Course Components
| ACTION MENU: Previous | Next | Contents | Retrace |Refresh | Take Notes | Search | Mail |
Welcome to the distance delivery of the course “Smoke Detection and Management." The 10-module course spans 12 weeks. Most of the modules are designed to be completed in one week, though there are a few exceptions.
As an onlne course virtually all communication, materials distribution, and assignment submission will occur online. This being the case, expect to get in the habit of logging in to the course daily to check for mail, announcements, and participate in discussions.
There are two texts for the course:
I appreciate that purchasing these two texts for this course is expensive.
However, I suspect that many of you already have the SFPE Handbook (or have
access to it through your office). If you’re purchasing the Handbook for this
course, keep in mind that it will be used in most of the other courses to be
offered via this delivery mode. If you find typos or errors in the ASHRAE text,
John Klote and I would greatly appreciate being informed about them. Please
let me know when you find any, even if you think that others might have found
them before you. I appreciate that purchasing these two texts for this course
is expensive. However, I suspect that many of you already have the SFPE Handbook
(or have access to it through your office). If you’re purchasing the Handbook
for this course, keep in mind that it will be used in most of the other courses
to be offered via this delivery mode. If you find typos or errors in the ASHRAE
text, John Klote and I would greatly appreciate being informed about them. Please
let me know when you find any, even if you think that others might have found
them before you.
Course Components
The course notes are available in the course web site. They are organized into "modules" under the Course Content icon on the Homepage.
Included within the modules are example problems, “practice activities”, “discussion group activities” and assignments. The example problems are comparable to what we’d discuss in class if this was a classroom presentation of the class. The text also includes a set of examples. I encourage you to all be the proverbial “good student” (after all, this is a graduate level course) and attempt them all.
Throughout the modules many equations and figures are interspersed. Each equation
or figure is identified with a number. An "M" preceding the number will distinguish
the online equations and figures from those in the textbook. The "M" number
also indentifies the module in which the equation or figure appears, for example,
"equation M2-1" indicates the first equation in Module 2 online.
The practice activities, mentioned
above, allow you to apply the principles from the course while not having to
worry about grades. These practice activities are intended to provide an additional
set of examples where the answer isn’t provided until you complete the example
yourself.
Graded Discussion Activities and Assignments
Graded activities include group discussion activities and assignments (usually
a set of problems). p>Discussion activities and assignments have due dates.
With several discussion activities, initial due dates for posting messages are
usually required by mid-week. We recommend checking as early as possible
for the schedule of due dates on the next page (Course Schedule) and in the
modules themselves (for full detail). You may also check the Calendar.
The group discussion activities involve a range of issues, most of which require that you do something individually first and then work with your assigned group to submit a response to the rest of the class. Once group responses are posted, I then expect that you’ll review these and provide substantive comments. A substantive comment goes beyond “I agree” or “I disagree” and will need to include a technical discussion (perhaps a sentence or two) that explains why you agree or disagree.
The assignments are problems that require solutions. I encourage you to submit answers to these assignments via the online drop box (Assignment tool). In this case, the assignment requires working in your discussion group to complete the assignment). Completing the assignments should involve your own work. However, you are welcome to correspond with others in your group, the course TA or me if you’re having difficulty. In any event, your solution should not be the same as all of your group members.
A schedule of due-dates is provided within each module and on the Course Schedule on the next page. This is provided so that you “keep pace” and don’t try to complete the entire course in the last week of the 12 week term. I appreciate that many of you have busy work schedules and may have difficulty fulfilling all of the course requirements by the noted dates. Given the timeliness of the group activities, these dates cannot be moved and no extensions are possible for these.
Anticipating in advance that there may be sometime in the course where your schedule does not permit you to respond to the group activities in a timely manner, the total required points to be completed from group activities is set at 30 (37 are possible). If you are able to achieve more than 37, I’ll count those as extra credit.
If you need additional time to complete an assignment, contact me before the due date and we’ll work out an agreeable solution. Keep in mind that I’m willing to make an occasional adjustment, but in fairness to others, I cannot do so every week
Final Exam/Capstone Project: Finally, what would a course be if it didn’t
have a final exam or capstone project? No answers, please – this is a rhetorical
question. Around week 9, I’ll post the final exam/project for you to review.
This will give time for you to ponder a solution, ask questions to clarify any
issues and develop a solution. This project is to be completed solely by you,
without correspondence with your group members or colleagues.
Student Feedback and Course Evaluations
As this is the first course offered by the Department via the distance mode, I’d appreciate any comments about the course, the delivery mechanism, administration or any other issue. Please feel free to send along comments during the term (especially if it’s something that could be altered promptly to make an immediate improvement). Otherwise, you’re welcome to wait until the end of the term. For any correspondence to me, whether involving a question about the course material or a comment about the course delivery, I’ll seek to provide a response within 24 hours. Please use the course internal mail to correspond with me (mail is available on the Communications page of the course).
In addition to individual comments sent directly to me, a mid-term and final evaluation will be available for you to complete online. These surveys are completely annonymous. You will receive a notice in the course when these become available.
 |