Online Orientation
Dr. Boetticher
(Revised July 24, 2011)
Please note there are
2 YouTube videos for
the Online
Orientation.
Welcome!
Greetings! I recognize that you have many choices in terms of universities, courses, and professors.
Thank you for enrolling in this course. To help you get comfortable with this course, I have designed this
orientation document.
What is a Web-Based course?
This class is designed so that you may enroll in the pure Web-based section (meaning that you do not
need to set foot on campus), or the face-to-face section (if available). Both sections have full access to
the password protected notes and the 38 YouTube videos. If there are no face-to-face sections for a given
semester, then students are expected to email all assignments to boetticher@uhcl.edu. For students
enrolled in the face-to-face sections assignments may be submitted electronically or preferably in hardcopy format. Regarding exams, I would prefer those students enrolled in the Web-based section to take all
exams on campus, but this is not a requirement. Please notify me as soon as possible whether you wish to
take the exams remotely so that I may arrange to have the exams proctored.
Those registered in the Web-Based section are welcome to attend some or all of the face-to-face lectures
(assuming there is a face-to-face section). The classroom location and meeting times will be listed on the
online syllabus.
Should you attend lectures?
Not attending lectures assumes you possess certain traits. Review these traits very carefully to see if they
apply to you.
 Can you work independently?
 Are you generally self-motivated?
 Do you have good time-management skills?
 Do you need convenience and an adjustable schedule?
 Are you comfortable asking for clarification and continuing to ask when you need more
information?
 Do you know how to check help screens, manuals, are FAQs?
 Do you have good study skills?
Students enrolled in the face-to-face section are expected to attend all lectures.
We will be following the online syllabus very closely. The online syllabus for the Database course is (or
will be) available at: http://sce.uhcl.edu/boetticher/courses.html. The online syllabus contains a weekly
course schedule with due dates for quizzes and assignment; policies and procedures; specific tasks (what
quizzes to take and when); and links to additional resources.
Copyright 2004-2011 by Dr. Gary D. Boetticher
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Accessing course materials – Yahoo Groups
The course notes and assignments will be available in folders in a Yahoo Group called
Graduate_Database_Course. The course notes for the whole semester are available in the Notes folder. As
always, they are subject to change.
How to join the Yahoo Group?
First, email me the following information:
I will be collecting this information during the orientation, which is the first class. However, if you want to
get a great start for this class, I would recommend sending me this information as soon as possible to
boetticher@uhcl.edu.
In terms of phone numbers, 99% of the time I do not call a student. The primary exception is if a student
misses an exam without any notification.
You may submit one or more email addresses. I recommend you provide email address(es) that you check
on a daily basis. Your membership to the Yahoo group will be based on the email addresses you submit.
In order to download the course materials, you may need to submit at least one Yahoo account. Also, if
your email address changes, then it is your responsibility to provide me with an update. Also, if you
need to drop the course, please send me an email, so I may remove your email from my mailing list.
Once I receive your email, I will also send you a password for the course notes. I will also
divulge this password during the orientation (first class) session.
Copyright 2004-2011 by Dr. Gary D. Boetticher
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Using Blackboard to take quizzes and see grades
What is Blackboard?
Blackboard is a Web-based application program for the creation of online courses. It has many features.
For this course, we will be using the quiz facility. During the semester I will post midterm, final, course
averages, and course grades via Blackboard.
How are students registered into Blackboard’s student roster?
UHCL’s University Computing Technology (UCT) group has created an automated process for creating
student accounts in Blackboard. All courses flagged as Web-based or Blackboard courses are noted in the
PeopleSoft registration database. The students are extracted and given a username and password to
access Web courses. If you have any problems with their username and/or password please email the
UHCL support center at supportcenter@uhcl.edu or call them at 281-283-2828.
Blackboard Orientation
An orientation for using Blackboard is available at http://courses.uhcl.edu/BB9Orientation.pdf .
Please read this document carefully prior to taking any quizzes.
Quizzes
This course utilizes the Blackboard quiz facility. Online quizzes are designed to help you succeed in this
class. They are beneficial for several reasons. They allow you to get feedback prior to the midterm and
final exams. Also, one goal of the quizzes is to nudge you to keep up with the readings and not
procrastinate. By keeping up with the readings you will get more out of this course. Getting more out of
this course (and all your other courses) will help you achieve your professional goals.
When choosing a quiz, be very careful to select the correct quiz. Once you start a quiz, there is
no turning back.
Time Limit per Quiz. I estimate that each question requires about 2 minutes per question. So if a quiz
has 10 questions, then you have a total of 20 minutes. If you go over the time limit for 1 or 2
quizzes, that is acceptable. However, if the pattern continues, then I will bring this to your
attention.
Quiz Availability. Every quiz has a hard deadline regarding when it must be taken! I found that one of
the keys to academic and professional success is discipline. Implementing hard deadlines avoids the “last
minute cramming” scenario. In order for you to get the most out of this class and learn as possible, the
deadlines become tighter and tighter as the semester progresses so that you are taking quizzes on
assigned materials prior to attending class. This will enable you to know what you don’t know. This
approach will enable you to be proactive in your studies. Once you have convinced yourself of the benefit
of a proactive approach, I anticipate you will to do the same for your other classes. Make sure that if you
do have any questions, that they are answered during the “face-to-face” class (or via email, discussion
board, or chat).
