Welcome to Human Behavior and the Social Environment Deborah Smith, PhD

A Balancing Act… I know you have a lot of responsibilities to juggle. Balancing a job, education, and family can sometimes feel overwhelming.

Help is on the Way… Whether you are new to the online learning environment, or a seasoned veteran, I am sure you will find some helpful information in this presentation that will assist you in making this semester a successful one.

The First Question Most Students Ask is, “How Can I Pass This Class?” This is nothing to lose sleep over. Following are some simple hints you can follow to increase your chances for success.

First Things First… You must have a clear understanding of what online learning involves.

Online Learning Is… An opportunity to obtain a degree on a flexible schedule. A setting where you can meet and work with students from all over the world. As challenging as a traditional college course.

Online Learning Is Not… A way to easily earn a degree…quite the contrary. It takes motivation and self-discipline. Self-learning. I am available to you through , AIM, and will provide feedback through the Discussion Board and projects.

Helpful Hints On the following slides, you will learn some helpful hints to make it easier to move through your first course in in human services.

Hint 1: Print Out the Syllabus When a project is due? What is my instructor’s address? All this information (and a lot more!) is contained in the course syllabus.

Hint 1: Print Out the Syllabus It is a long document, but please print it out and highlight essentials like the point values of major assignments and how papers will be graded.

Hint 2: Familiarize Yourself With the Course Layout Understanding the course layout will make your term run much more smoothly. Even if you are already familiar with the eCollege format, it doesn’t hurt to review!

Hint 2: Familiarize Yourself With the Course Layout Under the Course Home section, you will find important announcements and general course information. There’s even a course checklist. Make sure you read each section.

Hint 2: Familiarize Yourself With the Course Layout Our course consists of weekly readings and activities that can be easily located on the left hand of the screen. Each topic is a link to that specific reading or assignment. Make sure you read each area within the Unit.

Hint 2: Familiarize Yourself With the Course Layout Along the top of the window, you will find some very useful tools. Your screen will be a bit different (you will not have administrative links) but you will have Gradebook, , Doc Sharing, Dropbox, and Webliography.

Hint 2: Familiarize Yourself With the Course Layout You can keep track of your course progress by clicking on the Gradebook link. Grades will be updated on a weekly basis to reflect your grade to date.

Hint 2: Familiarize Yourself With the Course Layout You can your instructor and classmates through the link. You can choose to send an to everyone or individuals.

Hint 2: Familiarize Yourself With the Course Layout This is a really cool function! I will place important supplemental information that you can retrieve through the Doc Sharing link. This saves on filling boxes with large files.

Hint 2: Familiarize Yourself With the Course Layout The Dropbox will be used for project submissions. You can put your projects in the inbox and retrieve them in the same area.

Hint 2: Familiarize Yourself With the Course Layout The Webliography link may contain links to resources outside of the classroom environment. I will advise you of any links posted in this area. We have to be very careful to avoid any copyright infringement by using web information without permission of the author.

Hint 3: Make Sure You Understand the Weight of the Discussion Board Grade… Note that your Discussion Board grade is worth of the entire course grade. 36%

What this means… This means that if you fail the Discussion Board portion of the course, but get 100% on EVERY other assignment, you would still only earn a maximum of for the course. 64%

The Bottom Line… The bottom line is…you must make the Discussion Board activities a high priority.

READ, READ, READ In order to do well on the Discussion Board activities, you must read the assigned information in the classroom FIRST.

Read the Post: “What is a High Quality DB Post?” 100 words Refers to the assigned reading Uses good grammar and punctuation

Hint 4: Read Your Instructor’s s Sometimes they can get a bit long, but it’s all stuff you need to know! So, please be sure to read all of your s, top to bottom, so you don’t miss out on important points, key areas to concentrate on for the week and additional instructions.

Hint 5: Read the Project Grading Tables (Rubrics) Read the rubric for each project BEFORE you begin the project. You will then have a clear understanding of what should be included in your project.

Hint 6: Utilize the writing center You are expected to write in APA format. If you don’t know what that means, you need to go to the writing center for help understanding this style. Paper format is a portion of your grade.

Hint 7: Communicate with me! Some students feel uncomfortable contacting me if they are falling behind. I cannot help you if I don’t know you need help. I certainly understand that things happen. Please contact me so we can discuss the options.

Hint 8: Organize Your Time With a little organization, you will do just fine.

Set Aside a Certain Time… Plan to check the Discussion Board at the same time each day – during morning coffee, while the kids are napping, or each evening before going to bed. Make sure you post your main response first though before reading others

Discussion Board Netiquette… Let’s keep the Discussion Board neat and easy to read. PLEASE DO NOT SCREAM BY USING ALL CAPS.

Hint 9: Attend Seminars Seminar provides a valuable opportunity to take advantage of my experiences. Questions are answered and you have the opportunity to have course material immediately clarified.

Hint 9: Attend Seminars I spend a lot of time preparing for seminar. Please refrain from conducting side-conversations during seminar because it prevents others from learning the material.

Hint 9: Attend Seminars You are encouraged to schedule and participate in informal chats on AIM. You can invite everyone on your AIM list to participate. If you would like me to join in, let me know in advance to make sure I am available!

Hint 10: Visit Your Instructor! Please, let me know if you need to talk. Office hrs are by appointment, so let me know if you want to chat. You are not a bother when you ask for assistance. That’s what I am here for!

Let’s talk human service The book states, “human behavior cannot be understood by isolating the internal variables of people from the external variables in their environments (p. 7).” Each one of these environments forms a system. For me – I have a work environment, a family environment and a church environment to name the three main ones in my life.

Now…..what about you? When I state your name, please list 3 systems in your life that you believe shape your behavior. Please wait until I call on you to post.

We are finished for tonight… It’s going to be an awesome term! Read chapter 1, review the syllabus, get your DB posts done Have fun…you are only 10 short weeks away from success.