Dear CIS461 Student:
As your instructor for CIS461-DL, Systems Simulation, I would like to welcome you to our course, and trust that you will find CIS461-DL to be a unique, challenging and rewarding educational experience.
Our course is being offered this semester as a distance learning course, in a mode technically known as "Video + Virtual Classroom," and its development has been supported, in part, through a prestigious grant NJIT received several years ago from the Sloan Foundation. We will be benefiting in our course from the communication and information exchange capabilities provided to us over the Internet and the World Wide Web, and you will be participating in what is referred to as an "Asynchronous Learning Network." However, you should not be frightened by all this terminology and, in fact, you might consider it to be a privilege to be participating in this pioneering educational environment.
If this is your first "Video + Virtual Classroom" course, then I must tell you that the delivery of this course will be different from any other course you have taken. We can refer to the traditional courses you have taken as "face to face" courses, i.e., you meet on a weekly basis and come face to face with your instructor and fellow students. In our course, you will not meet face-to-face with me, nor will you see your fellow students in a classroom. But you WILL study and learn the identical material which is normally covered in the traditional face to face section, and you complete comparable assignments and projects.
As an enrolled student in CIS461, you will need to view 25 videotapes of the lectures which I normally present in the traditional classroom setting (details of renting these taped lectures are available from the home page of the NJIT Office of Distance Learning). If you do not have access to a video cassette recorder, you have an option to view these tapes on campus at the Interactive Learning Center, located within the SIM building near the entrance to the NJIT Library. The Interactive Learning Center is open approximately twenty hours per week, with days and times announced at the beginning of each semester.
You will have textbooks, assignments and examinations comparable to what is normally given in the traditional face-to-face sections. And, through the use of the "Virtual Classroom" and on-line interaction, you will be communicating both with me and your fellow students in ways not possible in the traditional classroom setting.
We will be using a group communication system called WebBoard for CIS461-DL. It is fairly simple to use, and quite powerful. We will have things set up for CIS461-DL on WebBoard by Wednesday or Thursday of the first week of classes; if you view this letter before classes, and are not familiar with WebBoard, you might wish to explore by going to http://webboard.njit.edu/
A university course represents a partnership in learning between you and your instructor. Each bears certain responsibilities. Your responsibilities and obligations in this course will differ from those of traditional courses. Perhaps the major obligation on your part will be to discipline yourself to the mode of the course delivery, and always to maintain currency. Basically, this means you will have to do the following:
o Log onto, and participate in, the on-line WebBoard conferences which are specified
for our course, and do so several times a week.
o Retrieve the assignments
which will be specified in an on-line conference, and submit them by the
designated due date.
o View the appropriate Video tapes containing the
lecture material, taking careful notes on the material presented, and do the
assigned reading in the textbooks.
o Take the midterm and final examination
on the specified dates to be announced.
The "link" between you, the student, and I, the instructor, will be the on-line communication capabilities of our "asynchronous learning network." It is fairly easy to learn and use, but of course, you will need a little bit of practice to get accustomed to it. Read carefully the material made available to you, and practice! There is on-line help available. And, don't be afraid to use the system, and yet don't be intimidated by features you may not need to know.
I will tell you, right off the bat, that the key to success will be your own self-discipline and motivation. You MUST allocate sufficient time several days a week for our course, and log on several times a week. You cannot fall behind. The better your discipline and motivation, and the more actively you participate in the designated conferences, the more you will derive from the course.
Read carefully the materials you are being presented with. Practice! Don't be afraid to make mistakes.
Your grade for the course will be based on the following:
1) Final Examination 34%
2) MidTerm Examination 33%
3) HW and Program
Assignments and Conference Participation 33%.
If you live within a 100 mile radius of NJIT/Newark, you will be required to take the midterm and final examination on campus on the date and time to be announced for each. (There are absolutely NO "make-up" examinations.) If you live outside of the 100 mile radius, we will make the necessary arrangements with you.
All assignments and projects will have DUE DATES, and you MUST meet these due dates or your submission will receive a grade of zero (F). And, though I hesitate the necessity of reminding you of this, in accordance with NJIT policies, any student found cheating (including collaborating with other students) in ANY aspect of this course will be referred to the Dean of Students Office, placed on disciplinary probation, and receive an automatic grade of F for the course.
If you need to contact me, you may reach me by email at CIS461@MyWay.com or by telephone at (973) 596-3395 (if no answer, then leave message either here or with the CIS Secretary at (973) 596-3366.
And, remember the keys to success in the course: self-discipline in terms of keeping up with the videotape viewings and textbook readings and assignments, and maintaining an active level of participation in the on-line conferences for Systems Simulation.
I also wish to inform you that, as part of NJIT's evaluation efforts, you might be asked to complete some questionnaires on the effectiveness of this new mode of course delivery. These will not take much of your time, and will help us to assess our endeavors.
Again, I welcome you to the exciting world of Systems Simulation, and I look forward to participating with you in this unique educational experience.
Sincerely,
Julian M. Scher, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Information Systems
College of Computing Sciences
Click below to
and to obtain the CIS461-DL Course Syllabus