Title: Module 1 - Sample
Course: Dev_TOPKIT_SAMPLE_COURSE_Bauer_S_67

HFT 6267 – Case Studies in Restaurant Management

Spring/2012

Protocols

Classroom Expectations

The following expectations will help you be successful in this course. Please carefully review these expectations and follow them.

1. Log in to the course at least twice a week to check course mail, announcements, and discussions.
2. Keep up with the weekly readings and assignments. You have online content to read each week for this class. Students who keep up with the weekly reading and assignments tend to do much better in this kind of class than those who do not.
3. Actively participate in the online and face-to-face discussions. The more engaged you are in the course, the more active your participation, the more you will get out of this experience.
4. Don’t miss a quiz. Missed quizzes may not be retaken.
5. Late assignment submissions will not be accepted and will result in a grade of zero.  Please refer to the course schedule to ensure that you submit assignments on time.
6. Academic integrity will be appraised according to the student academic behavior standards outlined in The Golden Rule of the University of Central Florida’s Student Handbook. See http://www.goldenrule.sdes.ucf.edu/ for further details.

Course Communication

Email and discussions are an integral part of this course. All course communications will be sent to you through the Webcourses@UCF mail tool. In addition, communication will occur via course announcements, discussion postings, and through your personal email address.

E-mail

E-mail will be an integral part of this course. Make sure you:

1. Check your Webcourses@UCF e-mail at least twice per week (more often is better).
2. Be patient and do not expect an immediate response when you send a message. Generally, two days is considered a reasonable amount of time to receive a reply.
3. Include "Subject" headings: use something that is descriptive and refer to a particular assignment or topic.
4. Be courteous and considerate. Being honest and expressing yourself freely is very important but being considerate of others online is just as important as in the classroom.
5. Make every effort to be clear. Online communication lacks the nonverbal cues that fill in much of the meaning in face-to-face communication.
6. Do not use all caps. This makes the message very hard to read and is considered "shouting."
7. Check spelling, grammar, and punctuation (you may want to compose in a word processor, then cut and paste the message into the discussion or e-mail).
8. Break up large blocks of text into paragraphs and use a space between paragraphs.
9. Sign your e-mail messages.
10. Never assume that your e-mail can be read by only you; others may be able to read or access your mail. Never send or keep anything that you would not mind seeing on the evening news.

Discussion Board

Many of the "rules of the road" or protocols that apply to e-mail also apply to the use of discussions. Use the following conventions when composing a discussion posting:

1. During a Discussion assignment, deadlines for posting to and replying will be specified with each assignment. It is a good practice to always check the Discussions multiple times during the week.
2. If you want to send a personal message to the instructor or to another student, use e-mail rather than the discussions (see above E-mail Protocols).
3. Use the appropriate Discussion Topic; don’t post everything on the "Main" Discussion Topic.
4. Be patient. Don’t expect an immediate response when you send a message.
5. A helpful hint for use with both discussions and e-mail --- Compose your message in your word-processing application in order to check spelling, punctuation, and grammar --- then copy and paste your composition into e-mail or the discussion. This also saves online time.
6. Everyone should feel free to participate in class and online discussions. Regular and meaningful discussion postings contribute to the learning experiences of students in the class.
7. Respect each other’s ideas, feelings and experience.
8. Be courteous and considerate. It is important to be honest and to express yourself freely, but being considerate of others is just as important and expected online, as it is in the classroom.
9. Explore disagreements and support assertions with data and evidence.
10. "Subject" headings: use something that is descriptive and refer to a particular assignment or discussion topic when applicable. Some assignments will specify the subject heading.
11. Use the "reply" button rather than the "compose" button if you are replying to someone else’s posting.
12. Do not use postings such as "I agree," "I don’t know either," "Who cares," or "ditto." They do not add to the discussion, take up space on the Discussions, and will not be counted for assignment credit.
13. Avoid posting large blocks of text. If you must, break them into paragraphs and use a space between paragraphs.
14. Use the Technical Discussion topic for assistance with technical issues. Use the Help Discussion topic for questions about course material or assignments. There will be specific discussion topics for particular discussions - pay close attention to the assignment, and post appropriately.

Assignment Protocols

- All assignments must be turned in via the "Assignment Tool". Please submit assignments by the due date and time indicated. Only assignments submitted to the "Assignments tool" will be graded. If your computer malfunctions, e-mail your assignment to the Instructor - before the deadline expires.
- Late work will not be accepted.
- Please read carefully the instructions for each assignment.
- Each assignment will have a specific subject heading. It is important to use the assigned subject heading and your name when submitting assignments.
- You will write directly the assignment in the tool or send assignments as word attachments. Assignments that are copy/pasted into course e-mail often lose formatting and are difficult to read, so if you are pasting an assignment make sure that it can be read.
- Please practice safe computing by having a virus detection program loaded on your computer that checks for viruses on e-mail, attachments, document, etc.
- If the subject heading of the attached assignment you are submitting does not match the assigned subject heading, I will not open the message and will delete it. Many viruses are spread in attachments. Using the proper assigned subject lets me know that a student in the class is sending the attachment.
- Please follow the directions to written assignments when submitting a word attachment. All papers submitted must comply with the following guidelines:
  - Typed using 12 point font (Times New Roman)
  - 1.0 spaced with 1" margins
  - Pages numbered on all pages except title page
  - Include tables or graphics only as needed and if they facilitate the understanding of the content. If you include tables or graphics, please make sure that you reference and discuss them in your text.  All graphics and tables should be included in attachments and not be considered as part of the number of text pages required. All tables and graphics should have an annotated source.
  - Please make sure to adhere to the page guidelines. Do not go over or under the stated page lengths. For example, if you are asked to write 2 pages for a specific section, please do not write 2.5 pates or 1 full page and the second page with missing lines or extra spaces.
  - Be error free - make sure you do a spell check and grammar check before submitting!

growing language. The important thing to remember is that all of the "cute" symbols in

Viruses and Technical Issues

A virus can spell disaster. Your use of a reputable anti-virus program is a requirement for participation in this course (good ones include McAfee or Norton).  Also, back up your files: "My hard drive crashed." "My modem doesn’t work." "My printer is out of ink." These events really do occur and they are really inconvenient when they do.  However, these are not valid excuses for failing to get your work in on time.

Technical Resources

For specific problems in any of the areas below or for further information go to the corresponding link for assistance.

- UCF Home Page will help find UCF resources
- UCF Computer Service Desk – You can also call the Service Desk at 407-823-5117.
- Learning Online This site provides information on study skills for distance learners, the library and the writing center.
- Buying a new computer or upgrading your current equipment – http://www.cstore.ucf.edu/
- Hardware/Software Requirements
- Technical Discussion Topic: If you have technical questions and/or problems, please post a message to the Technical Discussion Topic. I encourage members of the class who are technically proficient to also monitor this discussion topic and assist your classmates.
- If your equipment problems prevent you from using e-mail from home, there are computer labs on campus and virtually every public library offers Internet access.

TOPKit Sample Course created by Sue Bauer, John Raible, and Jessica Tojo. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.