These activities will prepare you to use all the "back end" tools that will be required during your course. Some of you may already know how to complete the activities - or you may have already done some of the activities in this orientation. If that is the case, you can probably fly through these activities. If so, you can always get a jump start on other activities you will need for the course.

The activities are listed in the approximate order you will need them. Please note that you have a very narrow window for setting up your computer to run Wimba, since we will be meeting the third week of classes. Please make every effort to attend the first session since this will allow you to ask questions, should you have any.

In addition, you may want to make a mental note about this orientation in case you get "stumped" somewhere along the way in the course. In addition to tutorials needed to complete each activity, you will also find links to resources and important contact information.

Good luck and hope to hear you soon.

In an online course, extensive communication occurs via email. It is YOUR responsibility to ensure that your email address can receive course emails. Please follow the directions below:

• Go to the Course Email button on the menu bar.
• Send yourself an email as a single user and another to the whole group.
• Please put the course number, your name and Trial Email in the subject line. For example, your email subject line for this activity would be: EDEC6301 (your name) Trial Email

If you do not receive the email, then you need to go to
TeleCampus_Information_System_(TIS) and update the information to provide an email address that the Listserv can reach. If the email address is correct in TIS, contact the UT TeleCampus Embanet Help Desk for help. The 24x7 Embanet Helpdesk is available onlineor you can call 1-866-321-2988. You can contact the UT TeleCampus to get help by emailor call 1-888-Texas-16 (1-888-839-2716).

FORMATTING FOR ALL CLASS EMAILS: To enable everyone in the class to easily organize emails, please include the course number, your name, and then the subject of your email in the subject line as seen below:

EDEC6301Georgianna- Your topic here.

If you do not include the course number and your name, it may be inadvertently overlooked and thus take a longer time to receive a response. Having the course number in your subject line also allows the instructor to put the context of your question in the appropriate course.

This will complete your first critical activity for Orientation

Step 2. Set up your computer to run Wimba

We will be meeting synchronously (all students and teachers at the same time) online through Horizon Wimba Live Classroom. We just refer to it as "Wimba" or "Live Classroom." To use Wimba, you first need to make sure that you have a headset that has a microphone. Headsets can be purchased at Best Buy, Office Depot, Staples, WalMart, etc. for about $20.00.

NOTE: If you are going to be taking several online classes, we recommend that you use a more expensive headset, such as a Microsoft Lifechat LX 3000, which runs about $40.00.  We find that students have less problems with a more expensive headset, but the $20.00 one will give you acceptable quality.

Once you have your headset with microphone, you can access Wimba through your course menu sidebar to the left. Once you click on Wimba, you will be guided through setting your computer up the first time. Follow the directions and your computer will quickly be set up to run Wimba. You only have to go through this process the first time you log in using your computer.

You can also use one of the tutorials below as a guide through the process if you get stuck:

Setting up Wimba Live Classroom (text tutorial)

Video Tutorial - Using the Wimba Wizard

Some critical things to consider for making your visits to Wimba happy times:

• The technology is not perfect - but we all muddle through rather nicely and have a good time.
• You should restart your computer prior to logging on. Wimba is a memory hog and will be slowed down by activities running in the background.
• Turn off such things as IM, Bit Torrent or other software that may be running in the background, and things such as Windows Media Player until and if they are needed during class. Hint: This means you can't visit Second Life or WOW while using Wimba.
• PLEASE DO NOT use external speakers. The echo from this will drive everyone crazy and you will get yelled at by virtually all in class that night.
• Be patient during the glitches. We all learn from glitches and find ways around them that work effectively.
• Text messaging will be turned on during class. This enables us to communicate with one another or let others know about technology challenges without having to interrupt those who are speaking. Please refrain from using this chat to discuss football games, parties, etc., unless we are having a down-time since it can distract presenters (instructors). Having said that, the chat function has been very successful in keeping students connected throughout the class. We will discuss how to use it more on the first night of class and some strategies seem to fall in place each class meeting.
• Although not mandatory, we highly recommend that you attend each Wimba meeting. Students seem to benefit from interaction with peers and find that Wimba feels almost like meeting face-to-face (f2f). Last semester, a student remarked: "It's just like being in a regular class, except I can be in my jammies and slippers." Wimba meetings also give you an opportunity to network with others in the class and make invaluable connections with others who are interested in careers in education.
• You MUST listen to the archived meeting and respond to it on the listserv to receive credit for class participation if you cannot attend the Wimba meeting.

Once you complete this activity, you will be finished with your second orientation task.

