Week 1 (2/2 & 2/4)
Class Plan
- Questionnaire & Introductions
- Canvas
- Course Web site
- Course Syllabus and Schedule
- IDS & CoLab Website
- Discussion: What makes up an IDS major (and application)?
- Homework: Explore a Major & Brainstorm Your Major Assignments
Using the PSU catalog, choose one major related to the program you hope to create in IDS and research its design.
Write a synopsis of the major that discusses as much of the following as possible:
- What type of degree is the major: BS (Bachelor of Science), BA (Bachelor of Arts), or BFA (Bachelor of Fine Arts)? (Note: Some majors, such as Psychology, have multiple. Choose one!)
- Calculate the number of credits required by the major (not including General Education credits). All degrees have to add up to 120 credits, so it can be useful to see how much of those 120 credits a major takes up.
- Do students take a particular ratio of upper(3000 & 4000) to lower level (1000 & 2000) classes? Why do you think this is?
- Does this major offer an “option” — for example, Theatre Arts offers options in Acting, Dramatic Writing, Musical Theatre, etc. How do the options differ from the general major?
- Read the description of the major. Think about whether or not it gives you a clear idea of what students will be learning and what they might do with this degree program. You will be writing a description of the major you are creating for yourself, so note here what you think works well in this major’s description.
- What seem to be the “core” courses in this major (required of every student)? Why do you think these are the core courses?
Write this in a Word or Google doc. Post it to Teams (cut & paste as a post in the Assignments channel), and be ready to share and discuss by class this Thursday.
- Write down every word you can think of that is related to the things you would like to study and craft a major out of. If you are struggling with coming up with words, here are some things to try:
- Can you find another school that offers a program in a major similar to what you want to study? Check out their online resources (program description, course descriptions, etc.) and look for words.
- Is there a Wikipedia article related to fields you’re interested in studying? If so, mine the article for keywords and phrases.
- Are you aiming to get a particular job? Can you find online descriptions of what people in this profession do? If so, read those over and look for important words. (One good tool for this is O-Net.)
- In a new list, begin ranking your words based on which you think are most important/relevant to your interests.
- Go to the PSU Catalog and begin searching for your words (in order of importance). Jot down any courses you find that seem related to the major you’d like to create.
- For next Tuesday’s class, write a list of the discipline codes (e.g. IP is the discipline code for IDS) of the courses you’ve found that are most likely to be related to your major. Then write a few sentences reflecting on this list. What did you discover? Submit on Canvas.
Before Next Week:
- Finish any in-class activities
- Complete your Explore a Major & Brainstorm a Major assignments. Post to Teams at the least, but you can also make it an ePort post. Submit via Canvas.
Week 2 (2/9 & 2/11)
Class Plan
- Discussion & Review: IDS Application, Explore a Major, Brainstorm a Major
- Presentation: Introduction to ePorts
- Activity: ePort Setup
- Please submit the address of your ePort at this link.
- Saying hi and chatting on Teams
- Homework: ePort
- Homework: Interdisciplinarity Reading
- Homework: Introduce Your Major
Between now and the beginning of next week, start working on your ePort. Follow along with the instructions provided and get as far as you can. Explore some of the resources above and see if you can make your ePort something close to what you want it to be. Don’t be afraid to play around — everything is fixable, so try stuff out and see what happens! And don’t be afraid to ask for help if you need it — anybody in the CoLab can work with you.
Once your ePort is set up, please submit the address at this link.
It’s time to take your first stab at describing and introducing your major. This is a piece of writing you’ll continue to edit and refine over the next few weeks. Eventually it will serve as the introduction to your IDS application essay.
The scope of your introduction is pretty straightforward:
- Introduce the title of your program
- Describe your program
- Explain how/ why you created this program and how this major will help you achieve your educational and professional goals
- Explain why no current PSU program (or a major and minor) could have met your needs; explain why your program is different from current PSU program offerings
Publish this first draft of your introduction on your ePort before class next Tuesday and share the link on Teams. (If your ePort isn’t ready yet, you can write this as a document and share it on Teams.) Submit on Canvas.
