Help

This document provides the help for the Help OpenCourseWare site in the form of a list of frequently asked questions and answers. If you have other questions about this site please use the feedback form.

Using RoboticsCourseWare Materials

1. Do I need to register to use the course materials?

   Because we are not a distance-learning, or a degree-granting, initiative, there is no registration process required for users to view course materials. RoboticsCourseWare is a publication of the course materials that support the dynamic classroom interactions. RoboticsCourseWare is available on the Web, free of charge, to any user anywhere in the world.

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2. Where are the course materials?

   To find what courses are available at this time, view the complete course list. Once you have accessed a particular course site, the left-hand navigation bar of each course homepage will detail what materials are available for that individual course.

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3. How do I find what courses are available?

   You can, utilize the Search function that can be found in the right-hand corner of every page on the RoboticsCourseWare site. You can search for specific text, such as certain academic discipline area, across all courses or within just one course. Or to perform a detailed search, use our Advanced Search.

   Or, to see what courses are available is to click on Courses in the top navigation bar on every page of the RoboticsCourseWareWeb site. This will allow you to view the list of courses available at this time.

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4. How can I use RoboticsCourseWare course materials?

   Educators are encouraged to utilize the materials for curriculum development, students can augment their current learning by making use of the materials offered, and self-learners are encouraged to draw upon the RoboticsCourseWare for self-study or supplementary use. Course materials offered on the RoboticsCourseWare Web site may be used within the license associated with the content, course or overall site as applicable.

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5. What are the prerequisites to use RoboticsCourseWare materials?

   Because RoboticsCourseWare is not a distance-learning, or a degree-granting, initiative, there is no registration process required for users to view course materials. There are also no prerequisites for users who utilize RoboticsCourseWare course materials in their own learning.

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6. Does RoboticsCourseWare offer discounts on textbooks or software applications utilized in the course materials?

   RoboticsCourseWare does not sell, offer vendor discounts for, or represent any vendor who may sell the software, books, or other materials that users of RoboticsCourseWare may require to understand the course materials offered on the RoboticsCourseWare Web site.

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7. I have seen (or I am/represent) an individual, organization, or institution that offers to teach the site courses or tutor students based on  site materials. Does RoboticsCourseWare approve or recognize such individuals or organizations?

   No, RoboticsCourseWare has no relationship with, grants no special permission to, and does not approve, endorse, or certify any organizations, teachers, tutors, or other service providers who use educational materials available on the RoboticsCourseWare Web site in connection with their services. RoboticsCourseWare does not authorize the granting of any kind of degree, certificate, or other recognition for participation in or completion of any course of study based on or using published site course materials.

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8. Can I/my organization state on our Web site or in our literature that we make use of RoboticsCourseWare course materials?

   To reference RoboticsCourseWare you must comply with the terms of the license associated with RoboticsCourseWare and/or the specific course materials. Typically you must you must give credit to Plone site and the faculty author of the course materials anytime you use RoboticsCourseWare materials. For your convenience, each RoboticsCourseWare page includes a citation appropriate for the page at the bottom of the content. However, any reference to RoboticsCourseWare (including the site name in any of its forms or site seals or logos) that deliberately or inadvertently claims, suggests, or in RoboticsCourseWare's sole judgment gives the appearance or impression of a relationship with or endorsement by the site, is prohibited.

   [See also Intellectual Property]

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9. Can I link to the RoboticsCourseWare Web site from my Web site?

   Links to RoboticsCourseWare or to courses or pages within the RoboticsCourseWare Web site are permitted so long as the use of the materials associated with the link is permitted under the terms of the license associated with the course materials or particular content. Typically course materials are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license 2.5, however individual course materials may have a separate license. Please check the bottom of the page to view the applicable license for any particular item. For your convenience, each RoboticsCourseWare page includes a citation appropriate for the page at the bottom of the content.

   In addition to meeting the terms of the license, links to RoboticsCourseWare are permitted as long as the link is freely accessible (e.g., no restrictions or fee for access); and there is no claim, appearance, or implication of an affiliation with or endorsement by RoboticsCourseWare. RoboticsCourseWare cannot guarantee the persistence of any specific link other than those to the RoboticsCourseWare homepage.

   [See also Intellectual Property]

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Intellectual Property

1. Who owns the intellectual property published on the Plone site OCW Web site?

   Prior to making any course materials publicly available, the Plone site OCW team has reviewed all material extensively to determine the correct ownership of the material and obtain the appropriate licenses to make the material openly available on the Web. We will promptly remove any material that is determined to be infringing on the rights of others [See also What do I do if I believe a portion of Plone site OCW material infringes my copyright?].

   The intellectual property policies created for Plone site OCW are clear and consistent with other policies for scholarly materials used in education. Faculty retain ownership of most materials prepared for Plone site OCW. Plone site retains ownership only when significant use has been made of the Institute's resources. If student course work is placed on the Plone site OCW site, then copyright in the work remains with the student.

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2. What are the Terms of Use for RoboticsCourseWare users?

   See the Terms of Use for more information.

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3. How does RoboticsCourseWare define non-commercial use?

