Online Education Orientation Letters

Orientation letters enable you to introduce yourself and welcome students to your course. They help students plan their schedules, anticipate the time commitment, and understand what is required for their success in the course, such as course requirements and necessary hardware/software.

All orientation letters will be permanent, applicable to multiple semesters. Please do not include any semester-specific information. For classes that have specific meeting dates and times, we have included wording to direct students to refer to their class schedule for the meeting dates and times.

You might consider wording like “I will send an email to the class one week prior to the start date with additional information” instead of “I will send an email on August 12th”. This will allow your letter to be applicable to multiple sections, terms, and course lengths.

Course Number

E.g., PHILOS-101

Course Name

E.g., Introduction to Philosophy

Instructor

E.g, John Smith

Instructor Email

Please enter your COC email address, e.g, John.Smith@canyons.edu

Format

Online

OnlineLive

HyFlex

Hybrid

InPerson

Course Length

Applies to All Course Lengths

4 Week

5 Week

8 Week

12 Week

16 Week

Include a photo of yourself or a picture that represents your course? This photo will appear at the top right corner, next to your “Introduction”. (Please note that photos are automatically resized after they are uploaded to the Orientation Letter website. They may appear larger in the form.)

Yes

Optional Photo Upload

One file only.
15 MB limit.
Allowed types: gif, jpg, png.

Alternative Text
The Alt text (alternative text) describes an image on a web page for students who are viewing your letter with screen reading technology. It won’t be visible to those not using a screen reader.

Introduction
Who are you? What’s the first thing you’d like prospective students to know about your course?

Include a video?

Video Title

Provide a brief introduction to your video

E.g. “Watch this short video below to learn more about the course”.

Video ID

To obtain the ID of your video:
ID of YouTube Video Example: From the video URL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SU9Ll-Cd7Bg ONLY enter the video ID SU9Ll-Cd7Bg.

ID of Canvas Studio Example: From the embed code <iframe width="560px" height="320px" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay *" src="https://coc.us-west-2.instructuremedia.com/embed/18e86704-18f4-49ee-b36a-f62604075cb4" frameborder="0"></iframe> ONLY enter the text inside the embed source attribute 18e86704-18f4-49ee-b36a-f62604075cb4.

All videos MUST be captioned.

Course Description
Please provide a brief course overview. What topics will be covered in your course?

What to Expect in this Course
What can students expect for their weekly work load? What technology is required of students (such as a webcam, microphone, specific web browser, Canvas information, if applicable)? What type of projects or exams can students expect?

Types of Assessments
List the types of assessments students can expect in your course. For example “Proctored online exams, quizzes, online discussion boards, and written assignments”.

Textbook Information / If your course requires a textbook purchase, include information to help students find the book (Title, Author, edition, ISBN number, and link to book). If you are using an OER/ZTC textbook, let students know where to access it. For example “This course uses a Zero Textbook Cost book, which you can access at www.canyons.edu/ztc.

Other relevant course information
Is there any other general information, waitlist information, or online learning information students should know so they can succeed in your course?

Additional Resources

Information regarding Canvas, Online Education, The Learning Center, Disabled Students Programs and Services (DSPS), Online Counseling, and the management of stress and health will automatically be included on your orientation letter. You do not need to include this information in your submitted content.