How much time do I need to spend on the course? The estimated study load is about eight to ten hours per week.
Do I need to watch the lectures live in the corresponding week? No, during the course, you can watch the lectures whenever you like.
Can I contact the instructor or teaching assistants? Not directly. The discussion forum is the appropriate venue for questions. Instructors monitor the discussion forum and try to respond to the most important questions; in many cases response from other students and peers will be both adequate and faster.
Can I still finish all assignments when I start later in the course? Yes you can. All assignments have to be finished by 3 March 2021, although the review assignments need to be submitted by 2 February 2021, to be able to receive the peer reviews.
Introduction & Preparation
Which browser can I use when working on this edX course? We advise you to use Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Microsoft Edge, or Internet Explorer 11.
How can I download the transcripts? On the right side of the 'download transcripts'-button underneath the video is the option to choose between an .srt-file of a .txt-file. Choose the .txt-file to download the text. When you prefer a more readable document you can copy-paste this to a Word file.
Can I use the Online Courses App if I don’t have a smartphone? Yes you can use the desktop version of the app. Read the instructions in module 0.
What is the unlock code of the app? SOILx1
The app is not working, what did I do wrong? Check your location privacy settings, location tracker, or GPS and make sure they are set to enable or on. Also, make sure the installation guide steps in module 0.6.3 were completed correctly. The desktop version of the app does not function well in Internet Explorer. Please use Google Chrome, Firefox or Safari.
Course Work
How can I download the PowerPoint presentations? You can download the PowerPoint presentations used in the lecture videos by clicking on the ‘Download handout’ button under the video. Only the PowerPoint presentations that contain significant information have been made available for downloading.
Can I write my answers in a language other than English? No, the official language of the course is English. All course materials are provided in English, and all communication, including answers, posts, and assignments, need to be written in English.
Questions for Grading
What if I am having trouble with a question (for grading)? May I discuss this with others to get some help with solving the problem? There are many assignments to practice. You can use these to discuss with your fellow students in the discussion forum. Do not share any answers on the forum for the Questions for grading. The formulas, together with the understanding of the matter brought by the videos, should give you hints on how to solve the questions.
After I checked an assignment, an asterisk was shown and I received the feedback ‘This answer is partially correct’. What does this mean? In this MOOC, partial credit is used. This means that whenever you submit an answer that is partly correct, you still receive credit. You get points for selecting a correct answer as well as for not selecting a wrong answer. For example: there’s a question with five answer options, of which three are correct. You selected two of the three correct choices, and did not select any incorrect choices. You therefore had four out of five correct answers. Because the course team set this problem up to award partial credit for every correct answer selected and every incorrect answer left unselected, you earn 80% of the points for this problem.
Peer Review
What to do if I feel I am being treated unfairly in the peer review? Reviewing is the responsibility of your peers and so far we are not able to manipulate these after the peer-reviewing. The community consists of highly capable and motivated people, so we trust that this will be done fairly. Double check your submission before handing it in and write your submission in English.
Why can I not click on 'Upload' in the submission of my assignment in the peer review module? The button will become active if there is also text added in the response box. So if you just type a few letters it will be possible to save your progress. You can then finish your assignment at a later moment.
How many peers do I have to review in the peer review module? In the peer review assignment in module 10 you will have to review the work of 3 of your peers. You will also receive feedback from 2 of your peers, however we would like to ask you to assess more peers to make sure everybody will be graded especially in the last weeks (23 February - 3 March 2021).
I am uncertain how my final assignment will be reviewed. Can you be more specific upfront about the criteria? Your peers will use the following questions in the reviewing process:
Is it clear that the current soil management strategies are not sustainable in the case presented?
Is the ‘business as usual’ scenario well researched?
Are the measures presented in the ‘conservation scenario’ realistic and logically follow from the chosen soil threat?
Does the conservation scenario take into account the socio-economic and policy context of the problem?
Do you believe this presentation will inspire the target audience to take action?
Is the presentation of an appropriate length?
Is the presentation complete?
I have received the link to the presentation video I have to review, but there is a problem with it. What do I do? If you are unable to view the video because it is marked as ‘private’ instead of as ‘unlisted’: grade the video as ‘0’ and write feedback that the video settings need to be changed. The same response applies to presentation videos created in any language other than English.
How do I know whether I chose an appropriate topic for my final assignment?At the core of the topic there needs to be a soil threat, and from there you can get creative with your topic. Think of what you’ve learned throughout the course for inspiration. Other related topics could also be appropriate, such as those expanded on in the additional literature. The case study can be any size or scale. Remember, it needs to be a topic for which you are able to find information on all required parts (i.e. case introduction and explanation of scenarios). You can check out the assessment criteria to make sure.
Auditing and Verified Certificate
What does it mean to audit a course? If you audit a course, you are participating for free and you have access to most course materials (including the discussion forum). The audit track does not grant access to graded assignments and unlimited course access. At the end of the course, you don’t receive a certificate. These things are exclusively for verified learners who have paid a small fee for unlimited access to the course. Please visit the verified overview page if you would like to know more about the difference between audit and verified, how the upgrading process works or to upgrade immediately.
When do I receive my verified certificate? Any time after you have qualified to pass the course, if you have a minimum average grade of 60% and meet the peer review requirements, you can download your verified certificate from your edX dashboard. For more information on how to generate and download your certificates, explore edX’s documentation on how to generate your certificate.
After the course
What happens when the course is archived? When the course closes, it is archived. This means that all course materials and content remain available, but you cannot submit assignments anymore. The forum continues to be open to new posts, but will not be monitored by the course staff.
Can I re-use the materials of this course? Or can I make a translation of this course for my university/institution? The course materials of this course are Copyright Wageningen University & Research and are licensed under an 'All Rights Reserved' license. The individual videos are published under a CC-BY-NC-ND license. If you wish to re-use the course materials, please contact wageningen.x@wur.nl to discuss possibilities