Copyright 2004-2011 by Dr. Gary D. Boetticher
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The Online Syllabus
This section describes the syllabus layout and policies. Most items in the syllabus are intuitive; I will
highlight some key points.
This date helps
you
determine
whether there are
any new changes
to
the
online
syllabus.
There are 38 videos available for
this course. I highly recommend
that you watch these videos in
the
order
that
they
are
presented.
Copyright 2004-2011 by Dr. Gary D. Boetticher
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Pay very careful attention to your
studies/grades. In certain cases
your scholarship may depend upon
your
grades.
Therefore,
it
is
important you take responsibility for
your efforts/actions in this class.
My other motto is:
No excuses, only results!
The syllabus contains a weekly schedule. The date refers to the first meeting time for a
particular week (if there is a face-to-face section). Each week contains a list of activities
that you must complete by a specific time a week later. Usually this corresponds to next
class meeting time of the face-to-face section. Pay particular attention to the quizzes.
Each quiz has a hard deadline. It is not possible to make up quizzes. Be
forewarned, Blackboard may go down for a couple of hours. Somehow it knows when
you are about to take a quiz! I find that successful students read all the materials prior
to attending class. Based on this observation, at some point during the semester you will
need to complete quizzes prior to the class on which the material will be uncovered. This
will help you tremendously improve your academic/professional discipline.
Copyright 2004-2011 by Dr. Gary D. Boetticher
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Read through the syllabus very carefully. Each week is carefully outlined in terms of tasks that need to be
accomplished. Here are some points to pay attention to on the syllabus
 Under the course title you will see, “Updated Month,Day Year.” This represents the last time that I
updated the syllabus. When there are significant changes to the syllabus I will send an email to the
class regarding any changes.
 The syllabus includes my phone number and email. The best way to reach me is via email.
 Readings from the textbook are identified as chapters.
 Readings from the class notes are called units.
 Quizzes have hard deadlines as to when they must be completed. These deadlines are given for
each quiz in the syllabus.
 Within the syllabus are the homework/project assignments. These documents are either in MS
Word or PDF format and can be downloaded and/or printed. Due dates and point values are
provided on the online syllabus.
 Regarding attendance:
 Face-to-face: You are expected to attend every class. If you miss more than 1 class, then
your course grade will be reduced by 2 points for each lecture missed. Coming late to
class on a regular basis will impact your course participation grade.
 Pure Web-based: You do not need to attend any lectures on campus. Also, you do not need to
show up in person to take any of the exams. However, you may attend any/all of the face-toface lectures and/or exams. However, it is my experience that those students who do attend
class on a regular basis do better on tests than those that don't. If you will be off-campus
during the exams, please make the necessary arrangements with me as soon as
possible.
 Read the Other Policies section of the syllabus very carefully! Among other things, it describes
what is considered cheating for this class. Penalty for cheating will be extremely severe and may
result in an F for this course. It could also cost you a TA position or one or more academic
scholarships.
Once you have completed reading this document and reviewing the syllabus, you are ready to take the
first quiz. This is a quiz on the syllabus. You may take the syllabus quiz as many times as you wish.
However, you must get a 100% on this quiz in order to proceed to the other quizzes. Providing a
syllabus quiz helps you to get familiar with Blackboard. You may even want to make some mistakes on
the syllabus quiz, just to see what Blackboard does.
Note that all other quizzes may be taken only one time.
Copyright 2004-2011 by Dr. Gary D. Boetticher
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What makes for a great class?
I started teaching in 1984 and have worked for several start-up companies along the way. Over the 25plus years of teaching I have seen certain characteristics that make for a great class. I would really like to
see you get excited about this class and your career. To this end, I would like to describe what makes for
an exciting class.
What I do to make this a great class
As a faculty member, I have very high expectations of myself and seek to keep my online notes updated,
produce corresponding videos to help with the learning process, and provide extensive and timely
feedback with online quizzes. I thoroughly enjoy teaching and hope that my enthusiasm is evident.
What you can do to make this a great class
Get very excited about learning. Don’t think of learning as a chore, rather think of it as something that
will make you more valuable to society. Your education is very easy to carry around and, if properly
applied, can dramatically improve your life and the world.
Signs that you are excited about your learning.
1)
2)
3)
4)
Show up very well prepared to class.
Be proactive. Place solutions to unit exercises on the board without being asked.
Sit near the front of the class.
Stop by my office to chat. We may talk about what got you into Computer Science,
your career goals, my research. This is an informal talk and there is no telling where it
may go.
5) Post articles/comments related to this course on the discussion board.
6) You are very focused on learning as much as you can rather than just getting an A.
Be very curious. Don’t get too focused on grades, because at some point when you graduate you will be
expected to continue learning and you will not receive a grade. Students that are very curious ask lots of
questions. Remember, the only dumb question is the one that is not asked. The more you
understand a subject area, the deeper the level of questions that you can pose. The types of questions will
go from just clarification to applying your new knowledge in different domains.
Do not be a slave to your conditioning. As a graduate
student, you have had many years of experience as a
student in many classes. Thus, you may have learning habits
and beliefs about yourself that are difficult to change. The
good news is that no matter how well (or poorly) you have
done academically, you have the opportunity to reinvent
yourself into a great student. So, why not start today to
be the student (and person) you’ve always wanted to
be?
Have fun! Try to let go of your fears and have fun as you
learn. I find people learn better when they can have fun
while they are learning.
Copyright 2004-2011 by Dr. Gary D. Boetticher
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