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University of Maryland University College Undergraduate Schedule of Classes 2003 1-Spring
No full textUniversity of Maryland University College. School of Undergraduate Studies. Undergraduate Schedule of Classes 2003 1-Spring. www.umuc.edu/ug
University of Maryland University Undergraduate Schedule of Classes 2003 3-Fall
No full textUniversity of Maryland University College School of Undergraduate Studies Schedule of Classes Fall 2003. Registration ends earlier! See p.7. www.umuc.edu/ugp
Remember ADA Policies When Using Video - DE Oracle
No full textDE Oracle @ UMUC
An Online Learning Magazine for UMUC Faculty
Center for Support of Instruction
Remember ADA Policies When Using Video
CSI Staff
Staff Writer
Center for Support of Instruction
Published: 0 2003
Category: » Tech-skills-software » Accessibility
Using Video in the Online Classroom on Short Notice: Keeping Students with
Disabilities in Mind
A faculty member in an online class has come across a useful video to demonstrate a complicated
point. The faculty member has taken care of the copyright issues, but is now concerned that there is no
transcript of the video yet available and no time to have one created. The faculty member is concerned
that a student with a disability, such as deafness, may not be able to access this material. Should they
forego using this video?
This was exactly the dilemma that a Grad School faculty member recently faced. Noelle Atwell, UMUC's
Director of Veteran and Disabled Student Affairs, clarified what course of action faculty should take.
The University is bound by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (http://www.ed.gov/offices
/OCR/disability.html) . This is a US federal law designed to protect the rights of individuals with disabilities
in programs and activities that receive federal funds from the US Department of Education, such as
UMUC does. It states that "No otherwise qualified individual with a disability in the United States... shall
solely by reason of her or his disability, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of,
or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial
assistance..."
So, does that mean that the faculty member cannot use the video in question? "The faculty member
can use the video", says Atwell, but cautions that "if there is a student currently in the class who
cannot access the video [for disability reasons], UMUC is responsible for providing the material in an
alternative format." She adds that "UMUC would be responsible for the costs involved in making the
material accessible." In practical terms, she suggests that "perhaps the instructor could ask the class
first if they all have the ability to view a video and if everyone can, make the decision to use the video
now."
In broader terms, Atwell points out, "It is so much faster and less expensive to use a product already
made accessible than to make it accessible. If the instructor uses the video, then the video must be
accessible" if so requested. She cautions that faculty members should not assume that "a student with
a disability has made their disability known, especially in online classes. There could be someone in the
class with an accessibility issue."
She also says that taking a "let's-see-what-happens" approach is not necessarily a good course of
action either. For example, this could entail removing a previously-posted video from a class because it
turns out there is a deaf student in that class who could not access it. "I don't believe we would have a
legal problem," she opines, "but I think doing so makes a statement we would not want to make."
When possible, having the material available in an alternate format, such as a text transcript, remains
the best strategy. When this is not possible or especially difficult, checking with the students is both
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courteous and compliant with federal law.
Faculty members who have a disability-related question can reach Ms. Atwell at [email protected]
(mailto:[email protected]) .
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Fostering a Student-Centric Classroom: Part I - DE Oracle
No full textDE Oracle @ UMUC
An Online Learning Magazine for UMUC Faculty
Center for Support of Instruction
My "Extended Bio" Instructions
Respond to this Conference by telling us
your name and what you like to be called
where you work and what your job is
what your previous jobs were
where you went to school and what field(s)
your degree(s) are in
where you are in the ENVM programyour
previous experience with the subject matter
of this course
anything else that will help us get to know
you better
Take this opportunity to write about
yourself. You will not have a chance to
write about a more interesting subject all
semester.
Fostering a Student-Centric Classroom: Part I
Joan Berkowitz
Adjunct Faculty
Graduate School of Management and Technology
Published: 0 2003
Category: » Online-pedagogy » Classroom-communication
Part I | Part II
"Going for the Gold" in On-line Classes Part I: Beginning a Dialog with Students
There's gold in WebTycho. It isn’t in the chance to make money, although the profit motive has
certainly driven the distance education field at more than one institution. It isn't in the software,
although that is the envy of at least one D.E. instructor at Harvard. The gold in WebTycho resides in
the members of the class.
As instructors, we are at a handicap relative to our students in WebTycho classes. Most of us have
never taken an on-line course for academic credit. Many of our students have never taken an on-site
course in graduate school. How can we tap their experience for our mutual advantage? The answer is
at once supremely simple and challengingly complex.
Ask them.
Read what they write to you and to each other. Participate in the dialog, not as a "“sage on the stage"
but as a "guide on the side." [1]
This two-part article describes one professor's approach to collaborating with students in a search for
excellence. Part 1 covers the first steps in establishing a dialog.
