NSO001 Course Transcript 1

NSO001: New Student Orientation
eCornell Student Success
New Student Orientation

What you'll do
Become familiar with Canvas and the student dashboard, and learn
how to customize your learning experience
Examine and practice how to successfully complete assignments and
quizzes
Understand recommended practices in establishing a learning
schedule, course navigation, and managing deadlines
Learn how to get help with specific problems and questions that might
arise during your course
Course Description
This short (45- to 60-minute) custom-designed orientation will
ensure that you hit the ground running on your eCornell
courses! It covers several common areas of concern for our
learners, including how to use and customize the course
delivery platform, successful completion of quizzes and projects, best practices in
setting a learning schedule and managing deadlines, and where to turn for more
help when you need it. We hope this orientation is informative, fun, and that it
helps you get off to a great start.
Note: for maximum benefit, you should plan to complete this course before the
live orientation session that precedes your first day of the course in which you're
enrolled. This will ensure that you have an opportunity to use that time for
questions about any remaining matters that aren't addressed in this course.
Welcome Transcript
Hi, my name is Heidi Makela. I'm the Senior Director of program operations and
student success here at eCornell. We are excited to have you as a student in our
online programs. This new student orientation course will give you great
information and tips on how to be successful in your eCornell courses. If at any
point in your journey with the eCornell you feel you need extra assistance, I urge
you to reach out to our help desk or student success team. Your success is our
success. Welcome to eCornell.
© 2020 eCornell. All rights reserved. All other copyrights, trademarks, trade names, and logos are the sole property of their respective owners.
Table of Contents
Module 1: Using Canvas
Module 1 Introduction: Using Canvas

Watch: Accessing The Dashboard and Your Course
Read: Setting Your Profile and Notifications
Watch: The Home Page
Watch: Course Navigation
Watch: Checking Due Dates in the and the Course Calendar
Read: Meet Your Class and Discussion Boards
Take a Quiz
Download and Submit a Sample Project
Read:
Module 1 Wrap-up: Using Canvas
Module 2: General Expectations and Mechanics

Module 2 Introduction: General Expectations and Mechanics
Read: Setting Your Learning Schedule
Read: Grades
Watch: Canvas Inbox and Course Communications
Read: Student Portal
Read: Transfers, Drops, and Retakes
Watch: Support Resources — Knowledge Base, Tech Support, and Help Desk
Module 2 Wrap-up: General Expectations and Mechanics
Course Resources
Read: Helpful Links and Contact Information
Module 1: Using Canvas

Watch: Accessing The Dashboard and Your Course
Watch: Checking Due Dates in the and the Course Calendar
Take a Quiz
Read:
Back to Table of Contents

In this module, you will be introduced to Canvas, the
learning management system in which eCornell
courses are developed and delivered. Our research
suggests that our students' comfort level with Canvas
is one leading indicator for their ultimate success,
and we hope this brief overview will help you get off
on the right foot.
By successfully completing this module, you will:
Know how to log into and access your eCornell courses.

Learn where to locate important course elements, including account info,
notifications dashboard, and shortcut menu, and how to use them.
Understand how to identify the various page types and features in a typical
course.
Find out how to successfully complete and submit graded assignments,
including discussion boards, quizzes, and projects.
When you're ready, click the "Next" button at the bottom of this page to get
started.
Watch: Accessing The Dashboard and Your

Course
The first step to a successful learning experience is accessing the course. In this
video, we show you how we recommend you do that, and also introduce a few
tools you'll find helpful during your course.
Video Transcript
The Canvas dashboard serves as the main entry to your course, as well as the
tools that help you customize your learning experience. The most direct path to
your dashboard is through eCornell's Canvas login page. We recommend using
Chrome or Firefox when interacting with Canvas. eCornell does not support the
Canvas mobile app. After you've opened one of those browsers on your
computer, you're going to type lms.ecornell.com, and then you're going to enter
your e-mail address and your password to login. This brings you into your
personal dashboard.
At 9:00 AM Eastern Time on the day your course begins, a course card will
appear in your dashboard as shown here. Other useful buttons in the top toolbar
include: Keynotes, which connects you to eCornell's collection of live and on-
demand webinars, we have Calendar, Inbox, Admin, and the Help tools, all tools
that we'll cover later on the orientation, and we have the Account, which allows
you to set up your profile notifications preferences. We'll cover the account area
in detail shortly.

