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FREQUENTLY ASKED FACULTY QUESTIONS
Do I have to know a lot about computers or know how to
create web pages in order to launch an online course?
What is the administrative procedure to launch an online
and/or videoconference course?
How can I choose the most appropriate course management
option (Blackboard/OHL/own web page) for my online
course?
If I choose to use an existing platform (Blackboard or
OHL) for my online course, how can my students get
access to it?
How can I get my course roster and my students’ contact
information before the semester begins?
When students register for an online course, how do they
learn my contact information?
What should I do if a student appears in my class roster
but doesn’t get in contact with me nor responds to my
e-mails, or if I get contacted by a student that is not on
my roster?
What kind of requirements in terms of hardware and
software should I ask students to fulfill in order to
register for my online course?
Temple University provides students with free access to
the Internet from home, but they complain that the
connection is frequently very slow. Is there anything
that I can suggest?
If a student wants to take my online course, but he
or she is not very familiar with computers and online
research, will the OLL program provide training?
How should I handle cases of non-matriculated or
visiting students who are interested in taking my online
course?
Once I post my course materials online, do I lose
copyrights on them?
After the semester is over, how can I retrieve my course
materials from the course management tool that I have
been using, if different from a web site created by
myself?
How do I restrict students’ access to the platform that
I have been using once the semester is over?
Do I have to know a lot about computers or know how to
create web pages in order to launch an online course?
^top
Not at all. The Online Learning (OLL) Program and
the
Instructional Support Center
(ISC) will be happy to provide you with technical,
administrative, and academic support to make your
online teaching experience as smooth as possible. Of
course, launching an online course requires careful
planning and organization, so you should begin
working with OLL in advance (at least one semester)
of launching an online course. Pre-course
collaboration with OLL and ISC will allow you to
develop appropriate course materials for distance
learning, as well as get some basic training on
course management tools. Ideally, instructors should
envision launching online courses as a two-phase
process: the first phase should incorporate online
course materials as a complement for face-to-face
classes allowing the instructor to tests what works
best; the second phase would consist of adapting and
redesigning syllabi and course materials for a
totally online environment.
What is the administrative procedure to launch an online
and/or videoconference course?
^top
The first step is to get your department’s
permission to offer a course online. Next, you need
to contact OLL so you can make your course a 700
(online) section, add a comment code to be included
in the course schedule, and block telephone
registration.
How can I choose the most appropriate course management
option (Blackboard/OHL/own web page) for my online
course?
^top
Choosing a particular course management tool will
depend mostly on your level of comfort with it and
how well you feel it carries your course material.
The OLL Program staff will be happy to give you a
demonstration of each of the course management tools
adopted by Temple University so you can choose the
one you prefer for your course, or you can browse
the faculty tutorials on the OLL website. Another
option is to use a website that you create yourself
using an application (e.g. Front Page or Dreamweaver)
with which you are already familiar.
If I choose to use an existing platform (Blackboard or
OHL) for my online course, how can my students get
access to it?
^top
Students who need access to Blackboard must have a
Temple e-mail account (AccessNet). They can open an
account online via the
Computer Services website.
As an instructor using Blackboard, you can use the
COURSE TOOLS function, within the FACULTY PORTAL, to
create a new course and add students to the new
course. If you are modifying an existing Blackboard
course, you can go to the control panel and click on
“recycle users” to add new students.
If you want to use Horizon Live/WIMBA Channel,
please contact the Online Learning Program to find
about days/times when this tool is available for
Temple University users, as well as to obtain a
login ID and password for you and your students.
How can I get my course roster and my students’ contact
information before the semester begins?
^top
About two months before each semester begin, the OLL
Program posts class lists for each online course at
the Faculty section of this web site. These class
lists provide instructors not only with their
respective student rosters (which are updated on a
weekly basis, to show new students as they
register), but also their students' e-mail
addresses. You will need a login ID and a password
to access these pages, so please contact us to
obtain them. Also, your department's secretary will
be sending you an official class list at the
beginning of the semester. If you do not receive a
class list by the time classes start, or if you have
a student’s name but not his/her e-mail address,
please call or e-mail us and we will provide you
with the information you need.
When students register for an online course, how do they
learn my contact information?
^top
Before the semester begins, we send a message to all
students registered in online courses encouraging
them to get in contact with their online instructor
via e-mail. We suggest that, by no later than the
first day of classes, you e-mail them a welcome
letter as well, providing your contact information,
details regarding the date they can expect the
course to start, scheduling of face-to-face
meetings, if any, and any other information you feel
they will need to complete the course successfully.
What should I do if a student appears in my class roster
but doesn’t get in contact with me nor responds to my
e-mails, or if I get contacted by student that is not on
my roster?
^top
Try to get an updated class list from your
department to determine if there are any students
who have dropped or added your course, or contact
OLL to get information on students that may have
registered without filling out the appropriate
online registration form. In some cases, students
register through their advisors, or manage to bypass
the restrictions on registering for online courses
via the Diamond Line. Consequently, OLL class lists
may not reflect these students’ contact information.
In situations like these, we try to contact the
student by telephone, in order to obtain his/her
e-mail address and establish a communication bridge
between him/her and the instructor. However, it is
ultimately the student's responsibility to get in
contact with his/her online course's instructor by
no later than the first week of classes.
What kind of requirements in terms of hardware and
software should I ask students to fulfill in order to
register for my online course?
^top
While most of the course management platforms work
fine with standard personal computers, you should
contact the
Instructional Support Center
for help in determining what hardware is necessary
to run the applications you will be using for your
specific course.
Temple University provides students with free access to
the Internet from home, but they complain that the
connection is frequently very slow. Is there anything
that I can suggest?
^top
Dial-up PPP access is provided free-of-charge, but
it can sometimes be slow, especially when uploading
or downloading files. Temple students can get
broadband service from
DCANet, which
provides access via a direct, high-speed T1 line.
Discounted rates are available to Temple students,
and they can access information about DCANet and
other services via the
Computer Services website.
Students can also pay for a dedicated, high-speed
connection such as DSL or cable. The student would
have to contact the individual providers that offer
these services.
If some student wants to take my online course, but he
or she is not very familiar with computers and online
research, will the OLL program provide training?
^top
Temple’s Computer Services offers free training for
students in these areas, but under no
circumstance students should enroll for an online
course if they do not have at least a basic level of
computer literacy. This means that they must
have experience using a word processing application,
navigating and researching on the Web, accessing Web
browser functions, and sending e-mail with
attachments.
How should I handle cases of non-matriculated or
visiting students who are interested in taking my online
course?
^top
All non-matriculated students must register using a
form provided by the
Office of Continuing Education
(215-204-2500).
Once I post my course materials online, do I loose
copyrights on them?
^top
Temple University
is in the process of creating an intellectual
property policy that addresses this question.
After the semester is over, how can I retrieve my course
materials from the course management tool that I have
been using, if different from a web site created by
myself?
^top
Your course materials will remain on the server
after the semester ends unless you delete the
material yourself. Your students’ coursework will
also remain on the server; however, you can delete
them as users of your course, and add new users if
you are teaching the same course in a subsequent
semester and are simply editing existing course
materials.
How do I restrict students’ access to the platform that
I have been using once the semester is over?
^top
If you are using Blackboard, just go to the control
panel and click on “recycle users” to delete users.
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