Start (and Set Up) Dialog via Class
Introductions
In the courses I teach, the dialog begins the moment a
student enters the classroom. The opening Class
Announcement directs the student to our "Getting
Acquainted Conference." There, I ask each student to
write an extended biography, and I ask for specific
information [see sidebar].
I am the first to respond and I include some details about
family and pets.
Extended biographies are wonderful ice-breakers. One
student said that he felt he knew more about his online
classmates than his face-to-face (f2f) classmates, even
though he would not recognize the former if he tripped
over them.
In addition to getting to know one other, students start to
interact. Those who have been in prior classes together
Fostering a Student-Centric Classroom: Part I - DE Oracle
greet each other warmly and wish each other luck. Those who have worked or traveled in the same
circles comment on their common heritage. I ask questions of those who are a bit parsimonious with
their words.
The value of this exercise for me is several-fold.
1. Knowing where students are located and something about their background helps me assign groups,
if we do group work.
2. In subsequent weeks I use the biographies to draw on individuals' specific knowledge. For example,
I asked an accountant in one of my environmental auditing courses to explain to us the similarities and
differences between environmental auditing and financial auditing. I know the answer, but it means a
lot more to the students to hear it from one of their own.
3. Finally, I use the biographies to help students choose term paper topics. When a few ask for
recommendations, I anchor my response around their stated backgrounds. For one stay-at-home Mom
in environmental auditing, I suggested that she develop an audit protocol for a household. She
attacked the topic with enthusiasm and turned in the best paper in the class.
Deepen Mutual Understanding via "Objectives" Dialogs
The opening Class Announcement also directs the students to the Week One Conference where one
topic asks, "What would you like to learn in this course?" I ask the students to review my objectives for
the course as stated in the Syllabus and to indicate their objectives. Most concur with the syllabus
objectives. Some express very specific learning objectives based on their current jobs or career
aspirations. If a student expresses an interest in a relevant topic that I was not planning to include, I
either modify the curriculum accordingly, or say why I am not doing so and suggest the topic as a good
one for the term paper. (It almost invariably is.)
I have the students revisit their objectives in Weeks Five and Ten of the course under a conference
topic entitled, "How goes it?" I invite them to comment on whether their objectives are being met, and
if not, what changes they would recommend. I also invite them to add objectives now that we have
gotten into the content of the course. By that time, we have corresponded enough so that they feel
"safe" to be open with me and their classmates.
Students know that when I say there are no stupid questions or comments, I mean it. They know I pay
attention. Following suggestions in the Week Five and Ten dialogs, I chose a new textbook for ENVM
647, Environmental Risk Assessment. I modified the assignments in the Capstone course to mesh with
the Capstone projects. I do not accept every suggestion, but when I do not, I indicate why.
Be Accessible and Timely
I visit the classroom daily throughout the semester so that students get responses to their questions
and comments within 24 hours. In case they need faster response or have a private matter they want
to discuss, I give them access to my e-mail address, my office and home telephone numbers, my FAX
number, and my office address. Many send me e-mails. Very few phone or visit.
Conclusion
Opening a dialog between all class members early and setting a pattern of drawing on students' own
individual strengths makes my class more effective and more relevant to my students. Both my
students and I come away with a richer learning experience. Opening the dialog is only the beginning,
however. Part 2 of this article will be featured in the January/February 2004 issue of the DE Oracle. It
will show how the dialog continues and ultimately results in the course becoming student-directed.
________________________________________
Fostering a Student-Centric Classroom: Part I - DE Oracle
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[1] George Collison, Bonnie Elbaum, Sarah Haavind, and Robert Tinker. Facilitating Online Learning.
Atwood Publishing , Madison, WI, 2000 (ISBN 1-891859-33-1)
About the Author(s)
Dr. Joan Berkowitz teaches at UMUC's Graduate School of Management and Technology in the ENVM program. She has
taught courses in Planning for Environmental Managers, ISO 14001, Land and Water Resource Management, Watershed
Planning and Management, and Environmental Risk Assessment. She is Managing Director of Farkas Berkowitz & Company, a
management consulting firm that assists companies in the environmental industry with strategic planning, profitability
improvement, and commercialization of technology. Prior to co-founding Farkas Berkowitz & Company, with Alan Farkas, she
was Vice President of Arthur D. Little, Inc., in charge of that firm's environmental practice world-wide. Dr. Berkowitz holds a
B.A. in chemistry from Swarthmore College and a Ph.D. in physical chemistry from the University of Illinois. She is a graduate
of the Senior Executive Program of the M.I.T. Sloan School of Management.
