ABOUT ONLINE COURSES
Online courses can be presented 100% online or in a blended/hybrid fashion. This course is a blended course consisting of synchronous and asynchronous formats. The synchronous format will occur while you are attending your clinical facility for face-to-face patient care practice. Asynchronous format will occur through the online classroom for assignments and project deadlines submission during a time that works for your schedule. This hybrid online course is not to be confused with a self-paced course. This hybrid course does meet face-to-face in the clinic with your assigned clinical instructor, so be sure to be familiar with your clinic's work days/times schedule prior to starting your first day. Your clinical instructor will give you specific details on the first day of class (face-to-face meeting) regarding expectations and clinic requirements following your request for information via email contact 1-2 weeks prior to starting on the first day. Please review the course syllabus and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for further details on this course and course expectations.
Technical Support
The UTHSC ITS Helpdesk can be accessed (7:30am - 5:30pm Central time) by phone (901.448.2222 or 800.413.7830), online (https://www.uthsc.edu/helpdesk/) or through email ( to
[email protected]) by submitting a HelpDesk Ticket regardless of the student’s geographic
location. Additional computer support (computer labs/computer access for student use) is
provided on the UTHSC campus (706 Lamar Alexander Building, Monday-Friday: 8:00am - 5:00pm, Saturday and Sunday: closed).
Technical Requirements
Students are required to have the following to be successful in this course:
PC users
Mac users
General Software/Plug-in Recommendations
- Ready access to a reliable computer with specifications listed below.
- Consistent access to a professional word processor, spreadsheet creator, presentation application, web browser, email application, and other common software tools.
- Consistent, daily access to the Internet throughout the duration of the course.
PC users
- Processor: Pentium III 500 MHz recommended
- Operating System: Windows XP, Vista, or 7
- Ram: 2GB or higher recommended
- Internet connection: DSL or Broadband
- Browser: Recommended - Latest version of Firefox, or Internet Explorer 9. (Internet Explorer 10 has compatibility issues and is not recommended)
- Audio: soundcard and speakers for embedded audio files in PowerPoint or flash
- Input Device: CD-ROM (CD/DVD recommended)
Mac users
- Processor: G4 or G5.
- Operating System: Mac OS X (Lion 10.7 or higher)
- Ram: 2GB or higher recommended
- Free disk space: minimum of 100MB recommended
- Internet connection: DSL or Broadband
- Browser: Latest version of Firefox
- Audio: soundcard and speakers for embedded audio files in PowerPoint or flash
- Input Device: CD-ROM (CD/DVD recommended)
General Software/Plug-in Recommendations
- Microsoft Office (available for students via UTHSC ITS Helpdesk- Miscrosoft Student Advantage)
- Adobe Acrobat Reader (latest version)
- Flash Player
- RealOne Player
- Quicktime
- Sun Java Runtime Environment
How to succeed in the Online Classroom
This blended course includes online classroom components. Therefore, it is important that you understand the following notes to be successful in this portion of the course:
Weekly units will be according to a fixed schedule. Class units will typically cover a one week time span, from Monday morning at 12:00am to Sunday night at 11:59pm CST, with the exception of the last unit which is a two-week time span. With that being said, it is expected that activities and assignments will be available on this website beginning Monday morning of each unit, and all assignments listed in that unit will need to be completed by Sunday evening at 11:59pm. The instructor expects that you will begin working on the online course material over a range from Monday to Wednesday and beginning submitting assignments from Wednesday to Sunday. It is recommended that you visit the course website on a daily basis to assure that you are completing the assignments in a timely fashion and be aware of any updates via class announcement on the discussion forum. The awareness of online updates for this course and assignment deadlines is the student's responsibility.
Students taking this course will need to be able to access and use a personal computer and the Internet on a daily basis. Each student should possess the following items and skills:
Assuming that the above statements are understood, please let it be known that "lack of access to the Internet" is not an acceptable reason for late work. As a graduate student, you should possess the ability to budget your time and resources accordingly to assure that your assignment submission is not dependent upon your technology working properly.
Weekly units will be according to a fixed schedule. Class units will typically cover a one week time span, from Monday morning at 12:00am to Sunday night at 11:59pm CST, with the exception of the last unit which is a two-week time span. With that being said, it is expected that activities and assignments will be available on this website beginning Monday morning of each unit, and all assignments listed in that unit will need to be completed by Sunday evening at 11:59pm. The instructor expects that you will begin working on the online course material over a range from Monday to Wednesday and beginning submitting assignments from Wednesday to Sunday. It is recommended that you visit the course website on a daily basis to assure that you are completing the assignments in a timely fashion and be aware of any updates via class announcement on the discussion forum. The awareness of online updates for this course and assignment deadlines is the student's responsibility.
Students taking this course will need to be able to access and use a personal computer and the Internet on a daily basis. Each student should possess the following items and skills:
- Access to a modern personal computer with audio-visual recording functionality and a high-speed Internet connection;
- Ability to use modern versions of word processing, spreadsheet, email, and web browser software;
- Ability to use web-based applications as directed throughout the course of the semester;
- Ability to effectively find the answers to technical problems you may have with hardware or software. If you are unable to determine the answer, contact UTHSC ITS Helpdesk.
Assuming that the above statements are understood, please let it be known that "lack of access to the Internet" is not an acceptable reason for late work. As a graduate student, you should possess the ability to budget your time and resources accordingly to assure that your assignment submission is not dependent upon your technology working properly.
Guidelines for Online Communication
Email:
- Always include "PT 603- DPT 2017" in the subject line.
- Remember that without facial expressions some comments may be taken the wrong way. Be careful in wording your emails. Use of emoticons might be helpful in some cases.
- Use standard fonts.
- Do not send large attachments without permission.
- Special formatting such as centering, audio messages, tables, html, etc. should be avoided unless necessary to complete an assignment or other communication.
- Respect the privacy of other class members.
- Review the discussion threads thoroughly before entering the discussion. Be a lurker then a discussant.
- Try to maintain threads by using the "reply" button rather than starting a new topic.
- Do not make insulting or inflammatory statements to other members of the discussion group. Be respectful of others' ideas.
- Be patient and read the comments of other group members thoroughly before entering your remarks.
- Be cooperative with group leaders in completing assigned tasks.
- Be positive and constructive in group discussions.
- Respond in a thoughtful and timely manner.
- Introduce yourself to the other learners in the chat session.
- Be polite. Choose your words carefully. Do not use derogatory statements.
- Be concise in responding to others in the chat session.
- Be prepared to open the chat session at the scheduled time.
- Be constructive in your comments and suggestions.