GETTING STARTED
So you want to become a LOTH-U Instructor? Getting started is simple, if you have never been an instructor before at LOTH-U, or any online community, below is a 'checklist' for you to begin your new adventure! If you are a returning instructor, please make sure that you read over the Instructor FAQ before you fill out our Application.
Checklist:
____ Review the Instructors FAQ page
____ Decide on a Class Topic & Title, time & day
____ Decide on # of students, age requirements, and # of weeks of class
____ Plan your Syllabus (You must be pre-approved for under age 16)
____ Fill out the Instructors Application for each class you wish to teach
____ Register and Post your Lesson Plans on our IkonBoard Forums
____ Announce & Market your class for enrollment!
PLANNING YOUR SYLLABUS
When you fill out the application to become an Instructor, we ask you for a rough draft of your first 2 lessons plans/classes.* Before classes begin you will need to finish the planning of your Syllabus for the term. Basically, your Syllabus is simply a rough outline of your course study for the number of weeks you will have class. Although each class will differ with their specific syllabi, here is an example of what you will need to do:
I. Class Title
A. Week #1 - Class #1
1. Introductions, Pre-test for experience, cover Chapters 1 & 2.
2. Homework Due (add date) and assignment
B. Week #2 - Class #2
1. Questions from Homework
2. Cover Chapter 3 & assign Homework
C. Week #3 - Class #3
1. Pop Quiz from Chapters 1, 2, 3
2. Chapters 4 & 5
3. Homework Due (add date) and assignment
Your class will adjust due to the level of experience with your students, the amount of information you cover in each class (or book chapter), the number of weeks you will be holding class, whether you are email only or classroom instruction, and so many other factors, but at least by giving your students a simple Syllabus to review (unless of course you wish to keep quizzes out of the Syllabus!) they will know what to expect, and it will help keep you on track. If you have any more questions regarding a Syllabus, please contact KimberlyH.
*Please note: Any classes for students younger than 16, must have their entire syllabus completed and approved before classes begin.
HOMEWORK & GRADING
Instructors will be asked to assign homework where they believe necessary, as part of the learning process is homework and developing new skills. Students will email their homework assignments to their Instructors on the dates requested.
Because this is a learning environment, spelling, punctuation, and grammar, are an integral part of your homework.
Instructors will be asked to assign the following grades and grading scale for their students:
A = 94 - 100%
B = 88 - 93.9%
C = 70 - 87.9%
D = 60 - 69.9%
F = 59.9% and below; recommended to retake class
I = Incomplete; dropped out may retake class
S = Satisfactory completion
N = Needs improvement
U = Unsatisfactory - recommended to retake class Homework completion, exams, and classroom participation will all play a roll in determining your final grade for your class. There are to be no curves used.
EXAMS & FINAL EXAM
All courses include a final exam, given during the last week of classes.
Because not all classes will be operating on the same time schedule (# of weeks), please make sure that when you plan your Syllabus, you indicate when your Final Exam will be given. Do try and have your final exam "in class/conference rooms" if possible. Some classes may require a "Take Home" and that is perfectly acceptable. Try and set a time limit and adhere to it if needed. Students are expected on the honor system to email their exam back to the instructor during the designated return dates & times. There should be no time extension for final exams, so if your students request extension, please let them know to return what they have completed. All students in your class will receive identical exams.
Final grades must be recorded on your Student Data Base, and submitted to the Education Director, and students, within 14 days of the last day of class.
STUDENT CERTIFICATES
Students who complete your class with a grade of Pass/Fail or GPA of 65% or above are entitled to a Certificate of Completion. There is no additional charge for this, as it is part of their tuition fee when they joined class. Certificates will be issued, printed, and mailed from the corporate office of Ladies of the Heart, in Phoenix, AZ.
When you have completed your class for the term, please go to our Certificate Submittal Page and fill in the information for your students. The directory will be password protected and the information sent out through our Instructors Yahoogroups.
INSTRUCTOR INCENTIVES
Because we value your expertise, time, energy and enthusiasm as one of our LOTH Online University instructors, and we want to acknowledge all of our instructors, we have added an Incentive Plan. It works like this: Each student who enrolls in LOTH-U may take up to 2 classes for a tuition fee of $5.00. For every student who takes your class and completes it, you are given .50¢. If 10 students sign up and complete your class, you will have earned $5.00. If 20 students sign up and complete your class, you have earned $10.00. However, if 5 of those 20 students drop your class before their final exams, your incentive will have dropped to $7.50.
Since we are "open" to the general public, marketing your class in your community and to your neighbors, family and friends will benefit you! Once your class has been approved, you are free to post notes at your local grocery store, online in your favorite chat groups, or visit your local newspaper's message board system and post a "Come and Join LOTH-U & my class" type of advertisement. The strategy and marketing are all up to you as the Instructor.
For more questions on our Instructor Incentive plan, please feel free to email the Education Department or bring the topic to our Instructors yahoogroups for discussion.
STUDENT DATA BASES
Instructors are emailed their "Student Rosters" the week before classes begin with student information already filled in. If you wish to contact your students before classes begin, that is entirely up to you. Many Instructors from previous terms have posted welcome messages and a "pre-test" or "pre-assignment" on our IkonBoard Forums.
