📖 Course Orientation - MySQL

Overview

Please complete this entire Orientation even if you have seen one in another course. Expect to spend about 1 to 2 hours on the Orientation - about the same amount of time you would spend on the first day or two getting oriented in a traditional classroom course.

If you are taking this class online, I highly recommend you review “Getting Ready for Online Learning”. This is a great resource that offers practical suggestions to help manage many of the challenges students face in online learning and attending college.

Orientation

To begin, you may want to print this document. As you proceed through your Orientation, you will be navigating away from this page, and - especially if you are new to on-line classes - you may lose your place. By printing, you can keep this next to you and check off the numbered steps with a pencil or pen as you go along. This on-line course will present many items for you to do in list form, and it will always be suggested that you "Print and Check off" to help keep track of where you are - especially since you will often be leaving the instructions screen to go elsewhere - into your book, other software or even to another website. Printing helps provide you with an "anchor" to guide you along.  That's especially useful if you get interrupted or take a break while working. If you're an on-line pro, and you have a great memory, you can skip printing - just be extra careful not to miss anything.

  1. Have you taken an on-line course before?

-If not, please take a few moments to learn what being in a course like this entails. Scroll down the page and read the section Should I Take This Course Online?

  1. Click the Syllabus link. Carefully read and get familiar with the Syllabus, but don't memorize it You can always look something up later if you want to and there is a lot in there.
  2. Your Syllabus lists the book you will need for this course. Please get it or order it as soon as possible to avoid delays in getting started with your coursework.

Course Design

The Syllabus told you a lot of general course information, but not how the course itself "works". So, you will now take a brief tour to learn about that.

This course is built around the syllabus.

All assignments are listed in the syllabus with their dues dates. The syllabus also explains how you will be graded and how your final grade is calculated. You will also find class policies, due dates and your instructor's contact information.

Each Lesson will have the similar components.
  • Content tab in eCampus - the main course outline with links to all course materials.
  • Lessons/Assignments - works as a container for the lesson instructions and links to support materials.
  • In the book - what information to read in the book.
  • Articles - lecture notes from your instructor.
  • Lab practice - to be completed for skill development.
  • Help Forum - for asking questions about assignments.
  • Quizzes will be used to measure your understanding of the course content and is the basis for calculating your final grade. Quizzes are taken from the textbook.
  • Be sure to complete all required activities for each lesson before taking the lesson quiz.
How to get help when you need it.
  • Each assignment has articles listed that have my lecture notes and code samples for you to review.
  • I conduct a class lecture each week for those who are available to attend.
  • I record the Teams class lectures and post them to the class Teams account as soon as they are available for those who cannot attend in person. Face-to-face classes may not have class recordings.
  • I maintain and monitor a class Help forum in the Discussion Board area for students to post questions about the course. I encourage you to subscribe to this forum to keep up to date with your classmates' questions.
  • I hold office hours for students to drop in and get help or ask a question.
  • I am available by email if the above doesn't work for you or if your question is of a personal nature (IE: grades).
How to ask for help when you need it.
  • Each time you reach out for help to your classmates or your instructor, you need to tell them what you're working on.
  • If you are posting in the class Help forum, please tell us what assignment and question (if applicable) you are working on.
  • If you email me, please include your name and the class name/number (ITSE 1303 MySQL) along with the assignment and question. It helps me respond better if I know who you are and what we're talking about.
Assignment Support

Assignment support for this class includes several ways to engage, ask questions and get help. Students are responsible for staying engaged in the class each week and studying the course materials to increase their skills and understanding of the course content.

Resources

Each assignment will include support materials in addition to your textbook that will focus on providing examples of completing the assignments. These will be in the form of articles and class recordings. Students will also have the opportunity to ask questions even in 100% online classes through the use of the class Help forum. Students who are sill struggling with the course content can visit the instructor during the scheduled office hours or email the instructor with questions.

Textbook Examples and Explanations

The textbook has a vast amount of information. Each chapter covers in detail the methods and database practices. Chapters should be read and practice exercises should be completed for maximum benefit for students knowledge and skill.

Assignment Articles

These articles are focused on the critical aspects of the assignment. They are not as in-depth as the textbook and attempt to lead students through the completion of the assignments. The articles will be linked at the bottom of each assignment and are located in the mywebtraining.net web site.

Class Meetings

Your class may have class meetings even if you are enrolled in a 100% distance learning section. If your instructor is having class meetings, the schedule will be posted in the syllabus or the class announcements. These meetings will be optional for students to participate though students who participate generally perform better in the class.

Class Recordings

Class recordings may be available for current or previous class meetings. These are great for students who want to review the class lecture but are not available for the class meetings. These recordings are available as long as the class meeting took place. For classes that do not have class meetings scheduled or are cancelled due to lack of students participation, class recordings may not be available. The class recordings can be found in the Microsoft Teams group for the class. Look for information about registering for the Teams group in the syllabus or class announcements.

