Syllabus
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Module 1
Module 2
Module 3
Module 4
Module 5
Module 6

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Syllabus

Printable Syllabus

Syllabus Table of Contents

Course Info
Course Description
Topics and Objectives
Grading and Point Values
Course Policies
Course Folders
Keeping the Newsgroups Organized
Attendance
Participation
Course Procedures
Assignments Overview and Schedule

Course Information

Course Description

This course gives students the opportunity to design and create Web pages and multimedia. The focus is on the importance of planning, principles of good Web-page design, the elements of multimedia, and the integration of multimedia. The appropriate use of Web pages and multimedia will be analyzed. The multimedia project team in instructional design is emphasized.

Course Website:

I have created a course web site to enhance your Outlook Express classroom experience. All of the necessary content can be found on this website at www.connectedcreativity.com/eli/edtc560. As far as is technically possible, the exact same content is posted in the newgroups in Outlook Express. The only difference will be that I will post links to web pages with content that cannot be displayed in Outlook Express. In such cases, I will post a link to the web pages in OE.

Topics and Objectives

Overview of Web Design and Multimedia

• Define multimedia.
• List elements of multimedia.
• Evaluate the role of planning in creating multimedia projects.
• Identify roles in the multimedia project team.
• Analyze effective components for Web site design.

Web Design and Multimedia Development

• Examine HyperText Markup Language (HTML).
• Determine the cost, timeline, and tasks required to complete a Web site.
• Devise a Web site flowchart.
• Design a basic Web site.

Web Site and Multimedia Implementation

• Examine authoring tools.
• Employ authoring tools to incorporate multimedia into the existing Web site.
• Describe the process to create audio and video components.
• Integrate the model for design and development to refine and expand the layout of the existing Web site.

Web Site and Multimedia Integration

• Analyze tools for creating multimedia elements.
• Explain the process to prepare graphics/images for Web sites.
• Compare and contrast capabilities and limitations of image file formats.
• Apply advanced Web design techniques such as feedback forms and pop-up windows.

Hardware and Multimedia Instructional Design

• Distinguish strengths and weaknesses among operating systems.
• Compare and contrast the different network topologies.
• Identify computer components.
• Create an instructional/training project incorporating multimedia features into presentation software.

Web Site and Multimedia Delivery

• Formulate a copyright statement based on current laws for Web sites and multimedia presentations.
• Analyze the value of beta testing (formative assessment) for Web sites and multimedia presentations.
• Identify various multimedia delivery technologies.

Grading and Point Values

Course Changes

Please note that this syllabus is different from the one found on your student web page. Assignments in this document take priority. While the reading assignments and learning objectives remain the same, some of the assignments in this syllabus have been customized for this particular section.

How points equate to grades:

A	95 +	B+	87-89	C+	77-79	D+	67-69	F	- 59
A-	90-94	B	84-86	C	74-76	D	64-66
		B-	80-83	C-	70-73	D-	60-63

 

Course Policies

Each week you will access various instructional pieces from the web site and also in the Course Materials newsgroup. These will include lectures, discussion questions, project explanations and details, and the course calendar.

You will be reading and working on various projects and answering discussion questions. I constantly monitor the folders in case you have any questions. If you have questions regarding the course work, please post them to the Main folder under the Questions Topic for the week.

When you have a question about an assignment, the reading material, or in doing the assignments, please do not email me. Post your question to the Questions folder each week. I will monitor the Questions threads every day. Undoubtedly you are not the only one who has the question or a similar question. If you know the answer to someone's question, by all means, jump in and respond. By posting them in the Questions thread, everyone will benefit by

1. trying to help and give an answer themselves
2. by reading my response to that question

I can't tell you how many times I receive emails asking me for information that is clearly stated in the syllabus, on the assignments and projects page, or in the instructions. But other questions I receive are concerning interpretation of instructions, which allows for some differences. But the bottom line is that this is a collaborative, team-oriented learning experience where you all are supposed to be learning from each other. So try your fellow classmates before asking me.

If you are having problems that don’t concern the course work, please email me at ecb3167@email.uophx.edu. I check my email many times a day with the exception of the one day I do not sign in. This will be either Saturday or Sunday. I will also not be signing into the newsgroup on Monday, but I will be checking email.