We strongly recommend that you set up your student profile and notifications
preferences before your course begins. Click the edges of the slider below to
read more about how to do that.
Click to Access the Activity
Account options: From the account settings panel, click "profile."
Profile: Select the "edit profile" button to provide a headshot, contact information,
bio, and any links. At a minimum, we recommend that you include your headshot
to help your classmates and instructor recognize you in discussions. However,
you can choose how much information to provide.
Notifications: Now click "Notifications."
Notification Preferences: In the "Notifications Preferences" panel, you can set

your preferences for the emails you receive about course activities — which ones
you want to be notified about, and how often you want to be notified.
Notification Preferences: We strongly recommend that you select "Notify me

right away" right away for notifications about due dates, announcements, grading,
and invitations. If you find that you are receiving too many or too few emails about
any course activity, you can adjust these preferences during the course to better
meet your needs.

The Canvas home page is an important repository of information about your
course. In this video, we describe the most common components of the home
page, illustrate some basics of course navigation, and show you where to find
and download the course transcript.
Video Transcript
The homepage will give you much of the information you need to get off to a
great start in the course. Let's take a moment to explore it. Some common
elements of the course homepage include; a welcome video that introduces you
to the faculty author and the course topics in brief, an area describing the various
components of the course like the number of quizzes, discussion boards, and
more, an area that outlines the work you'll do, a detailed course description, and
a bio for the faculty author.
At the bottom of the page is a Start Your Course link. We recommend that you
always use that button to move ahead to the first page of the course. In the top
left corner of this page is a "Menu" button. Click here to view the course pages in
a vertical menu, as well as a few handy shortcuts. You can use this to return to
the homepage wherever you are in the course. Finally, take note of the location of
the course transcript which is a printable version of the course. Click this link to
download the transcript in PDF format. You probably won't need the transcript
during the course but it is yours to keep for reference after the course has ended.

This video illustrates our recommended approach to navigating through your
Canvas course.
Video Transcript
The Canvas platform provides many options for course navigation, but that
flexibility sometimes leads students to overlook one or more pages of course
content. For the best possible learning experience, we strongly recommend that
you use only the navigation buttons. Those are the Next and Previous buttons at
the bottom of every course page.
This approach ensures that you'll definitely see every page, tool, and activity in
the correct order. We also recommend that you use the left-hand menu only as a
reference or as a way to quickly return to a previously viewed page. For example,
to refresh yourself about something that was covered a little earlier during your
current learning session. Or when you first return to Canvas for your next learning
session.
Watch: Checking Due Dates in the and the

Course Calendar
All due dates for your eCornell coursework will be clearly described in the
syllabus and on the course calendar. The video below shows you how to use
those tools to ensure you are meeting your instructor's expectations.
Important: If you are not able to complete all work by the end date of the course,
please be in touch with your instructor as early as possible! They can help you
determine the best course of action.
Video Transcript
You have several means of tracking upcoming deadlines for your coursework.
We recommend that you rely primarily on the course syllabus to keep these
deadlines in view. We recommend that you use the Course Calendar only as an
optional backup reminder tool. In the left-hand menu, open "Course Shortcuts"
and then click on "Syllabus". In the syllabus, you find the assignments listed in
order with the times and dates they are due. In most cases, these due dates or
recommendations rather than strict cut-off times, but please pay attention to any
special instructions from the instructor about deadlines.
For extra assurance, you may find it useful to synchronize the course calendar
with your preferred calendar app. In the toolbar at the top of your Canvas
window, click on "Calendar." From here, look for the Calendar feed link on the
right side of your screen and click it. You can copy a link for use in web apps like
Google Calendar, or you can download an ICS file for use in standalone apps like
Outlook or iCal.
There's one important note of caution about these tools. In both of them, your
assignments appear as clickable links. If you click them, you'll go directly to the
assignments in the course. This could cause you to skip over important learning
material. Therefore, we do not recommend that you navigate to your coursework
in this way. Instead, always and only use the navigation buttons at the bottom of
each course page.

