e‐Learning Handbook
for
Simcoe County District
School Board
e‐Learning Taking courses by e‐Learning is becoming a mainstream practice in business and education. e‐Learning offers access to selected credit courses anywhere, anytime via the internet. School boards deliver provincially developed e‐Learning credit courses through the provincial Learning Management System (LMS). This handbook has been developed to provide you with an outline of processes and expectations in Simcoe County District School Board (SCDSB). Start and end dates, attendance policies, rigorous assessments and evaluations standards as well as procedures for adding and withdrawing from a course, are the same for on‐line courses as for traditional day courses. How to get Started After students register into an e‐Learning course through their home school guidance office, the student will be sent an e‐mail with course information, website address, user name and password. The student is then required to complete the course Orientation. Orientation Students taking on‐line courses with SCDSB must login to their courses during the first week of the semester to complete the online orientation before beginning the course material. Orientation is a mandatory session and will only take place once per semester. In addition to training on how your virtual classroom functions, you will receive information on how to use online support, submit assignments, participate in class discussions and how to contact your teacher. Students taking on‐line courses through another board will receive their orientation information and expectations via an e‐mail. Computer Access and Support Although it is optimal to work on your on‐line courses during the period that is reflected in your student timetable, it is understood this isn’t always feasible. If you are accessing your course during the school day you will have access to the DeLC (District e‐Learning Coordinator‐ Jim Carleton [email protected] ) and the eLearning Registrar (Jocelyn Harvey [email protected]) for any issues that may arise. However the maintenance and access to software at locations other then the school will be at your expense. It will not be possible for board technical staff to support the hardware or your personal home Internet connection. Attendance The attendance expectations for on‐line courses are similar to traditional day courses. Attendance is tracked through student log in times during the week. The expectation is for students to log into their courses daily with a minimum of once per week. The LMS will automatically keep track of your login, the IP address of the machine you are working from and the total time logged in for each session. While logged in you may work on course content, communicate with your teacher and your classmates or submit assignments.
When students do not attend, engaging in the curriculum is problematic. Teachers are expected to log attendance and ongoing communication on related attendance issues. Below are the
attendance procedures teachers follow in regards to attendance:
Attendance Procedures
Initial On Going Action
Step 1 e‐Learning teacher communicates with student that has not completed the orientation during the second week of the course Step 2 End of week one of course Step 1 End of week one of monitoring e‐Learning teacher contacts student to express concerns regarding incomplete work (in the first week) e‐Learning teacher contacts student to express concerns regarding incomplete work after one full week of no logins to the course Step 3 End of week two of course Step 2 End of week two of monitoring e‐Learning teacher contacts parent/guardian if student (under the age of 18) has yet to complete any work (during the second week of attendance being monitored) e‐Learning teacher contacts parent/guardian if student (under the age of 18) has yet to complete any work (during the second week of attendance being monitored) Step 4 End of week three of course Step 3 End of week three of monitoring e‐Learning teacher contacts the guidance counsellor (e‐Learning contact) to outline the attendance situation as recorded in the communication log Guidance counsellor attempts to contact the student and/or parent and communicates results to e‐Learning teacher. e‐Learning teacher contacts the guidance counsellor (e‐Learning contact) to outline the attendance situation as recorded in the communication log Guidance counsellor attempts to contact the student and/or parent and communicates results to e‐Learning teacher. Step 5 End of week three of course Step 4 End of week three of monitoring e‐Learning teacher forwards the attendance concerns via the communication log to e‐Learning Registrar, Jocelyn Harvey [email protected] e‐Learning teacher forwards the attendance concerns via the communication log to e‐Learning Registrar, Jocelyn Harvey [email protected] Step 6 End of week three of courses Step 5 End of week three of monitoring Within 15 days of the beginning of the course, all students must demonstrate some course expectations. At this point, when communication has not lead to results, the Registrar will contact the student and or parent and the DeLC about attendance concerns and the fact that the credit is in jeopardy. After 3 weeks of attendance being monitored and communication has not lead to results, the Registrar will contact the student and or parent and the DeLC about attendance concerns and the fact that the credit is in jeopardy. Step 7 Beginning of week four of courses Step 6 Beginning of week four of monitoring At the end of 15 days, with no contact with student, the Registrar, in discussion with the school administrator, will decide on a course of action to be taken. Unless the administrator is aware of extenuating circumstances, the course will be deleted from the students schedule and the student will be withdrawn from the course