In the event the UOP server is down you may check the status of the UOP server at any time at: http://status.uophx.edu. There is also a link to the status page from the main sign in page.

Course Folders

These are the newsgroup folders to subscribe to (specific folder names are provided to you when the course opens up):

Keeping the Newsgroups Organized

I know that every professor organizes and runs their newsgroups a little differently so that each new class you enter is going to be conducted a bit different. In the past I haven't given any direction to new classes thinking that we'd all figure it out together, but many students end up posting all over the Main Newsgroup instead of under the designated threads. This really makes it very messy.

Also, it means that when I go to grade your assignments, if your assignment isn't posted where it is supposed to be, there is a chance that I will miss it and you won't get the points. I know you don't want that to happen.

SO......here is how I want to proceed.

You should never post a new message to the Main newsgroup.

ALL postings made in a particular week, please post under the thread that I start for that week. So for instance, in Week 1 and I will post a Week 1 thread. Under that thread I will post two threads for the DQs. You must post your response to the DQs under these threads.

I will also posted a thread under Week 1 for the assignments. Please post your assignment under this thread.

Some past students have posted messages with extra resources, which is GREAT!!! But let's post them under the Week thread. That way everything you need for a particular week is going to be under the Week xx thread.

Additionally, I will post a questions thread under the Week thread and I want you to post all of your questions there. Students have a tendency to email me with questions about the assignments. I want you to post these questions under the weekly questions thread because others probably have the same question, and/or they have an answer. This type of collaborative learning really benefits everyone. By asking and answering others' questions, you get a chance to 'teach' what you have just learned, which helps you clarify it in your own mind. It becomes a very synergistic learning environment.

From Week 2 on, I will not answer any questions about the assignments via email but will ask you to post them under the questions thread. Also, from Week 2 on, if you create a new post in the Main newsgroup, I will post a response asking your to post it in the proper place.

I think it should go without saying that it's important that you read all of my postings in any thread because you will get your answers there. So if you have a question, read through the postings to see if it's been asked and answered yet, and if not, post your questions under the weekly questions thread, ok?

Lastly, PLEASE DO NOT MAKE A NEW POST IN THE MAIN THREAD! Post in under the week we are in. If you are accessing the class through the Web using OWA, please be sure to familiarize yourself with how to post correctly so that your messages show under the appropriate thread. Do not click on the far left button (Reply), but click on Reply to Folder, the third button from the left.

 

First, change your view to By Topic:

Read postings by clicking on the underlined name. A new window will open. To respond to this posting, click the Reply to Folder icon, which is the second one from the left. DO NOT click on the Reply icon.

You should never click on the new post icon either in OE or in OWA.

I hope this will keep the Main thread a little more organized, which will make for a better learning experience for us all. I appreciate your cooperation with this.

Attendance and Participation

In Online classes, attendance and participation are not the same thing. You can meet the attendance requirements, but still not meet the participation requirements of the course.

To be in attendance in an online class, you must post at least one message on two different days during each week (for a total of two messages per week), using your OLS email address, to any of the class newsgroups. The Online week begins on Tuesday and ends on the following Monday.

If you are out of attendance for two weeks (consecutively or not) during an Online class, you will automatically be withdrawn from the class and will not be eligible for a grade. Please note that the posting of any message (regardless of content) will be counted toward the attendance.

Participation is 10% of your grade. You do not automatically earn the points each week for participation by occasionally replying to notes. Participation is very important online. You will be expected to participate four days a week in several different discussions and to contribute at least two substantive discussion messages on each of those four days. Note that this is a new (and reduced) requirement. But it is a required part of your grade.

Participation consists of notes you send above and beyond graded assignments. This generally means the messages you send as replies to messages from your classmates and me.

Participation will be counted only in the Main newsgroup. Messages posted in the Assignments, Chat Room, or in the Learning Team newsgroups will not count towards your class participation score.

Please note that both quantity and quality are important considerations when it comes to participation. A message which says simply, "I agree," for example, would not constitute participation since it does not add anything of substance to the discussion.

