DE Oracle @ UMUC

Submission Guidelines

These guidelines are subject to change over time and without notice. Contributors are encouraged to check these guidelines at the time they are considering writing a piece for submission to the DE Oracle.

Currently we can ONLY accept article submissions from University of Maryland University College (UMUC) faculty and staff.  Articles submitted by anyone other UMUC Faculty and Staff will be deleted.

Mission

The DE Oracle @ UMUC is an online resource for faculty who teach online or face-to-face at University of Maryland University College (UMUC). It provides faculty with an easily accessible reference and forum for improving their teaching.

Audience

Typically, the audience of the DE Oracle is the entire UMUC faculty/staff community. Articles that are specific to a division (SUS, GSMT, Asia or Europe) are acceptable. Please specify the audience at the top of the article.

When writing about available resources that require an on-site presence, keep in mind that a large and growing number of our faculty/staff live outside the Washington, DC area. Similarly, an increasing number of faculty live throughout the world and many speak English as a second or third language; it is, therefore, important to write in a clear, straightforward manner and avoid unnecessary slang or jargon.

Topic Areas

Broadly speaking, the DE Oracle deals with anything related to teaching online or face-to-face, from technical skills to pedagogy. In the past, topics have included information on WebTycho browser security-setting recommendations, adding recorded conference calls to an online classroom, and techniques for creating a virtual lounge for students in an online classroom.

Submission Formats

Submitting articles through our online submission form is the preferred method. Your articles should contain as little formatting as possible, since all documents are reformatted in the DE Oracle presentation style. Use of headings, paragraphs, and lists are acceptable and encouraged. Using meaningful headings to label sections of your article will make it easier to read online.

Submission of Word documents or RTF documents is NOT preferred. If you want to contribute using this format, please contact the DE Oracle site manager for approval.

Embedded Media

Web-ready graphics in GIF, JPG, or PNG format are preferred, and they can be uploaded and embedded in your article using the online submission form. A number of other formats, such as BMP or TIFF, need to be converted to GIF, JPG, or PNG for inclusion in the DE Oracle.

Real Media (.rm), Quicktime, Flash Video, and Windows Media files are preferred for video and can be embedded in your article using the article submission form. Audio files can be MP3 or Real Media.  

Flash/Shockwave (.swf) files are preferred for animated movies and can be embedded in your article using the article submission form. 

Editing Process

All articles submitted to the DE Oracle are subject to editing by the editor(s). In general, editing is light and limited to style, spelling, and grammar (when necessary), scannability for online reading, or flow of the text.

Images may be be edited for size, clarity, or quality. Graphics that are not already in GIF, JPG, or PNG format will be converted to one of those formats as appropriate for inclusion in the DE Oracle. This can sometimes lead to compromises in image quality or color richness.

When more than minor editing is required, the contributor will be contacted to approve the edits before they are published.

Style

The DE Oracle follows standard U.S. English spelling, grammar, and style guidelines. Contributors are encouraged to consult the UMUC Editorial Style Guide, especially on matters of UMUC's identity, description, delivery formats, etc.

Length

There are no strict rules on the length of an article, though it is prefered that the article be 500-1500 words. If the topic is complex and requires much more length, it is possible to break up the article into a series that will appear over several editions. This keeps the articles "digestible" for the reader and encourages return visits to the DE Oracle for "the next installment."

Copyright and Permissions

All published material written by UMUC faculty/staff is copyrighted with all rights reserved by UMUC.

The DE Oracle @ UMUC is copyright by University of Maryland University College. All rights reserved. No parts of this publication or documents it contains herein may be reproduced, transmitted, broadcast, digitized, stored in any electronic system or recordable media, used in any derivative work, displayed, or distributed in any format without the express written permission of the copyright holder.

Any person who provides any material for inclusion in the DE Oracle @ UMUC is responsible for ensuring that this material does not violate other parties' copyrights or other proprietary rights and does not otherwise violate law or UMUC's policy on intellectual property. As part of its general right to remove material, the DE Oracle site manager reserves the right in its sole discretion to delete or make inaccessible files that do or may contain material that violates law, or applicable UMUC policy, or the rights of third parties.

For further information, please review UMUC's policy on intellectual property.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism - the intentional or unintentional presentation of another person's idea or product as one's own. Plagiarism includes but is not limited to the following: copying verbatim all or part of another's written work; using phrases, charts, figures, illustrations, or mathematical or scientific solutions without citing the source; paraphrasing ideas, conclusions or research without citing the source in the text and in reference lists; or using all or part of a literary plot, poem, film, musical score or other artistic product without attributing the work to its creator (UMUC Policy 150.25 Section IV).

It is the responsibility of the author of a submitted article to correctly name and cite all references when submitting articles for inclusion in the DE Oracle. The DE Oracle site manager reserves the right to send all submitted articles to Turnitin.com. UMUC accepts no responsibility for plagiarized sources or references. If an article is found to be the plagiarized work of another, the article will not be included in this Web site, or it will be removed from this Web site if it has been published prior to notification of plagiarism. The DE Oracle respects authors' rights and promotes only original and/or well-referenced work. Findings of plagiarized work should be sent to degrad@umuc.edu.

Compensation

Unfortunately, we cannot give financial compensation for articles submitted to the DE Oracle, other than the intangible benefit of contributing to UMUC's teaching community. We are happy to provide bylines for anyone who contributes and keep articles available in an open archive that can be accessed from the site.

Publication Deadlines

Because of space, editorial, or timeliness considerations, it is sometimes necessary to delay the publication of a submitted article. While every attempt is made to publish solicited articles received by the published deadline in the same publication cycle, this is not always possible. We strive to keep contributors apprised of the status of their submissions.

The DE Oracle @ UMUC reserves the right to make changes to its Web site, policies, and submission guidelines without notice or liability at any time.