Dear Students:

You are registered for Art 4208A/5208A for the 2009 summer sessions running June 8th until July 28th. This class is entirely online, through CourseDen. We do not meet face-to-face at all. If you have not taken the distance quiz, as specified in the course listing on BanWeb, please do so now, as it may well inform you as to whether you want to be in this class or not.

To get started with the course, log in to CourseDen, at https://westga.view.usg.edu or you can access it through the links to distance learning/My CourseDen from the UWG homepage:

IF YOU ARE UNABLE TO LOG IN, IT MAY BE BECAUSE YOU REGISTERED RECENTLY AND HAVE NOT YET BEEN ADDED IN TO THE SYSTEM. IF YOU ARE NOT ADDED SOON, CALL THE HELPDESK (678-839-5248) (WAIT A COUPLE OF DAYS).
  • Your user ID is your my UWG e-mail username.
  • Your password is the last two digits of your birth year followed by the last four digits of your social security number.
  • Perform the browser check from the link on the MyCourseDen log-in (to the right) or the first page (upper right), to see if you computer is set up correctly for the class
  • Upon entering the site, if you are enrolled in the class, you will find the course listed among any other online courses you are taking. (If you registered late, it may take a couple of days to get you into the CourseDen system)
  • Click on our course, and you will be taken to the class home page. You will see icons there for various modules and assignments, for the syllabus, the course calendar, etc.
  • Begin by opening the syllabus and the calendar, and read them carefully. (Sometimes your computer will not want to open the link. Look for the pinkish yellow bar at top of the page that says you must click for options – choose download file, from the dialogue box, choose to open or save the file. Sometimes, you will be taken back out to the front page. If so, go back into the course listing, click on syllabus or calendar icon again and it should open this time.) They are your guides to what to expect and the obligations you have for the class.
  • Download the calendar, print it out (from CourseDen, not my website) and post it on your wall or put it where you can keep an eye on it. Look at it every day.
  • There is also a pull-down menu under the content inventory tab, to help you navigate.
    •

    Before you will be allowed to take any tests or submit any assignments, you will need to pass the syllabus quiz, with a score of at least 95%. You may take the quiz repeatedly until you achieve that score. It will earn you 1 point extra credit. It is under ASSESSMENTS, as are quizzes.

    There is also a CourseDen skills quiz (does not count) to help you see how the online system works.

  • CHECK YOUR CourseDen E-MAIL EVERY DAY – MORE IF YOU HAVE SENT ME A QUESTION.
    •
  • Go to the Self-Intro Discussion and follow the directions to share some things about yourself and to get acquainted with your fellow students.
    •

    NB: Occasionally, I will need to change a deadline, so stay a little bit flexible. This is not usually the case, but if, for instance, the network goes down during an assignment window, or same other calamity occurs, I will readjust your assignment deadline.

    NARRATED POWERPOINT VIDEOS: Explore the video PPTs found inside each of the modules. Click on homepage icon, then on individual lecture segments listed in the left-hand column inside the module. These are videotaped lectures – PowerPoint presentations narrated by me and are a primary source of information about our course material. Probably you will want to read the associated pages in textbook first, then listen to/look at the PPT videos. (the PowerPoint files without narration can be found in the accordion file on the Home Page, chapter by chapter. Download them to your computer, then you can print them in various formats and use them to take notes as you listen to videos). The videos are relatively short – mostly 5-15 minutes. They are sometimes a bit slow-loading, so plan to take the time to get them going. Things to note about the videos:

  • They have captions in gray boxes at the bottom that can be retracted for purposes of examining the pictures more closely. Click on the X at the upper right corner of the caption pane; to restore the caption pane, click on CC. You can use this to get a better view – to really look at the work itself, as well as to test yourself to see if you remember the caption information.
  • The captions will identify the works, referring to the images in your text by the illustration numbers (ex. 11.23: chapter 11, ill. # 23) Many of the images in the video files are not included in the text, they are presented to supplement those. They may appear in quizzes or exams.
  • If you move the bottom or side or the corner of the window to re-size the windows, be careful to note that you may be changing the proportions and distorting the dimensions of the works of art so that you are really no longer looking at them correctly, as they were designed.
  • You can pause the videos, replay them, control the sound with the slider at the bottom, turn off the sound, at will.
  • Approach the video lectures with a view to gaining information about the works and issues, rather than expecting to be entertained. They are not produced like TV presentations, rather with a view to imparting ideas and knowledge.
  • Viewing/listening to the videos is your means of gaining information for the quizzes and exams, so you should plan to take notes as you would in class.
    •

    MORE ↓
    • If you have technical difficulties/problems with access to the CourseDen site, call the helpdesk (678-839-6248). Often, some aspects of your computer set-up need to be tweaked, and the people there are very helpful in leading you through any steps necessary for your system to work well for the course.
    • If you have questions about the course content, you should e-mail me with those.
    • If you need help with your writing, go to the Writing Center on the ground floor in the Technology Learning Center, 678-839-6513.