In order to earn full participation points, you must add something of substance to the discussion at least four out of seven days per week. This would consist of new ideas, your perspectives, pointed follow-up questions, etc.

I will mention this again, but you MUST post your URL for your web site every week, whether or not you have completed that week's tasks. If you do not post your URL under the PROPER thread, you will lose a participation point.

Unlike other formal written assignments in your other courses, I do not require that your discussion question responses adhere to specific formatting requirements. However, please make sure to proofread carefully. Grammar and spelling errors may impact your grade. I expect your discussion question responses to reflect critical thought. Whenever possible, please try to relate the course content to real-world applications from your work experience. Also, please cite any references to web sites or other information that you are drawing your comments from.

NOTE: There is no participation requirement during the final week of the class. This is a week for you to work on your final projects. However, please note that you still need to meet attendance requirements, so be sure to post at least one message to a course newsgroup on two different days during the week. Posting your assignments and working in the learning team newsgroups will satisfy attendance requirements. There will also be a Questions thread in Week 6 for you to post questions and responses.

To earn a 100% participation grade, you must meet the following expectations:

1. You are expected to participate four days out of seven days per week during Weeks 1 – 5.
2. Post two substantive messages each of those four days.
3. You are expected to contribute to the class discussions in meaningful ways. That means:
• Contributing new and relevant information to the course discussion and from readings of the textbooks
• Commenting in a positive manner
• Building on the remarks of your fellow students
• Posing questions of your fellow students; and sharing quotes, web sites, and other supplementary information
• Demonstrating practical application of the week's key concepts from your professional/personal experience
4. Your grade also will be determined by:
5. the quality of your responses
   • the timeliness of your response
   • the ability of your comments to motivate others in a collaborative effort

The following items do not count toward participation:

• Written assignments, individual or group
• Your initial response to the discussion questions (however, comments to classmates about their answers are part of participation)
• Messages in your small group meetings (these count toward small group project grades, but not toward overall participation in the course)
• Notes sent to your instructor's personal mailbox
• Weekly Check-In reports

Learning Team Participation

Learning teams are an important part of the Online classroom. I will assign learning teams by Friday of Week One or sooner. I will post a note in the main thread when teams are ready.

Note: Sorry, I do not take requests to work with other students. In a real-world working environment you rarely get a chance to pick who is going to be on your team. The purpose of Learning Teams at the University of Phoenix is to give you a real-world experience of working in teams, so I will be assigning the teams.

To receive credit for learning team assignments, you must actively participate with your learning team and contribute to the project. Your learning team members will evaluate your contributions to the learning team project.

At the end of the course, they will complete a Learning Team Member Evaluation Form. Their evaluations will be considered when I determine your final grade.

Because teamwork projects are outcome-based, all members of your Learning Team will generally earn the same grade. However, your overall participation grade may be lowered if I see a substantial imbalance in the level of effort put forth.

If you hold conference calls, work in a real-time chat room, or in any other way get together outside the OLS environment, please provide a transcript of the meeting. Please do not resort to using any of these other communication tools unless everyone on your team agrees to the method and to the schedule. Should you have any questions about this, don't hesitate to ask me.

I do not monitor the Learning team newsgroups. If a problem arises, I expect that you will work it out with your team members. You may send me an email if you want to vent or to ask for guidance on how to handle a problem, but I do not interfere with the process in these newgroups.

Course Procedures

Posting your Assignments:

Assignments may be posted in several locations. Please use the chart below and the calendar to guide you. Some assignments are for my view only and should be posted only in the Assignments newsgroup. If the instructions ask you to post in the Assignments newsgroup and the Main newsgroup, please do not post to both newsgroups at the same time. Post to the Assignments folder as an attachment, using APA formatting. Post to the Main newsgroup in the body of an OE note. (You may remove the cover sheet and page headings.)

For all assignments, including your introduction, please post in the body of the message rather than as an attachment, unless doing so will change the formatting of the paper. By posting in the body of a note in the Main newsgroup, rather than as an attachment, it will make it easier for discussion and replies. The exception will be your PowerPoint presentations, which must be sent as an attachment.

