Discussion
    Online Discussion
    How to Access

 Introduction
    Expectations
    Getting Started

 Learning
    Accessibility
    Assessment
    Online Conferencing
    Discipline-Specific
    Hybrid & Online
    Glossary
    Tech Tools

 Projects
    Participants' Webs

 Syllawebs
    2001
    2000
    1999

• Participation - What you get out of the summer workgroup is directly proportional to what you put into it, including participation, e-mail, discussion postings, and projects.
• Interaction - Got an opinion? Express it. You want your students to think? Provoke them. Disagree with an idea? Say so -- in the discussion. Learning online should not be passive.
• Open Mind - Many of the techniques used in hybrid teaching are new and, therefore, unconventional. Also, you are in a workgroup with faculty from different departments and disciplines. Learn from the cultural differences! Always keep asking, what characteristics make learners learn, no matter what discipline or context?
• Patience - Don't expect technology to be 100% reliable. When problems arise, stay calm and call for help. This workshop may help you identify and prevent future problems.
• Sense of Humor - Hopefully, when you discover a silly mistake, it won't be a web page you presented at a national conference or an email message sent to 100 students. Humor covers many mistakes. Typically, students appreciate an instructor who can laugh at their own mistakes and laughing is very good therapy.
• Spirit of Collaboration - Face It! You don't have time to become a technology guru, produce high quality materials, and interact well with students. Learn from your peers who have leveraged their strengths with those who have greater knowledge and experience. They did it collaboratively! We are all in this together.

What can you expect from Marla, Larry, and the staff of the Innovation Center and TED Center?

• Answers - We will try to find answers to all questions, even the hard ones.
• Interaction - We will fully participate in the discussions and projects through the entire summer.
• Open Mind - We are inquisitive and open to new ideas.
• Patience - When technology doesn't work, we'll stay calm and call for help!
• Sense of Humor - Even through computer crashes and unreasonable demands, we can always find something optimistic and funny to adjust our attitude. Humor is the best coping strategy when working with faculty and technology. Try it! It works!
• Spirit of Collaboration - We could never do this alone -- and it wouldn't be as much fun, either!  

Discussion Protocols:

1. Be sure and check our discussion group at least three times per week.
2. The web address for our course discussion is: https://mail.acad.gc.maricopa.edu/public/syllaweb
3. Be courteous and considerate. It is important to be honest and to express yourself freely, but being considerate of others online is just as important as when face-to-face.
4. Be as clear as possible. Online communication lacks the nonverbal cues that fill in much of the meaning during face-to-face communication.
5. Sign every message you send.
6. If you want to send a message to an individual participant, use email rather than the discussion area.
7. Be careful about "Subject" headings; use something that is descriptive, refer to a particular discussion topic when applicable. Use the "post reply" button rather than the "new" button if you are replying to someone else's posting