This document contains the basic information you need to understand how this on-line course will operate and what your responsibilities are. Please take the time to read this carefully and contact us if you have any questions or are unclear about anything presented in this document. Post any questions in the DISCUSSIONS for the first module so that others who might have the same or similar concerns or questions can see your question and my response.
As stated earlier, this course officially begins on August 25 but you may be accessing it as much as a week earlier. If you are accessing the course earlier than August 25, you can begin Module 1 which is an Ice Breaker Activity as soon as you wish. We urge you take advantage of the extra time if at all possible. The amount of material we need to cover is considerable and we will be moving at a quick pace.
Based upon experience teaching this course previously, discussions with others who have taught on-line courses, and some reading, it is apparent that this on-line experience can be very rewarding. Many believe that it is a superior learning experience for many students. But, it is not for everyone. Students with good time management skills and a strong level of self-discipline will do well in an on-line course. Students who tend to put things off or cannot commit to logging into the course on a regular basis generally will have a tougher time. Many believe that a successful student can expect to spend up to twice as much time working on an on-line course as they would in a traditional class.
As you read through the documents found in this Course Information section of the Course Map you will find all of the same information that would be presented to you on the first day of classes if we were meeting in the typical classroom setting. These documents contain information on the course requirements and our expectations. If you do not fully understand anything presented, it is your responsibility ("...raise your hand...") to ask questions so that you are fully aware of how this course will operate. Communication between instructors and students and among students is even more important in an on-line course than in the traditional classroom setting.
The MAIL TOOL serves as the on-line office hours for the course. Mail can be designated as to the INSTRUCTOR. If you have comments or questions that are more specific to you as an individual rather than to the entire class/course, use MAIL and designate ALL INSTRUCTORS as the recipient. If you have general questions about the course, topics covered, assignments, readings, or anything else of a general nature, then you should use the DISCUSSION area in the module you are working on. This is the equivalent of raising your hand and asking a question in a classroom. This way, other students who share your concerns or have similar questions can benefit from the questions, answers, and any subsequent discussion that may occur.
Each module covers a specific topic that, for the most part, corresponds to a particular chapter or chapters of the primary text book (Rosner). There are a few exceptions. Module 1 is an Ice Breaker Activity that will not be graded. It will allow us time to get to know each other a little bit, introduce you to the on-line technology in general and how the course will run and get us thinking about health statistics in a general way. Modules 2 through 7 correspond to Chapters 2 through 9 and a small part of Chapter 11 of Rosner. Module 8 will cover the topics of Vital Statistics and Demography which are not covered in Rosner. There will be Instructor Supplied Handouts available for this module. There is a supplemental text that is very useful and (I suggest you purchase it): The Cartoon Guide to Statistics (Gornick and Smith). It presents the information in a light and fun context that is easy to understand. While it is not presented in the context of health, it can make the material more easily understood. There are links to sites on the web for purchasing both books in the Textbook(s) and Software document. That document also discusses the web-based software package used in the course, StatCrunch.