Introduction to Light
and Lasers:
An Online Continuing
Education Course
Manage your time...
When you take a classroom course, you have to report
to a certain room at a given time and from then on, the instructor is in
charge! You listen to lectures, do lab experiments, and are assigned homework
or reports due on a certain day at a certain time.
Online courses have some similarities to classroom
courses- there are due dates, for example. The main difference is that
you have to decide when it's time to check the course site, when you'll do the
reading and homework, and when you'll enter into the discussions.
¥ On the first
day of a new unit, log into the course site to see the unit's assignments. This
will help you plan to complete them in the allotted time.
¥ Log into the
course site at least three times a week and post to the discussion board
regularly. (Specific guidelines will be given for each unit.)
¥ Read the
assignment as early in the unit as possible.
¥ Do the self test to check understanding of key points. Reread the
sections that are confusing.
¥ Go to office
hours, or post a message on the discussion board if you have problems with an
assignment. The discussions are our primary mode of communication.
¥ Don't leave the
hands-on activity until the last minute! The results will be discussed online,
and you need to complete it in order to join in the discussion.
¥ When you feel
you are ready, take the unit quiz. You may take it a second time, if you wish.
¥ If you have an
unexpected problem (travel, kids' school vacations, illness) that prevents you
from completing work in a timely manner, be sure to let the class know.
We're all counting on you!
MY SAMPLE SCHEDULE FOR A 1.5 WEEK UNIT
If you took this course on campus, you'd spend 5 hours per week in the
classroom and another 2-3 hours doing homework and lab reports. You should
expect to spend the same amount of time in an online course.
Monday night: Look at the calendar for the unit to see what is required. Flip through
the reading assignment and look at the hands-on experiment write-up.
Check my email to see if there are any additional instructions.
Tuesday night: Read over the assignment and look at suggested web sites. Take a few
notes on the example problems in the book.
Wednesday night: Try the homework problems. Couldn't get one! Check the solutions file and
post a question on the discussion board if I still don't understand.
Thursday night: Bowling night, no school work (but an email check
to make sure I haven't missed anything).
Friday afternoon: Do the hands-on experiment and look at the discussions already posted by
my classmates. Add my two cents worth. Ask a question about a classmate's
results.
Friday night- Out on the town
Saturday afternoon- Work in the garden.
Saturday night- Check my email and the course discussion board to see what's new. Review
the material for the unit and try the self test. Need
to review one or two concepts before taking the quiz!
Sunday night- Watch a ball game on TV. Afterward,
take a final look at everyone's hands-on results and other comments in the
discussion.
Monday night- Take the quiz. Got an 85, not bad!
Study the questions I got wrong.
Tuesday night- Retake the quiz. Got 100 this time!
Wednesday night- Check out the instructor's comments on wrapping up this unit and get
ready to start the next unit tomorrow.