INFORMATION FOR SOWK: COMMENTARY FOUNDATIONS

INFORMATION FOR SOWK 201 J TERM 2019 ON-LINE CLASS (REV. 1/19)

Dr. J. Sokolec [email protected]

INTRODUCTION TO COURSE

In case you did not realize it, you have registered for an “on-line” J Term course.

TEXT

Karger & Stoecz. American Social Welfare Policy Edition: 8th.

You will need to have the book by the first day of class or you will quickly fall behind.

Go to http://www.mypearsonstore.com/bookstore/american-social-welfare-policy-a-pluralist-approach-9780134303192?xid=PSED to purchase your text. Pearson offers a variety of choice from Etexts to hard copies. You DO NOT NEED the enhanced edition with the Access Card.

Or feel free to find it on another website. The 8th edition is new and the 7th edition is not available.

CLASS SESSIONS

J-Term 2019 begins on WED. JANUARY 2 – SAT. JANUARY 12. NO CLASS ON SUNDAY JAN. 7TH.

· WEEK 1 classes: Tuesday through SATURDAY

· WEEK 2 classes: Monday through Friday

ON-LINE SESSIONS - SEE SCHEDULE (Subj to change)

We will use the ZOOM platform to “talk.” If you are on a LUC computer, it is built-in. If you are at a personal computer, you will have to download the program. If you be on-line from some exciting place – like a beach in Hawaii – check to make sure there is WiFi available.  

The first on-line meeting will be on FRIDAY January 4TH at 10-12 CST.

SAKAI The site will officially open for viewing on Fri Dec. 14th

Since this is an on-line course, everything we do – including on-line sessions – will be through the Sakai system and Adobe Connect. If you have not extensively used Sakai before, it will be extremely helpful for you to access some of the student tutorials so you are familiar with how it operates (if you used Blackboard in the past, Sakai is very similar). The student tutorials can be found at: http://www.luc.edu/itrs/teachingwithtechnology/sakai/sakai-student-tutorials.shtml.

In addition, please be aware that I will not be able to handle any “technical issues” with Sakai during the course BUT Sakai helpline will be available at: [email protected] .

ASSIGNMENTS

Papers will be uploaded into Sakai – i.e., you will create a document and then submit it. In order to upload assignments, please save them in WORD.doc or docx.

FLOW OF COURSE AND FINDING ASSIGNMENTS

The Sakai site is organized into Units which you will find on the left hand of the website.

· UNITS: The Units have all the materials for the topics of the course. Note that given the short length of this course that each day is likely to have more than one topic, thus you will need to access more than one Unit for that day. If you cannot download a link from within the Schedule, you will have to into the Unit itself.

· Syllabus Unit: You will find a copy of the course Syllabus as well as a Summary Schedule. As you review the Summary Schedule, do not hesitate to point out to me things that do not make sense or wrong dates, etc. I like the help!

· Announcements: will be posted on the front page of our Sakai site once the site opens.

· Email

· Panopko: Lecture with Audio

· Units with materials

Success in this course:

While taking an on-line course may seem like a “snap” way of going to class, on-line courses require greater commitment and responsibility by students. However, on-line learning is no longer something for the future –it is here now.

Teaching : The role of the “teacher” in an on-line course will seem very different to students. Like with all types of courses I will organize the course into meaningful content and will guide learning through my posted lectures and comments within discussions.

· I am available by Email to answer questions just like a student might approach a teacher before or after class ( [email protected] ).

· I am happy to meet with student(s) who want to make an appointment with me.

Learning : Ideally in all types of classes students will see themselves in charge of what and how much they learn (even in face-to-face classes students don’t always read the text or are surfing the net on their computers instead of taking notes!). This is even truer in on-line classes.

1. Each student determines her/his own learning outcomes by meeting the course requirements and expectations.

2. Each student decides the overall quality of her/his work throughout the course.

3. Each student determines through their work the final letter grade she/he achieves in this course. The instructor will assign the grade that has been achieved.

Guidelines for Class/On-Line Discussion:

1. No question or comment should be regarded as "naive" or "stupid".

2. It is appropriate to ask for clarification of any of the reading materials or comments made in class.

3. All participants should treat each other with respect. This means giving thought and importance to each others’ comments, as well as using language that is respectful.

4. All participants should recognize that each person brings to the discussion a unique history and perspective and that because of this we have much to learn from each other.

In order to be successful in this course you need to think of this course as a “job” for these two weeks. Every day will have a reading assignment as well as activities that you will complete on your own (i.e., watch a video). Most days there will be assignments due by 9:00 pm. I understand that emergencies happen such as illness. If this should occur, you need to notify me PRIOR to the morning chat if you are going to miss it or PRIOR to when assignments are due in order to be excused.

· An unexcused absence from a chat will result in a deduction of 1 point.

· Late papers will lose 1 point for each day they are late.

CONTACTING INSTRUCTOR

While we will be meeting on-line most every morning, questions may come up during the day while you are doing assignments. Feel free to Email me. I will check Email every couple of hours so should get back to you fairly quickly.

1