Course Orientation

[Add content here - This section is about setting up a teaching presence online. Everything you do in this course is about setting up a presence online. Describe your approach in your online course, what can be expected of you.]

Example from EOSC 311 (Dr. Lucy Porritt). This is an intense short course (six weeks) and I will be working just as hard as you are to ensure you have a valuable learning experience. In our six weeks together we will take a whirlwind tour of the Earth, both inside and out, and focus on several geological resources that we rely on in society today. You are expected to stay engaged and contribute to the collective learning within the course.

I like to stay as hands on as possible, I will be sending frequent announcements, and providing contribution and feedback in discussions. I will be running online tutorial sessions every Monday using Collaborate Ultra, where we can connect as a class in the digital environment. Together we will review the previous weeks work and frame the learning topics for the coming week. I encourage you to join those sessions and to send me your questions ahead of time so I can address them for the whole class during the tutorial.

Monday is a good day to set your intentions for the week. We all have different commitments and are spread out across the world in different time zones, so in order to determine a set a time for these sessions I would like you to complete the following survey. We will aim for the most popular time. But don't worry, if you are unable to attend, I will record the sessions for you to watch at your convenience.

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Example from EOSC 311 (Dr. Lucy Porritt). 

• Spend at least ## hours/week online. This includes the online reading, activities, discussions and quizzes, as well as making and studying your own course notes. In most courses, the most successful students were those who were attending the synchronous sessions often and regularly.
• Use the Class Discussions, not only are they graded, but they are a great place to communicate with your class members and be part of a community of learning.
• Complete all the end of module quizzes - these provide a good review and a great way to keep up with your studies.
• Regularly check the course schedule and assignment due dates, etc.
• Don't fall behind, the Mark as Done options are here to keep you on track and help you monitor your progress in the course.
• Stay on top of your class projects - you have two in this class that have different milestones to keep you moving forward. Six weeks is a very short time - so please keep yourself motivated and aim to spend ~5 hours a week on these projects.
• Communicate! If life goes a bit swirly, you get sick or you have unexpected challenges, and you find yourself struggling with the workload. Talk to me as soon as possible. It is better for me to help you during the semester, than for us to try and pick up the pieces at the end. Talk to me!

[Describe the flexibility of your approach (e.g. easy access to the learning materials, students can learn at their own pace, in the way that best fits their learning preferences, etc.).]

[Provide an overview of how each Module in the course is organized. How is it structured, what is the typical learning sequence for each module/week - before class, in-class, and after class?]

We will be using different learning tools in this course. The table below provides an overview of what the tools will be used for as well as links to student resources.