Please read these articles:
- “Why Some People Are Impossibly Talented”, Robson
- “Fruit, A Metaphor for Understanding Interdisciplinarity”, Nissani
After reading, discuss the readings on Teams in the “Readings Discussion” channel. (Some of the readings have advanced vocabulary. This is a good opportunity for learning. Look up the meanings of words you don’t know. Ones that seem important, please share on Teams to help each other learn!)
After you feel like you’ve gotten what you can get from the Teams discussion, pick one passage from one of the readings that interested you and write 2-3 paragraphs about what you found interesting/provocative/problematic/confusing. Share this as a post on your ePort. (If your ePort isn’t ready yet, you can write this as a document and share it on Teams.)
Due by class next Tuesday.
Before Class on Thursday this week:
- Begin your ePort. Get as far as you can with the instructions. Play around. Make mistakes! See what you can do!
- Share your Explore a Major and Brainstorm Your Major assignments as a post on your ePort. Think about your audience — you are writing this post to show someone what you have learned and thought about.
- Make sure you’ve submitted everything on Canvas. (This will help you keep track of your progress in the course.)
Before Class on Tuesday next week:
- Finish ePort setup, if you haven’t already
- Complete the reading and discussion assignment and write a reflection on your ePort. Make sure you’re done with this before class on Tuesday (2/16).
- Complete your Introduce Your Major assignment (if you haven’t already)
Week 3 (2/16 & 2/18)
Class Plan
Tuesday
- New resource: Online Learning Advice
- Interdisciplinarity (video)
- Discussion: Interdisciplinarity (readings)
- Extra article for in-class discussion: “Universities must stop presuming that all students are tech-savvy”, Losh
Thursday
- Introduce Your Major discussion
- Discipline Code survey
- Review: What makes up an IDS major (and application)?
- Contract resources (includes current contract form)
- Homework: Draft Your Contract (due next Tuesday)
Continue working on the contract you started in class. After you’ve added all the classes from the brainstorming exercise, look and see if there are any gaps you need to fill, if you need more credits, etc. If so, go through the catalog again and look for any classes that could help round out your program and add them to your contract.
REMEMBER: Your contract isn’t finalized until you complete your application. You can (and will) continue to tweak this list for the next few weeks.
When you are satisfied with your contract courses (for now), be sure you have filled out the Discipline Code Survey. We need this by our next class so that the appropriate people can be invited to meet with you to discuss how to put your major together.
Have your contract ready in whatever state you have it to class next Tuesday. We will be reviewing them in class.
By Next Week:
- Finish any assignments you are behind on: Check Canvas and submit anything that is missing. If you have questions/problems, stop by the IDS office!
- Continue Working on Your Contract: Keep working on developing the list of courses you’d like to include in your major. Don’t worry if the list is too long at this point! You’ll continue to edit this over the next few weeks, in particular with feedback from people at the Expert Advice Workshops.
- Enter the two-letter discipline codes for classes on your contract into the discipline code survey. This information will let us know who we need to invite to the Expert Advice Workshops coming up.
Week 4 (2/23 & 2/25)
Class Plan
Tuesday
- Be sure you have filled out the Discipline Code Survey
- Activity: Contract & Introduction Review
- Homework: Contract & Introduction review
Thursday
- Introduction to Open Education
- Homework: Explain your courses
- Homework: Open Education Reading (due next Tuesday)
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Put your name as the general partner to 2 different people in the activity spreadsheet here. Please try to fill up the Partner 1 column before moving on to Partner 2.
2. Put your name as the Content & Accuracy partner to 1 person.
3. Go to Teams and initiate a chat with each of these people, saying you are willing to be their partner for the contract workshop. Be sure to explain if you are a general partner or the Content & Accuracy partner.
