library Services (ILS) provides electronic reserve reading materials to UMUC students through the WebTycho classroom. Electronically available Reserved Readings (journal articles, book chapters, etc.) can enhance your course and simplify your classroom management.

For information regarding e-reserves procedures and copyright issues, and to complete and submit an Electronic Reserve Request Form, please visit ILS's Electronic Reserves FAQ and fill out the e-reserve Web Request Form. On a first-come, first-served basis, ILS will process your request and post the readings (or directions on how to reach the full text article through MdUSA), and will notify you as soon as the material is available in your class Reserved Readings area.

In order for your reserved readings to be available by the start of class, you should submit your request six to eight weeks prior to the beginning of the semester. If this isn't possible, please contact ereserves staff; they will attempt to fulfill your request in a timely manner. If you've used e-reserves in the past, you can use WebTycho's Import feature to reuse the items. ILS staff will be notified of your Import, check the links, and address any outstanding copyright issues.

2. _____ Study Groups

Students often find working in teams in their WebTycho classes to be challenging; however, when faculty plan properly and monitor the process carefully, students often report that working in teams is positive and rewarding. The DE Oracle has several resources that touch on management of study groups, including, "Best Practices for Successful Class Teams."

Note: The late add/drop registration period for students extends for one week after the first day of class. Because both adding and removing study group members are manual tasks, and add/drops impact group balances, it's best to wait until after the first week of class to create student study groups.

3. _____ Webliography

Both faculty and students can provide links to websites that relevant to the class in "Webliography." Consider whether or not you want to encourage students to participate in providing links there, and whether or not they should notify you and/or the class as a whole when they do so. Some faculty prefer to provide relevant links elsewhere in the classroom.

4. _____ Workbook

Unlike Gradebook (where students cannot save or submit work privately in WebTycho unless the instructor has first created an assigment form), Workbook allows students to save and submit work in the online classroom independent of the instructor. In addition, students may set their work to be visible ("Submit") or not visible ("Save") to the instructor. Work saved/submitted in Workbook may include ongoing journals, draft documents, outlines, and work intended for instructor feedback prior to submission for official Grading in the Gradebook.

Instructors who wish to provide this functionality to their students must turn on the Workbook feature ON by selecting the checkbox and then the Submit button in the Faculty Center. WebTycho's Help and Support website provides instruction on using Workbook.

5. _____ Class Chatroom and Class Awareness

The students can only use the chat and class awareness features if you enable them via the Faculty Center. See the WebTycho Faculty User Guide for information on these features.