Just to remind everyone that this is Synchronous Course- meaning that we will be meeting online via Zoom Meetings Weekly on Wednesdays from 6pm-8pm. You will also be participating offline during the week completing assignments/and/or quizzes and/or Weekly discussions as well which will be listed under each Weeks Modules. with due dates.

The Instructor will post the Zoom link each week to the Zoom Information listed for the Week - and under Announcements. Please Click on the zoom link and you will find each weeks meeting to click on and Join Wednesdays of each week at 6pm.

Each week on Mondays I will also email to you an Announcement of the Week's expectations and a Zoom Meeting invitation for the following Wednesday at 6pm.

Very Important prior to starting is to please read the information below so that you will be ready to join the zoom meetings for this course.

Zoom Student Guide -- Getting Ready -Student's Strategies for Success.pdf
Zoom Student Guide for Synchronous Courses - Zoom guide for synchronous course.pdf
Zoom Student Etiquette -- Tips & Best Practices
zoom student guide-1.svg1.pdf
ADVICE ABOUT ZOOM MEETINGS

This class meets weekly in a synchronous Zoom format. This means that you will need to set aside two hours to log in and join a video conference that seeks to recreate the feeling of a face to face class. For these to be effective and enjoyable, the following considerations need to be taken seriously:

BEFORE the CLASS STARTS

EQUIPMENT: Please make sure that you have the proper equipment for connecting to a synchronous zoom meeting. It is recommended that you log in with a desktop or laptop computer or a larger mobile device like an iPad or tablet. You will also need high speed internet that can handle video and audio communication. You will want to have a camera and a microphone and can use headphones or earbuds. Test these things before our first class. Contact me or your adviser if you need assistance or have questions.

BANDWIDTH: Every home or place of connection will have unique circumstances that impact bandwidth. The quality of your internet and the load placed on it by other users at the same time will impact the quality of your reception. Others may need to wait to stream or use the internet. Make these arrangements before hand.

PRIVACY: Please be sure when you log in that you have created a private space for yourself. Please remember that you will need to be available to speak for the entire two hour period and that it would not be fair to your education or the education of your peers to have the learning interrupted by children, barking dogs, talking parrots, diesel engines, music, a television set in the other room, or family members walking behind you. Please note that Zoom does allow you to create a green screened background if your only refuge for this work is a messy bedroom.

PREPARATION: Each Zoom class will be organized to take advantage of the time we have together to further our knowledge and practice our skills. If reading materials are assigned for that week, have them read before the Zoom meeting and be prepared to discuss them. It is not fair to your peers to come to these meetings in need of the information you were asked to come ready to engage with.

DURING CLASSTIME

ATTENTION: You should always assume that your time in our Zoom meetings is as important and worthy of protecting from distraction as your time in a face-to-face class. You would not bring your phone to a face-to-face class and start texting friends, so do not do it here.

CONNECTION: The assumption is that you will turn your microphone off when you are not speaking and that you will leave your video camera on at all times. Exceptions can be made in cases of bandwidth overload, but this is not the ideal and should be addressed in other ways. Please communicate with me if you have questions or concerns.

CONVENTIONS: Over time, we will all develop some conventions for effective online communication during class. I intend to appoint one of you to attend to the chat board each week where you are invited to post questions. I will stop the flow of the class periodically to address those questions but I will give the "moderator of the week" power to interrupt that flow in cases where a question or comment rises to the level of "URGENT." Zoom does have tools for raising your hand, for applauding something said, for sharing chat messages with one another, and for taking turns speaking. We will also spend some time in the first class creating our own unique conventions for replacing the non-verbal communication that goes on in a regular face-to-face class. If at any time, you believe that the technology is interfering with your learning, let's all agree to address the concern by the end of that segment of the class.

TECHNOLOGY ISSUES: It is entirely possible that your camera will malfunction, your mic will stop working or your computer screen will freeze up. Do not panic if this happens. Just shut down your browser and try logging back in. If the whole system freezes, turn the computer off and reboot. Again. Don't panic. we can catch you up on something missed.

AFTER CLASS

ATTENDANCE & DEPARTING: Participants in this class should plan to be in attendance for the entire class time. You should make plans for any contingency that will induce you to leave before it has concluded. Each week will end with a few moments of collaborative reflection and an opportunity to stay for a few minutes after class to socialize.

AFTER THE SHOW: Do remember that we have an online component to this class. If there were things you wanted to say in the class period that you did not get to say or if there were questions you wanted to ask that you did not get to ask or get to have answered, there will be a discussion forum available to you to process those things. You may also send your instructor or a classmate a personal message (with their permission). You can even set up your own zoom meetings with each other. Nothing stops you from forming your own Zoom Study group.

I look forward to working with you in this environment and I am deeply invested in making it work to your advantage. When problems and challenges arise (and they will) let us all agree to deal with them patiently, mutually, and immediately. Lets make this the best class any of us have ever had!

Zoom Recording Policy - Please Read

Meetings of this class may be recorded and recordings made available to students registered for this class via a link in the Canvas course site. These recordings are intended to support student learning in the course and may not be reproduced, shared with those not in the class, or uploaded to other online environments. Students are expected to adhere to all relevant policies for appropriate conduct, including maintaining the security of their VSCS user ID and password per VSCS Policy 502 Computing and Telecommunications Technology Conditions of Use. Any student who does not wish to appear in such a recording should consult with the instructor.