Fire Drill
Schedule

• Fire Chief's Comments
• Firehouse Tasks
• Hot Topics This Week: Building an Online Learning Community
• Drills
  • 1-Alarm Drill: Explore the Firehouse
  • 2-Alarm Drill: Get to Know the Firehouse Crew
  • 3-Alarm Drill: How Do I Become a Successful Distance Learner?
• Chief's Inspection List
• Fire Marshal Badge Skills
• Future Drills

Welcome to EDF 6287: Instructional Technology for Educational Leaders. This course is designed to be the required technology foundations course for the Educational Leadership Certification degree. If you are not enrolled in the educational leadership certification degree program then this course is NOT for you and you should choose a different technology foundations course. This course requires students to complete assignments required as part of the Florida principal certification process and within the context of the principalship to include collecting data within a school and district and interviewing school personnel and so should be taken by students within the certification program or there will be required assignments you will find difficult or irrelevant for you to complete. If you have taken an earlier version of the technology foundations course for the college, EDF 6344c or EME 6316c, then this course is the equivalent to this and you should not enroll in this course. If you are not in the educational leadership certification program and are looking for the required technology foundations course for other programs then you should be enrolling in EME 6316c and not in this course. EME 6316c is also being offered this semester and is fully online.

Welcome to the Firehouse. I hope all crew members are ready to tackle the hot topics I have for you this semester. This week I would like to give everyone the opportunity to digest the firehouse rules (syllabus), explore our online firehouse community, and get to know one another. This week, we'll talk about the class, the requirements, and get oriented. Each week's drills will be contained within 3 web pages. To insure you do not miss anything, be sure to use the links at the bottom of each page to continue on with the drill for this week.

Want to work ahead and earn that fire marshal badge early? - Many students generally ask about access to future weeks for this course so you can work ahead if possible. This option is available to you at the Firehouse. Almost all future drills will be available via the "Fire Drills (Schedule)" page by next week (if not already) so you can pass inspection ahead of time if you choose. Please note, however, that the "Fire Chief's Comments" section will remain blank until the current week. As the fire chief, I like to post my comments each new week so I am able to post timely information in regards to firehouse activities. This means that even if you work ahead you will still need to check in at least once a week to the firehouse and make sure you are informed of any changes to the drills each week.

In addition, even if you do work ahead other firefighters may not and one of your responsibilities on some weeks includes reading and replying to firehouse discussions. This will require you to wait until others have posted to the discussion so that you can reply. There are many ways in which you can work ahead in this course. You may choose to start work early on one of the major assignments, complete tutorials, etc. You are welcome to work ahead in whatever manner suits you. I have provided this option in other courses I teach online and can tell you that although many applauded the opportunity at the beginning of the semester, few actually ever worked ahead. Just keeping up each week seemed to be enough work for most. However, it did assist those who, on occasion, had to go out of town for work or play and wanted to get ahead for a single week. So check out the schedule page and you should be able to access all past and future firehouse drills by next week.

As we begin this course some of you may have been together in previous online classes and have had the opportunity to get to know one another. However, for many of you this is your first online course! I would like us to take time this week to participate in several activities that will assist me and others who may not have had the opportunity to get to know you and will also introduce me to you! To learn more click the pics!

Dr. L. K. Curda Associate Professor Graduate Education University of West Florida

Now that you know a bit about us, it's your turn.

• Look at the firehouse crew member list, check your email address and make sure I have it correct (email me with any corrections)
• If you have a personal home page, send me the url and I will post it on the crew list
• Participate in the course Icebreaker in the eLearning Discussions area.

If you have not, please read the Course Syllabus and take a look at the Course Schedule. These areas should provide you with the best introduction and overview of the next 13 weeks in this course. Of course, you should also explore the rest of the links on the home page for the course so you can get the big picture.

It's going to be an exciting week!

My goals for you during this week's drills are to:

• Overview the course and requirements
• Get to Know Each Other
• Join the Listserv
• Familiarize yourself with the different forms of communication we will use
• Get your UWF email account up and running
• Learn more about being a distance learner

Task #1:
You will need to give your computer additional capabilities to fully participate in this course. You will need to have :

• Adobe Reader [link opens in a new window]

 on your computer.  Many of you may already have this.  Check before you take the time to download and install it.

Task #2:
One communication strategy for many on-line courses is through a class listserv. A listserv is a distributed mailing service enabling you to send mail to one email address which then sends the mail to everyone subscribed on the list. The list being used for this course is called "distance".  Instructions for subscribing to the list are under the "How To" links on the hot links page. Additional information about other forms of communication, such as chat and threaded discussions are also there for you to read and review as necessary. Read and follow the directions for subscribing to the listserv for this course.

Task #3:
It is important that I am always able to get in touch with you when necessary. In most cases I will do this by email. Therefore, I would like for you to check the class list and the email I currently have for you to make sure I have the appropriate one. If I do not, please email me with the correct email. In addition, I would like for you to email me with the name you preferred to be called and your home and work numbers in case email fails us.

Task #4:
It is important that you activate your UWF email account and  understand what your username and password are.  You may choose not to use the email account UWF provides but it will be necessary for you to use your username and password during various parts of the course.  Therefore, figure it out NOW!  To assist you there is a Getting Started guide available at the ITS Home Page - https://nautical.uwf.edu/utility/itsweb/main.cfm?tab=3&who=1 This guide will explain your username and password as well as other things you may need throughout the semester so keep it handy. You might also want to read other ITS Guide Sheets available related to our new eLearning system (which we will use for quizzes, chats, and discussions but not much else) and setting up your ArgoMail. Check out the Collections site and see what you find. They have numerous help sheets regarding other IT related needs you might have - https://nautical.uwf.edu/catalog/Departmental.cfm?Letter=I
 

• Check the FAQ Page to see if your question has already been answered.
• Email Chief Curda.
• Email EMT Kelly.
• Email the firehouse crew and see if another firefighter knows the answer.

Now let's see what the hot topic is this week!