Tips for Success

  • This is a course for adult learners and as such, I expect you will keep up with this schedule for your own life enrichment.  That said, please do not hesitate to reach out if you are presented with some personal concerns which alter your ability to follow due dates!  As an instructor, I try to straddle the middle between not wanting to nag about assignments, while offering support if issues arise.

  • All our work takes place in the Moodle interface.  (Please do not email assignments to me, since it disrupts the integrity of the course). All assignments are uploaded to the Moodle interface.

  • For uploading designs, many students have found that it is best to scan and save as a pdf.  That way you can include multiple pages.  Some assignments do allow for multiple uploads – but even if they don’t, a way around that is the above. If you get a message that says ‘invalid json string’ it means that you are trying to upload a file which is too large for Moodle. 

  • You will need a recent version of an internet browser, such as Firefox or Internet Explorer. You will also need Acrobat Reader, so that you can read pdfs.

  • A phone or iPad will not work well with this interface.

  • Be certain to save changes and submit your work.  If you don’t, it will appear as a draft – a work in progress – and I won’t be alerted to review it.

  • If you haven’t heard from me in 3 – 4 days, it means that I missed your assignment! Moodle always alerts me to new assignments when I log in, and if you are online when I am, sometimes they are not flagged as new.  It might be helpful for you to know that I review nearly every day but Saturday, typically in the morning (U.S., EDT). When I travel and this gets disrupted, I’ll let you know.

  • Sometimes students have noticed that I am not active in the student forum.  When I first began teaching online, I noticed that the more active I was, the less active students were.  Please enjoy the student forum as just that – a forum for students.  I will look to you all to keep it lively, positive, and to respond to one another’s questions, and share as you see fit.  If you have a concern for me, please reach out to me directly.

  • Every course offering, I have a few students who wish that they could see others’ work.  There is an equal number who are so relieved that they don’t have to share it as a course requirement.  As adults, I will encourage you to take care of yourselves.  If you are hungry to view others’ work, you might begin by posting your own to the student forum – while understanding that this is not required of anyone.

  • If you have an issue with Moodle (that is not related to the content itself), please email the CCE IT Helpdesk at cce-helpdesk@cornell.edu
Last modified: Wednesday, August 8, 2018, 9:05 AM