Help Forum Discussion Board

The Help forum is located in eCampus for students to post questions. This is much the same as raising your hand and asking a question in a face to face class. Students are encouraged to post questions in the Help forum before emailing the instructor, but this forum is for class related questions and not for personal questions.

Office Hours with Instructor

If you have questions and need help after reading the text, reviewing the class articles and recordings, and asking the Help forum, you probably should go see your instructor. Every instructor at Dallas College should offer Office Hours to meet with students. Most are happy to answer your questions about specific issues you have in understanding the class materials. Please don't think this is a good way to get your instructor to do your homework. You should have already spent some time reviewing the other course materials and have questions specific about them.

Your instructor will hold weekly office hours for students to meet and ask questions and get help with assignments. These office hours may be in person or virtual through Teams. Look for details about office hours in the course syllabus or the class announcements. 

Email

While email is the ubiquitous communications tool used by many people, it is not necessarily the best tool to use for class questions. Email can be frustrating when the participants are not on the same page and this happens very often when students email their instructors questions. The first problems instructors encounter with student email are: "Who is this?" "What class and assignment are we discussing?" and "What issue are you having?"

Students often assume these things are self-evident, but they generally are not. If you decide to email your instructor, please make sure you include your name and the class you are in including the section number in the body of the email. Then try to be as clear and concise as possible in describing your issue and what you hope to gain by emailing the professor. This will help to establish the parameters of the conversation without having two or three emails go back and forth trying to extract this information. This should be considered a last resort for questions about the class after you have used your other resources including the class Help forum and instructor office hours.

With all of this being said, please don't hesitate to contact your instructor for issues that are more private in nature. For example, questions about your grades or other personal issues that aren't anyone else's business should be part of an email and not posted to the class Help Forum.

 

Should I Take this Course On-Line?

On-line means that you take the entire course via a computer connected to the Internet and do not have to attend scheduled class meetings or visit the campus during the semester. You may study wherever and whenever you like as long as all your required work is completed by the dates shown in the Course Schedule. Fall and Spring semester students should plan to spend 4-6 hours a week on this course, Summer semester students should plan to work on it every day.

Students should be aware of just how different on-lines and regular classroom courses are. There are no scheduled class meetings, and you will most probably go the entire semester without ever seeing or perhaps even speaking to others in this class - or your Instructor. Working outside of a classroom has its conveniences, but some people miss the degree of human interaction you would get otherwise.

This takes a little getting used to. Always remember, though, that your Instructor is only an email away. Also keep in mind that as you go through this course that you do not have anyone looking over your shoulder prodding you to get your work done. You must have the self-discipline to sit down and do what you have to do when you have to do it. You have the freedom to work on this course during times that are convenient for you - even 3AM, if you like.

In other words, this course…

  • Has no face-to-face contact with a teacher.
  • Has no face-to-face contact with other students.
  • Doesn’t require you to drive to campus.
  • Lets you work any time of the day or night.
  • Has due dates and penalties for turning in work late.
  • Requires you to keep up without any "prodding" from your teacher.
  • Works well for students that are able to learn by reading.
  • Provides a number of ways to communicate with others, but you must be comfortable with email, typed discussions and phone calls.
  • Isn't better or worse than being in a classroom, it's just different!

Some common concerns that students have about on-line course are…

"I don't even know where to begin"
✓ Each course you take has an Orientation, which will get you started with clear, step-by-step directions.
"I don't know how to use the On-Line System"
✓ Basic navigation and use of eCampus is quite simple, and if you don't pick it up on your own there are resources within a course that will help you learn how to use all the features. Detailed, step-by-step instructions are often provided. Spending time in the system getting acclimated to the contents of the course goes a long way to improving your ability to find materials and course resources.
"There are so many things to remember - I can't keep track of it all"
✓ We don't expect you to memorize all the rules. We'll show you where the important documents are, and you can always look at them if you don't recall something - either on-line or on a copy you can print.
"It's overwhelming!"
✓ Relax - it may take you a little time to get used to an on-line but know that many thousands of students have done very well in these types of courses. Give it a chance for yourself.
"It's easy to lose my place in an on-line course"
✓ Some students have great memories, some don't. If you think you might have trouble keeping track of where you are, here is a simple strategy - whenever you get a list of something to do, in a lesson or assignment, print it. Then, keep it by your side and check off the steps with a pencil as you go along.
"I don't understand if this course is self-paced or not"
✓ Very often students think that an on-line course is self-paced just because there are no lectures in a classroom. That's not true. The definition of self-paced simply means that there are no due dates for work done within the course - only one deadline at the very end of the semester. You turn items in working at your pace - so the course has a sequence of items to do, but no schedule.  While some on-line courses are indeed self-paced, this is NOT one of them. Much of the work you have to do has to be in by a certain date or you will incur late penalties.

Finally

If for any reason you believe this on-line course is NOT right for you, and you wish to drop the class, you probably should visit with an academic advisor. Information about dropping/withdrawing from a class is on their web page.