Internet Governance Capacity Building Programme Online Course on Internet Governance

LEARNING ACTIVITY LIST WEEK 1

The Learning Activities lists contain the activities that you will perform each week, in order to work through the course materials at the same pace as the other course participants, under the guidance of your tutor. Please complete the activities by the given deadline. Although you may return to complete missed activities later, it is important to keep up with the rest of your group so you can take part in current discussions. The first few activities are aimed at helping you to become familiar the overall course content and the classroom. During both the first and the second weeks you will familiarise yourselves with your online platform and the methodology we will use in the course. If you have extra time, you may add additional contributions to the discussion. Level and quality of participation in activities forms a major part of evaluation for the course.

WEEK 1 (please complete these activities by May 21, 2011)

ACTIVITY 1.1 Goal Activity To log into the online classroom and let us know you've 'arrived'. Using the username and password and classroom URL you received by e-mail, log into your online classroom. Find the class blog (or message board) on the main page, and read the messages already posted by your tutor and other class members. Post a short message to let us know that you have successfully logged in, and to briefly introduce yourself to your classmates. Return to the Blog over the next couple days to read the messages posted by your colleagues. Refer to Section 4.3 of the Textus Learning User Guide if you run into any problems. You can find the Textus Learning User Guide by clicking on Help in the main (top) toolbar in the classroom. It is also posted as a text in the outline for Week 1

Follow-up

Tips

ACTIVITY 1.2 Goal Backgroun d To set your e-mail notification preferences. You can choose when to receive e-mail notifications for events in the online classroom: blog entries, forum postings, hypertext annotations and calendar events. This allows you to keep up-to-date with additions to the online classroom (new tasks, assignments, announcements, etc.) without having to log in several times each day. We recommend that you turn on your e-mail notifications at this point. Remember you can turn them on and off or change your preferences any time you wish.

Activity

In the online classroom, click on Preferences (main tool bar). In the box that opens, please select the frequency you prefer for each item (blog, forum, hypertext annotations and calendar). Click on Save, and then Close. Refer to Section 3.2 of the Textus Learning User Guide if you run into any problems.

Tips

ACTIVITY 1.3 Goal Background To upload your personal profile in the class Cantina. In an online class it can be a challenge to get to know your classmates. However, you will enjoy interacting with each other more if you know a bit more about each other. You can share some information about yourself along with a photo in the class Cantina. Open the Cantina from the main toolbar. When you click on your name you will see some basic information about yourself. Click on edit in the upper right hand corner to open the edit extended user information box. In the personal data space you can add any information you choose about yourself (academic and work background, research interests, hobbies, family, etc.), and then click on save. To add a photo, click on upload a photo, and then browse to locate the photo on your computer. Next, click on post photo. Your personal data and photo will now appear for anyone who opens your personal profile in the cantina. Please upload a photo of a reasonable file size (recommended not to exceed 100kB). Return to the Cantina to learn more about your classmates. Refer to Section 6.3 and 6.4 of the Textus Learning User Guide if you run into any problems.

Activity

Follow-up Tips

ACTIVITY 1.4 Goal Activity To Understand the outline and structure of the ISOC NGL E-Learning Course Read through the text 'Introduction to ISOC NGL eLearning Program. Familiarise yourself with the components of the learning process. Refer back to this outline as necessary during the course.

ACTIVITY 1.5 Goal Activity To familiarise yourself with the online classroom. Read through Section 1 of the Textus Learning User Guide (Text for Week 2) (and located in Help in the main toolbar) and try to locate the main elements of the online classroom described in this section. If you have any questions or come across any problems, please post a message in the blog to let us know, and well try to help.

ACTIVITY 1.6 Goal To practice making and responding to hypertext annotations and links.

Backgrou nd

One of our main methods of interaction is hypertext entries, adding both annotations and links, which allow you to add questions, comments, examples, references, additional information, disagreements, etc., to the lecture text. While an annotation is simply text, a link also includes a connection to another web resource. A link can be used to provide further information or to support your viewpoint. Please remember to include some text with the link, letting other users know what they can find on that webpage and why it is relevant. All HT entries, both annotations and links should reflect your learning process: we do not expect you to already know all the answers, but to develop new knowledge by asking questions of your own, raising new issues, and responding to those added by other participants. During the course, you will be asked to make 3 5 HT entries each week. These can be either annotations or links, or both.

Activity

Click on the Introduction to the classroom,text link or the User Guide (in the Learning Activities area in course outline) to open it. Add a practice annotation to some part of this text:

select a part of the text with your mouse (a word or phrase); click on the HT entry button (pen and notepad) in the upper left hand
corner;

in the box that opens, type the title or subject of your annotation in the
title field and the text of your annotation in the description field (you can erase any text that shows up automatically here);

 select Group visibility and click on save. The lecture text will refresh
and your annotation will show up highlighted in yellow. Now practice making a hypertext link:

choose the webpage to which you wish to link (you can use any
webpage on the Internet for this practice activity);

select the word or phrase in your lecture text from which you want to
link;

click on the HT entry button (pen and notepad) in the upper left hand
corner;

in the box that opens add a title and description of your web resource,
so we know why we should take the time to visit this web page. In the target page field, paste or type the URL (web address) for the web resource to which you wish to link;

select Group visibility and click on save. The lecture text will refresh
and your link will show up highlighted in yellow.

Follow-up

Return to the lecture text over the next couple days to read the HT entries and check the links added by your classmates. To read a HT entry, click on the yellow highlighted text and the post will open in a small box. You can follow a suggested link by clicking on the URL at the bottom of the box. Now try to add a response to one of the HT entries.

start by opening the HT post; click on action in the upper right hand corner to open the action
menu;

click on Respond, and add your response as you would a new

annotation or link;

when you save your response, it will appear in the list under the
original annotation or link. Click on the title of the response and it will open in a new small box.

Tips

When you make a HT entry, please select just a word or phrase,

and not the entire paragraph. If you select the entire paragraph it will make it more difficult for your classmates to make annotations on the

same text.

Refer to Sections 7 of the Textus Learning User Guide if you run

into any problems.