D2L Intro
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The purpose of this introduction is to give
web-based (online) and web-assisted students brief instructions about how we'll
use some of the "tools" available through D2L.
At the end of the instructions, I've also included some common sense reminders
for our conduct within the electronic communication portion of our class--web-based or
web-assisted. You will want to familiarize yourself with what I consider to
be acceptable. You may want to print this introduction out for easy reference. The
general (not labeled as course specific) sections apply to all my students, 1010, 1020,
2030, 3500, 4510/5510, 6580/7580.
MTSU's Instructional Technology Division has provided help for using the software, D2L.
Announcements:
Announcements are found in the course Home
Page and will always show the most recent entry first. Any syllabus/schedule changes,
any updates or reminders will be
posted here. I do not remind you of every assignment due; that's what your
schedule is for. You are responsible for checking announcements
each time you log into the course (something you'll be doing several times a week to keep up
with your coursework, particularly if you are a web-based student).
Grades:
This section is self-evident, but is only
available to students in my web-based courses (currently, only Engl 2030), and
on a limited basis for my web-assisted courses (only the quiz scores
will be recorded by the system).
Online Engl 2030 students will have access to grades all semester. If I have returned a graded assignment to you, but you do not find a grade recorded after a day or so, you should let me know. You can figure your average at any point in the semester by adding the total points you've earned [including any extra credit] and dividing by the total possible to date. Remember the scores on the Self-study quizzes do not get averaged in; these are for practice/review purposes only.
Student
Homepages:
All my students--web-based and web-assisted--have to create a Homepage as
an early assignment in the course. You can be as creative as your imagination will
allow. At the very least, I'd like an introduction to yourself that
includes the information mentioned below; you may also share some of your favorite
links and a favorite photo if
you're able to (can be of your pet, your car, kids, etc.). Help us get to know
you better and build a community of learners as quickly as possible.
The User Homepages Tool lets you create a personal homepage that others in the course can see. To make your homepage visible set it as "My Homepage" by clicking the house icon next to the trash. If you forget this step, your homepage will not be visible to any of us in the course.
All my students--web-based and web-assisted--have to create a Homepage as an early assignment in the course. You can be as creative as your imagination will allow. At the very least, I'd like an introduction to yourself that includes the information mentioned below; you may also share some of your favorite links and a favorite photo if you're able to (can be of your pet, your car, kids, etc.). Help us get to know you better and build a community of learners as quickly as possible.
1.
Click Homepage in the Welcome box of
D2L My Home
or
2.
Click the User Homepage link in your
course.
(Note: Your instructor may have renamed this link)
1. Click the New button. Name this page “Home” and save it.
2. Click the pencil to the right of the homepage name to open the page and add text.
3. Type you name at the top of the page and format it as you see fit.
4.
I would like for you to
include the following information and whatever else you want to say about
yourself. Give us your
a) full name and any nickname you prefer to go
by,
b) where you're from,
c) what schools you've attended
(your academic background),
d) your academic and/or career goals,
e)
your classification,
f) your academic strengths and weakness
related to the course's focus,
g) any concerns,
h) you could also
include hobbies, interests, current employment, family, etc., anything you
want to share to give the rest of us a good idea of who
you are!
4. After you have provided all the above information, save the page and close it.
5. Click the house next to the trash can to make this page the first page people see when they click on your homepage link.
You may create
alternate homepages [something you'd like to create and show the whole class];
however, only one at a time can be made public by clicking on the house icon.
Email
D2L's email is
"internal"; this means you have to be in D2L to send and receive.
The advantage is that your course email will not be mixed in with your personal
email. The disadvantage is that if you're not committed to the course and don't
access the course on a
regular basis, you may get behind or miss important information.
ITD is working on detailed instructions for using D2L email; they will be posted at their D2L support site. One general bit of advice is that to read email, you can simply click on the Email link; however, to send email, it's best to go through Class List.
There are times when you might need to use
the attachment feature in D2L's email instead of the Dropbox, although, I will
set up a Dropbox folder for any assignment I ask that you submit for credit or
feedback. The email attachment feature works the same as any other email; the
same can be said for attaching items to a post in Discussion.
Instructions for using the dropbox in D2L are forthcoming. As a rule, just prior to the class session for each essay's peer group, you will post your Draft 2 and Coversheet for the essay you're working on to your small group.
Discussion Boards (DB)
DB For Engl 2030
Students: see your course syllabus/schedule for the
specific DB requirements for the semester. At times, you will be posting/reading
messages in your small group forum, at times, in the main forum for the unit you
are currently studying. There are also forum set up for general questions and
for questions/concerns dealing with the exams and formal essays for each unit.
DB for Engl 1010 and Engl 3500 Students: See your instructions for peer group work for specific details.
DB For Engl 4510/5510 and 6580/7580 Students: see your course syllabus/schedule for the specific DB requirements for the semester. At times, you will be posting and reading messages in your small group forum, at times, in the alphabetically arranged forum for your annotated bibliography entries. Be sure you keep your items current to avoid duplication. There is also a forum set up for general questions.
Chat
Web-based students have a more visual presence on VC than
web-assisted students. I will not hold regular virtual office hours,
but if you ever want to chat with me online, call or email to set up a time, and
I'll meet you in the general chat room for real-time discussion. You
may also do this with your peers, of course.
D2L Chat instructions are forthcoming:
General
Guidelines for Acceptable Conduct:
A web-based class, as well
as the electronic portion of a web-assisted class, constitutes a community. We
come together to study and learn together. As in all other classes, it is
important to be courteous and considerate toward others at all times. Please
observe the following rules:
1. Class message boards
and chat rooms are only for communication connected to the class. You may not
use the message boards or chat rooms to advertise your business, air your
political views (except in the context of a legitimate class discussion), gossip
with friends or discuss private matters that are not of general interest.
2. Challenges to class
policies and questions about individual grades distract from the flow of class
discussion. Such matters do not belong on the public message boards or chat
rooms but should be addressed in private e-mail to the instructor.
3. Spamming (sending the
same, unsolicited message to a large number of people) is strictly forbidden.
You may not use e-mail addresses made available to you as a member of this class
to broadcast messages unconnected with the class.
4. Please label all
messages and e-mail clearly. Misleading or confusing titles may interfere with
the smooth flow of class discussion.
5. Language used in
messages, essays and in peer comments should observe the basic rules of
politeness. Because this is an academic setting, the language should also be
appropriate to a classroom.
6. Remember that tone is
not always clear when voice and physical expressions are unavailable. When
debating or critiquing online, be especially careful to choose words that will
not offend.
7. Personal attacks are
strictly forbidden. (Personal attacks include speculations about the motives,
personal problems and/or intellectual deficiencies of another.) You may (in
fact, sometimes you should) disagree with each other (or with the teacher) but
always do it courteously.
8. Peer response means
just that, comments and suggestions, not changing the writer's text.
9. In all cases, the
teacher is the arbiter of what is acceptable or unacceptable communication in
this class.
10. Students who are rude or disruptive or students who persist in communicating inappropriately with peers and/or teacher will be asked to leave the class.
11. There will be no use
of cell phones or any other devices that will distract your attention from class
work (like earphones).