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Course-Specific Online Orientations
Providing an orientation - either online or on-campus is important to student success. Distance Learning courses are offered in many different formats. There is a need to ensure consistency of information to all students, while customizing the online orientations for Distance Learning courses is essential. To this end, we developed a system to mix and match orientation content for specific media and delivery formats. We are using a learning object repository and list model, which facilitates dynamic presentation of orientation content.
Online Orientation:
Making the DeAnza College Introduction to Distance Learning Course-specific
DeAnza Distance Learning Course Formats
- Televised courses
- Live Televised courses
- De Anza produced Telecourses
- Commercially produced Telecourses
- Video
- Online / Web
- Listserv
- WebCT
Problem
- 100+ classes
- First contact with students - many Distance Learning students do not take other classes at De Anza, most students have never taken a Distance Learning class previously
- Instructor course-specific information
- Classes with multiple media - for example, some Distance Learning classes use television and web-delivered course materials
- Orientation information by media type - for example, using a listserv requires special media specific instructions
- Set expectations for distance learning success - students who understand the need for self-discipline and regular study sessions tend to be successful in Distance Learning courses
- Student information gathering - confirmation of student contact immediately prior to class
- Completion verification - ensure that student reviewed orientation materials, and is prepared to participate fully when the class starts
- Usage tracking - for many classes, online orientation is an alternate to attending an on-campus orientation. For some courses, completion of the online orientation is manditory as a prerequisite to remain in the class after the registration period is over.
Processing Quarter Updates
WAS...
- Quarterly review and update cycle
- Instructor meets with DL
- Review and note revisions required
- DL makes changes
- Instructor reviews and approves
- Scheduling delays
- Incremental updates through complete cycle
NOW...
- Ad hoc instructor-controlled updates any time
- Graphical user interface (GUI) directly updates database
- DL updates common information for all instructors from one central database location
- Improved timeliness, completeness, accuracy
Solution
- Custom orientation engine
- Database driven
- Content repository model
- Instructor-provided information
- Media-specific components
- Dynamic page generation, navigation
Content repository
Records
Records or content pages are almost complete web pages including HTML tags for formatting and page layout, but no HEAD or BODY tags. Each page is stored in the Filemaker database. Each page record has a unique ID number that is used to locate the page. The record fields include long and short titles, keywords, creation and modification dates.
- Page content
- HTML tags
- Headings
- Keywords
- Author
- Update history
Lists
The lists are used to connect individual content pages. Pages are listed by page Id and ordered by sequence number.
The orientation engine provides the framework and presents the content pages in the sequence defined by the lists.
Database
For each class, information is stored that determines which online orientation list/content to use, based on the following criteria.
- Course information
- Instructor preferences
- Course media
- Orientation requirements
For example, the class included live television and use of a listserv, the display program selects the appropriate orientation and displays it to students requesting online orientation for this class.
Orientation Display
- Welcome
- Navigation
- Next / previous
- Content pages
Tracking Students and Usage
The orientation engine collects administrative information that is used to track student completion, and assess student behavior.
- Course orientation
- Student information
- Orientation page views by student
Additional Features
- Post-test - student must demonstrate 80%+ to record completion
- List-driven content presentation
MAINTAINING ONLINE ORIENTATIONS
View a Listing of Repository Pages
To display a list of all pages in the repository
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Navigate to
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select sort order - Catagory or Alphabetical
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Pages titles are listed by selected sort order. All pages can be viewed or edited by clicking on the appropriate link next to the page title.
View Existing Pages in the Repository
Any pages can be viewed or edited by clicking on the appropriate link next to the page title in the repository pages list.
Add a New Page to the Repository
To add a page to the repository, select "add". In the edit form provided, enter all the information for the new page.
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Title - appears at the top of the page when it is displayed in the orientation
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Short title - appears in the left navigation list on the orientation pages. Also appears as the page title on the catagory and alphabetical lists.
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Content - body of the orientation page. Everything that would be inside the BODY tags on a regular HTML ppage. All HTML tags can be included. All formating requires HTML tags.
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Keywords - may be used to locate repository pages
Edit a Page in the Repository
View a List of Orientations
Preview a Student View of an Orientation
View Orientation Construction List Report
Update an Orientation
Build a New Orientation
Display the One-Page Orientation Report
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