Orientation Workshop

Welcome to the Class Orientation Workshop

Before you can proceed with the class you should first review this workshop, then take the extra credit Orientation workshop and syllabus quiz, and then post an introduction video and one reply for extra credit Introduction Discussion.

Play media comment.

This workshop contains critical information on succeeding in this course. You need to review this workshop, take the extra credit Orientation Workshop quiz, and create a short video introduction on the extra credit Introduction Discussion Board before starting any other assignments. Combined, you can earn up to 25 points of extra credit to start the term!

For my Loyal Students

FYI: If you have taken my classes I have changed a few things this term based on student feedback. These include:

• two attempts on quizzes (keep higher score)
• Beat the Clock late assignment policy (for details see Late/Missed Assignment Policy)

Using Canvas

The first thing you should do is to bookmark the Student Quick Start Guide (http://guides.instructure.com/m/8470) - most answers are here. To get the most out of the Canvas learning platform, you need to start by setting up your Notifications. You can get to Notifications and other controls for all your Canvas courses via Settings in the upper right hand corner.

Canvas will send course announcements and notifications (such as when grades are posted) automatically to whatever device/address you wish. Go here http://guides.instructure.com/s/2204/m/4212/l/45879-how-do-i-change-my-notification-preferences-in-canvas to see how it is done. You can decide if you want your notifications to go to specific devices or apps, for example email or text messages.

 

Some notifications should be set to ASAP, such as due date assignment changes, grades, and appointment sign-up and cancellations. Generally, the faster you find out about course activity the better, that way you have the option to act if you need to.

Canvas functions (with some limitations) on both Android Links to an external site. and iOS Links to an external site. and apps are free.

Head-off potential problems by making sure that (1) you have the most current version of whatever browser you are using (2) that you have the most recent version of Flash (PC or other: http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/otherversions/ Links to an external site.)(Mac: http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/ Links to an external site.) (3) go ahead and update your password on http://my.sjsu.edu/ Links to an external site. now so you do not have to worry about it.

If you want to access guides on how to use Canvas you can click on the Help button in the upper right hand corner or bookmark this link: http://guides.instructure.com/m/4212. The Help button is also where you need to go if you have technical issues. However, first try these steps if you are having problems accessing Canvas or using specific features.

1. If you cannot log on, chances are your password has expired, contact the Help Desk, Clark 102, 1st Floor or Phone 408.924.2377 (you may wish to add this to your phone). 90% of all access issues are password related and these are the password help people.
2. In Canvas but having issues? Log out of Canvas and log back in.
3. Still acting up? Quit your browser, and reboot.
4. No dice? Clear your browsers cache and cookies.
5. Still No luck? Shutdown and restart your computer.
6. If you cannot upload an assignment it is either you need the latest version of Flash or you are trying to upload in a format the assignment will not accept. Convert Pages or other alt formats to a word doc and always use forms when provided.

Contacting the Instructor/Class Communication

The best way to contact me is either via the Canvas messaging system accessed via the Inbox (upper right hand corner), Conversations  (navigation bar on left), or by selecting Help (Ask your Instructor a Question). You can also email me [ted.coopman@sjsu.edu] I regularly check class communications between 9 am and 6 pm everyday, less often on days that I have physical class meetings and Mondays. If I plan to be offline or extended periods of time, I will notify the class.

If you want direct interaction we can set-up a Skype [tmcoopman] meeting (use email) or you can make an appointment for during my office hours via conversations or email.

While I do list a phone number in the syllabus, this is the worst way to contact me as I only check it when I am on campus.

Generally, I communicate with the class via Announcements. At a minimum, each week I will send a Weekly Reminder with an overview of the week's activities and schedule and any other important information. This is one of the most popular features of my classes.

Finally, I may send you a note attached to a particular assignment. It may just be conversation or it could be important - like if you uploaded the wrong document. You can reply via the the assignments page, by hitting reply, or via Collaborations.

This Course

Achieve Mastery through "Deliberate Practice" This course is designed to train you in the proven technique of Deliberate Practice to master skills and abilities: Set specific goals Obtain immediate feedback Concentrate on technique/process as much as on outcomes

 

Important Due Dates/Times

Discussions require a primary post to get you started and then time for replies. Therefore, there are various due dates/time during the week that must be met. Likewise, reading reviews need to be completed early enough that students can use them as a study guide for quizzes that are due Tuesday's at 11:59 PM.

