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Curda
Cafe |
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| The Menu | ||
| Weekly Specials | ||
| Monthly Specials | ||
| This Week's Specials | ||
| Cafe Regulars | ||
| Checkout Counter | ||
Week 1: May 11
- Chat with the Owner
- Appetizers this Week
- Setting the Table
- This Week's Menu: Explore the Cafe
- Proceed to the Checkout Counter
- Next Week's Specials
This week I would like to give everyone the opportunity to digest the menu (syllabus), weekly and monthly specials (course requirements), and get to know the other cafe regulars. This week, we'll talk about the cafe, the requirements, and get oriented. If you are new to online learning please be sure to read everything carefully. If you have never joined a listserv or posted to a threaded discussion there are help sheets available for you to learn to do these things so please pay attention to the links provided.
Who's Who at the Cafe?
The Cafe Crew is small but very efficient and effective and here to provide you with the ultimate cafe dining experience. The Cafe Crew Page will introduce you to each of us. Please do not hesitate to call on one or all of us whenever you are in need of assistance. Also note that a link to each of our email addresses is provided at the top and bottom of each page. We are a simple click away.
What's What at the Cafe?
If you have not, please read the menu as well as the weekly and monthly specials (that is, the Course Syllabus and Course Assignments as well as the Course Schedule). These 3 areas should provide you with the best introduction and overview of the menu for next 13 weeks at the Curda Cafe. Some weeks are a heavy dining experience while others I would consider light fare. The shortened Summer term makes it necessary for us to cover more content each week than during the other regular length semesters so be prepared for some weeks to be relatively heavy with readings. Of course, you should also explore the rest of the links on the home page for the cafe so you can get the big picture.
Each Tuesday at 5 PM at the Curda Cafe the Book Club Discussion Group that meets at the Cafe regularly (and to which all the cafe regulars belong) posts its agenda. Each week's agenda provides for a chat with the cafe owner (your instructor - me) accompanied by appetizers. Following this, all cafe regulars assist in preparing the tables for dining. As with any dining experience, preparing the table is sometimes almost as important as what's on the menu. Setting the table assures the diner that when he/she sits down to eat that everything he/she needs will be at the table. Once complete, the regulars are presented with the week's specials. A variety of dishes are offered throughout the week so the regulars do not get bored with the same dish day after day. All cafe regulars run a tab throughout the week and then checkout with the cashier by the following Tuesday. If you play your cards right, the owner/manager will often throw in a hint or two about next week's specials. Occasionally, she will also run happy hour and early bird specials so be looking for those.
Want to work ahead? - Many students generally ask about access to future weeks for this course so you can work ahead if possible. This option is available to you at the Curda Cafe. I have posted almost all future cafe weekly specials so you can pay the cashier ahead of time if you choose. Please note, however, that the "chat with the owner" section will remain blank until the current week. As the owner, I like to post my chat each new week so I am able to post timely information in regards to cafe activities. This means that even if you work ahead you will still need to check in at least once a week to the cafe and make sure you are informed of any changes to the cafe activities. In addition, even if you do work ahead other cafe regulars may not and one of your responsibilities each week includes reading and replying to cafe discussions. This will require you to wait until others have posted to the discussion so that you can reply. There are many ways in which you can work ahead in this course. You may choose to start work early on one of the major assignments, read ahead in the text, etc. You are welcome to work ahead in whatever manner suits you. I have provided this option in other courses I teach online and can tell you that although many applauded the opportunity at the beginning of the semester, few actually ever worked ahead. Just keeping up each week seemed to be enough work for most. However, it did assist those who, on occasion, had to go out of town for work or play and wanted to get ahead for a single week. So, next week, check out the schedule and archives page and you should be able to access all past and future cafe weekly specials. Please note that many of the future weeks will have blanks due to "open mike" nights. These cafe activities will not be posted until those who signed up for that night have turned in their performance.
Course Expectations:
The course gradebook is posted and linked on the communication page. The purpose of the course gradebook is to provide you with a current assessment of your status related to weekly assignments, including threaded discussions. Each of you will be listed by the last 4 digits of your social security number. Each week I will update the gradebook by Friday for assignments during the previous week to reflect the assignments you have completed. The gradebook should be used by you to determine that your participation in weekly assignments is noted but is not evaluative in any way. At this time it is probably wise for me to add a brief note about my expectations related to participation in threaded discussions, etc.
