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Technology
Usage:
Listserv and Discussion Group
involvement―Every class
requires 'participation.' Participation always contributes to the
final grade. Failure to be actively engaged is the presumed opposite of
participation and earns an appropriate evaluation. Embedded in
'participation' is active use of the class listserv and electronic
discussion group. The primary means for out-of-class contacts with and
between class participants is group-distributed e-mail; this is a listserv specialty. The listserv is crucial for
'announcements'; the discussion group serves as a forum for
'conversation' about class-related activities.
E-mail. Faculty have been reminded that it is
university Policy to require the entire KSU community to
use their @kent.edu e-mail addresses as their primary source for sending
& receiving electronic communication. This results from overloads caused
to the KSU servers when spammers (and their virus laden fellow-travelers)
clog the KSU server because a KSU person is using a non-KSU address for
their primary mail identity. I regularly purge my e-address book of
non-@kent.edu (except for those e-addresses linked to a personally-owned
web domain and which are therefore presumed to have efficient spam/virus
filters). The text of the Policy follows:
"Students are responsible
for reviewing @kent.edu e-mail messages regularly (at least 2 times per
week). KSU administrators, staff and faculty will now conduct business
ONLY through @kent.edu e-mail accounts
If you do not use your @kent.edu
e-mail account ― please forward it to the e-mail account that you <do> use
on a regular basis. Instructions on how to forward your @kent.edu
e-mail can be found at by contacting Information Services at 330.672.HELP"
Class activities require access to
software presumed to be commonly available across the class group. Since KSU
has negotiated a give-away price for
Microsoft Office for all registered students then this is the assumed
common base. My instruction doesn't <require> that you're an owner of
MSOffice or
FrontPage 2003; however, it does presume that either you're
using this suite or have access to a functional alternative.
I will attempt to support the use of appropriate software in class
but only university supported software and never unlicensed
products.
Adobe Acrobat
Reader is a necessary program to be able to 'read' files
referenced in your classes. Unless
you have installed this program then you will be unable to access vital
class material. At the
Adobe
Reader download site you can find very helpful and specific
information on how to load this onto your computer.
MSWord users
should consider reviewing a free
APA Research Paper/Report format template available from Microsoft (go
to Microsoft.com and follow the
leads to Templates-for-Office, then travel to 'Academic').
It surely will save time since the routine elements are already embedded.
There is a description of
'essential computer skills for school psychologists,' (see 'Technology Competencies in the Support of Contemporary School Psychology') based on an
analysis of the scope of work for the contemporary school psychologist,
available at the KSU/SPSY program webpage.
Search Engines:
You may want to consider two specific
search engines that look through the indexes for (1) university pages [a
significant source of generally reliable information]; & also (2)
government pages [federal, state & local] which is where a great deal of
regulatory information resides. To access each of these search engines
go to: http://searchedu.com/ &
http://searchgov.com/, respectively.
These will direct you to sources more focused than you'll find at
generic search engine, such as
www.google.com. Having said that, if you <ARE> looking for the
sort of pages that parents access, then
Google is clearly the preeminent search engine. Finally, if you're a
user of Microsoft IE and find yourself enamored of Google then
you would probably be helped by adding the free Google search engine to
your tool bar. The instructions ― and it is <easy> to install ― are
found at Google task bar. I unreservedly recommend this feature. 
Grading:
Evaluation
of Students: Unless otherwise announced,
grades will be issued on a letter basis and will be determined by the
quality of work shown in completing the course requirements. The KSU
SPSY program has adopted a
policy on grading,
which states:
"Student
proficiency in course work is graded by letter grades as follows: A
indicates sustained superior attainment (91+%); B indicates
average attainment (80-90%); C indicates below-average
attainment (>80), D indicates far-below-average attainment.
Grades of B will be assigned to students who demonstrate
mastery of the curriculum content but whose performance is not
exemplary. Grades below B will be assigned when students do not
demonstrate mastery."
Getting
Grades Fast: It is possible to get class
grades within a few minutes of them being posted online by your
instructor, via the 'Web for
Students.' One way to access grades is to follow the links from
the College of Education 'Student
Services' web page (created by the helpful folks in 306 White Hall).
In the bottom right-hand corner of their web page click on 'web for
students.' From the web for students, click on 'login to student
services.' You will need to provide your student number, as well as your
unique six-digit pin number (the number you used at registration).
Alternatively, visit the KSU Registrar's
Grading
page. You cannot get grades for those classes where a
'grade change' is required (for example where you've already received an
'in progress' grade
such as for the first semester of Internship).
Make-up
for Mastery:
I try to
teach using a style I call 'mastery focused': By this, I understand
my task as assisting each participant to maneuver to the point of having
gained 'mastery' of each class' content to a point where it is
'functionally available' for professional use. I will make a
determination of what the criterial level is for each component task in
the class and attempt to bring each student to a point at or above that
mastery benchmark. Consequently, no-one is destined to 'fail'
unless he/she really works at it! Every activity has a fail-safe
opportunity for a second or even a third attempt so that failure
is rarely a contemplated option. Nonetheless, just like in the 'real
World' those who get to the finish line late only get a ribbon never
the winner's trophy. Thus, subsequent successful attempts at achieving
mastery are highly unlikely to gain an the highest grade grade since 'A' signifies
exemplary or superior attainment. Rather, a 'B' grade is generally
the realistic target where multiple attempts were needed.
Office
Hours
& Access
to Your
Instructor:
Office Hours. A limited number of 'sign-up' evening hours are generally
available each semester; these are selected to be on different evenings
so as to maximize convenience for those wishing to meet in the evenings.
Typically, these evening hours only number one per month. You must review the
Office
Hours section of this website for your class to identify exact
availability of the instructor; for some routinely scheduled times
cannot be honored due to conflicting College and other service
obligations. Priority for a return call goes to messages left with
my
office voicemail (330.672.2928), or my message box in 405 White Hall.
Nonetheless, the fastest response will always be for messages left at
<caven@kent.edu>
Emergencies should be directed to me at my cell number of
330.348.9369.
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Healthy
Food
in Class: Class
members are always encouraged to bring food & beverages to class ― perhaps
with some to share on a rotational basis. Let's make every effort to
ensure that our time together is comfortable for the body and the
mind!
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