Workshop/Process Discussion

• Initial posts are due NO LATER that 11:59 PM Sunday
• Reply posts are due by the time the board closes Tuesday @ 11:59 pm

Reading Reviews

• Reading Reviews are due NO LATER that 11:59 PM Sunday

This class physically meets on Wednesday's at 9 am. Therefore, weeks for this class run from Wednesday to Wednesday. As a hybrid course, it runs 24/7 all term and tasks are due on various days. For simplicity, quizzes, workshops, and some assignments are due 11:59 pm on the Tuesday before we meet on campus. However, discussion and reading review deadlines are earlier in the week and more complex assignments may be due Thursday at 11:59 pm to allow for last minute questions in class.

This is a  4 unit hybrid course - 2/3 online and 1/3 off-line.  After years of examining the best practices of online and face-to-face instruction and the many uses of technology for teaching and learning the faculty have developed a format we feel takes the best of both methods while eliminating many of their drawbacks. What does hybrid mean to you? Well, it means that students work on assigned tasks, projects, readings and quizzes on their own time wherever and whenever they want. How great is that? Course work can be done at 1 am or 1 pm, it doesn’t matter. However, this does mean you will need some discipline in getting things done – I suggest you use the course schedule and set-up you own calendar for each week.

Some course work for the week needs to be completed by the face-to face meeting or the end of the week. The idea is that you come in prepared with work you have completed and then we use class time to discuss, develop, correct, and expand what you have done. Physical class time is spent in workshops where we work on skills and discuss course concepts. This means coming to class on time, every time, and staying the full time is critical. You can’t ignore either the online or face-to-face portions if you want to succeed. You need to be self-motivated and organized. It is up to you to design a work schedule that meets all course deadlines. I have designed this course to keep you on a steady schedule with weekly assignments, quizzes, and reminders via email so planning your schedule should be easy. Having a plan and keeping to it is critical for survival (let alone success).

At SJSU the expectation is students will spend, for each unit of credit, a minimum of forty-five hours over the length of the course (normally 3 hours per unit per week with 1 of the hours used for lecture) for instruction or preparation/studying or course related activities. Because this is a four unit hybrid class, you can expect to spend on average 13 hours per week during a regular semester in class and on scheduled tutorials or activities. Careful time management will help you keep up with readings and assignments and enable you to be successful in all of your courses. Bottom line – your grade will reflect the amount of time you dedicate to this course. There is enough reading, online workshops, quizzes and assignments to keep you busy for 13+ hours a week. This course requires a lot of time and work, but most of you will feel a great sense of accomplishment and pride at the end at what you have learned and accomplished.

You will leave this class with proof, in the form of your research paper, that you can execute a variety of the most sought after skills identified by employers. These include the ability to: work in a team structure (if you choose to); make decisions and solve problems; communicate verbally with people inside and outside an organization (since you will interact with research participants); plan, organize, and prioritize work; obtain and process information; analyze quantitative data; create and/or edit written reports; and sell and influence others (you have to convince people to participate in your project). Moreover, to complete complex projects with multiple hard deadlines. Finally, I will provide you with a statement on how to condense this for your resumes.

Grading Policies

There are many different strategies and philosophies for assessing student work. This class is organized on a 1000 point system (although it is possible to exceed this number). These are, in turn, converted to the letter grade system we use at SJSU. The only thing that matters is the total points and where that places you on the chart below.

Grading Scale  (points = letter grade>)

990-1000+	A+	840-869	B	700-739	C-
950-990	A	800-839	B-	670-699	D+
900-949	A-	770-799	C+	640-669	D
870-899	B+	740-769	C	600-639	D-
				> 600	F

 

If you feel the score on an assignment does not reflect your work you may ask for a Grade Review by following the directions in the Grade Review Policy. I will not revisit grades outside this procedure. If you have a late or missed assignment, you MAY be able to make it up. Check the class Late/Missed Assignment Policy. 

Extra Credit

I load in a lot of extra credit designed to encourage certain behaviors or generally help the class process. For example, there is an Error Bounty of 1 point per unique found error (typo, spelling, dates, etc.) on this Canvas site. Check out the Course Syllabus for a full list of extra credit opportunities.