    The tests and assignments for the course are found on the homepage, as well. They will appear at the appropriate time for the scheduled assignments. Some are linked directly by icons there, others are found through the tabs in the gray bar at the top of the homepage either directly, or under "More Tools." Some of them are also to be found on my website http://www.westga.edu/~rtekippe/4208/index.htm , but they may not appear until it is close to the time for the exam or assignment. Explore the homepage and its icons and other links to various features of the class, such as learning modules, syllabus, calendar, conversion directions, assessments, assignments, gradebook, mail, discussions, etc. Generally, I will remind you of windows and deadlines for the assignments, but you should get in charge of your own schedule to ensure that you meet the deadlines and are not surprised by date problems.

    DROPBOX: Assignments, including exams, will be submitted through the assignment dropbox. For any particular assignment, you should look for it under ASSIGNMENTS.  Follow the directions for preparation in MSWord and submission of the document as an attachment.   If you have difficulties with the process, call CourseDen for help. (678-839-6248)

    ATTACHMENTS: All assignments are to be prepared in MSWord and submitted as attachments through the dropbox. Please make sure that they are in a version readable by me. The UWG faculty do not yet have MSVista or MSWord version 2007. If that is the system you are using, you must convert into a readable version for me, using the directions on the homepage. Hint: If your document has a .docx extension, it will need to be converted. (example: smithjexam1.docx, follow directions to convert to smithjexam1.doc).

    IMAGES: If you include images in your documents or discussion posts, they should be very small – less than 50K – so the system can handle them. As an alternative, when it is not required for you to submit an image (as it is in a term paper assignment) you can find the image on the web and provide a link to the site where it may be viewed (cut-and-paste it from the address bar at the top of the page).

    DISCUSSIONS: The first discussion is for getting to know one another, so follow the directions there to start the dialogue. This one is not graded and does not get locked down. All the others will have a specific topic or reading to address, will be open for a limited amount of time, and will earn points, based on how well you respond to the discussion topic, how solid and well-founded your talking points are, and how well you respond to the points of your fellow students, as well as your care in writing. The CourseDen system keeps track of how many of the posts you read, how many ideas you post, and how many responses you post. These numbers, along with the quality of your ideas and the quality of your writing are the bases for your points earned.

    E-MAIL: The class e-mail system, within the CourseDen site, is of prime importance. In addition to checking it each day to stay up-to-date, it will be used to communicate any information about upcoming assignments, any changes to the schedule, further clarification when there are general questions, or any other information that I need to pass along. You may also use it to contact other members of the class privately. Click on "Create Message" and the mail message pane will open, At the top, under the "To" line, is a button to "Browse for Recipients" that has a list of all the class members. You may select one or any number of those to send an e-mail. If you want more control over fonts, text, links, etc., click the HTML button above the reading pane (it is sometimes rather slow and sticky). You may add attachments without using HTML.

    Another feature I like for the e-mail is the "forward." It is accessed by the little yellow envelope, with an arrow, to the right of the center at top of the basic mail page. You may use it to have the class e-mail you receive automatically sent to whatever other system you might be likely to check more often, so you will know that you can read it and know when you need to attend to something within the CourseDen system. However, to respond to any such e-mail, you must open the CourseDen system. It will come to your other e-mail as a "do not reply" message, and you cannot respond from there.

    ENGAGEMENT: This course, despite its flexibility, requires a pretty deep engagement and a good amount of time. Art History courses are fairly demanding, calling upon a variety of skills and a view to synthesis of their many aspects. The standard formula for college-level work should work here: for every hour of credit per semester, you should plan to spend two hours of study; because this is designed for a 16-week semester but taught in a much shorter period in the summer term, you need to reformulate: 16 weeks would amount to 9 hours per week (3 in class, plus 6 more outside of class) 16 X 9 = 144 hours ÷ 7.5 weeks = 19.2 hours per week. This is the equivalent of a half-time job. Do plan to put in the time for success in the class, so you will get the most out of it. Fortunately, it is really interesting material, and can be richly rewarding in return for your efforts.

    If you have any other questions, please send me an e-mail and ask. Good luck with the class and I hope you enjoy it.

    Best, Dr. Tekippe

    Dr. Rita Tekippe
    Art History/Department of Art
    324 Humanities
    University of West Georgia
    Carrollton GA 30118
    678-839-4953
    http://www.westga.edu/~rtekippe/