4. Your partner may not be in class today, so they may not respond immediately. Or they may never respond. That’s okay. You made the offer, and if they don’t take you up on your offer, it’s not your fault.
GENERAL PARTNERS
When your partner responds on Teams, ask them to describe their major and contract to you. At some point, they should share their major introduction with you. Discuss it! Have as much conversation as feels useful. Be thoughtful and curious. Ask questions. Offer ideas. Be generous.
CONTENT & ACCURACY PARTNERS
1. When you get a chat notice from your Content & Accuracy partner, send them your contract file as a Word document. You can do this in Teams itself, or you can email it. Whatever is easiest for you.
2. Download the Content & Accuracy worksheet from either Teams or Canvas. (On Teams, you will find it in IDS Intro —> General —> Files.)
3. Once you have received a contract, fill out the Content & Accuracy worksheet as best you can from it. (There may be parts you can’t fill out because your partner hasn’t completed them. That’s okay!) When complete, send it back to your partner.
NOTE
With this exercise, a lot is unpredictable. That’s okay! All the partner slots may not fill up. You may not hear back from someone you offer to be a partner for. That’s okay. We should do this assignment in a spirit of generosity. Offer what you can, and if someone does not or cannot take advantage of that offer, that’s okay, because you made the offer and made yourself available.
Do the best you can, be a conscientious partner, and stick to the golden rule: treat your peers as you yourself want to be treated.
Write a 2-3 sentence explanation for each course in your major describing how it is related to your custom major.
Make sure you connect courses to your major theme as well as to each other.
Think back to Assignment 1 when you explored an existing major at PSU. How can you make clear to your audience that all of these classes together add up to a meaningful course of study?
For more information, see the IDS guide to writing your program statement, specifically the section on “Course Explanations”.
You will also find samples in the Files section of Teams in the General channel.
Publish this assignment in your ePort and share the link on Teams in the Assignments channel by next Thursday.
Read the following essays about open education and discuss them in the “Readings Discussion” channel on Teams.
- How Public? Why Public?, Cheney
- Why Openness in Education?, Green and Wiley
For discussion, consider:
- What resonated with you in these readings? Choose an idea and expand on it. Use quotes from the text(s).
- What didn’t you understand? Ask questions. Be specific (use quotes from the texts to make it clear what you are asking a question about).
- If you see something a classmate has written that is interesting, respond to it.
- If a classmate has asked a question, take a stab at answering it.
- How much should you write? That’s up to you. It’s not about length, but quality and engagement. If you drop into the discussion a few times before it’s due and add to the conversation, that’s good quality.
NOTE: You don’t need to write a reflection post on your ePort about these readings — just discuss them on Teams. (You can write a reflection if you want, though. It’s your ePort, you can do what you want with it!)
Coming next week: Expert Advice Workshops! March 4 in class and 6-7.30pm
- Finish all contract reviews with your partners.
- Complete the Open Education Readings: Read these online and discuss in Teams. You don’t need to write a post about this reading.
- Finish any assignments you are behind on: Check Canvas and submit anything that is missing. If you have questions/problems, stop by the IDS office!!
- Draft Your Course Explanations: Write this on your ePort and share the link in Teams (Assignments channel) by next Thursday.
REMEMBER: Our Expert Advice Workshops are coming up!! You want to have a strong draft of your contract and introduction at these events!
Week 5 (3/2 & 3/4)
Class Plan
Tuesday
- Activity: Expert Advice Worksheet (also available on Teams in the Files for the General channel)
- Activity: Planning Guide
- Homework: Expert Advice Worksheet
- Homework: Catch up on anything you’re behind in!
Thursday
In class (we will only meet on Zoom, not in the classroom, for this session):
Expert Advice Workshop for these discipline codes:
- AHS — Allied Health
- BU — Business (9.15-9.40 only)
- PBH — Public Health (until 9am only)
- PS — Psychology
- CO — Counseling
- TMP — Tourism Management and Policy
- EPL — Environmental Planning
If you do not need advice in any of these areas, you do not need to come during the class time.