At the end of week three, with no contact with student, the Registrar, in discussion with the school administrator, will decide on a course of action to be taken. Unless the administrator is aware of extenuating circumstances, the course will be deleted from the students schedule and the student will be withdrawn from the course Withdrawal To withdrawal from e‐Learning courses is the same as withdrawal from a traditional day school course. The student must go to their home school Guidance Department and request to be removed from the course. The Guidance Counsellor will then have the student fill out a drop form, including the reason for withdrawal. Once all paper work has been completed the Guidance Counsellor will then remove the courses from the students schedule and remove the student from the class list. Learning Skills and Work Habits Policy stated in Growing Success, Assessment, Evaluation, and Reporting in Ontario Schools 2010: “The development of learning skills and work habits is an integral part of a student’s learning. To the extent possible, however, the evaluation of learning skills and work habits, apart from any that may be included as part of a curriculum expectation in a subject or course, should not be considered in the determination of a student’s grades. Assessing, evaluating, and reporting on the achievement of curriculum expectations and on the demonstration of learning skills and work habits separately allows teachers to provide information to the parents and student that is specific to each of the two areas of achievement.” Learning Skills and Work Habits Learning Skills and Work Habits Sample Behaviours Responsibility The student: • fulfils responsibilities and commitments within the learning environment; • completes and submits class work, homework, and assignments according to agreed‐upon timelines; • takes responsibility for and manages own behaviour. Organization The student: • devises and follows a plan and process for completing work and tasks; • establishes priorities and manages time to complete tasks and achieve goals; • identifies, gathers, evaluates, and uses information, technology, and resources to complete tasks. Independent Work The student: • independently monitors, assesses, and revises plans to complete tasks and meet goals; • uses class time appropriately to complete tasks; • follows instructions with minimal supervision. Collaboration The student: • accepts various roles and an equitable share of work in a group; • responds positively to the ideas, opinions, values, and traditions of others; • builds healthy peer‐to‐peer relationships through personal and media‐ assisted interactions; • works with others to resolve conflicts and build consensus to achieve group goals; • shares information, resources, and expertise and promotes critical thinking to solve problems and make decisions.
Initiative The student: • looks for and acts on new ideas and opportunities for learning; • demonstrates the capacity for innovation and a willingness to take risks; • demonstrates curiosity and interest in learning; • approaches new tasks with a positive attitude; • recognizes and advocates appropriately for the rights of self and others. Self‐regulation The student: • sets own individual goals and monitors progress towards achieving them; • seeks clarification or assistance when needed; • assesses and reflects critically on own strengths, needs, and interests; • identifies learning opportunities, choices, and strategies to meet personal needs and achieve goals; • perseveres and makes an effort when responding to challenges. 1 Tips for on‐line Communication Do Don’t Keep messages short Send a message when you are angry Review messages before sending them out Copy an entire message just to add a line or two of commentary Be polite Rely to all recipients, unless necessary Clarify the kind of message you are sending Type in capital letters (this is SHOUTING) Remember that non‐verbal communication is not conveyed in writing (tone of voice, facial expressions, etc); a joke may not be interpreted as a joke by the recipient Edit quoted messages to change their meaning Include the original portion of the text in your reply Forward a personal message without the consent of the author Ensure that your subject line reflects the content of your message Use exotic fonts or features (they can cause problems on the receiving end) Be careful of what you put in print Use abbreviations or emoticons that the receiver may not understand Give others the benefit of the doubt Type anything in an email that you would not say in a face‐to‐face conversation
