My name is Elena Capella and I am the instructor for this HPRF 100W course.
If you are enrolled in the Spring 2006 course, there is a mandatory meeting at SJSU on Monday, January 30, 2006 from 4 pm to 6 pm. Please send me an email to notify me that you are an enrolled student and inlcude your SJSU number in the email. I will check the roster and send you an email with the exact location of the January 30 meeting. Also, please feel free to email me if you have any questions.
Have you ever wondered why some people are more effective and influential than others? In my observations as a consultant for several healthcare organizations, I have found that the most effective healthcare professionals have excellent communication skills.
This course is where you can develop skills in scientific and technical writing skills that will make you more effective in the health related professions. Special emphasis is placed on how to find, evaluate and cite healthcare source material related to healthcare quality. Students interact online, discuss healthcare topics, evaluate information, perform self-assessments, and work cooperatively to build communication skills. I focus on group skills because the health care environment is team based and collegial. Individual coursework includes a critical review of published writing, a letter to the editor, a scholarly paper, and a resume.
Important Dates
The course has two important meetings at the SJSU campus. The first meeting is the orientation session. If you are registered in the course, please email me ASAP and I will email you back with the location of this meeting. It is important that you attend the orientation meeting or you will be dropped from the course. The date of the second meeting will be announced in the orientation session. In this session students present their small group oral presentations. I also suggest that you attend the eCampus orientation. You can find out details by calling the ecampus at 408.924.2377.
Required Course Texts:
American Psychological Association (2001). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.). Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association. (Read Chapter 1 and 2 the first week of the course)
Hacker, Diana. (2003). A Writer's Reference (5th ed.) Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's (Read Section C the first week of the course)
Is an online course the right thing for you?
Sure it’s great not to commute, but online coursework requires a great deal of self-direction and discipline. Some students enjoy the online environment and others do not. I tell students to expect to spend around six hours per week on this course. Students check in and participate 4 out of 7 days each week of the semester, so you can see that this is a highly interactive online classroom. This course is not for students who prefer sitting quietly in the back of a classroom taking notes during a lecture to interacting with peers. Please explore the e-campus website to get a sense of what online learning has to offer. If you are not sure if you are ready for online learning the e-campus website has a great self-evaluation. You will find it at the top right hand corner of the eCampus website at the address below:
http://online.sjsu.edu/
Maintaining a professional tone is another important feature of the online classroom. In this course you will be expected display the behavior, language and critical thinking skills that is consistent with future healthcare professionals.
Make sure that you have the right technology before you start the course. I suggest that students have a PC that is less than two years old, a decent soundcard, 64 megabytes of system memory (RAM), a recent version of an internet browser, a fast internet connection (DSL or cable modem is preferred), and software that includes MS Word and MS PowerPoint. We will be viewing files using Adobe Acrobat reader, Apple QuickTime and Real Audio, and students may download free readers of these applications using links on the course website. Please perform the WebCT tune-up prior to the first day of class by going to the link below:
http://www.webct.com/oriented/viewpage?name=exchange_browser_tuneup
If you have questions of concerns about technology, you can get answers from the help desk at the eCampus website at 408.924.2377.
Once you are enrolled, you can enter the classroom by clicking the Login button below. If you need help with your Login and Password, you will find information at the site below.
http://online.sjsu.edu/help/password.htm
Take care and I am looking forward to getting to know you!