Overview

Points for the course are distributed across a variety of assignments and assignment types. This provides flexibility that allows students to "under-perform" on some assignments without it overly impacting their grade. Combined with regular opportunities for extra credit the only reason to do poorly in the class is to not complete and submit assignments. In most cases, submitting something is always worth something, while submitting nothing is always worth nothing. Skipping assignments has cumulative performance impacts on other work.

Each assignment or quiz has a maximum amount of points allotted to it. A student earns points for each assessment type (details on this later), which are added up and result in a grade for the course. I also will add up to 5 points to your point total at the end of the semester just in case it will raise a grade – nothing is more frustrating than being a point or two away from a higher grade. I do not track grades and provide grade reports as the semester progresses so it is up to students to “do the math” and figure out their letter grade midterm if desired.

You can use Canvas to "project" possible grade outcomes by using the "What-if" function. That is, you can add in points for assignments-to-be and see exactly what level of performance is needed to achieve a desired grade. Go here http://guides.instructure.com/s/2204/m/4212/l/55065-how-do-i-check-my-what-if-grades to learn how to use this feature.

I do not round up assignment scores or curve grades. Final grades are simply determined by the points you earn in the course. Grades in this class are based broadly on meeting technical requirements (following directions, grammar, spelling, APA style, fulfilling assignment requirements and objectives) and comparison with peers. This means that the class is taken as a whole and independent population and sets its own performance criteria. That is, the top students set the bar and everyone is distributed down from there. Technical requirements still mean that even the best “quality” assignment may not earn the maximum points. However, this emerges in different ways for different types of assessment.

While the average grade in my classes is a C, the median final grades in my courses generally float between a B- and B. I teach to the top 10% of my class and find that most students step-up to the challenge. However, some do not. Despite this high class average some student earn Ds or Fs every term. Without exception this is the result of failing to turn in work, not coming to class, and not following directions.

In general, points are broken up into different activities and assignments and distributed across the term. Some assignments/activities are basic others are more complex. Since some students are better at some tasks than others, this provides plenty of chances to do well as well as to blunt the impact of poor performance on some assignments.

Rubrics

Most assignments have rubrics that explain why certain point were earned (or not) and provide a road map to what I am looking for in a given assignment. If you want to know why you got that grade, go to your assignments page and look at the rubric. To see the rubric select View Rubric.

Once you select View Rubric, you can see the full rubric.

To see additional comments, click on the "text balloon" under the points box.

 

 

For more complex assignments I also provide more conceptual feedback and suggestions.

Assignments Types

Discussions, reading reviews, quizzes, and workshops are designed to reinforce each other and build up a knowledge base for the bigger projects. All together, course work

• Discussion is where everyone has a chance to “talk” without interruption and check in with each other about their understanding of the week’s workshops and the project. The Discussion Board is always a popular assignment. Discussing the workshops and project is an important aspect of understanding and successfully completing it. This is also a key source of social support and a chance to check in with peers and the instructor. 
• Reading Review and Study Guide is where students review the week’s readings.  This is where everyone has a chance to check in with each other about their understanding of the week’s readings - what was interesting and important - and a great way to prepare for the quizzes. Students are assessed based on meeting the basic requirements and how well they contextualize their comments. Reading Reviews have a specific earlier weekly due date
• Quizzes are simple quantitative multiple choice (right or wrong – points or no points) and are used to assess familiarity with the readings. In order for us to have informed assignments and quality discussions we need to all have the same basic knowledge of the subject. This is accomplished through the course readings. Bottom line – quizzes are there to form a base line for knowledge and to make sure you actually DO the reading (because if you are not assessed on reading most of you will not do it  - that is just the way it is). For detailed tips on succeed on class quizzes see the Quiz Directions and Tips page.
• Assignments are graded on meeting technical requirements (following directions, grammar, spelling, APA style, fulfilling assignment requirements and objectives) and comparison of quality between peers. Is an assignment coherent? Does it illustrate an understanding of the material? How sophisticated is the use of the course material? In my experience, most students fail to earn points based on needless mistakes, such as leaving out required materials or not following directions. To help alleviate this, many assignments in this class are on standard forms with slots for all required elements and have grading rubrics (criteria) included so students know what I am looking for when I grade. Unlike a curve, points are awarded on competency and the average may be quite high (or low) depending on the overall quality of work. See the specific assignments for details.
• Midterms, Finals and other high value exams are poor indicators of knowledge and performance and I do not use them in my classes. So no formal midterm or final. Instead, since I am technically required by SJSU to have a "final like" experience there is a class process survey that counts for extra credit that is offered during finals.

