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orientation

Page history last edited by Laura Gibbs 3 years, 9 months ago

Week 1 Orientation

 

Tuesday - Wednesday - Thursday - Friday/Weekend | Print PDF

 

Welcome to Myth-Folklore and Indian Epics for SPRING 2021!

 

 

These two different classes share the same main goals: to READ, WRITE, and ENJOY lots of STORIES. The Orientation Week is the same for both classes and then, starting in Week 2, the Myth-Folklore class and Indian Epics class will have separate reading assignments; you'll learn all about that later. The focus this week is getting set up and connected online. I hope you will enjoy these starting activities, and if you have any questions, just let me know. You can contact me with Canvas messaging or by email: laura-gibbs@ou.edu. 

 

Here's a random thought to get started; a different graphic loads at random whenever you refresh the page. You'll see lots of these randomizers throughout the course pages; I am a fan of random. :-)

 

 

Time. You will need about five or six hours total to complete this week's tasks, which is the amount of time you can expect to spend on this class each week. Think about that like 3 hours you would spend in a classroom in a regular class, plus 2-3 hours each week outside of class. This class is completely asynchronous. There is work you need to complete each week, but you will be deciding what days/times will work best for you.

 

Required Orientation. The Orientation Week activities are REQUIRED. Starting in Week 2, you can make up missing assignments with extra credit, but this week, you need to complete ALL the Orientation assignments. You may find it useful to print this page (PDF) and check off the items one by one as you finish them. You can also use the Canvas Gradebook as a checklist. (For those of you who have had a class with me before, see this page for what you do / do not need to complete this time.)

 

Deadlines. As you can see, there are assignments due on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, along with some end-of-week assignments due on Friday and/or over the weekend. But my main advice to you is this: don't wait for the deadlines! All the assignments are ready now, and working ahead is the best possible strategy. Check out this advice from previous students: WORK AHEAD. One of the best things about online classes is the flexible scheduling, and one of the best things about flexible scheduling is that you can work ahead and even finish the class early if you want.

Spring 2021: Something different about this semester is that I have built in TWO Break Weeks; one in Week 5 and one in Week 10. This semester is starting off in very stressful times, with lots of uncertainty ahead; I hope having these two breaks will help. You'll be finding out more about that later during the Orientation.

 

Announcements. You will find additional information in the daily Class Announcements, so please take a moment to look at the announcements now. That Class Announcements blog is also what you will see on the Canvas homepage for this class.

 

BOOKS. There are no textbooks to buy for these classes; you'll learn more about all the reading options when the reading assignments begin in Week 2.

 

Accommodations. If you have registered with the Office of Disability Services, they will be sending me an email during the first week of classes about special accommodations, and I will let you know when I receive that email. Meanwhile, please feel free to contact me with any concerns or questions that you have about any kind of accommodations you think you might need. Online classes are really flexible, and I am sure we can come up with a good solution for any concerns you might have. Just let me know!

 

This IS the syllabus. You can consider the items listed below to be the syllabus, broken up into separate sections covering all the class procedures and guidelines. If you would like to look at a simple one-page overview in a more traditional syllabus format, you can do that here: course syllabus.

 

Contact me anytime! I hope you will find answers to all your questions as you work through this list of activities, and if you have any questions or if there is anything you are not sure about, just let me know; you can email me at laura-gibbs@ou.edu or send me a Canvas message. I don't always check messages in the evenings or on the weekends, but I am at work every day, Monday through Friday (and if I'm going to be out of the office during business hours, you'll see a note about that in the announcements).

 

And, most importantly... I hope you will enjoy the class! :-)

 

* * * * *

 

TUESDAY DUE DATE: These assignments are due on TUESDAY, January 26 - and it's even better if you can complete them early! If you do not complete all three assignments by the end of the day on Tuesday, you have a grace period on Wednesday morning until noon. (You'll learn more about the grace period in the first assignment.)

 

Points TUESDAY: January 26 about 90 min.
2 points
Design Your Course. Because this class is online, you get to make lots of choices, designing a class that meets your goals and needs. This assignment explains more about those choices. 10-20 minutes
4 points Create Your Blog. For many of you, this might be the first time you have used a blog, but don't worry: you will find all the step-by-step instructions you need in this assignment. 30-45 minutes
4 points Picture a Favorite Place. To practice using your new blog, you will write a post about a favorite place (or places), and you will also learn how to include images in your blog. 30-45 minutes

 

* * * * *

 

WEDNESDAY DUE DATE: These assignments are due on WEDNESDAY, January 27 - and there's no need to wait: as soon as you are done with the Tuesday assignments, get going on these! If you do not complete the Wednesday assignments by the end of the day on Wednesday, you have a grace period on Thursday morning until noon.

 

Points WEDNESDAY: January 27 about 1 hour
4 points Browse the Storybooks. For this assignment you will learn about the writing assignments in this class, and then you will explore class projects from former students to see some examples. You might even start thinking about what kind of project you want to do this semester!
1 hour

 

* * * * *

 

THURSDAY DUE DATE: These assignments are due on THURSDAY, January 28 — and of course you can do them before Thursday; that's the best approach, in fact! If you do not complete them by the end of the day on Thursday, you have a grace period on Friday morning until noon.

 

Points THURSDAY: January 28 about 90 min.
4 points
Introduce Yourself. For this assignment, you'll create an Introduction blog post. (And next week you will start meeting people by commenting on their Introductions.)
45-60 minutes
3 points Learn about Growth Mindset. In this assignment, you will explore Carol Dweck's "growth mindset" theory of learning, along with some other learning strategies. 30-45 minutes


* * * * *

 

FRIDAY/WEEKEND DUE DATE: These assignments are due on FRIDAY, January 29, or you can do them over the weekend if you prefer; the grace period for the Friday/Weekend assignments goes until Monday, noon.

 

Points FRIDAY/WEEKEND: January 29-30-31 about 90 min.
3 points More about the Class Assignments. This assignment provides an overview of the assignments you will be completing each week for the rest of the semester. 30 minutes
3 points More about the Class Tools. This assignment provides an overview of the technology tools you will be using this semester. 30 minutes
3 points

Time Management. This assignment has some practical advice for organizing your time in this class and for the semester overall.

30 minutes


As soon as you are done with the Week 1 Orientation assignments, you can move on to Week 2. There's no need to wait: working ahead is the best possible strategy for having a good learning experience in this class. And congratulations on being done with Week 1!

 


Well begun is half done.
(Proverb Posters)

 

 

 

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