Session Schedule

• The Developer - How should a course Website be designed? How can a Website be developed quickly and efficiently?    Template or Custom-designed?    SEMO template example

• The OIS (Online Instructor Suite) User - What features can the OIS add to a course Website?
  UTest,   GradeA,   Forum,   Calendar,   DropBox

• The Collaborator - What benefits are realized by working with the CSTL and other campus units?

• The Instructor - What are some ways of interacting with students online? 

A Library Perspective: Claudia Ruediger, Information Services, Kent Library

Library Tips PowerPoint presentation:   HTML          PPT

Links to the Web sites that were demonstrated:

Search Engines:
http://searchenginewatch.com
http://www.searchengineshowdown.com/

Online tutorials:
University of Texas System Digital Library, Texas Information Literacy Tutorial (TILT) http://tilt.lib.utsystem.edu/nf/intro/internet.htm
University of Oregon: http://libweb.uoregon.edu/getready/handson/index.html
Western Michigan University: http://www.wmich.edu/library/searchpath/

Server Account Maintenance: All CSTL users can log on to https://cstl.semo.edu/cstl/resources/usercp in order to change information on the server databases, including changing password, personal info, and courses info.

- Stretch Break -

Developer

1. Using toolbars to save time in Windows software     (Add a button)
    

2. Creating, distributing, and changing student passwords  
   
   Student username/password pairs can be distributed by e-mail. We could collect student e-mail addresses by publishing a dummy username & password that would allow students to use OIS UTest. Alternatively, we could use a simple form  placed on a Web page by FrontPage. The form collects data into an ASCII text (.txt) file. The file can easily be read by Microsoft Excel.
   
    newcontact.txt        Borrow the form       Fetch the data
   
   You can now place a link in your website that allows students to change passwords and e-mail addresses. The link is: 
                             /ois-bin/studentcpsrv/studentcpsrv.dll
    

3. Editing student work in Microsoft Word - a case for the OIS Dropbox
   
   We could accept term papers, formal reports, and other essay-style work through e-mail attachments. Using OIS Dropbox, however, offers some important advantages. Regardless of the delivery system, Microsoft Word offers several ways to edit student work.

OIS User

1. Faculty Control Panel
2. Logoff Function     /ois-bin/logoff.dll
3. OIS Integration (Grading, Grade Submission, UTest-Forum-GradeA)
4. File Transfers

Collaborator

1. Library
2. Writing Center
3. CSTL Support (How to index)
4. IDEA (evaluations)
5. Sample Online Resources

Instructor

1. E-mail etiquette
   
   a. Set up a folder for each class in your e-mail client, and get in the habit of moving each class-related e-mail to the folder as soon as you have acted on it. This gives you an archive of e-mail traffic - invaluable for resolving grade disputes, etc!
   
   b. Studies show that students expect a response to an e-mail within 24-48 hours. Don't let e-mails "pile up".
   
   c. Create and use a signature file that includes contact info.
   
   d. When sending a batch of e-mails to your class, put e-mail addresses in the BCC line. DO NOT use CC, because some e-mail facilities will shunt the e-mail to a junk file or Spam file if there are many names in the CC line. Warn students about this! Some e-mail junk or spam files will stop accepting new messages when the file reaches a certain size; if a course-related e-mail is treated as spam, it might get lost!
    
2. Tips on printing Web pages
   
   a. Instruct students to print Web pages in Landscape mode, not Portrait mode. This setting is changed in Page Setup within File. Landscape avoids printing only text on the left-hand text.
   
   b. Try not to use highly colored images or other features on your Web pages: they consume ink or toner at a prodigious rate when printed!
    
3. How to change your online course's direction
   
   This is a discussion of the tension between planning a Website before the semester begins and responding to student interests, current events, exam performance, etc. Your best bet will be to use the Forum to announce changes in the course.
    
4. Promoting civility online  A 1999 statement launches our discussion. Students need, in general, a statement that expresses the standards of conduct applicable in the course. The nature of the course will certainly influence the standards adopted. It is probably wise to approach violators privately, through e-mail or a phone call, rather than in the Forum.