The Student Roster is in Excel, and you should have some knowledge of the program. If you have any questions regarding Excel, please contact KimberlyH.
You can download a blank copy of the Student Roster by clicking here
DROP / ADD POLICY
Students who wish to drop your class must fill out the Student Drop Form. It is extremely important that you encourage your "missing" students who are not attending class to go to the form and fill out the information completely so that our records are up-to-date. Because we now have the Instructor Incentive Plan, we are relying on the "honor system" for all of our instructors. If your students have "disappeared" and have not responded to your attempts to contact them, please take the time to go to the student drop form and submit the information for them. Additionally, you will need to keep record of this on your Student DataBase/Roster.
Please note that there are no tuition refunds for students.
AGE RESTRICTIONS
We have opened our doors to the LOTH Members, their families and also the general public. Due to the sensitivity of some of the potential class topics, the age limit across the board is 16, and there are no exceptions unless first granted approval and permission by the Education Department.
If you choose to teach a class to younger children, your entire class topic, title, and syllabus must be pre-approved. Expect that you will also have an Education Administrator enter your class "unannounced" from time to time.
Because we are now open to the general public, you will also have men and women in your class. Registration into the IkonBoards and our Chatrooms will be on a first name, last initial, as we will not permit entering the chatrooms and forums with nicknames. Our goal is to keep this a "learning" environment, not a "flirting" one!
BANNING DISRUPTIVE STUDENTS
All instructors have moderator priviledges on the IkonBoards. If you have a student (or students) who flame others, use strong curse language, and at any time display a sexist attitude toward you or other students, please contact the Education Department immediately. Please include the students name, email address and a copy of anything said or posted for us to review.
IkonBoard Adminstrators will permanently ban a person's email address and IP number.
EMAIL ONLY CLASSES
Some instructors will prefer to hold their classes via email. Email classes are a benefit to those students who live in completely different time zones, who work full-time if a day class is offered, and can generally encourage more students to attend your class. It is expected that all Instructors will work with students who cannot attend a "classroom setting".
Instructors who prepare email only classes are required to follow the same rules and guidelines here on our FAQ and the Application pages, as are classroom instructors. As an email only class, you are also required to utilize the IkonBoard Forums, so please do familiarize yourself with these forums before classes begin.
IKONBOARD FORUMS
At this time, we are using the IkonBoard Message Forum system for our Syllabus & Homework posting, Students General Announcements, Instructors general announcements; and also students questions and discussions.
The IkonBoard takes a bit to get accustomed to - and it is Highly Advisable that you visit it, post your lesson plans, and learn your way around the Forums before classes begin. You will need to do several things for the IkonBoard:
(1) REFRESH Often - make it a habit.
(2) Clear your cache, history and "cookies" because a bad cookie strand will not allow you to log into the Board.
(3) Post your Syllabus & Homework in the Forums under your Class Title.
(4) You are a moderator in your classroom on the IkonBoard, so you will have deleting priviledges; for your class only.
For information and a FAQ for the IkonBoard System, please refer to:
IkonBoard FAQ
CLASS CHATROOMS
NOTE: Please do not use TalkCity; Yahoo, Parachat, or personal website for classroom chats, a request per Kari.
We have set up seven (7) Bravenet chatrooms for our classes - aka "Classrooms". Each class that prefers to have a "chat-setting" will be assigned one of the rooms during their day & time. Classrooms #7 is always "open", and never assigned so that students and teachers may go there for one-on-one sessions, study groups, etc.
For your classroom schedule, please go to: Classroom Schedule**
One of the best ways for some students to learn is through study groups. Encourage your Students to utilize the chatroom and form their own study groups revolving around your lesson plans.
If you have never used chatrooms before, it is common for some interruption during your scheduled lesson, so please don't hesitate to remind your students to wait until you are done explaining and are ready for general questions. Please do not allow off topic chatting unless it is before or after your scheduled class time. Students should be aware of the basic rules of Netiquette Chatting and be giving your their full attention during the class.
**Note: Classroom Schedules are not posted until student registration begins.
MISCELLANEOUS INFO
Know that we are learning and growing with all of you that have signed up to be instructors, but we are extremely excited about LOTH University, and do hope that all of you are also! There are a few important miscellaneous bits of information that as instructors, you should be aware of. Please read over the following, and if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.
ICQ: All Instructors must have ICQ. If you do not have this program, you can download and install it by going to: http://web.icq.com/.
Course Schedules: Your name, email, icq and class time, along with any books or supplies that you need your students to get will be posted on the listing of Courses.
Mailing List: We will be utilizing YahooGroups for a mailing list, chatgroup for our LOTH University Instructors.
Alternate Email Addys: You are free to set up an alternate email address to use for your students & the Yahoogroups for Instructors; please advise as soon as possible if you do so.
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If you have questions, comments or suggestions that have not been answered to your satisfaction, our door is always open, so please contact the Education Department.
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Disclaimer: We do not offer medical, physical, emotional, marital or any type of Professional Counseling or Diagnosis. It is the responsibility of each individual to contact their personal physician for questions concerning any physical, mental and emotional health issues that might need professional advice. Additionally, Ladies of the Heart, Inc. (LOTH) is not responsible for same individuals not contacting their physicians.
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