How to "Hack" this Class

This class works on several levels. You consume content and put it in context, learn how to apply that content, acquire skills on how to learn and apply content, and by doing all this within the context of the course schedule are training how to manage time, organize workload, and complete concurrent complex tasks. In other words, how to excel in the information economy workplace. 

My classes follow a basic and consistent design philosophy which is one reason why some students take numerous classes from me. The weekly schedule is pretty consistent including what needs to be done and when it is due. Most weekly assignments are due on Canvas (or the weekly quiz closes) the night before the class physically meets.  While any time would work, having consistency lowers confusion. Some of the bigger assignments are due the day after class meets to allow for final questions in class.

10 Tips (+2) on Productivity Adapted from 10 Laws of Productivity (http://99u.com/articles/6585/10-laws-of-productivity Links to an external site.) 10 laws of productivity consistently observed among serial idea executors: 1. Break the seal of hesitation. While preparing properly for new project is certainly valuable, it’s also easy to lose yourself in planning (and dreaming) indefinitely take action sooner rather than later. The minute that you start acting (e.g. creating an outline; roughing out a schedule; doing initial research) you create momentum and begin to understand what the task will entail. 2. Start small. When our ideas are still in our head, we tend to think in big, blue-sky concepts. The downside is that such thinking makes the barrier to entry – and action – quite high. To avoid “blue sky paralysis,” pare your idea down to a small, immediately executable concept. What seems like a workable plan in your head often does not survive contact with physical reality. 3. Pilot/draft You really do not know what is involved, or even what questions to ask, until you try and execute a project. In research, you pilot a study, basically trying it out on a small scale first, so you can fine tune your process and avoid making costly mistakes later. Creating initial drafts of papers and getting input from others are also keys to success. 4. Define your scope and avoid mission creep Carefully review project/assignment directions at each stage and outline to ensure you meet the objectives. Tangents are time wasters with little or no pay-off. For example, a great paper is useless if it does not meet the assigned objectives. 5. Work on your project a little bit each day. As Jack Cheng argues, “the important thing isn’t how much you do; it’s how often you do it.” With projects that require a serious infusion of creative juice – conducting research, completing major projects, writing papers - it’s incredibly important to maintain momentum. Just as when you run everyday, the exercise gets easier and easier, the same thing happens with your brain. Stimulate it regularly each day, and those juices start to flow more freely. 6. Develop a routine. Part of being able to work on your project a little bit each day is carving out the time to do so. Routines can seem boring and uninspiring, but – on the contrary – they create a foundation for keeping you on schedule, avoiding procrastination, and not spacing on due dates. If you have specific times of high productivity, build your study/work schedule around them. If you have regular weekly deadlines consistently complete them at the same times. For example, if that quiz is due on Canvas every Wednesday at noon, schedule a time each week to take that quiz. 7. Every problem is a series of smaller problems. Break projects into smaller chunks that only take a few minutes or hours to complete. The dual benefit of this approach is: (1) making the project feel more manageable, and (2) providing incremental rewards throughout the project. It’s crucial to pause periodically to take stock of what has been accomplished – even if there’s a long way to go. 8. Budget time for yourself (and sleep). No matter how many demands on your time you have with school, work, family commitments, extra-circular activities, or basic life maintenance if you do not take the time to relax and have fun it will negatively impact your attitude and productivity. Basic downtime and sleep allow you to perform your best. Failing to do so can build up resentment and lead to task avoidance and recreational “binging” when you can least afford it.  Elevate personal time to equal status with so-called “real commitments.” If you have plans to do something fun, and you get that call to come into work or other life chores simply say you have an appointment you can’t miss. An explanation is not required. Make sure you get at least 6 hours sleep a night. If you need extra incentive, research shows that lack of sleep correlates with weight gain! 8.1. Know the difference between being finished and done. News flash! There will never be enough time to complete any task to the level that you wish you could. Everything is constrained by the availability of time and resources. For example, every researcher will complain that “if they only had more time, more data, or more funding…” Learn to fit what you have to do with the confines of what you have to work with (see #4, 8, and 9). You have deadlines that must be met – that is life - and a certain point you need to wrap it up and move on. You will never be finished, only done. 9. Practice saying “No.” Creative energy is not infinite. Seasoned idea-makers know that they must guard their energy – and their focus – closely. Saying no is an essential part of the productivity equation. Overcommitting sets you up for failure. You are not doing anyone any favors if your participation is subpar. Do fewer things well. Simply tell people that “It sounds great, but that you are overcommitted and do not want to risk letting them down.” There is never enough time to do everything you want or need to do so now is the time to develop skills in managing your time and resources. 9.1 Learn the art of the sacrifice A hard truth is that at times you need to cut your loses and walk away.  If you have over-committed or otherwise find yourself in trouble with classes, assignments, or anything, the biggest mistake is to keep pushing through and bring everything down around your head. Better to “jump than be pushed.” Take a hard look at your commitments and see where you can strategically cut and sacrifice to save everything else. If you are unsure what to do, get advice from those in the know.  Better to drop and assignment or even a class than drag everything down with it. Be smart and learn to mange your resources. 10. Remember that rules – even productivity rules – are made to be broken. Do the same thing over and over again and expecting different results is the definition of insanity. If you are not getting the desired results, then try a new approach. Learn from peers and ask advice from faculty.

