Updating My Syllabus

I realized I was working from the wrong version of my syllabus. Finding the rignt version reminded me of some good statements I've added in recent years. I thought I would share them with you.

Confidentiality - this was created after a presentation I gave on Web 2.0 technologies and student privacy. 
Confidentiality. Your student records are protected by the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). This includes the privacy of your interactions in this class. It is important that everyone respect the privacy of our classroom. Do not share out the work, discussion posts or other communications of your classmates without their express permission. For more information on your rights and obligations in this regard, visit http://www.highline.edu/home/catalog/07-09/appendices/college_policies.html#rights.

Submitting Your Work: Please note that all assignments must be posted in Canvas. Assignments will not be accepted via email or by any other means for credit. If you are having technical trouble, you may submit via email as evidence that you did the work on time. However, work submitted via email will not be graded. The work submitted via email must be submitted in Canvas within 2 days of the due date or regular late penalties will apply. A Help Desk Ticket must accompany late submitted work to be eligible for the two day extension.

Mobile Statement

I'm back from the Canvas InstructureCon and raring to go. Good thing too, because it's crunch time - class starts in 10 days and I am really not ready.

I attended a great session on thinking about mobile access for classes. Canvas has a great mobile app for the iOS.  The presenter clarified that when he said "mobile" he really meant iOS, specifically iPads.  He said he really didn't think people wanted to or actually did engage in course work on their mobile phones, the screen was too small. I totally disagree - especially since you can record submissions, freeing one up for typing.  Anyway, he was restricting his thinking to tablet computing.

Then he said that android tablets were not really relevant in this discussion. He asked how many people in the room had an android tablet with them in the room. No one raised their hands. I have a Kindle Fire, but I'd left it at home.  He then asked how many people had iPads with them in the room. Dozens of people raised their hands, including me. Point made.

He recommended that, if you were making your course mobile friendly, you should put a mobile statement in your syllabus so students know what specifically they can do on what devices.  I have crafted one that I still need to test out, but its a start:

Mobile Access - This class is mobile friendly. Using the browser on your mobile device, you should be able to do the following activities:

• Access course readings
• participate in discussion
• take quizzes

You can also download the Canvas App on your Apple iOS device (iPad, iPhone, Touch) and have access to even more features.

Two things missing from this list are viewing course videos and submitting assignments. Both require some work arounds or the Canvas App. On the Canvas App page, a note at the bottom states that the App functionality is only available to Canvas customers, so I don't think you can use it with the free for teachers access. But I'll test it out and see.
 
Resources:
Canvas Mobile - includes a little video on what you can do with the Canvas mobile app.
My Global Studies Syllabus

New Class Syllabus

Today I'm working on my syllabus. Now, this is something you should really never start from scratch. Most colleges have a model syllabus and there may even be one on your specific class on file somewhere. That is a good place to start. Also, if you college has model syllabus language for common things like the accessibility statement, instructions for using things like the library and tutoring center, work with that as well. There is no point reinventing the wheel. 


The possible downside is that most of these statements were designed for face to face instruction. Some modification may be necessary for your online or hybrid class, so be sure to read your entire syllabus carefully and edit where needed. Students really pick up on language that does not apply to their online class.


I have a checklist that I share with my faculty called Syllabus Checklist for Teaching with Technology. It is designed to call out those areas that people might not think about when teaching a face to face class with some technology components or when using a face to face syllabus as a template for an online class.


Also, I'm just thinking it would be helpful to think about what Quality Matters items I would expect to see in a syllabus. Here is my basic list (I put in bold the things I still need to work on in my syllabus):

• 1.2 Students are introduced to the purpose and structure of the course
• 1.3 Etiquette Expectations for online discussions, email, and other forms of communication are stated clearly
• 1.4 Course and /or institutional policies with which the student is expected to comply are clearly stated or a link to current policies is provided (I have some of these, but I want to be sure I have them all)
• 1.5 Prerequisite knowledge in the discipline and/or any required competencies are clearly stated
• 1.6 Minimum technical skills expected of the student are clearly stated.
• 2.1 The course learning objectives describe outcomes that are measurable.
• 2.3 All learning objectives are stated clearly and are written from the student perspective ( I have to find out from my college whether I am allowed to change the learning objectives, which don't meet this currently. QM takes that into consideration when courses are reviewed.)
• 2.4 Instructions on how to meet the learning objectives are adequate and stated clearly (in progress - I can't really do this until I am done writing all of the activities)
• 2.5 The learning objectives are appropriately designed for the level of the course.
• 3.1 The course grading policy is stated clearly
• 5.3 The instructors plan for classroom response time and feedback on assignments is clearly stated.
• 5.4 The requirements for student interaction are clearly articulated.
• 7.1 The course instructions articulate or link to a clear description of the technical support offered and how to access it.
• 7.2 Course instructions articulate or link to the institution's accessibility policies and services.

Now, other people might craft this list differently. When I do a Quality Matters course review, I look first in the syllabus for these things. Other stuff might also be in the syllabus, but these are the things that I think really need to be there.  I've never listed the QM standards in this way, as a sort of syllabus checklist, but I think could this is a useful way to think about the syllabus in the context of QM adequacy. 

What do you all think?  For those of you familiar with QM, are there things you would add or take away? Why?

Resources:
American Government Syllabus


See the Quality Matters Rubric in the Resources link on the right.