WORLD MUSIC Dear Students: Hello and welcome to World Music (MUS 243-80). My name is Professor Peter Coll and I will be your online instructor for this course. First, I would like to give you some idea of how a typical week would proceed during this course. A more detailed account will be given in the Course Syllabus. Due to the nature of this course, reading assignments in the text, Worlds of Music, ed. J.T Titon, 5th ed., are integrated with listening examples from the accompanying 4-CD set. Initially, a weekly topic will correlate with a chapter in the text. On Monday you should visit the course site (Announcements) and begin the reading and listening assignments for the week (click Course Outline button). By Wednesday you should have posted your response to the group topic questions (Click Groups). By Friday you should have posted your reactions to other students’ postings (two or more). Essays and other assignments are due by the posted deadline. Any changes to the course schedule will be posted in a class-wide announcement. Next, I would like to speak about my expectations regarding your performance in this course. A minimum of five hours per week is necessary for the reading, listening and writing assignments associated with the course. The previous paragraph should serve as a basic guide for a typical week, but please feel free to visit the course site more frequently, especially for the first few weeks to get a “feel” for the online format. As far as the Group Discussion Forum, post your initial comment and respond to other group member’s posts early and often. The whole idea is to maintain a running dialogue with group members throughout the week. As your familiarity with the subject grows and your world music vocabulary expands, this minimum response requirement will naturally seem less difficult than in the initial weeks. A mid-term and final exam will be given online during the designated class weeks as well as individual projects. A more detailed schedule will be given in the Course Syllabus. I am sure that you will have numerous questions regarding topics such as course requirements, Blackboard format, tools, technical requirements, etc. during the first few weeks of class. I will do my best to present all the necessary information to you at the onset in the Course Syllabus. If subsequent questions arise, please e-mail. I’ll respond as soon as possible. From this, we will build our own FAQ bank and address the problems common to all. I will usually respond to your questions within 24 hours from Monday to Friday and within 48 hours on weekends. This method will save us all both time and energy. I am sure you have read all the technical requirements for the online courses offered at WPU. Please visit the Blackboard site for reference (Student Manual). Point your browser to Blackboard (bb.wpunj.edu) on the first day of the semester with your username (last name, first initial and usually a number) and password and enter the course site. Lastly, I would like to say that I am very excited about teaching this online version of World Music (MUS 243-80) and am hopeful that you share the same excitement about exploring new avenues of music culture and musical experiences. I look forward to being your instructor during this semester. I wish you much success in this course and in all your future endeavors. Sincerely, Prof. Peter Coll Department of Music
