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Course Outline |
You will also be using your Internet connection to communicate with other class members. A conferencing system is used to facilitate discussion between class members in several of the course units.
The first unit will step you through using the conferencing system and exploring the Web. Don't despair if some of this is new to you. There is online help information if you are having problems. If you get stuck, see the end of this section for help contacts.
A second goal of this course is to improve your problem-solving skills. Using a case study, you will be asked to problem solve issues related to shoreline areas. Through research, discussion and reflection, you will report your conclusions and solutions to the related issues.
The third goal of this course is related to using the World Wide Web as an information resource. The variety and amount of information accessible through this medium is growing daily. This course will help you improve your skills in finding and evaluating information on the Web, particularly as it relates to forests, forestry and forest ecosystems.
The Internet is used extensively in this course. Course information, assignments, communications, and resources are accessed through this Web site. Many of the learning activities include a discussion component. This provides a medium in which your own opinions and those of others can be crystallized and put forth in a public forum. It also provides an opportunity for critical analysis and reflection.
The Forest Ecology Web site is the place where you will perform the majority of your activities. The Web site contains course information such as an itinerary, course work, a conferencing system, launch points to other Web sites on the Internet and online help. You can access these using the buttons on the menu bar on the left of the screen.
The "Resources" button on the menu bar brings you to the resources page. This page includes links to Frequently Asked Questions, the Case Study material, related Web sites and a class directory. Links to resources are imbedded within the course work material, so you can access them when needed.
The case study is the thread which ties the units together. Each unit is designed to lay the groundwork for subsequent ones. Each of the units has one or more activities that you will be evaluated on. These will take the form of discussion entries and written assignments. Marks will be given for content, originality, scientific basis and relevance. Look for the "Marking" section near the beginning of each unit for more information.
Click here to have a look at Course Work for details on due dates and mark allocation.
The units are broken up into one week segments. Some units cover two weeks. Assignments and discussion entries are required to be submitted by midnight of the due date given in the Course Work page.
For discussion entries, 10% will be deducted for each day that they are late. All other assignments will be deducted 2% for each day late.
There are five conferences for this course. The Community conference is an open forum where informal discussion can take place. This can include course related and non-related subjects. The Test and Who's Who conference are setup to get familiar with the conferencing system and the other course members. The Web Sites conference will be a collection of related Web sites from Unit 1. These sites will be used to compile a list of forest ecology and forest management related sites. The Disturbance conference is used to highlight information related to anthropogenic disturbance in forest ecosystems. The VU Help conference has been setup to answer questions related to the conferencing system, Virtual University (VU). If you have a question, look over the existing entries to see someone else has already asked the same question. If not, enter your question and check the next day for a reply.
Information on navigating and using the conferencing system is available in the WEBguide and the online help pages. When you enter into the conferencing system, you will lose the menu bar on the left side of the screen. The conference pages will be displayed in another Netscape window. You can switch between the conferencing window and the course window by using the Netscape Window menu.