1. First let me just say…

2. I am so very excited to be teaching this course!
Why, you ask? Because I am heavily involved in education
and have been working in the field of autism for years,
and I love what I do!
Working with children with special needs is why I got into
the field of education. It is why I went to graduate school
to get my Masters in Educational Counseling. It is why I
am now an instructor here at CSUF.

3. Aside from the obvious fact that we will not be meeting face-to-
face in a classroom, we still will be meeting on a regular basis
by logging onto the course Titanium site.
You will be required to log in a minimum of 2x per week, with the
first login being as early in the week as possible.
Plan on allocating 3-6 hours each week. Some of you may even
need more time than that, depending on your work habits,
prior knowledge, reading speed, etc.
In addition, some weeks will require more time due to special
assignments, such as studying for an exam or writing a paper.

4. So, with that said, you can see that online classes
offer this trade-off… they are generally more work
but you get to decide when that work is done-
whether that be in the break room during lunch or
at 3 am in your pajamas!
In addition to flexibility, online classes have several
other benefits. They may offer a wider variety of
activities and opportunities to demonstrate your
learning, allow for greater student-to-student
interaction & collaboration, and facilitate better
discussions, among other things.

5. If you are new to online learning, you may find it quite tricky at
first but you will soon get the hang of it.
Remember this… success in an online class absolutely requires
active participation, discussion, and commitment by all
because each member of the class is crucial to the extent to
which the learning takes place.
This means that you will need a great deal of self-discipline
(yikes!) to stay on top of the content as well as the deadlines.
Simply put, you can’t dialogue about material you haven’t read
and no one will be around to remind you to do your work!

6. We will be covering a wide range of topics related to
autism, however, our main focus will be on best
practices for educating students with autism at the
early intervention, preschool, and k-12 levels.
Additionally, you will walk away with a plethora of
resources to use as a professional in the field and to
share with parents and others.
Might I add a suggestion at this juncture? Start an Autism notebook for yourself. There
is a ton of good information in this course and though you may not remember every
bit, it will be handy to have a quick reference guide to look back at and pull from in
the future as you need it!

7. If you are someone who comes to this Intro class with extensive experience,
you may find some of the modules particularly easy and wish for more
information. In such cases, I recommend that you read all the articles &
resources provided, and enrich your experience by doing additional web
searching/research on the topic as desired.
On the other hand, if you are someone who comes to this class with very
limited experience, you may find some of the modules particularly
challenging and too much information. With you in mind, I have limited the
amount of assigned journal articles and have tailored my PowerPoints.
Whatever your situation, I think you will learn some valuable information and
walk away with some great resources that will contribute to your overall
professional development.

8. When I log onto the course TITANIUM site at the
beginning of each week, what do I do? Where do I
go? What can I expect on a weekly basis?
The Topics for each week are organized in the center
of the course page. Each weekly topic box contains
specific directions and other materials that you will
need including:
1. Assigned readings
2. PowerPoint + audio/video
3. Discussion & Activities
4. Upcoming assignment info
and
5. Forum Links

9. •A quick note about those
PowerPoint presentations I
mentioned in the last slide:
Sometimes you will see a little icon that looks like this. (If you do
not see it, don’t worry. Depending on the software you are
running you may not have the option of whether or not to click on
them. I’ll explain in a second)
This is the Audio part!
This icon means there is a recorded message imbedded in the
ppt. and you will need to be in Slide Show view in order to hear
these messages.
If you do not see them, they will play automatically for you as you
advance you slides in slide show view, just be sure to have your
volume up! These videos are also captioned in the presenter
notes for you to read.
Now go ahead and click on the ones above (or advance your

10. A Little About Your
Instructor
 For years I had the opportunity to work with a non-profit organization based in Los
Angeles supervising behavior therapists. We worked primarily with kiddos with
Autism in the K-12 setting; but we also had clients with ADHD, Mild and Moderate
LD, and even consulted for typical kids with behavioral problems stemming from
their social and home environments. This position especially opened my eyes to
the wide spectrum of this disability, and how so many different influences help
determine the success of their individual programs.
 I also have had the opportunity to combine my counseling background (Master of
Science from the University of La Verne here in So. Cal) with special education
through running social skills and parent support groups for families of kiddos with
Autism throughout the years.
 I earned a Bachelor of Applied Science in Psychology with a research emphasis
from my hometown University of Minnesota - Duluth. The strong influence of the
importance of research in social science and psychology is ingrained in me after
working many years under my mentor (Dr. Eugene Grossman) as a TA for applied
statistics. You will see this influence throughout this course :)
 More recently I have expanded my interests to job training programs for individuals
with disabilities through the non-profit organization Goodwill of Orange County.
10

11. You will have one week (sometimes two) to complete
the topics.
Each topic will become available on the first day of the
week, Sunday, and be due the following Sunday at
midnight.
However, certain activities within the topic may have
earlier deadlines so read the directions carefully.
Also, be sure that you visit the topic box as early in the
week as possible so that you can allocate your time
appropriately.

