Welcome

to the Online World of Teaching and Learning!

Note: Students with special physical needs that might make it difficult for them to complete this course are urged to contact me--in person (Nichols 134), by phone (707-664-2830), or by email (thomas.nolan@sonoma.edu). Students with learning disabilities should contact the Disabilities Resource Center (Stevenson 1038).

Welcome to the online world of teaching and learning! How this online course works About participation in an online course Grading Criteria "How much is enough?" Academic Dishonesty

This will probably be the first time many of you have ever taken an online course. I am sure that some of you are feeling a little apprehensive about your techno-abilities, or about your capacity for learning this way. Rest assured that you will learn very quickly to be reasonably competent at making the online classroom work in your best interest. I am available to you throughout the week and even on weekends by e-mail. You can also find me in my office during the workdays Monday through Thursdays (Nichols 134), and you can reach me by telephone (707-664-2830). I hope that this course will not only be a learning experience but also a fun experience for you. We'll be using the online classroom to introduce you to the process of learning at the university and to the study of the discipline of nursing. Take some time to read through the entire course. You will undoubtedly want to download this syllabus and print it in hard copy. I will not make substantive changes to assignments once the course is underway, so that you can plan your semester without worrying that I'm going to spring something on you. You will need large doses of patience to cope with the inevitable frustrations of technology. But there's no question about it: the world of technology affords us teaching and learning opportunities that are just plain unheard of in the conventional classroom. There are some things that I should tell you, right off the bat, that will help you do well in this course. I expect everyone to check for course-related e-mail regularly and often throughout the course. There's nothing more frustrating in an online course than to send email to someone who doesn't respond. You are also expected to participate actively in the seminar discussions--at least 3 times a week in the "discussion weeks" is a good rule of thumb. This course will only work if you turn on your computer and logon to the course regularly each week. Unlike a f2f course, you can't put things off for a week or two in this course without paying a price. Good grades are usually correlated with regular participation in the course and with assignments (written, reading, design projects, and all other kinds) completed on time. On the other hand, poor grades are often correlated with frequent "absences" and incomplete and/or missing assignments. Assignments are due by Sunday midnight of the week specified for full credit. Adhering to deadlines is important because your classmates will be waiting for you to post your entry so that they can read it and comment on it. Don't wait until the last minute to post. Computers abide by Murphy's Law; you should anticipate glitches rather than be surprised by them. Maintenance of assignment timelines is analogous to maintaining airline schedules. If you're driving to the airport and run into an unanticipated traffic jam, the plane still takes off on schedule. Note that there is a course project that is to be completed towards the end of the course. You have the option of working with others in a group, or of working alone on the project. You will need to be planning for and working on the project early in the course--at the same time that you're working on assignments in the other units. If you choose to work in a group, here are some tips for success: Plan early. group members are responsible for determining an agreeable schedule, delegating tasks and distributing workload. Since each member of the group will receive the same grade on the project, each group member is responsible for overseeing the quality of work of all other group members. Make use of all available means of communication. In addition to e-mail, use telephone, telephone answering machines, fax, and even face-to-face meetings if necessary. Don't procrastinate! If you wait to work on the project until the last few days before the due date, you will not have enough time to produce a quality project. I've loaded the pages in this course with useful URLs ("Uniform Resource Locators") to websites. In addition, you will find many more excellent websites on your own. I suggest that you create a special folder in Bookmarks or Favorite Sites in which to save these URLs. Use the forum in WebCT for Student Resources to post interesting "Hot LInks" to share with the class. Be sure to enter the URL absolutely correctly. Also annotate your URL in a sentence or two so that we know what the site is about and why you think it is important. Use the forum in labeled Suggestion Box to post suggestions for the course, give me feedback on how the course is working, and make comments on the process of the course. There is a Student Lounge where you can talk to each other about anything you want...movies and books that you recommend, recipes, and anything else you'd like to share. It's a place to socialize. I hope you will enjoy the learning journey you're about to take in this course. How to Work in WebCT