6pm-7.30pm (use our class Zoom link)
Expert advice for these discipline codes:
- AR — Art, AE — Art Ed, AH — Art History, PT — Photography
BI — Biology
BU — Business
ED — Education, ER — Early Childhood Ed, CD — Childhood Studies, SE — Special Education, RL — Reading
ESP — Environmental Science & Pol
HE — Health Ed
- PS — Psychology
- SO — Sociology
- SW — Social Workal
Homework: Write your Expert Advice Description — do this soon before you forget!
Expert Advice Workshops are this week.
Expert advice is a required component of your IDS application. If you do not get expert advice at the workshops, you will need to seek out faculty on your own.
You need to have the following ready for sharing:
- your draft contract (this should have as close to 51-55 credits listed as possible)
- your draft major introduction
A few more things to know:
- If you have not already done so, complete Part One of the worksheet (available on Canvas and Teams in General –> Files). Be sure you have it available during the workshop.
- It is a good idea to have someone in the IDS office review your draft contract before the workshop. If you have not done this yet, stop by the CoLab Virtual Lounge before the workshop or make an appointment with somebody other than Matt. You can make an appointment or drop by.
Many faculty are giving up valuable time in service to our class and your application development, so PLEASE do your best to attend the workshops for any discipline codes you are thinking of including on your contract.
If you have written your introduction and your course descriptions and you have completed the Expert Advice Worksheet (Part One), you should start on your Planning Guide.
You can find a link to the Planning Guide at IDS Application Info & Materials.
From that page:
“The IDS Planning Guide requires students to plan out the rest of their semesters at Plymouth State University, so that they may have a track to follow when choosing courses. Students must fill out the official Planning Guide form with their remaining requirements for General Education and from the contract they’ve created. Students must list classes for each semester they have left in their time at Plymouth.”
After you attend the Expert Advice Workshop(s), you need to write up a synopsis of what you learned. Be sure to include the names of the experts you talked with! Share your summary on Teams. (Eventually, a revised version of this will go into your IDS Application Essay.)
For Next Thursday:
- Note: No class Tuesday, as it is a campus holiday. You have plenty of work to do. If you did not attend the Expert Advice Workshop or you were not able to meet with some discipline experts, you should reach out immediately either to faculty you know or to the CoLab/IDS office to find out who would be good contacts for you. DO NOT DELAY. If you missed Expert Advice, you have a lot more work to do right now.
- Write your Expert Advice Description, post it to your ePort and link to it on Canvas. This is another component of your essay, so write this now while expert feedback is fresh in your mind. Don’t forget to include names of the experts you spoke with!
- Finish any assignments you are behind on: Check Canvas and submit anything that is missing. If you have questions/problems, stop by the IDS office.
Week 6 (3/9 & 3/11)
Class Plan
- NO CLASS 3/9 (CAMPUS HOLIDAY)
- Note: Make sure all your work is on Canvas! Six-week grades will be submitted at the end fo this week, and Canvas is how we track work. If you haven’t submitted work to Canvas, you are in jeopardy of not passing.
-
Thursday: Contract Reviews in class
- Have your application materials, particularly your contract, available during class. IDS staff will work with you to answer questions and look to see how you’re coming along.
- Activity: 6-week self-evaluation. Please complete by Friday at noon.
- Activity: Essay course explanations
- Presentation: Copyright & Creative Commons
- Homework: Catch up on anything you’re behind in! Make sure Canvas is up to date
- Homework: Put together your application and get it reviewed (by first class next week)
IMPORTANT NOTE: in your final application, all your components must be digital Microsoft Word files (editable) and not hand-written. No PDFs or Google Docs will be accepted, either.
The time has finally come to put together your entire application and get it reviewed by someone in the IDS office. This is a REQUIRED step.