Threaded Discussions: To ensure that the quality of your assignments meet my expectations please be sure to revisit threaded discussions from previous weeks to check for any comments or suggestions I may have provided you. I will not respond to every individual every week even though I do read everyone's postings. At times, I will simply add to the comments you have made and give you an atta boy/girl for a good submission. Other times, you may find that I ask you to elaborate or provide more depth to your postings. You may also find that your peers ask you to do the same. If you see these types of replies it should indicate that you have not fully met the requirements or expectations of the assignment. Here, I do expect you to post a reply in response to my questions or your peers' questions. If you do not bother to go back and read and add additional postings when necessary then your participation grade may take a small downward turn throughout the semester. If you happen to check the threads and I did not respond to you then please expect that I was satisfied with your answer and you have complete credit for participation. You should be concerned that your participation grade will suffer if you habitually post your assignments late. Posting late reduces the likelihood that your peers will be able to go back and read your post and provide you with feedback, input, etc. if you do post late it is your responsibility to email the Cafe Owner (Dr. Curda) and let me know. I will not be checking all the past weeks for late assignments. Once I am done with the checklist for the previous week, there is no reason for me to continually backtrack unless I am notified by you that it is necessary. If you do notify me of a late posting please be as detailed as possible. Some weeks there are many discussions to choose from and it will help me find your postings if I know which ones to check.
When you participate in a threaded discussion I expect that you will read the posts of your peers and respond to them just as you would if they made a similar statement in class. You may ask for clarification, reaffirm what they say, add on to their example, question the legitimacy of their statements, etc. This creates discussion around the topic which is the goal of the exercise. Replies should not simply consist of "I agree" or "Right on." It must be more thoughtful and in depth than that. As many of us (myself included) are procrastinators, most people do not post to the required threads until the day they are due. This creates some difficulty if everyone is also trying to respond to everyone by the same date. Therefore, my general policy is that you post your original response to the thread during the first week it is assigned. The following week you should spend some time reading everyone's posts and responding to your peers. In addition to your post I require that each student respond to at least 3 of their peers within each thread in which they participate. To clarify... you should respond to 3 others' ORIGINAL posts as well as reply to those who reply to YOUR original post if anyone queries you. If when you post your original response there are others to whom you would like to reply then feel free to post your replies within the same week. However, this extra week given for response to peers allows you some leeway in responding to others. I am going to insert reminders in each thread to make sure this is clear and everyone receives their points for participation so I hope this will help. The idea is that you read how others are thinking about the topic and to clarify, expand, or reaffirm your own understanding. Please let me know if you are still unclear about these requirements and I will try to clarify further. If you have noticed your weekly checklists in the gradebook section, you will see that the post and reply columns are separate in the checklists because I view these as separate assignments within the weeks they are listed. Feel free to post replies early.
Each column in the gradebook will be carefully labeled as to what assignment is being marked. If you are unclear what assignment is being marked please feel free to email me. I will be updating the gradebook each Friday. If you have any questions related to an assignment that you have not received credit for please email me. Please allow me at least one week to post an updated gradebook for the previous week. Also, don't panic if you aren't marked for something you have done. I make mistakes and am glad to review anything as long as you call it to our attention in a polite manner.
Late Assignments: My final comment to you in this section this week (normally this section is much shorter) is in relation to turning in assignments late. As I noted above, your participation grade will suffer if you continually post to threads late. However, in relation to other assignments (i.e., reaction papers, article analyses, etc.), my late policy is this. For every day the assignment is late I take off 10% of the total possible points for that assignment. For example, if an assignment is worth 100 points and you turn it in 1 day late, the most points you can receive is 90. If you turn it in 3 days late, the most you can receive is 70. After 10 days, your assignment is worth 0 points so there is no reason for you to turn it in. If you have any questions about this policy please let me know. I am generally a pretty understanding person so it would behoove you to contact me if you know something will be late to receive an approved extension. If an extension is approved by me then the late charges do not apply. An extension can only be given if I am contacted PRIOR to the due date. The bottom line here is keep me informed!
I hope the overview of the cafe procedures above assists you in quickly becoming a cafe regular that is comfortable in the cafe.
- Overview the course and requirements
- Get to Know Other Cafe Regulars
Task # 1:
One communication strategy for many on-line courses is
through a class listserv. A listserv is a distributed
mailing service enabling you to send mail to one email
address which then sends the mail to everyone subscribed
on the list. The list being used for this course is
called "itseminar". Instructions for
subscribing to the list are under the listserv link on the communication page.
Task
# 2:
Because
we do not have the opportunity to see each other
face-to-face it is even more important to get to know
each other right away. To facilitate this I would like
for everyone to participate in an
"icebreaker"
threaded discussion. In this discussion, I would like
for you to identify the Disney character you are most
like and explain why and give a personal history of your
experience in instructional technology. As you read
others' posts to the thread you may try to identify
someone you would like to partner with for assignment #2. It will be important for
you to identify a partner and together identify the topic
you would like to lead so you can begin work immediately.
Task
#3:
Finally,
it is important that I am always able to get in touch
with you when necessary. In most cases I will do this by
email. Therefore, I would like for you to check the class list and the email I currently have for
you to make sure I have the appropriate one. If I do not,
please email me with the correct email. In
addition, I would like for you to email me with the name you preferred to be
called and your home and work numbers in case email fails
us.