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How this online course works This course is primarily discussion-based, and will be augmented with readings from the Internet and exercises. The design of this course and its learning activities are developed so that you will become quickly involved in actively learning. You do not need a hardcopy textbook for this course. All resources for the course can be found on the Internet. The field of online learning is growing and changing at a dizzying pace. New information becomes available on a (virtually!) daily basis so there is much more material available than is possible to develop in a one- or two-semester course. "Lectures" will only touch on some of the most important issues, and will highlight and clarify important concepts. As a result, you will be expected to assume a great deal of responsibility for your own learning outcomes. Everyone is expected to participate actively in discussions. Discussion is very strongly encouraged because it is suited to testing ideas, exploring applications, and making maximum use of available learning resources (including those of your classmates). This class provides an opportunity for you to develop abilities in communicating with others online about your ideas and approaches to nursing. This is important; however, the potential of this opportunity is only fully realized if you make meaningful contributions to the course in class discussions. To underscore the importance of individual participation, substantive, active, regular class participation comprises 25% of your final grade in the course. The intent of the assigned readings is to provide you with analytical and conceptual understandings of material that would otherwise be explained in traditional classroom lectures.

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About Participation in an Online Course Qualitatively, postings should "contribute" to a discussion. They should add value. You can lose points for one liner responses that don't add anything to the discussion. An example, an illustration, a thought-provoking question, a request for further clarification, a research finding that either confirms or is contrary to the subject matter being discussed, an observation... just a few ideas. Palloff and Pratt, in their book Building Learning Communities in Cyberspace: Effective Strategies for the Online Classroom (1999), state that "an online community cannot be created by one person. Although the instructor is responsible for facilitating the process, participants also have a responsibility to make community happen. We have already established that the learning process in the electronic classroom is an active one. Therefore in order for students to be considered 'present' in an online class, they must not only access the course site online but must make a comment of some sort" (p. 31). Quantitatively, and according to Palloff & Pratt, "Learning in the distance education environment cannot be passive. If students do not enter the online classroom--do not post a contribution to the discussion--the instructor has no way of knowing they have been there. So students are not only responsible for logging on but they must contribute to the learning process by posting their thoughts and ideas to the online discussion. Learning is an active process in which both the instructor and the learners must participate if it is to be successful. In the process, a web of learning is created. In other words, a network of interactions between the instructor and other participants is formed, through which the process of knowledge acquisition is collaboratively created" (p. 6). Further..."Outcomes of this process, then, should not be measured by the number of facts memorized and the amount of subject matter regurgitated but by the depth of knowledge and the number of skills gained [which in our class is measured through the postings and the final project]. Evidence of critical thinking and of knowledge acquired are the desired learning outcomes" (p. 6). For adult learners, in particular, the opportunity to share ideas and "construct" meaning is important. That is why a high percentage of your grade is assigned to what you post in the forums. Learning occurs through these dialogues. And your grade, in a sense, is a "reward" for active participation. This is also why I require people to give evidence of participation in the discussions throughout the course. In the online classroom, you need to be seen to be heard! One can't simply "dump" all of the assignments into the course on the day before the "drop dead" day and think that they have actively participated in the discussions. Active participation is an on-going experience, one in which ideas evolve and take shape over time in the give-and-take of interactive thinking among discussants. More from Palloff and Pratt: "The expectation of participation [in the online course] differs significantly from the face-to-face classroom, where the discussion can be dominated by one or more extroverted students, giving an illusion that the class is engaged. The ability to think before responding and to comment whenever the student wishes helps create a level of participation and engagement that goes much deeper. As one student put it, 'It seems that we as students have been more willing to talk and discuss the issues at hand than we probably would inside the classroom. I feel this is so for two reasons. One is that we have time to concentrate on the question and think, whereas in the class you are asked and immediate response is in need. Two, we can discuss openly and not have to worry about failure as much. If you post something that is not right, no one has said this is wrong, but instead we give encouragement and try to guide each other to find the right answer.'"

