Greetings TMGT-411 Students,

Welcome to 'Systems Performance.' Another UM term is underway. My name to all my students and colleagues is Phil. It is my pleasure to help you through TMGT-411 this DE Term 1. We need to get to know each other better before we start so I have gone first and shared something of myself with you if you follow the link above. Your first assignment is to send me a brief biographical sketch. Also, please tell me why you are taking this course and just as importantly, what is it that the other students and I can help you achieve this term. Include permission for me to release this information, or specific parts of it, to the rest of the class, please.

Our exciting course, Systems Performance, asks us to focus on what is truly important to improving the performance of systems that are large and complex. It is very easy to get lost in the tangle of forms and procedures, conflicting directives and office politics. Been there, done that, I'm certain. How does one keep his or her eye on the ball? How do we focus on the forest without getting hit by a falling tree? One easy and fun way is to draw pictures.

Yeah, that's right. Draw pictures with blobs and squiggly lines and any number of other things. The kind you draw just before they send you to the funny farm, you say. Well, not quite. In this course, we will share ideas in graphical form as much as we do in verbal form -- at least that is my plan. I know you will both enjoy the course and learn from the process of mastering its content.

So that is the first of four things about this DE course that are different.

The second is that this is a 6 sem. hr. course. You know because you just paid the tuition? All right! That means I get paid this term! Anyway, the reason 6 sem. hrs. is important is because via Distance Education we normally teach a 3 sem. hr. course over a 14 week period. We are going to do our 6 sem. hrs. in the same period of time. So I want you to be prepared to work on this course and not think that you can take a three credit hour classroom course each term, one or two weekend seminars and another DE course -- and not suffer. Put simply, we have a lot of ground to cover and I hope to help you enjoy the process of learning this new area.

The third thing, which may not be new to some of you, is that during this term we will be using WebTycho with email and email attachments to supplement and complement WebTycho.

The fourth is related to both the first and third point. Email is made for sending text. We will be sending graphics and formatted text as attachments to emails. This can be a frustrating process for the uninitiated. With experience you discover that sending attachments is a point-to-point operation. To us that means that each of us much check with every classmate and know what programs and file formats are being used before sending the attachment. One of the advantages of WebTycho is that , in some respects, it simplifies this process for us all. So please be patient as we try to sort out the procedures for sharing graphics, in particular embedded graphics.

I have posted our syllabus and various supplemental Guidance and handouts on my web site. Please read them. The Full Syllabus differs little from the Preview Syllabus you have already seen earlier, except I have amplified many areas. Please follow the links so that you understand the full scope of the course.

We will spend much of this first week confirming our skill with WebTycho and email procedures, both in general and for Distance Education courses. We will confirm access to each other, get to know new colleagues and establish a routine. I have set the stage for this course in the syllabus; after you read it, I want you to discuss with your assigned small group your special concerns about the subject and state your desires for areas we should emphasize over the next four months. You will control the content and conduct of our exchanges, for I will concentrate first and perhaps principally on those concepts you ask me to cover. I will also ask you to comment on certain topics relevant to our subject during the course.

It is your responsibility to get each assignment to me on time. Start early. Complete major assignments a week or two in advance so you have a chance to critically review them for content and quality of ideas. If you just hit the cut-off date early in the course, you have an excellent chance of being late on subsequent assignments. Keep a copy of each assignment in case it does not reach me. If you cannot meet a deadline, please e-mail, fax or call me for a week's extension prior to the due date. The course is sequenced and timed reasonably as it is, and you can expect that if you are late on an assignment, you will just make it harder for yourself to complete the next portion of the course successfully.

Perhaps no assignment is more important than scanning the world around you for at least articles or extended observations to share with your E-Mail Group. Your Small Group Recorder is responsible for combining and distilling the discussion and sending it on to me (or the rest of the class) on the due date for group assignments. So help each other out, please.

I have a flexible personal schedule and work out of my home. See the contact details on this web site and separately on the Bulletin Board for how and when to get in touch with me.

I am frequently out for short periods (that sometimes become longer than I intended), so if your concern is urgent, I am not in, leave a message on my Call Minder (hold on for at least seven rings) or fax me your question. (Post all assignments to WebTycho or submit them to me by email.) Of course, watch out for my WebTycho or email response to you and continue trying to reach me directly by phone. If your email goes down temporarily, use a friends account to email me or fax to keep in touch.

If you have a particular worry about your course of study or find yourself in difficult circumstances, contact me right now instead of waiting. (Naturally, should something come up later in the course, get in touch with me at that time.) I want to deal with your concerns now so we can get on with the task at hand - which I view as helping you learn as much as you want to learn.

Please post in the WebTycho Personal Details Conference for this class your email address, location, and (optional) your telephone number.

Should you be unable to check WebTycho and your email at least once every 48 hours and respond to questions within that same period, please notify me.

Finally, ask for help from me sooner rather than later ­ while there is still time for such help to make a difference. Whether it is difficulty with the study material, finding adequate time or surroundings for your study, personal emergencies - whatever - I am truly here to help you succeed.

I look forward to hearing from you concerning questions asked and points raised above. We shall have an exciting and fruitful term with your help.

Yours Faithfully,

Phil

 

Revised 25 July 1999

Phil Richardson; prichard@faculty.ed.umuc.edu