Here’s what you need to do:
- Make sure you have all your components ready:
- final draft of your contract
- all your essay components on your ePort (introduction, course explanations, expert advice summary)
- your planning guide.
- Copy and paste all your essay components into a single document and write a conclusion (1-2 paragraphs) in which you
- Reiterate a description of your program
- Explain how your program is interdisciplinary
- Explain how this program will prepare you for your professional & educational goals
- Read over your entire essay and make any necessary edits. Finalize your IDS major title as the title of the essay.
- Review our Essay Guidelines to make sure you’ve covered all your bases.
- Visit the Writing Center for more feedback on your essay. This is not required, but highly recommended, because a fresh set of eyes on your essay can provide great help.
- If you want Matt to read over your essay and comment on it, email it to him and allow 24-48 hrs for response. (This is optional.)
- Meet with one of our CoLab Student Associates (CoSas) to go over your application materials. This is required. You cannot submit your application until you have met with someone in the IDS office to make sure it is ready.
- Complete the self-evaluation
- Finish any assignments you are behind on: Check Canvas and submit anything that is missing. If you have questions/problems, stop by the IDS office!
- Put together your application and make sure you’ve signed up to get it reviewed in the IDS office before next week’s classes (if you haven’t already)! Completed applications should be submitted to the IDS office by October 13.
Week 7 (3/16 & 3/18)
Class Plan
Tuesday
- Presentation: Copyright & Creative Commons
- Presentation: Personal Learning Networks (PLNs)
Thursday
- Presentation: Second Half Course Planning
- Homework: Apply copyright/CC knowledge to your ePort.
- Homework: Put together your application and get it reviewed
NOTE: Applications are due (emailed to psu-ids@plymouth.edu) by Thursday, March 18 at 4.30pm!
- Homework (due Tuesday of next week): Second Half Planning ePort Post. See presentation link for guidelines.
- Homework (due Tuesday of next week): PLN Plan. See guidelines above. Note difference in assignment if you are doing PLN for one of your course modules.
Now that you’ve learned a little about copyright and Creative Commons, it’s time to apply that knowledge to your own work:
- Choose a license for your own ePort (or you can choose to leave your work fully copyrighted).
- if you choose a CC license, add it to the sidebar, footer, or about page on your site.
- if you choose to leave your work fully copyrighted, make sure that you have an up-to-date copyright statement in your sidebar, footer, or about page.
- Go back to at least two of the posts you’ve already written on your ePort and add creative commons (or public domain) photos/illustrations/media to augment them. Make sure you include proper attribution, if necessary.
- In Canvas, submit that you have completed this activity.
The time has come to start planning for what we’ll be doing in this class for the rest of the term. Review the following:
- Class Presentation about 2nd half course planning
- Modules page from this web site
Write an ePort post outlining your plans for the rest of the semester and share the link in Teams in the Assignments channel. We will discuss these in class, answer any questions you have, and give you time to revise your plan if you want. You’re not writing it in stone, but you’ll get a better sense of what questions you have if you try to get it done by our next class.
The ePort post should explain:
- what you would like to develop on your ePort (even if you don’t yet know how)
- which one of the 2 concept modules you will explore
- which two of the 5 skills modules you will explore
- your due dates
- Finish any assignments you are behind on: Check Canvas and submit anything that is missing. If you have questions/problems, stop by the IDS office!!
- Put together your application and make sure you’ve signed up to get it reviewed in the IDS office before the deadline.
- Submit your completed application materials to psu-ids@plymouth.edu by 3/18 at 4.30pm.
- Add a CC license or copyright notice to your ePort. You can add this to your About page. If you want to play around with your layout and get a little fancy, you can try adding it to the site’s footer. For standard copyright, simply write, “Copyright [your name]. All rights reserved.” For Creative Commons, see instructions.
- Begin planning for the second half of the semester in an ePort post by Tuesday’s class.
- Write your PLN Plan as an ePort post. Share the link on Teams and submit in Canvas.