The best strategy is to create a weekly schedule and stick to it. So, pick a time to do the reading, post on the discussion board, take the quizzes, and complete part 1 of workshops. This keeps you in the groove of the class and reduces the chances of spacing out an assignment.

Managing Stress

Kelly McGonigal: How to make stress your friend

https://youtu.be/RcGyVTAoXEU Links to an external site.
Stress. It makes your heart pound, your breathing quicken and your forehead sweat. But while stress has been made into a public health enemy, new research suggests that stress may only be bad for you if you believe that to be the case. Psychologist Kelly McGonigal urges us to see stress as a positive, and introduces us to an unsung mechanism for stress reduction: reaching out to others.

Let’s Make a Deal (not)

In order to maintain a fair and equitable learning environment all students must take the same course. This means any opportunities to earn points, or retake or make-up or take late quizzes and assignments must be available to all students in the class. Criteria for grading students need to be consistent and applied evenly for all students. Therefore, I request you please follow these guidelines:

Please do not ask for special accommodation for assignments (outside of documented AEC accommodations).

Please do not ask for extra credit assignments to earn points.

Since any opportunities must be made available to all students this would create a lot of extra work for both students and myself. I build many chances to earn extra points into the class. I will say no (no matter how much I may like/dislike you personally).

Please do not invoke “special” cases or circumstances.

It is unethical for me to take into account factors outside the purview of the course. I do not and cannot care if the grades you earn prevents you from graduating, maintaining eligibility for sports or other activities, getting financial aide, or causes you to get disqualified. Also, the “copping a plea” or brutal honesty approach may impress me with your candor but will not provide the desired results. Your job is to get the grade you need from the course the way it is designed just like everyone else. If you cannot manage that then it is on you.

Bottom line is your actions and decisions have consequences. We constantly make choices on our priorities or how we allocate our time and while we are more than willing to take the benefits of these choices we are often not so willing to accept the consequences.  So man/woman-up and accept the lost points if you feel that going snowboarding or the beach is something you would rather do than come to class or complete assignments.

Our Contract

By signing up for this course you are agreeing to abide by the course syllabus, be evaluated according to course criteria, and follow all course rules and protocols.  This means you are agreeing to complete all required readings, assignments, quizzes, or tasks that I assign you as directed within the time-frame they are assigned. Failure to do so will mean loss of point earning opportunities. Do what I tell you, how I tell you, and when I tell you and you will be fine. For my part, it is my responsibility to clearly articulate course requirements and my expectations.