eCornell courses often incorporate one or more discussion assignments. In
fact, when your course begins, one of the first things you'll do is make a post
about yourself in a "Meet Your Class" discussion forum. Click on the arrows in the
slider below to learn how to successfully participate in discussions.
Access the Activity
Read the Topic and Instructions: Always be sure to carefully read the
discussion topic and instructions! In addition to describing the topic and questions
you need to discuss, this is where you will find important information about how
many course discussions you are required to participate in, how long you posts
should be, and whether you are expected to respond to the posts made by other
students.
Review Plagiarism Policy: Before you make your first discussion post in a
course, take the time to review the plagiarism policy, so you can be sure all work
you submit in the course meets eCornell's standards for academic integrity.
Posting your reply: Click on the "reply" bar to open the text-editing box. You
may need to scroll down past other students' previous posts to find the "reply"
bar.
Enter your reply: For a simple text post, just type directly into the text box.
Common formatting tools are provided in the toolbar at the top. You can make a
video response by using the "record video" button in the toolbar. And you can
attach a file by using the "attach" link.
Post your reply: When you're finished with your post, click the red "Post reply"
button. Your response will appear in the thread with your fellow students' posts.
Take a Quiz
Complete this short self-graded quiz to check that you understand the mechanics
of taking a quiz in Canvas. You can take it as many times as you like.
Note: Course Transcript PDFs do not contain quiz questions/answers.

Use this page to practice downloading and submitting a course project. This is
NOT a graded assignment! You will not receive feedback or a grade for your
submission — it is simply an opportunity for you to practice the mechanics you'll
use when completing your course project.
Instructions:
Download the File NSO001_Sample_Project_Word_Document.docx could not be

included in the ePub document. Please see separate zip file for access. and the
File NSO001_Sample_Project_Excel_Document.xlsx could not be included in the
ePub document. Please see separate zip file for access..
Open each one in Word and Excel (respectively), follow the instructions provided,
and save them both.
Save your work as one of these file types: .doc, .docx, .xls, .xlsx, .or .pdf. No
other file types will be accepted for submission.
Click the "Submit" button to find and upload BOTH of your completed files from
your computer. (Remember, you need to upload both before you finalize your
submission.)
Review your submission to ensure it went through correctly. If it didn't, click the
"Re-Submit Assignment" button to try again.
Before you begin:
Please review eCornell's policy regarding plagiarism (the presentation of

someone else's work as your own without source credit).
Read: Course Exit Survey
eCornell's success is driven by our

passion for creating world-class
learning opportunities. In order to
ensure we continue to exceed our
own goals, we need to hear from
you!
At the end of your course, you will be
given the opportunity to complete an
exit survey, in which you'll be invited
to offer your feedback on the
learning experience: the course
materials, the quality of instruction,
and how well it all met your
expectations. Please take the time to complete this survey — your opinion
matters, and it will give us the information we need to continue to develop
the best-available online learning into the future!