12. I will be very available on the weekdays, checking
email & our course site at least once per day.
If you have a question related to the course then you
will go to the Q&A forum. This “Q&A” is where you
will post (and I or your peers will answer) any and
all questions you have related to the class.
Please do not use my email unless you need to
communicate with me confidentially.

13. Since we won’t be together in the same space at the same time,
we must find an alternate way of dialoguing with one another-
whether that be asking & answering questions, exchanging
ideas, debating hot topics, offering support, or whatever the
case may be.
The best way to do this dialoguing in an online class, at least
asynchronously (not in real time), is by utilizing the Discussion
Forums.
As such, we will be using this nifty little feature very, very
regularly. In fact, almost every topic will include participation in
at least one discussion forum.

14. You will be able to access the listed forums by clicking
on the “Forums” button (upper right menu box).
Most of the forums will require your participation, but
some will be join-in-on-the-fun-if-you-want-to.
Also, you will notice that some of these forums will run
actively throughout the course (e.g., the Q&A forum
will stay available and “in use” the whole semester),
while others will only be used during a specific
week.

15. Some vocabulary terms to know related to the Forums.
The small group: when you are divided into small groups, each
group will have its own forum.
Forums: individual areas set up for each separate discussion (one
for Q&A, one for Introductions, etc.).
Discussion Prompts: questions or scenarios the instructor will pose
to start (prompt) a discussion.
Threads: new or original posts made within the forum, in response to
the discussion prompt. You will start a thread by clicking “add a
new topic” within the forum.
Replies: posts made in response to a peer’s thread (it’s like
responding to someone’s email).
Threads + Replies = Discussion!

16. You will be reading the coolest little book ever, Overcoming Autism. It
was on the best seller list! Did you see it featured at Barnes &
Noble?
(okay so that doesn’t always mean anything, but this does…)
It was co-written by a leading professional in the field of autism, Dr.
Lynn Koegel, and a parent of a son with autism, Claire LaZebnik.
This book was chosen because it is such a great read, and so
practical. It discusses research-based strategies in such a way that
you feel as if you are speaking to the parent or teacher next door.
In fact, it is so user-friendly, you could loan this book out to your
families when you’re done. And I encourage you to do so!

17. In addition to Overcoming Autism, you will be
assigned to review various journal articles.
(Here we go with that research!)
I will either post the article itself or give you the
references and you will need to collect the articles
via the CSUF library databases which you can
access through your CSUF portal.
If you do not know how to do that, please contact a
librarian for assistance.

18. 1. Designing a Brochure for parents & professionals
2. Completing an Intervention Review
3. Completing 2 Case Studies
Please review the course requirements located in the
syllabus for additional information (click on the
“Syllabus” menu button).
Also, specific directions and grading rubrics are
provided within “Assignment Info”.

19. o Discussing in small groups
o Contributing to course wiki pages
o Blogging
o Surfing the web for videos and resources
o Surfing the library databases for journal articles
o Completing self-assessment quizzes
Oh boy, what fun!
I know you can hardly wait to get started!
(me, too!)

20. For the brochure, I will accept it up to one week late, with a
10% deduction. It will not be accepted after one week.
For all other assignments and activities (weekly module
work, quiz’s, and the Intervention Review), late work is
not accepted. In other words, work posted/submitted
after the deadline will receive a zero.
The only exceptions include extenuating circumstances (death of
family member, hospitalization). I must be contacted immediately
and documentation must be provided.

21. There are a number of ways to track assignments
and deadlines, aside from the syllabus itself…
Click on the following menu buttons:
“Assignment Info”
“Course Calendar”
&
“Topics”
…Yes, I have included many ways for you to
keep yourself on track!

22. You will have quite a bit, especially with your
classmates. This course is set up to facilitate
student-to-student learning. That means you will
spend most of your time dialoguing and
collaborating with one another.
These opportunities will come primarily via the
Discussion Boards.
Basically, while you all go for the gold, I put on the hat
that reads “World’s Best Coach” 

23. Aaah, I’m glad you asked this very important Q.
Rule #1…Expect technical difficulties. Do not wait until
the last minute to complete your work because
inevitably that is when TITANIUM will go down or the
computer will crash.
Rule #2…Do not expect me to fix the technical difficulty.
You must contact IT support immediately for
assistance. Please review the technical assistance
info in the syllabus or locate the “Help!” section at the
very bottom of the main course page.

24. Before I sign off, I should mention that our course site is
set up to track when and if you have accessed all the
information for each unit. Students who access the info
and complete the assignments will receive credit for the
class session.
A little creepy and big-brother-ish, I know, but I want you
to get those points for being an active participant, and
documenting your work is just good practice!

25. While we can’t “see” each other, I hope that we can
get acquainted with one another quickly, and
become a tight-knit, enthusiastic on-line learning
community.
I look forward to reading about your many & varied
perspectives, experiences, and reactions to what
we are learning & discussing each week.
All in all, I will do my best to make this class as
enjoyable as it can be!