Welcome aboard, everyone! 

Welcome to EDIT2000E! My name is Hyejin Hwang (Jinny), and I will be your instructor for this semester. 

I want to extend my warmest welcome to you, regardless of what initially led you to this course! In a Korean poem, there's a saying that getting to know someone is like encountering their world. Being a firm believer in the value of students' experiences and perspectives that enrich the learning environment, I am thrilled to explore your world while also sharing some of mine as your lecturer. 

Whether this is your first, third, or last online undergraduate course, I hope it will be enjoyable and meaningful for you - and a little different from other classes you've taken. I also hope that by the end of this course, you will have gained not only knowledge but also something useful to carry forward and apply in your own daily and/or professional life. Now, let's embark on this learning journey!

This asynchronous course is divided into 5 units. Each unit will take between 2-3 weeks to complete (see our syllabus for the course schedule). You will be expected to complete all tasks for a section before the next section is assigned. This format helps to keep you on track but leaves our course flexible enough so that you can work around other courses, jobs, families, internships, and other obligations. 

This is a project-based course, so there will be no exams. Your work will be graded by how you demonstrate your understanding of the course materials and the effort you put in with each assignment to really learn something. 

The course schedule already allows flexibility, which is 2-3 weeks for each unit. Therefore, late work will not be accepted without a valid and sufficient reason. Grades and feedback comments are usually released within 7–10 days after the due date. They will be posted on our EDIT2000E eLC page. If you want to improve your grade, you always have the option to resubmit your work (see the resubmission policy). I don't automatically get notified of any updates on your website, so you need to let me know via email that you've made changes. 

Course announcements will be sent via email as needed, so please check your email frequently.

Mondays

• • A new unit begins
    At the start of each new unit, tasks will be posted by noon on Monday. You'll have 2-3 weeks to complete one unit, which means deadlines will be spread out over several weeks. 

  • Virtual check-in
    You'll submit a check-in form every Monday using this page, which will count toward your participation score (5% of the total grade). Please check our syllabus for more details. 

Weekdays

• • Schedule ahead
    There are several tasks in each unit, so check the scheduling guide and set aside several hours each week. Make a checklist of everything that needs to be completed before you get started.

  • Complete tasks
    Have fun and actively engage with the activities!

Fridays

• Deadlines
  Most tasks are due on Friday at the end of the unit, but there may be variations in some units. Please check the course calendar or unit overview pages for specific dates. You'll have a 2-day grace period for each unit; please check the deadline policy here. 

Please remember that you will not be able to complete all of the tasks on the day before they are due. While we can certainly be more efficient and flexible in an online course, you will have to set aside several hours each week in order to keep up with this course. If you are not prepared to spend that amount of time, or if you were anticipating that an online course would involve less work than a face-to-face course, you may want to reevaluate your course plans.  

But, as long as you spend some time regularly to keep up with the pace, I'm sure you will find this course very enjoyable, discover many useful tools that you could use for a long time, and have the chance to freely let out your creativity in a meaningful and fun way. 

This course will be painless if you plan ahead, and I'll help you with time management by providing scheduling guides. You'll find them in the "Overview" sections in all units.

This class is definitely not rocket science, but my goal is certainly for everyone to learn something personally meaningful and get 100% (and I mean everyone!) as a token of successful learning.  However, "simple" would be a better word choice than "easy." As an experienced instructional designer, I do my best to design the course tasks as straightforward and simple as possible, but the EDIT2000E tasks will take time, effort, and your creativity!

As far as fitting into your busy schedule - yes, online courses have that advantage. But you're taking a course that has extended deadlines and you're managing schedules on your own - most people would not consider that easier than f2f courses.