In this module, you were introduced to Canvas and to the main tools and
assignment types you'll encounter during your courses with eCornell. We hope
this helps you feel more comfortable with the platform, so you can jump right in
and start learning.
Before moving on, feel free to return to any page that you want to review for
better understanding. When you feel you're ready, click the Next button below to
start the next module.
Module 2: General Expectations and

Mechanics
Module 2 Introduction: General Expectations and Mechanics
Read: Grades
Watch: Canvas Inbox and Course Communications
Watch: Support Resources — Knowledge Base, Tech Support, and Help Desk
Module 2 Wrap-up: General Expectations and Mechanics
Module 2 Introduction: General Expectations and

Mechanics
In this module, you will learn about some of the
broader mechanics involved in successful
completion of your eCornell course, as well as
important expectations your instructor will have of
you as a student.
By thoroughly completing all elements in this module,

you will:
Learn how to schedule your learning time for the

best possible experience and outcomes.
Understand how to use the gradebook and communications portals.
Learn how and when to request course transfers and retakes, and the
regulations and fees surrounding those requests.
Know where and how to find answers to questions and help with problems
you encounter.
When you're ready, click the "Next" button at the bottom of the page to get
started.

Establishing your learning schedule right out of the gate will help ensure a
successful experience in your eCornell course. While there will always be some
variation, here are the main scheduling considerations every student in every
course should take into account.
Keep in Mind
Every course is different. Always pay
attention to posted deadlines and to
any special instructions from your
instructor.
Make sure that you enroll in courses in the correct order.

In many certificate programs, students are required to complete courses in a
specific order.
If you are uncertain about whether you are on track, please reach out to your
enrollment counselor before the course begins.
For the most effective learning experience, we strongly recommend that
you plan to devote regular time every day to completing coursework.
Depending on the course, that will usually be between 30 and 60 minutes per
day (approximately 3-5 hours per week).
With very few exceptions, every eCornell course is fully online.
This means that all coursework, as well as any meetings with your instructor
or with other students, will take place at your computer.
Most eCornell courses are fully asynchronous.

This approach affords you flexibility in scheduling your learning time, so long as
you remain aware of the due dates for all assignments.
Many courses include at least one real-time office hour session with the
instructor, and some courses involve regular real-time class meetings. These
requirements will be explained in the syllabus and course announcements.
The starting and ending dates of eCornell courses are absolutely firm. All
coursework must be completed by the date the course ends.
Pro tip: Due dates for all graded activities (quizzes, discussions, and projects)
are provided in the gradebook, syllabus, and course calendar, as well as on the
right-hand side of your dashboard.
Read: Grades
The Gradebook is an important source of information that can be critical to the
successful completion of your course. Click on the arrows in the slider below to
learn more about grading schemes, various Gradebook marks and symbols, and
more.
Access the Activity
Find the Gradebook: Under the left-hand menu, open course shortcuts and click
on "Grades."
Set your Gradebook View: You can look at the gradebook information in several
different ways — ordered by due date, by assignment title, and so forth. Select
the view that best meets your needs, and click "Apply."
View your Grades: Quiz grades will appear as soon as you complete them.
When you complete discussions or projects, you will see a document symbol.
Once your instructor has graded those assignments, that symbol will convert to a
numerical grade.
Weighted Grades: to the right, you can see how your assignment grades are
weighted.
Grading Schemes: The most common grading scheme in eCornell courses is

Complete/Incomplete. Your instructor will let you know the specific requirements
and what you must do to successfully complete the course.
Remember: Use the gradebook to be sure you have submitted all coursework
and met all requirements to successfully complete the course. At a minimum, we
recommend that you check the gradebook after you submit your last assignment
to be sure you haven't missing anything.
Watch: Canvas Inbox and Course

