Student Guide - Navigating the Course

-- a university of arizona course on methods and approaches for studying the future

This guide is for registered students as well as guests that might want to take this class on their own. The differences in these two groups is in the two areas: registered students meet face-to-face with the instructor and also may work with a an additional professor (at the University of Arizona or elsewhere - if they wish to purse a discussion in a particular area). Otherwise, the features below should be used by everyone. There is a good deal of very good information on Internet, but you often need a guide to take you through the maze of information (there is a lot of bad as well as the good information). I will be your guide.

Use this page as a way of knowing what you should do first, about how fast you might progress (remembering that everyone is different in their interests, needs, and available time), how to review material and have some practice tests, and identify places to explore when you want to pursue things in more detail. You should also make use of all the material organized on the class home page (ag.arizona.edu/futures) or the site map.

 Course Modules

A description of 5 learning modules, with links to specific areas to read. This section serves as the "what to do and when to do it" for the course. For registered students, I will remind you of the specific assignments as they come up - in the assignments link on the home page as well as by weekly email. For guests, you can use the modules as a guide on navigating the course. The 5 modules are:

1. Getting your bearings

2. Exploring and learning from others

3. Techniques and putting it all together

4. Keeping your eye on the future

5. Review and summary

 

Study Questions and Exams

A listing of questions organized by course module topics. You can address these questions to your satisfaction, in a self pacing and grading process. These will not count toward the course grade and are for your benefit. For course grading, see the syllabus.

 

Course Review

A collection of review links organized by course module topics. These can be used as quick assessments of what is in the module or (hopefully) as a way to review the material quickly AFTER you have been through the more detailed links listed in the course modules.

 

Course Summary

The whole course is summarized (perhaps "highlighted" is a better descriptor) as a series of a few links to key areas within the site. This allows you to get an overall perspective by looking at the entries and only select the ones you wish to read in more depth. You might think of it as a quick summary of the course review, where the course review itself it a summary of the individual course modules.

 

The Class as a "Shortcourse"

If you wanted a quick overview of the class, or you want a "tune up" on your futures techniques after you leave the course, use this link. It is designed for multiple purposes - from those that want to learn the essentials of futures studies quickly to those who took the regular course and want to review.