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Grading Criteria A student in this course is expected to perform at the upper division level. Grading is not done on a curve. Each student's work is considered on an individual basis. Pluses or minuses may be given to indicate work that is between the primary designations. Note: All computer entries should be free of typographical and spelling, grammatical, and punctuation errors. Proofread your work before pressing the submit button! (Even with careful proofreading, mistakes are inevitable. This is a graduate-level course and I expect you to pay attention to the details of correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation, and to keep inadvertent typos to a minimum. I will not be ruthless with you, but I will exercise my option to penalize if I see unacceptable patterns of abuse of the mother tongue. Be aware that you diminish the value of your work exponentially--no matter how good the content is--if its presentation is laden with errors. Even one typo is one too many!!) [Yesterday I read the following sentence in a memo from a parent of one of my daughter's classmates. This parent has a graduate degree in the sciences from UC Davis. "...please park your car and get out with your child, rather than just dropping he or she off..." YIKES!!!] Regular, timely, responsive participation is really important in this course. In fact, it is key to getting a good grade. To put it negatively, late postings, failure to respond in a timely manner (including e-mail), or any other demonstration of sluggish communication will negatively affect one's grade. A: "A" work is clearly excellent. All work will be completed as assigned on time and in a superior manner. Class participation will be exceptional. B: "B" work is consistently good and above average. All work is submitted by the due date. Class participation will be significant. C: "C" work is acceptable and average. Minimal requirements are all met on time. Class participation is minimal. D: "D" work in below average. Due dates are not always met and class participation is not consistent. F: An "F" if all required assignments for the course are not completed. INC: An incomplete is only given for serious and compelling reasons. Do not wait until the end of the course to request an incomplete. Let the instructor know just as soon as your problem becomes apparent.   Click here to read more about course standards. Unit One 10% Unit Two 10% Unit Three 10% Unit Four 10% Project 25% Evaluation 10% Overall participation 25% Course Total 100%

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"How much is enough?" Someone once asked me, "Good grief, Dr. Nolan, I mean I could be sitting in front of my computer and writing all day for this class. I mean how many discussion entries do I have to have and how long do they have to be and how long does our group project have to be? I mean I have a life too. Are you supposed to spend your whole life in front of this computer?? Really, Dr. Nolan, I mean I do have other things to do in my life." Signed: A student with a life Dear Student-with-a-Life, I don't have a size minimum for discussion entries or the group project. The criterion I would suggest for the discussions is this: by the end of the semester, you should be able to look back on your discussion entries and say, "Wow. I really learned a lot." Because, frankly, that's what you want me to say, and your discussion entries will be a major way that I will be able to see that. I would suggest a similar criterion for your group project. You should produce a project that you would be proud to show to your mother or your friends (the more intellectually interested ones, at least). You should produce something with which you are comfortable and that shows what you know and of which you will be proud. Yours, Dr. Nolan

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Academic Dishonesty Academic dishonesty is absolutely unacceptable. Academic dishonesty of any degree, accidental or intentional, will earn you a zero on any project or assignment; it may result in a failing grade for the course and/or other dire penalties. As one higher education guideline clarifies, Academic dishonesty is any treatment or representation of work as if one were fully responsible for it, when it is in fact, the work of another person or work in which one has received unacknowledged assistance from others. It includes, but is not limited to Intentionally submitting any fraudulent or plagiarized academic work. Examples include but are not limited to: verbatim use of a quotation without quotation mark use of another person's idea without acknowledging its use submission of a paper prepared by another person as one's own work Giving or receiving answers and/or any materials pertinent to an examination without the permission of the instructor Stealing, manipulating, or interfering with any academic work of another student. Go to Course Information

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