Introduction to ESE 424

Welcome to ESE 424, Foundations of Special Education. I am pleased that you are interested in taking this course and working learning about children with mild disabilities. This is my first time teaching this course on the web, so I am sure there will be some times where things do not go as you or I anticipated, but I think that happens in all classes. I am committed to making this a wonderful learning experience for you so feel free to contact me by email (Larry.Gallagher@nau.edu), phone (520-523-5083) or, if you happen to live in the Flagstaff area, drop in. I am very interested in your perceptions of the course on the web this semester so let me know what you think.

ADDRESSES:

The address for the course is: http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~ldg/ese424/

I have not password protected the class so you will not need to worry about remembering a userid and a password

STRUCTURE:

As you browse through the information you'll notice that the course is divided up into FOUR modules (what teachers call "units") and each module has between ONE and FOUR topics (what teachers call "lessons"). The class begins with the Pre Lesson, which you are doing right now. Currently, only the first 3 are online. The rest will be posted as soon as they are completed and "web ready."

Why isn't the whole course up? Well, I was assigned to take over this class late last semester. I have been working diligently to translate the content from the face-to-face version of the class I have taught into a web format -- quite a challenge. I anticipate being about 3-4 weeks ahead of you in posting web content. For those of you that are "go getters" I apologize that you cannot push through the course in one concerted effort. I am hoping to have the entire class posted by the first week of March. Highlights (bright blue highlights) will make it clear what sections of the class are available (those hightlighted) and which are not (grayed or black). If you come across anything anywhere that does not work as you expected it to,email me immediately so I can get these fixed. Similarly, if you see any broken links or misspelled words, let me know. Although I wish it weren't the case, I am not perfect.

INTERACTIONS:

You'll be interacting with me, and in some assignments, with other class members. I will be reviewing your work and sending you comments. You will also receive a confirmation for any assignments as soon as the task has been submitted. As many of you classroom teachers are aware, it's not timely to grade things as they trickle in. Therefore, things will be graded in batches. I will commit to getting you your feedback in a timely manner.

Many of us have been spoiled by email interactions that are instanteous and I wish that I could promise you that I will do the same. Reality, however, will probably dictate otherwise. If you are accustomed to receiving a response to your email within an hour or two I cannot guarantee that I will meet this expectation. If you need a quick response, please indicate that at the top of your email message. Questions ABOUT assignments and the course will take priority. I cannot promise that you will receive an immediate response when you email a completed assignment (especially if it is on a weekend). I am generally close to, and frequently check, my email Monday through Friday during business hours (7:30 am to 4:30 pm for me). Occasionally, I will check my email at other times. If so, I will respond as quickly as I can.

Finally, there will be days when you don't hear from me at all. I am treating this teaching experience like any "live" (what an awkward word -- what is the alternative) experience, taking weekends off, having days when we don't have contact with our students, etc. I have a full teaching load, Karen has a full class load and a family. However, I will endeavor to get you all of the information you need as quickly as I can. Please let me know when things are urgent so that we can respond accordingly.

I can tell from the phrasing of your messages on email and vcc that you are all hanging in there with patience and professionalism. I do appreciate this! Remember that these courses are designed to be easy to use. If you feel overly frustrated, call or email and we'll get you on track.

That's all for this now. Hopefully, our "housekeeping" can be cut down considerable by next week.

THE VCC and Class Discussion Board: (not operational yet)

I will be notifying each of you in an email when the VCC structure and Class Discussion Board are set up and ready to use.

We will be using the Virtual Conference Center (VCC) and a class discussion board to complete group projects in later modules in the class. The VCC requires a userid and password. The class discussion board, as those of you who took ESE 380 from me know, does not. The VCC password must be your dana account id and password. If you do not have a dana account, visit the getting started page of the class to learn about how to set one up. If you make a mistake and incorrectly enter a different password, please go back into the VCC and register again using your dana account information.

If you have any questions about the class, syllabus, etc., please ask them in the VCC, under the heading syllabus. I would like for the rest of the class to be able to see your good questions (and hopefully my good answers.). Similarly, please ask your questions under item 2, do NOT add another item to the conference list.

THE BOOK:

Get the book as quickly as possible. You may have trouble getting the 3rd edition from online bookstores. I'll be working to contact them in the next few days to get them to list it with current prices. Maybe you all can email them as well. Make sure to include the ISBN number when you do (0-205-29066-3). Goodbye and goodluck, I'll be responding to your questions tomorrow.

Well, it's onward and upward. Your first two assignments are to complete a biography and review the syllabus. You can go to either (or both) by using the hyperlinks below. If you are interested in viewing my biography, go to http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~ldg/ese424/class/larrybio.html. This may give you some ideas.

Good luck and let me know what you think.

Larry

Go on to either Your Biography or Syllabus

or
Go back to The Class Page

E-mail the instructor at Larry.Gallagher@nau.edu

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ALL RIGHTS RESERVED