   A commercial use would involve the assessment of a direct or indirect fee for use of the RoboticsCourseWare materials, or any derivation or modification of the RoboticsCourseWare material, or any other commercial exploitation of RoboticsCourseWare materials. All uses, reuse, and distribution of RoboticsCourseWare material, including works derived from RoboticsCourseWare material, must be attributed to RoboticsCourseWare and to the original authors where identified on the RoboticsCourseWare materials you distribute. If you would like to use RoboticsCourseWare course materials, but you are unsure whether your intended use qualifies as non-commercial use, please contact us using the feedback link at the top of the page.

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4. How do I properly cite my reuse of RoboticsCourseWare materials?

   To reuse or repost materials from RoboticsCourseWare, confirm that the license allows for the use you intend. If the license permits reuse, you must give proper attribution to the original faculty author(s).

   For your convenience, at the bottom of each page, we provide a citation in APA format, a copyright statement and a license for that page.

   Or you may chose to cite the resource in the following manner: "This material was created by or adapted from material created by Plone site faculty member, (Name), (Title), (Year). Copyright © (Year), (Faculty Member's Name)."

   As an example, the citation for "Understanding Online Interaction" taught by Utah State University Professor David Wiley would read, "This material was created or adapted from material created by Utah State University faculty member David Wiley, Associate Professor. Copyright © 2004, David Wiley."

   If you want to use the course materials on your Web site, and the materials are licensed using a Creative Commons license, you must also include a copy of the Creative Commons license, or clear and reasonable link to its URL (for example, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/), with every copy of the materials or the derivative work(s) you create from it.

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5. What do I do if I believe a portion of RoboticsCourseWare material infringes my copyright?

   RoboticsCourseWare, prior to making any RoboticsCourseWare materials publicly available, has reviewed all material extensively to determine the correct ownership of the material and obtain the appropriate licenses to make the material available on RoboticsCourseWare. RoboticsCourseWare will promptly remove any material that is determined to be infringing on the rights of others. If you believe that a portion of RoboticsCourseWare material infringes on your copyright, please contact us using the feedback page.

   To file the notification, you must be either the copyright owner of the work or an individual authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner. Your notification must include:

   1. Identification of the copyrighted work, or, in the case of multiple works at the same location, a representative list of such works at that site.
   2. Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of infringing activity. You must include sufficient information, such as a specific URL or other specific identification, for us to locate the material.
   3. Information for us to be able to contact the claimant (e.g., email address, phone number).
   4. A statement that the claimant believes that the use of the material has not been authorized by the copyright owner or an authorized agent.
   5. A statement that the information in the notification is accurate and that the claimant is, or is authorized to act on behalf of, the copyright owner.

   If you do not include an electronic signature with your claim, you may be asked to send or fax a follow-up copy with a signature.

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Plone site Faculty

1. Are RoboticsCourseWare faculty required to participate in RoboticsCourseWare?

   Participation of faculty in RoboticsCourseWare is completely voluntary.

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2. How do I contact a specific member of the RoboticsCourseWare Faculty?

   RoboticsCourseWare is intended as a publication of RoboticsCourseWare course materials on the Web, and not as an interactive experience with  faculty. RoboticsCourseWare does not offer visitors to the Web site the opportunity for direct contact with faculty.

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Translations

1. Can I translate the course materials in RoboticsCourseWare?

   You may translate course materials in RoboticsCourseWare if permitted by the license of the course materials you wish to translate. RoboticsCourseWare asks that any RoboticsCourseWare materials translated into other languages from the original language must be accompanied by the proper attribution of the original materials and include the following disclaimer:

   "These RoboticsCourseWare course materials have been translated into [YOUR LANGUAGE] by [YOUR INSTITUTION] and RoboticsCourseWare makes no representations or warranties of any kind concerning the materials, express or implied, including, without limitation, warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, or the absence of errors, whether or not discoverable. RoboticsCourseWare bears no responsibility for any inaccuracies in translation. Any inaccuracies or other defects contained in this material, due to inaccuracies in language translation, are the sole responsibility of [YOUR INSTITUTION] and not RoboticsCourseWare."

   [See Also How do I properly cite my reuse of Plone site OCW materials]

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Technology

1. What technology is used to publish the RoboticsCourseWare Web site?

   RoboticsCourseWare runs on the open source eduCommons software. Software from the eduCommons project has been in use since January 2005, and development is currently led by enPraxis (http://enpraxis.net), This company is a spin-off from the original development group at Utah State University and is focused on hosting, supporting, and customizing OCW sites for partners all over the world using the latest technologies.

   The planning tools used by the RoboticsCourseWare team to assist faculty in publishing their course materials include a portion of the workflow in eduCommons, and several checklists and documents. For creating and managing content, we use several desktop tools (file conversion tools) as well as eduCommons, that together fully support our publishing process. Our content delivery infrastructure includes a production cluster and a content staging cluster.

   For more information on eduCommons, please visit http://educommons.com.

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2. Is RoboticsCourseWare an open source project?

   RoboticsCourseWare is firmly committed to open systems and will share its approach and the open source eduCommons software with those who may want to launch similar efforts. eduCommons has a dedicated team of developers focused on extending the platform, features and functions to meet RoboticsCourseWare and other institution's needs.

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3. What is RSS?

   RSS (Really Simple Syndication) and an aggregator allow you to subscribe to discussion forums, blogs and other websites in order to receive timely, organized updates of posts, news, and other information you care about.