Your Attitude

As an undergrad I was admittedly resentful to have to take certain courses that were not directly related (as I saw it) to my core interests. This attitude was a tremendous waste of my time and taxpayer money because it results in a spiral of task avoidance and poor grades that is hard to escape. Embrace this class or drop it. My attitude is I want to try and have as much fun as possible and get as much as I can doing whatever I do. I try and make my courses as lean, interesting, entertaining, and engaging as possible. There is no busy work. For your own (and your classmates) mental health make it the best experience you can.

Ethics

By registering for and participating in this class you also agree to abide by all course rules and procedures outlined in this workshop and the Course Syllabus.  These rules and procedures apply equally to all students. Therefore, it is unethical to request preferential treatment as well as for the instructor to grant special treatment. For your submissions, it is unethical and violation of class rules and university policy to:

• Represent other people's work as you own. This includes both published and unpublished work including those of peers. Therefore, fully cite all work not your own.
• Include information from a source and not reference where that information came from.
• Use materials created for other courses and instructors for this course without the expressed permission of the instructor (I rarely say no, but insist you ask)
• Take content (including text, photos, graphics, audio, and video) created by students or the instructor from this course and disseminate it without the expressed written permission of the creator.
• Further, it is expected that students and the instructor treat each other with respect.  If you feel slighted by someone do not assume ill-intent, ask. This class is a safe intellectual space to express yourself. However, as it is an intellectual space expect to have to defend and support your positions and statements. Student's work is not evaluated based on ideological or political positions expressed, but on the ability to support those ideological or political positions. The instructors job is not to tell you what to think, but to help you develop skills to think and reason critically.

Finally, when critiquing positions or people's behaviors keep in mind the context in which people operate. I think you will find this Ted Talk illuminating in this regard.

Link Links to an external site.Behavioral economist Dan Ariely studies the bugs in our moral code: the hidden reasons we think it's OK to cheat or steal (sometimes). Clever studies help make his point that we're predictably irrational -- and can be influenced in ways we can't grasp.

Your Life (and this course)

As a first generation college student, native Californian, and a CSU alum (BA Fresno State, MS San José State) I am fully aware of the challenges you face as you work toward your degree. You are not stereotypical college students whose primary demands are school and partying (okay, school, work, and partying...).  I know many of you are older, work full time, have families and familial obligations, and some of you may even have a life! You sacrifice to be at San José State and a college degree is major step in making a better life. I respect and honor that.

For these reasons I designed this course to be as flexible as possible and laid out so assessment is distributed across the entire semester as opposed to bunched up in the middle or at the end. So, no high value exams. The course is "front-loaded" so we start with a lot of reading, quizzes, and workshops and then move to assignments. This means required readings and quizzes are usually over by about week 9. Readings and assignments are designed to be experienced in increments that add-up to a whole. Assignments are designed to get you out and working with material you have learned. This way, you have to process the material in a variety of ways, which is one of the best ways to grasp it. You can read about it or talk about it all term, but you really won’t understand it until you try and do it. This is how most projects develop in the non-academic world.

Problems and Issues outside of School

Life comes at you hard and the real challenge of college is less about failing to grasp the ideas or completing course work and more about how to balance all your other obligations and school. This is especially difficult when major and minor catastrophes suck time and energy out of your already jammed-packed schedule. These events can be as serious as medical problems, a family death or illness, legal issues, fire, imploding relationships and so forth or annoying but also disruptive such as an unsympathetic boss, friends in need, idiot housemates, or broken cars.

As your instructor I can help you mitigate the impact on your course work either by adjusting due dates or directing you to department or campus resources. But there is nothing I can do for you if I do not know you are in trouble. Every semester I have students who come to me in the last few weeks of class to explain their poor performance and ask for help based on something that happened months ago. In most cases, there is nothing I can do at that point. You need to keep me in the loop about anything that is negatively impacting your performance in class AS IT HAPPENS. I do not need personal details and if you are uncomfortable you can always go through Counseling Services Links to an external site. and then they can come to me. If your boss is making you work on a class meeting day or you need to go back home for a family emergency I can help you manage your class responsibilities.  Communication Studies has a well-deserved reputation for taking care of its majors, but intervention must be timely to be successful. If you let me know you are in trouble I can help or direct you those who can.

Now go and take the Extra Credit Orientation Workshop and Syllabus Quiz