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University of Maryland University College Graduate Schedule of Classes 2003 2-Summer
No full textUMUC. University of Maryland University College Graduate Schedule of Classes Summer 2003
Enhancing the Atmosphere of Your Online Classroom -- Part I - DE Oracle
No full textDE Oracle @ UMUC
An Online Learning Magazine for UMUC Faculty
Center for Support of Instruction
Enhancing the Atmosphere of Your Online Classroom -- Part I
Michael Sweeney
Graduate School of Management and Technology
Published: January-February 2002
Category: » Online-pedagogy » Classroom-communication
Part I | Part II
Introduction
Remember way back when, before online education, when most classes were taught face to face?
Usually there were one or two professors that were favorites of the students. These teachers would
dazzle the students not only with knowledge of the subject matter, but also with their wit and wisdom.
Students would hang around after class to ask questions or just bask in the aura of a magnetic
personality.
Does this sound like you? Yeah, me neither ;-)
Online education is challenging for both the student and the instructor. However, some characteristics
of online education have the potential to enhance the learning experience. This article will focus on
classroom atmosphere. A good atmosphere encourages students to communicate with the instructor
and with each other. In addition, a good online atmosphere can help personalize what is inherently an
impersonal environment. This article will present a few ideas and techniques that have worked for me.
You are probably familiar with some of them. Some may be new to you. It is my sincere hope that you
will find something useful here.
Don't reinvent the wheel. Use your resources.
The people at UMUC have devoted a tremendous amount of resources to assist those who would teach
online. Use them. The hardware, the software and the technical support are top notch. What success I
have had in teaching online is in no small amount due to the people who support my activities. If my
department program director, my DE Coordinator, and my WebTycho trainer are representative of the
help available to you here at UMUC, then you are blessed with tremendous resources.
Be yourself (whomever you want that to be). Your online persona.
IMHO (In my humble opinion), one's personality is an inherent part of teaching. If your online class
does not reflect your personality, or at least someone's personality ;-), it will appear dull and lifeless.
You may start your face to face classes with a bit of humor. A joke, even a lame one, tends to loosen
up the class a little bit and help students engage in the class. Why not do the same online? I try to
keep my humor gentle and self-depreciating. I also try to be honest with my students. Here is an
excerpt from my announcements:
"I'm looking forward to grading your mid-term exams. (That's a lie, of course. They tell us to say that
in professor school. Don't know why. I'm actually looking forward to having finished grading your
exams.)" Don't overdo humor. You may want to reserve humorous comments for the announcements
Enhancing the Atmosphere of Your Online Classroom -- Part I - DE Oracle
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section and the social section of the conferences.
How to be a great bartender - Using the environment to your advantage
How can you tell a great bartender? He or she remembers you! A good bartender remembers your
name, what you drink, where you work and other details about your life. You can do the same online.
You probably already have your students introduce themselves. Use that information to personalize
your responses to student questions. I call my social conference area "Sweeney's Irish/Hungarian
Coffee Bar and Pub." When introducing themselves I ask each student to list a favorite beverage in
addition to normal biographical information. If a student does especially well on an assignment, I may
invite the student over to the pub for a Guinness, an Espresso, or whatever. Can I remember my
students' favorite beverages? Heck, no! But it only takes a few seconds to look up the information and
make a small, but personal, connection.
Conclusion
I'll be continuing this article in a future issue, so stay tuned for: "How to avoid email Hell - keep it in
the classroom" and "Lets give them something to talk about - Stimulating classroom conversation." I
hope you found something useful here.
About the Author(s)
Michael Sweeney is an Adjunct Associate Professor at UMUC and the McCabe/UPS Chair in Accounting at Hillsdale College.
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Helpful Hints for Effective Online Teaching_ Introduction - DE Oracle
No full textDE Oracle @ UMUC
An Online Learning Magazine for UMUC Faculty
Center for Support of Instruction
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Helpful Hints for Effective Online Teaching: Introduction
CSI Staff
Staff Writer
Center for Support of Instruction
Published: November-December 2002
Category: » Online-pedagogy » Teaching-strategies
CSI interviewed a number of faculty members to glean their best practices. Over the course of many
semesters of teaching online, these faculty have developed highly effective methods to improve
student satisfaction (as well as their own!). All the faculty members we spoke with eagerly shared their
insights. They credited their own success to those early adopters from whom they learned and, in turn,
enthusiastically related their stories for their
The Helpful Hints for Effective Online Teaching series will span the lifecycle of a typical online class. In
each issue of the DE Oracle, we'll focus on a different aspect of online teaching that emerged from our
discussions with seasoned faculty members. For the most part, the helpful hints and techniques
suggested aren't complicated or difficult to implement. Indeed, you may have already thought of many
of these ideas yourself.