Communications
During your course, you'll receive regular communications from your instructor,
and you may also need to contact your instructor with questions. This video
covers eCornell's recommended communication methods.
Video Transcript
At the beginning of the orientation, we showed you how to set your notifications to
receive important alerts about course activity by e-mail. You can read course
notifications by going into your Canvas inbox, which you can access by clicking
on the "Inbox" button in the top toolbar. All course communications, instructor
announcements, reminders, and other alerts will show up in both the Canvas
inbox and your e-mail inbox. Regardless of which location you choose, please
check your inbox everyday. This ensures you're getting course information in a
timely manner, it prevents you from falling behind on course activities, and it will
also help resolve any course expectations or deadlines that might differ from the
more common ones we described earlier in the orientation.
What about when you need to contact someone for help with the course? We
offer several avenues for getting the assistance you need. If your question is
about the learning materials or mechanics specific to the course, you should bring
it directly to your Instructor. The easiest way is to click the "Help" button in the top
toolbar, and then select "Ask Your Instructor a Question." You can also pose
questions directly in discussion boards, although you should be sure they are
relevant and beneficial to other students. For other questions, the knowledge
base, tech support and the Help Desk are here to assist you. We'll cover those
resources shortly.

Your Student Portal — accessible at portal.ecornell.com/ — provides access to
several important resources, including your enrollment history, certificates, and
completion letters. Click on the arrows in the slider below to learn more.
Access the Activity
Student home: On the student homepage you can see all the courses for which
you are registered, as well as any announcements or upcoming events.
Student profile: The profile tab gives you options to change any personal
information you have stored. Enrollment history: The enrollment history tab allows
you to view all of the courses in which you're enrolled, as well as those you've
completed or dropped. This tab is also where you go to initiate a transfer request.
Enrollment history: for any course you have completed, you can access and
print a letter of completion here.
Certificates: The certificates tab is where you will find your pending and
completed certificates. Once you complete a certificate, click the "print certificate"
button to print a copy!
Questions: if you have any questions, select the help tab. The Help page
provides quick assistance tips, a link to our knowledge base, information on how
to retrieve your username and password, and other helpful tools and information.

Our courses are designed for maximum engagement and successful results. But
we know that even the best-laid plans may have to change sometime. For this
reason, eCornell has clear and consistent policies on course drops,
transfers, and retakes.
Our policies on drops and transfers are outlined here:

https://www.ecornell.com/about-ecornell/payment-options/drop-and-transfer-
policy/ For more specific details and procedures, click on the tabs below.
Transfer Policy and Procedures

Drop Policy
Retake Policy
The deadline for requesting a transfer is 5 PM Eastern (ET) on the day

before your course begins. However, we strongly encourage you to start
the process as early as possible to avoid any problems with your transfer
request.
The process for initiating a transfer request is outlined in detail here:

http://ecornell.force.com/help/articles/FAQ/How-can-I-change-my-course-start-
date-s-or-schedule/
eCornell's drop policies have some restrictions, and they vary depending on your
enrollment.
If you are enrolled via your organization's registration portal, requests to

drop a course must be made by email, prior to the start of the course, to
droptransfer@ecornell.com.
If you have prepaid for enrollment in a full certificate program only, requests
to drop and receive a full refund must be made by email, within 30 days of
registration, to droptransfer@ecornell.com. No refund will be given after 30 days
of registration.
If you enrolled under a single-course purchase or the Pay As You Go

option, requests to drop must also be made by email to
droptransfer@ecornell.com. However, in these situations, no refund will be given,
regardless of the time the drop request is made.
If you aren't able to complete all required work before your course ends,
you will need to retake it in order to earn the credential. A retake fee will
usually apply. Contact the Help Desk at helpdesk@ecornell.com for further
information.
Watch: Support Resources — Knowledge Base,

