California
State University, Sacramento
PPA 240 Course Overview
New for Fall, 1998: WEB-BASED COURSE COMPONENTS!
This course has been redesigned as a "web-enhanced" course. PPA students are the "adult learners" for whom alternative course delivery modes have been shown to be useful and successful. The advantages of web-based learning are many:
- Flexible Scheduling: PPA students generally work full-time, many have family responsibilities, and many live a distance from campus. Being able to complete selected course units from home or work without attending weekly classes should be a major convenience.
- Enhanced Learning: Time saved traveling to and from campus (and looking for parking) can be redirected to learning! In addition, PPA students are highly motivated adult learners who stand to gain more from the course if they are encouraged to actively pursue areas of greatest interest to them rather than sit through lectures aimed at the whole group.
- Increased Interaction with Classmates: Web-based communication tools can actually increase interaction among students by permitting group work that would be very difficult to arrange if students had to meet in the same place at the same time.
- Virtual Office Hours: Electronic communication between students and the instructor can actually increase the degree of our interaction, since you can e-mail me at your convenience, rather than find time to get to my office or reach me by phone.
- The Web's the Limit (not the instructor): The World Wide Web has a wealth of resources from which you can learn a great deal more than I can teach you. Everywhere, the role of the faculty is being reconceptualized as that of "coach" rather than "instructor". PPA students are perfectly suited to take advantage of coaching to get out of the course what will be of most value to them.
- Electronic Competency on the Job: The competence in dealing with electronic environments that you develop in this course will be of great value to you in your workplace.
Technology Requirements
Students will need an electronic mail account and computer access to the Web. Students will also need to establish a SacLink account for access to the Conferencing on the Web (COW) group activities that will be required. For the basic e-mail and Internet course requirements, you may use either your SacLink account or your home/office account. For the COW activities, you must use SacLink. Although a home computer with a high speed modem running Netscape or Internet Explorer would be beneficial, students can access the Web and participate in COW from one of the campus student labs.Computer Requirements
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Windows compatible 486 running Windows 3.1, Windows NT, or Windows 95 or Macintosh compatible with System 7.1 or higher |
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16M RAM |
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14.4K or faster modem (preferably 28.8) |
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Microsoft Internet Explorer or NetScape 2.0 (or higher) |
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SacLink Account (other home/office account can be used in addition to SacLink, which must be used for certain course activities). Basic e-mail and Internet access must be established by September 9 to participate fully in class assignments. |
Successful Student Characteristics
The successful student will:
- know how to "read smart" so as to keep up with all of the reading material
- think critically about what he or she has read and apply it to his or her organizational experiences
- participate actively in class and on-line discussions
- pace himself or herself so as not to leave all assignments until the end of the semester
- know how to organize their thoughts in written form and write clearly and accurately (good writing matters in the workplace;therefore, good writing matters in this course)
Instructor
DEPARTMENT / CSUS
Page updated: August 28, 1998