Post the URL to your personal web site in a message in the main newsgroup.

Sharing and Collaboration:

This type of work in the real world is rarely done by one individual in a vacuum. Most of these types of projects are the results of a creative and administrative team that works together to create a training program or individual training pieces. In the process, you will be required to share your work (your presentations, your web pages, your designs, etc) with your team members for evaluation and suggestions.

As a result, in this course I expect you to share your assignments with everyone else, not just for the purpose of evaluation and suggestions, but to get used to the idea of having your work looked at by others and being open to constructive feedback. A second benefit to sharing your work is that looking at other people’s work is one of the BEST ways to improve your own skills. You will get ideas on what to do and what NOT to do from looking at other websites and training ideas.

Likewise, I am going to expect you to give constructive feedback to your fellow students on their work. A nice way to give feedback that is easier to receive is by using the sandwich methods. Give them a compliment, then a suggestion(s) for improvement, followed up by another compliment or encouraging words.

I realize this is going to very uncomfortable for many of you who have been trained to be good ‘schoolies’, where you do you own work, are responsible for your own results, and it is just between you and the instructor. I’m sorry, but you won’t get the greatest benefit from this course if you never share and discuss.

There will be a few assignments that you or your team will turn into me through the Assignments thread, but for the most part, I will want you to post your assignments in the Main thread. If you have any concerns about this, please do not hesitate to talk to me about it.

Late Assignments:

Assignments are generally due by midnight (Central Standard or Daylight Time) on the due days listed in the syllabus. (I allow a few hours grace period for delays caused by ISP traffic) This will be the case for the Effective Web Site Analysis and PowerPoint assignments and any of the Learning Team assignments. There will be a 10% deduction off the total assignment score for being one day late, and 20% for being two days late. Assignments that are turned in after 42 hours after the due date will not be accepted and will receive a 0% score.

The Personal Web Site assignment is a cumulative assignment, meaning that you must complete each set of tasks in the week assigned or you'll experience difficulty continuing on. But you can get points for each task at anytime you complete it, whether it is far in advance of when it is due, or if you just didn't quite get it to work during a particular week. Please see the projects page for the details on the personal web site.

If you are unable to log-on on a particular day that an individual assignment is due, you are responsible for turning in those assignments early in order to avoid late penalties. In such instances, you are also responsible for making arrangements with your learning team members to accommodate and compensate for your absence.

In cases of emergency, please contact me to make special arrangements for turning in the assignment—in advance of the due date.

Assignments or projects will not be accepted after Monday, the last day of class. There are no provisions for incomplete grades for this class.

Technology Issues

I will not post to the class newsgroups any notes that are sent to my personal email addresses. Similarly, I will not accept or count toward participation any assignments that are faxed to me. These two policies are necessary because any contact outside the Outlook Express system cannot be verified or archived.

Feedback Process

No later than 7 days after the end of each week, I will provide you with feedback on your assignments as well as a weekly summary of your performance. I will post a note in the main classroom, informing you that feedback for the week has been sent, so please watch for this note and, if you do not receive your feedback in your personal inbox, please let me know. Here is a sample of the spreadsheet I use to keep track of grading and feedback - Weekly Feedback Form

Academic Honesty

Academic honesty is highly valued at the University of Phoenix. You must always submit work that represents your original words or ideas. If any words or ideas used in a class posting or assignment submission do not represent your original words or ideas, you must cite all relevant sources and make clear the extent to which such sources were used. Words or ideas that require citation include, but are not limited to, all hard copy or electronic publications, whether copyrighted or not, and all verbal or visual communication when the content of such communication clearly originates from an identifiable source. Please see the University of Phoenix Catalog for more information about academic honesty, including consequences of academic dishonesty.

Privacy and Confidentiality in the Online Classroom

One of the highlights of the University of Phoenix academic experience is that students can draw on the wealth of examples from their organizations in class discussions and in their written work. However, it is imperative that students not share information that is confidential, privileged, or proprietary in nature. Students must be mindful of any contracts they have agreed to with their companies.

Assignments Overview and Schedule

Click here for the schedule and assignments.

Calendar

Assignments and Projects