Guidelines for Participants

Session Focus

This Orientation session is designed to help you get to know (or review) the basics about online learning in general and this course in particular. You will learn about the benefits of online learning as well as strategies to have a successful experience in an online course; have the opportunity to explore the course environment, including taking a brief orientation survey, and reading about course requirements and expectations; reflect on your own experiences learning fractions; and watch and listen to Investigations authors talk about Investigations and the Common Core State Standards. Finally, you will introduce yourself to your colleagues in the Orientation discussion forum.

Guidelines for Participants

In each session of this course you will:

  • Complete readings and activities posted in each session.
  • Participate in the Discussion Forum
    • Read all conversations in the Discussion Forum (threads).
    • Post a minimum of three substantial messages to weekly discussions. You may join in on existing conversations or begin a new conversation based on a new topic.

Please review the Discussion Board Expectations.

Graduate Credit Information

Graduate credit will be available for this course. Your facilitator will provide you with further details.

Investigations and the Common Core Standards

Throughout this course, you will have a chance to see how the sessions’ content is related to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS).

We begin with some history about the CCSS and some details. The CCSS consist of both the Content Standards and the Standards for Mathematical Practice, which are most often referred to by Mathematical Practices (MP). There are eight MPs, and in this document you can see that we have grouped them in the order that makes most sense for us.

It is important to distinguish between the MPs and the Content…

  • Math Practices describe ways in which students should interact with mathematics.
  • Math Content Standards describe what students should understand and be able to do.

Investigations authors went through the entire program to align it with the CCSS. They developed companion materials (Investigations and the Common Core); one unit for each grade level. Of note:

  • Investigations and the Common Core brings Investigations into 100% alignment with the Common Core.
  • The Mathematical Practices are aligned with the goals and principles of Investigations and deeply embedded in the fabric of Investigations.
  • Investigations, when taught as intended, offers students and teachers the coherence, focus, clarity and specificity in the teaching and learning of mathematics.

Common Core companion materials are outlinedhere.

This document shows you the grade level adaptations that were made for the CCSS. As you can see, for most grades, it was minimal. The most changes occurred in Gr. 5. For details about the content and pacing by grade level, see Content and Pacing (by grade level)

When we look at the CCSS and how that affects Investigations, we believe that the most important part is to teach the program and teach it well.

The companion materials should be thought of as a part of Investigations, and together with the companion materials, Investigations is aligned with the CCSS.

Most importantly, the CCSS are intended to be used with CS (Common Sense)!

Readings

Tips for Online Success, Illinois Online Network
This is a list of ten important tips to ensure your success when taking an online course.

How to be a Good Online Learner, Virginia Adult Learning Resource Center

Explore the Course Environment

Many of the activities that you will be completing during this course, from posting on the discussion board to submitting surveys, will be done using the Moodle course management system. Take some time during the Orientation to get to know Moodle and the tools you will be using to participate in the course. Here are some suggestions for getting started:

  1. On the course homepage, review the overall course outline. Click on a session title to view the session content, which includes the overview, readings, activities, discussion questions and key learnings for the session.
  2. Watch the video tutorial Updating Your User Profile (Transcript) to learn how to modify your Moodle profile, including the addition of a personal picture or icon.
  3. Click on the “Participants” link in the left hand navigation bar to see a list of your colleagues in this course.
  4. Click on the “Discussion Tab” and begin to familiarize yourself with the discussion area.
  5. After the sentence “Attach a photo of yourself” add the following text: “For additional support on how to capture and upload a photo in the Moodle discussion board, please refer to our tutorial page.”

Technology Preparation

Web Browsers

On occasion, you may find that certain applications or websites in this course may work differently in different browsers. We recommend that you become familiar with how to use an alternate web browser, in addition to the one that is included on the computer you primarily use (often Internet Explorer for PCs, and Safari for Macs).

Firefox is a free, open-source web browser with many features that enhance navigation and security, and which is compatible with both PC and Mac computers. You can download Firefox here.

PDF Format

PDF (which stands for "Portable Document Format") is a popular format for distributing documents on the Internet. A number of readings in this course are posted in PDF format. To view and print PDF documents, you need Acrobat Reader software, available free from Adobe's web site. If you do not yet have Acrobat Reader installed, download it from the Adobe site and follow the directions for installation.

Orientation Survey

You will receive an email message from your course facilitator with a link to access the Orientation Survey titled CFCC - Orientation Survey. Your course number will also be included in the description.

This survey collects some background information about your job role, teaching and administrative experience, and familiarity with online learning. In addition, it invites you to comment on your expectations and any questions you may have about participating in this course.

Please take your time responding to it.

Activity Title

Overview

In this activity, you will:

  • Objective 1
  • Objective 2
  • Objective 3

Materials

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One line do statement

  • Double-spaced list item
  • Double-spaced list item

Notebook

Respond to the following questions in your notebook.

  • Question 1
  • Question 2

Discussion

Watch the tutorial Posting and Replying to Messages in the Moodle Discussion Board (Transcript). Then introduce yourself to your online colleagues by creating a new thread in the discussion board. Give your thread a descriptive title and include the following:

  • Your name, your role in your school, and your motivation for taking this course;
  • Two or three facts about yourself so that we can get to know you better; and
  • A photo of yourself (optional).

After you post, read and respond to some of your colleagues' introductions. Be sure to check back often to continue the discussion!

Go to the Forum

Notebook

Fill out the Session 1 Notebook Page to reflect on your own learning and record ideas that you want to remember and/or try with students.

Select the link to go to the Notebook.