Introduction and Your Story: Week of [insert dates]

Replace the video above with your intro message about the class or put this video on your homepage instead of here and then replace this video with a screencast walk through of your course layout/syllabus. You may even wish to make it a Canvas video quiz to encourage students to actively watch it so as to be prepared for the course and understand the syllabus requirements. In this example, I discuss the course topics, my communication philosophy, the unique way I have setup the class (gameful approach in this case), the structure of assignments & due dates, etc. I also go over the reason I chose Galatians 6:9 for our course verse and the big picture of how this course can help students be a light for the Lord to Deaf children and teens.

Objective

Objective: To share our journeys, inspiration, and goals for working with Deaf children.

Learning Tasks

Familiarize yourself with course navigation/syllabus/policies - 1 hour
Watch My intro video and peer videos - ½ hour
Create an intro video and post online - 1 hour
Complete the pre-test (graded based on completion) - 1 ½ hours
Review assignment options and plan your semester - 1 hour

Assignments

Introduction Post

Your first task this semester is to get to know me and each other! I have started a discussion thread for our introductions. Please watch mine and each others. You will also need to add your own - you can make a narrated slide show like I did (a screencast of a ppt), a traditional video (using the built in Canvas tool or You Tube), or even just a written response with an image. You might even want to try out an app that you can download on your phone called "Shadow Puppet" and make a slide show that way and just post the resulting link. It is a good one to use with kids in your future classroom perhaps so I'll include a sample one I did about the Texas missions. Have fun with the process - there is no right/wrong way.

Let us know why you are wanting to work with Deaf children, if you have family/friends who are Deaf, if you can sign, etc. You can tell us fun things - where you live, a favorite trip (or bucket list trip), what pets you have, what activities you enjoy at Baylor and your church etc! 20 points.

[Note: Try to ask them to do things in their intro that help the rest of the class get to know them - listing their name and major doesn't do that. OTLS has many ideas so just ask us.]

Pre-Test

Your second task this semester is an important one for our department. We want to see how much you grow between the start of the program and the end. For that reason we need you to complete a pre-test. You will receive FULL credit for participating so there is no benefit or reason to look up the answers online. We want a true picture of what our students know before instruction so please try your best, but don't stress! 20 points.

[Note: The pre-test was a requirement of the department - you may not have anything besides the intro posts and you may choose to incorporate it into your first content module rather than as a stand alone one in that case.]

Level Up Assignment Options

Want to earn your first game points? You can reply to your peer's introductions with a meaningful comment for 5 points. Of course, you can dialogue with everyone, but a max of 3 will be counted for a potential of 15 points.
Do you have time to spend 30 minutes getting to know the class and me during a live video chat? If so, you can earn another 5 points. The date/time will be posted in an announcement, and I fully understand that some of you will have conflicts so it is completely optional.

[Note: For a typical online class you should not have mandatory live meetings - the students are not expecting that and it will be nearly impossible to get them all together; however, you can have optional meetings. In this case it is for an intro hello, but it could also be for test reviews, feedback on a major project, etc. It could be open to the whole class, to certain groups, or even just 1:1 like for an office hours live session.]