How to be successful in completing this course

 

One of the things that I have learned over the past 9 years of developing and teaching Web based courses, is that students take different approaches to completing (or not completing) Web based courses.  I believe that the key to completing this course during the semester you are enrolled is to treat it like a regular discussion/lecture class where you meet 2-3 times each week.  Do the following:

 

1.      As you attend classes some 3 or more times a week and work on assignments for another 3+ hours a week, take this Web based course the same way.  Get into a regular schedule of attending “Class”, that is, schedule about 5-6 hours each week (during a regular semester, 10-12 hours during the summer) for working for reading and completing the assignments.  Make it the same time each week and stick with this schedule.  It is too easy to put it off until tomorrow (and tomorrow becomes next year).  You will have about 3 assignments each week on average (in a regular semester).   

2.      I will encourage everyone to complete the course within the semester that they enroll.  If you start early in the semester and do some work each week you will get it done.  Do not be surprised if I “get on you” if you are not working on the course and sending via email assignments.  I have had students complete the entire course in 4-5 weeks.  You can do the same.  If you decide that you do like Web based courses, then by starting early in the semester you have the opportunity to drop the course if desired.  Do not wait until the end of the semester or the following semester to start the course and find out that you do not like or want to deal with Web based courses.  I will NOT approve and sign a drop course form after the semester has ended for the semester you enrolled.

3.      Some students make the mistake of only doing assignments that are listed in the course syllabus.  This course is a lot more than doing assignments.  I provide some excellent information and resources relating to the driving task and traffic safety, so read all required paper and Web based readings.  Some of the assignments are only listed in the course syllabus (these are provided with great detail in the course syllabus).  Some of the assignments are easily viewed in the list of topics or sub-topics on the course Web page(s).  Some of the assignments are within the topic areas and you will have to go through the content and topic areas to find these assignments.  A list of all assignments is listed in the course syllabus.  The list of assignments may not be shown in the order that they would appear in the topic areas.  REMEMBER, one of the purposes of this course is not to have students just do assignments, but to also learn some important information about the driving task and traffic safety that will last you a lifetime.  I will try to answer any questions you have about course assignments and send those questions to me at safety@siu.edu.

4.      You cannot start the course early unless you get all approvals for enrolling in the course and getting the signed agreement between SIUC and the public school you were going to work with approved.  .

5.      The course is setup in such a way that assignments have to be completed in a separate format, where the test answers, paper, etc. are sent to me electronically.  I am trying to make this course a paperless course and handing papers in to me or sending them to me via snailmail defeats this purpose.  I am always working on ways to simplify the process that a student would follow to submit assignments to me.  When sending me (safety@siu.edu) assignments, you can do so either one or more ways:

a.      Send the assignment within or as a part of the email message itself.  Some students find that this is a good way, because it eliminates having to type the answers or paper in a word processing format and then sending the paper as an attachment.

b.      Send the assignment as an attachment to an email message.  This provides the “cleanest copy”.  However, you need to know how your email program (either as a stand alone program or within an Internet program) allows you to attach a file to an email message.  Usually there is an “Attach file” item under the “Message” menu.  After highlighting the “Attach file”, locate the disk drive where you saved the file from your word processing program and then attach the file to the email message.  Send message.  Microsoft Word program works best for me at this time.  I can usually open up WordPerfect files.  I usually can NOT open up Microsoft Works files, so it is best to not try sending such attached files to me.  It is always best to save any file sent to me in a .rtf format (rich text format).

c.       Some students will highlight the assignment (for example a test) on the Web and copy it to a word processing file, answer the questions in the file format, save the file, and send it as an attachment.

d.      Any method is okay with me.

6.      I will try to give you a grade on any sent assignment within 2 days.  There are times when I am out of town and unavailable for some days.  I will usually send the students enrolled in a Web based course an email message indicating my unavailability from the University.  If you do not get a response from me in one week, then please send me another email message.  With the recent placement of spam protection program both at SIUC and on my own computer at home, some messages may get put into the spam trash file as they come into my computer.  I try to check the spam trash before I totally eliminate assignments from students.

7.      All assignments sent to me should include in the “subject” area of the message the course number, the semester and year enrolled, the name of the assignment, and your name (for example, HED 443s, Spring 2008, Test #1, Jane Doe).  I get many assignments from students with just their email address and nothing else.  If you send an attachment as a part of an email message, make sure your name, semester enrolled, and assignment title are also on the attachment file (name on top of a paper).  Also, a student will send me assignments from 2-4 different email address.  It helps me keep track of who sends what and when, in order. 

8.      Send only ONE assignment per email message.  I will grade the assignment and send the results back to you via email.  If you send more than one assignment per email message, you will not know what score relates to what assignment you sent me.

9.      If any Web based link is unavailable to you (it will not show or load-up) when you try to access it, then please send such information to your instructor (safety@siu.edu).  From time to time, Web page URLs change and you can help me by sending information on such.  However, most of the time, when a Web page does not load-up on a student’s computer, the computer does not have enough RAM (random access memory).  This Web course works best when you have a computer with Window 95 or newer and have at least 32mb of RAM or greater (64mb is better).  If your computer is 5 years or older, you may not have enough RAM memory in your computer.

10.  Please keep track on what assignments you send and the score you receive on each.  I keep a copy of everything you send to me and keep a record of the grade that you earn on each, but you could help me by keeping track of your own scores.  Print out a copy of the course syllabus (assignment) from the Web and fill in the grade for each assignment when you receive such information from me.  When you are near completing the course, please email me and I can provide for you what you have left to do in the course.  It is your responsibility to keep track of the assignments that you have sent to me and I have scored.

11.  I would suggest that you keep a copy of any and all email messages I send to you and you send to me with your grades and keep file copies of your papers until you receive the final grade for the course from the University.  Sometimes I do not record a score for a particular assignment (usually because of receiving many assignments at the same time) and you can help yourself and me by keeping this information too.

12.  From time to time, I may ask you to redo an assignment, because I feel that you can do better or to have you provide me with more complete information.  Please redo the assignment.  A better score on the assignment is to your benefit. 

13.  I typically get around 300+ assignments in this course from the students enrolled each semester.  As I indicated earlier, it is best that you send me the assignments as you do them, instead of sending me many, most, or all at one time. 

14.  Starting 1 January 2003, any student enrolled in a section of an Individual Learning Program (ILP), Web based course through the SIUC Division of Continuing Education offered during Spring semester 2003 and afterward and taught by Dale O. Ritzel will have to complete the course within the 20 weeks from the date of enrollment.  If the coursework is not complete completed within 20 weeks, the student may request an extension.  An extension will only be granted if 20% or more of the coursework (170 points or more) is completed and an extension fee of $35 per course is paid to the SIUC Division of Continuing Education at the time of the request.  Since grades have to be received by the University at the end of the regular semester, the student will receive a grade of INC (incomplete) if they have not completed ALL assignments.   If an extension has been approved by Continuing Education, then you have one year from the end of the semester which you initially enrolled in HED 443s to complete the course.  If the work is not completed within one year, the University automatically turns the grade into an F.  I will only complete and process a grade change card when you finish ALL of the course assignments.  If the student does not complete the ILP course in 20 weeks, the final grade given after completion of all course work will be dropped by one grade up to the one year time frame.  Do not ask me to sign a form allowing you to drop the course if the semester you were enrolled in the course has been completed.  In order to receive a grade in any course, you must complete ALL assignments.

 

Updated 1 January 2008