Tech Support, and Help Desk
At eCornell, we believe that your success is our success. We have many
resources available to help you succeed in reaching your educational goals. In
this video, we cover three of the most important of those resources, as well as
how and when to use them.
Video Transcript
eCornell is dedicated to ensuring every student has the opportunity for a
successful learning outcome. During your course, you have virtually 24/7 access
to many resources for help with problems, or answers to questions. A great
resource for finding answers to many common questions is our searchable
knowledge base. Inside your course or your dashboard, go to the top toolbar and
click "Help", then click "Search our Knowledge Base." Enter your question, or any
terms related to your question into the search box. You'll be given a list of links to
the most likely answer pages. Whenever you have a question, we strongly
recommend you try the Knowledge Base first. In most cases, you'll find that it's
the quickest source for answers to your questions.
On the other hand, if you're having technical trouble with Canvas or other
technologies used in the course, your first point of contact is our tech support
team. In the left-hand menu, open "Course Shortcuts," and then click on "Chat
with Tech Support" to chat with or leave a message for someone on our tech
team. If neither of those resources gives you the assistance you need, then our
Help Desk is here to help you. The best way to reach the Help Desk is by e-mail
to helpdesk@ecornell.com. This creates a ticket which allows us to make sure
your question is directed to the person who's best equipped to answer it.
Module 2 Wrap-up: General Expectations and

Mechanics
In this module, you were given an overview of the main strategies for success as
a student in your eCornell courses. We hope you found it engaging and useful.
If there are any pages or topics you'd like to review, please take the time to do
that now. Remember that you are welcome to come back to this orientation at
any time, as well. And also remember that, if you still have any questions or
concerns, you will be invited to ask those during the live orientation session the
day before your class starts.
From all of us at eCornell, welcome aboard!
Course Resources
Read: Helpful Links and Contact Information
Links
Knowledge Base
Student Portal
eCornell Drop/Transfer Policy
Who to Contact?
For questions about course content or requirements, contact your instructor by

clicking Help at top right, then Ask Your Instructor a Question.
For all technical or enrollment-related questions, contact helpdesk@ecornell.com.
For payment or billing issues, contact accounting@ecornell.com.

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NSO001: New Student Orientation

eCornell Student Success

New Student Orientation

Module 1: Using Canvas

Module 1 Introduction: Using Canvas

Module 2: General Expectations and Mechanics

Read: Helpful Links and Contact Information

Module 1: Using Canvas

Back to Table of Contents

Module 1 Introduction: Using Canvas

By successfully completing this module, you will:

Know how to log into and access your eCornell courses.

Back to Table of Contents

Watch: Accessing The Dashboard and Your

Back to Table of Contents

Read: Setting Your Profile and Notifications

Click to Access the Activity

Account options: From the account settings panel, click "profile."

Notifications: Now click "Notifications."

Notification Preferences: In the "Notifications Preferences" panel, you can set

Notification Preferences: We strongly recommend that you select "Notify me

Back to Table of Contents

Watch: The Home Page

Back to Table of Contents

Watch: Course Navigation

Back to Table of Contents

Watch: Checking Due Dates in the and the

Back to Table of Contents

Read: Meet Your Class and Discussion Boards

Access the Activity

Back to Table of Contents

Note: Course Transcript PDFs do not contain quiz questions/answers.

Back to Table of Contents

Download and Submit a Sample Project

Download the File NSO001_Sample_Project_Word_Document.docx could not be

Before you begin:

Please review eCornell's policy regarding plagiarism (the presentation of

Back to Table of Contents

Read: Course Exit Survey

eCornell's success is driven by our

Back to Table of Contents

Module 1 Wrap-up: Using Canvas

Back to Table of Contents

Module 2: General Expectations and

Back to Table of Contents

Module 2 Introduction: General Expectations and

By thoroughly completing all elements in this module,

Learn how to schedule your learning time for the

Back to Table of Contents

Read: Setting Your Learning Schedule

Make sure that you enroll in courses in the correct order.

Most eCornell courses are fully asynchronous.

Access the Activity

Grading Schemes: The most common grading scheme in eCornell courses is

Back to Table of Contents

Watch: Canvas Inbox and Course

Back to Table of Contents

Read: Student Portal

Access the Activity

Back to Table of Contents

Read: Transfers, Drops, and Retakes

Our policies on drops and transfers are outlined here:

Transfer Policy and Procedures

The deadline for requesting a transfer is 5 PM Eastern (ET) on the day