Step 3. Create and upload a 2-slide Power Point to Wimba

For this activity, you will upload a PowerPoint project into Wimba in order to present at the first Wimba meeting. If you cannot attend the Wimba session, you will need to upload the presentation so that the others in the class can view it. However, we highly encourage everyone to attend as the sessions allow you to hear from others in the class as well as share your expertise.

First, you will create a very simple Power Point containing two slides. Please include one nice photograph of something you would like to share. It does not have to be you; it could be a pet, your favorite musical group, your school, your child or grandchild - virtually anything that is meaningful to you. Please add a brief comment of no more than six (6) words about the photo. On slide two, please include one email address of a web site that you think will be valuable to others in the class. Assume that other students already know about Google, UTB sites and other frequently used commercial sites; thus, choose a site that you believe will benefit other students as they progress through the program. Wimba will not accept any transitions or animations, so create a simple PowerPoint without transitions or animation.

Save the PowerPoint, including the course number, your name and intro in the file name. For example, mine would be named

Edec6301_ georgianna_intro.ppt.

An extremely important note about project names:
In a nutshell, it is critical that you DO NOT use any spaces in the names of any of your projects. Projects with spaces in the name often CANNOT be retrieved from a server so you should get into the habit of eliminating ALL spaces when you are naming any file.

Your project named janice intro.ppt cannot be retrieved from the server for others (your instructor) to see when you post it to the project site. If the project cannot be retrieved, it WILL NOT be considered to be completed.

Please note: If you have Office 2007, please save your Power Point as an XP presentation (.ppt) rather than as a Vista presentation (.pptx). Currently, Wimba will not accept Vista file extensions. If you are a MAC user and do not have access to Power Point, please contact me for options.

Follow the steps in the video tutorial to load your PowerPoint into Wimba.

Once you complete this activity, you will be finished with your third orientation task.

Step 4: Meet and present in Wimba for first time; requirements if you cannot attend

For this part of the orientation, you will be "getting to know" our class wiki: how to access it and read it as well as how to edit the wiki. You will also have the opportunity to "meet" and learn about your fellow classmates.

The tasks you must follow to complete this step follow:

First: make sure that your photo is the correct size for adding to the wiki. Your photo should be no larger than 150 X 200 pixels. If you have a large photo, you will need to resize it and possibly crop it (we want to see your face - not the scenery around you) before adding it to the wiki.

We recommend that you use PhotoFiltre as your photo editing program if you do not already have one that you use because it is free and very easy to use. To download the free PhotoFiltre, click here, select Downloads, then select English version 6.3.1. After downloading, click on the file to install and follow the directions. Hint: This program is small enough that you can install it on your flash drive and always have a photo editing program available to you regardless of the computer that you use.

Click here for a text and graphical tutorial on how to crop and resize your photo using Photofiltre.

Second: Set up your wiki identity at: https://my.pbwiki.com/new.php following the online directions from PBwiki. Use your gmail account to set up your wiki identity. Once you have created your wiki identity, let your instructor know by sending an email. Do not send your password to your instructor. Please label your email:

course# Your Name - wiki identity email

OR - new as of August 2008, you can go to the wiki and request access from your instructor. If you cannot figure out how to do this, the PBwiki blog explains it quite well.

Third: Log on to your PB wiki identity and you will see a link to your course wiki. Look for the title of your course in the sidebar menu and click on that to enter your course wiki.

Fourth: Access and use your class wiki at the following location: http://butleratutb.pbwiki.com. PBwikis are free and without advertising for educators. PBwiki is so named because creating and using their wiki is as easy as making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Once you spend a bit of time there, you will likely find that you agree.

Briefly, a wiki is a piece of server software that allows users to freely create and edit web pages using any web browser without the need for an html editor. Thus, it is a cross-platform tool that allows massive collaboration on projects and can be edited anytime, anywhere, by anyone. In every sense of the word, wikis are a disruptive technology. Yet, they offer great hope in allowing students to collaborate online, breaking many barriers that exist when students (or businesses) are located in different parts of the country.

This first assignment is designed to take you through most of the mechanics of using your wiki. With all that said, you are now ready to complete this part of your orientation as you

• access the wiki
• log in to the wiki in order to edit pages
• go to your class wiki page - edtc6341 (Semester), which can be found in the sidebar menu on the right side of your wiki.
• once on the class page, you will find links to the activities pages you will use to post your work throughout this course.
• click on the Photo and Bio Sketch page and upload your photo and a brief bio sketch for others in the class (and your instructor) to view.

Tutorial on adding bio and photo to appropriate page.

If you would prefer a text and graphics tutorial, please click here.

If you would like additional PBwiki tutorials from a variety of sources, please click here.

Once you complete this activity, you will be finished with your sixth orientation task.