There are several things you must do to prepare the course each time it is taught. Be sure to complete all revisions before students have access to the course (Week 0). Students will be given access to the course a few days prior to the start of the term, so it is very important that you have all revisions completed before the students log in to the course. Because a new master course template will be used each time a course is scheduled, you must follow the procedure every time you teach the course.  You will see mention of the Faculty Resources page throughout this section and this course.  You will receive access to the Faculty Resources page once you have successfully completed OLC 101.

Administrative:

Moodle Profile. You will complete this task to ensure up-to-date information is available each term.  Be sure to include your name, GMC email address, institution names from which you graduated, and the degrees earned.  Have you recently relocated, completed graduate training, or added a human or animal member to your family?  Students are interested in you as a person and want to feel a connection and a sense of community.

Profile Picture. Upload a professional profile picture.

Check all links in the course.  Sometimes websites change or are taken down/removed; YouTube videos may be removed as well.  You will need to submit a support ticket request with information on any broken or corrupted links as soon as you find the issue so the issue can be fixed before the beginning of class.  At the top of each course page, you will find a "Submit a Course Content Support Ticket" link.  This link is also located in the Faculty Resources page.

Send a Message to all students.  Show your students that you are interested in their success.  Send them an email or Moodle Message welcoming them to your class.  Introduce yourself and give them a brief overview (one or two sentences) about the course.  Help them get off to the right start by including student expectations for the course.  A Welcome Message template is provided to help you create a document that will provide your students the information they need to feel confident about their success.  The Welcome Message template is located in the Faculty Resources page and should be downloaded each term due to possible changes within the template.

Syllabus:

With two exceptions, all course syllabus language is standardized and cannot be changed. You are responsible for making the following revisions prior to the start of every term.

Introduction.  Update your personal information to include your name, title, e-mail address, office phone number (optional though highly suggested), office hours, and other contact information (SKYPE account, etc.).  Provide a brief summary of yourself and include what you do for a living, where you earned your degrees, and the types of degrees you earned.  Please DO NOT copy/paste your syllabus introduction from one term to the next!  Remember, a new master course template will be used each time a course is scheduled.  This means you must enter this information every time you teach the course.

It is very important that you update your office hours.  Office hours must include a minimum of one hour on a weekday and one hour on a weekend day.  You need not list specific dates, just days and times (e.g. Wednesday and Saturday, 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. EST).  The live chat sessions are optional and can be held at the same time as the posted office hours.

Course Schedule.  Refer to the Course Preparation Checklist and the Term Calendar located in the Faculty Resources page for correct dates/times.  Update the activity due dates for this page.

  • Refer to the Term Calendar for the Week 1 Discussion Forum initial response due date and deadline (traditionally Friday by 11:55 pm).
  • The Week 2-7 Discussion Forum initial response due date is Wednesday by 11:55 p.m.
  • The Week 2-7 Discussion Forum deadline is Sunday by 11:55 p.m.
  • The Week 2-7 Graded Activities (assignments, quizzes, exams, etc.) are due by 11:55 p.m. on Sunday.
  • Refer to the Term Calendar for the 

    Week 8 Graded Activities (assignments, quizzes, exams, etc.) due dates and deadlines.

GMC is on Eastern Standard Time (EST).

**The Term Calendar is the official place to find due dates.**

Main Page:

Set the Open Dates for all Course Weeks.  At the beginning of each term, the Week 1 - Attendance Requirement section AND the other eight weeks are hidden.  You will change the settings during course set up for the Week 1 - Attendance Requirement section and each week to restrict access so they automatically open at a specific date and time.  You will refer to the Frequently Asked Questions section in the Faculty Resources page for tutorials on how to set up the Week 1 - Attendance Requirement section AND the other eight weeks.  The Term Calendar located in the Faculty Resources page will list specific dates to open the Week 1 - Attendance Requirement section AND the other eight weeks.  Do not close the eyes for previous weeks and make sure all eyes for the weekly resources, discussion forums, activities, and quizzes/exams are open!  It is suggested that you switch your role to that of a 'Student' to see how the course appears from a student's view.  A tutorial is located in the Faculty Resources page.

Turnitin Assignments.  Not all courses in the GMC Global Online College use Turnitin for assignments.  If your course contains any Turnitin assignments, you will need to import the required rubric for each Turnitin assignment in your course.  Instructions will be listed in the course. You must ALWAYS grade using a rubric and it must be the correct one. Contact your Department Chair with any questions.

Assignment Due Dates.  In order for the assignments/quizzes/exams (not Discussion Forums) to show up on the course calendar, they must be edited on the main page.  Edit each assignment/quiz/exam and update the due dates/times associated with them.  Change the individual due dates by clicking the edit button and changing the “Open/Close the quiz” or “Due date” to the date that corresponds with the assigned due date.  Moodle uses a 24-hour clock or “military time,” so 00:00 refers to 12:00 a.m. and 23:55 refers to 11:55 p.m.  The open times for all assignments/quizzes/exams will be 00:00.  As noted in the Course Schedule section above, the close times for assignments will be 23:55 and the close times for quizzes/exams will be 23:55. 

Post to the Introductions Discussion Forum.  You want to be the first to post your introduction video. Instructions on how to do this are listed in the Faculty Resources page -> Frequently Asked Questions -> Introduction Video section.  Be sure to post personalized follow-up responses to each of your students in this forum.  Check the forum daily up to the last day of Week 1.  Keep in mind this is an optional/non-graded activity and not all students will participate.  It is suggested that you encourage them to do so in order to get to know one another.

Edit all of the Weekly Discussion Forums.  You will do this in order to make it appear as if you are the creator of the Discussion Forum.  Note that the Edit option from the main page must be selected.  If you open the Discussion Forum and then click edit it does not change the creator.  A tutorial for editing your weekly Discussion Forums is located in the Faculty Resources page. Note that not all Discussion Forums need to be edited. If your Discussion Forums are setup as Q&A Forums, you DO NOT need to follow this procedure.

Please contact your Department Chair if you have any questions about the above-required course revisions.

Last modified: Monday, January 29, 2024, 9:17 PM