The first installment of this series is devoted to preparations you can make even before you're staffed
to teach a particular WebTycho class section. Faculty members who plan and prepare their materials
ahead of time report that online classroom set-up goes very quickly. They also report less anxiety at
the beginning of the semester, even when they agree to take on new or additional class sections. Read
their recommendations.
Other articles in this series
Pre-Class Preparation
Setting Up Your WebTycho Classroom
Managing the Online Classroom
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Best Practices for Successful Class Teams - DE Oracle
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An Online Learning Magazine for UMUC Faculty
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Best Practices for Successful Class Teams
CSI Staff
Staff Writer
Center for Support of Instruction
Published: May-June 2002
Category: » Online-pedagogy » Group-team-projects
These findings are based on interviews with UMUC Graduate School faculty members regarding
effective use of teams in the WebTycho classroom and on survey results that were collected over two
semesters from students in a Graduate School capstone class.
Students often find working in teams in their WebTycho classes to be challenging for a variety of
reasons. When faculty plan properly and monitor the process carefully, however, students report that
working in teams can be positive and rewarding. While not all the recommendations made here may
apply to the class you teach, there are several proactive steps you can take to facilitate a successful
class team experience for your students. We hope you find these suggestions useful and are able to
adapt them when you plan, create, and manage your online class teams.
Communication
Excellent communication is critical in the online classroom. Faculty should provide students with clear,
straightforward, specific instructions regarding their expectations for successful completion of the team
assignment. Since team membership entails an extremely high degree of commitment, cooperation,
and time on the students' part, faculty directions should include the assignment's objectives, required
components, and a time frame for completion. This enables students to plan and manage their time
effectively.
Team Size
According to both faculty and students, teams comprised of four to six students each are the most
successful. Limiting teams to a maximum of six participants each seems to promote better overall
internal communication, organization, consensus building, and scheduling. Teams with fewer than four
members, however, suffer in the event that an individual student withdraws or doesn't participate fully.
Team Selection
In introductory and early program classes where students may need more guidance and direction,
faculty should probably assign students to teams. Student in more advanced classes, however, may
prefer to select their own groups. Faculty can facilitate this process by providing information and a
forum to help students select appropriate teams based on background knowledge, skills, and previous
experience. For example, students in a capstone class were asked to rate themselves on 10 criteria
ranging from communication skills to programming experience with comments to support the rating.
The students posted their results in a conference where team leaders reviewed them. Team leaders
then contacted those students whose backgrounds best matched the needs of the team.
Team Bonding
Once formed, teams need to bond. At the start of the semester, after late registration ends and team
membership becomes stable, faculty can promote strong team organization and bonding by assigning
Best Practices for Successful Class Teams - DE Oracle
short exercises due in a brief time period with small risk of failure. For example, to help teams establish
their group identities and dynamics with little consequence to their grades, faculty may assign team
members to post a team web page due one week hence that counts for 5% of the overall grade.
Team Roles
Likewise, teams need to establish team roles early on to define areas of responsibility and to distribute
workload evenly. Again, faculty can support team development by designing short group activities that
require establishing team roles. For example, faculty may assign teams to write brief position
descriptions for each member due in a week that count for 5% of the overall grade.
Team Bylaws
Faculty should also encourage teams to write bylaws. Bylaws serve to formalize individual rights and
responsibilities in the group as well as to document the consequences of noncompliance. Faculty may
want to provide teams with guidelines or sample bylaws. Once bylaws are established, if a problem
arises, faculty can direct students back to their own bylaws for a resolution. In the event that a group
can't reach consensus, however, faculty may choose to step in and expedite the process by arbitration.
Team Record-Keeping
To avoid potential misunderstandings among team members, faculty should ensure that teams
establish record-keeping procedures to capture information shared and decisions made during meetings
and other interactions. Maintaining a record of team activity minimizes confusion, promotes
momentum, and helps individual team members to stay focused, organized, and on track. For example,
faculty should encourage team members to use WebTycho's Study Group Conference area to post
meeting information including purpose, agenda, and action items.
Student to Student Feedback
One way faculty get a handle on how well a team is functioning is to assign student to student
feedback. While many students value feedback on their work provided by their peers, student to
student feedback can sometimes be misinterpreted by the recipient or unintentionally hurtful. To avoid
any potential problems, faculty should communicate guidelines to team members establishing
appropriate parameters for student to student feedback. In addition to requiring that all feedback be
constructive, faculty may insist that all assertions be supported by specific examples and/or that
categories of individual participation be rated on an established scale. Faculty may also encourage
constructive student to student feedback by allocating some of the grade based on the feedback's
quality and timeliness.
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Best Practices for Successful Class Teams - DE Oracle
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updated.
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