Communication
 

Assignments for this course are based on the assumption that you have experience using the Internet and can use the Internet and its tools effectively and efficiently. You should know how to access a Web site when given an address, how to use the features of your Web browser, how to navigate through an online discussion forum, and how to communicate with e-mail and use the features of your e-mail service. If you're not certain of your abilities in doing these things, this course might prove to be a more-than-ordinary challenge for you. You should either learn how to do these things, or have a resource that you can consult to help you with them. You can also direct questions to me occasionally, but you should keep in mind that teaching the course itself takes a significant amount of my time. I won't have a lot of time available to teach multiple students everything they need to know about using the Internet and e-mail.

You should have sent me your e-mail address by now. I'll send class notices to the address that I have for you. (I would prefer that you choose one address for your correspondence during the semester.) If you send me an individual communication, I might respond by clicking the Reply button. If you don't want me to return a message to the address from which it was sent, please make that clear in the body of your message. Also, you should sign all e-mails sent to me. If there's no information either in or on your e-mail that identifies you, and I have to try to figure out which of my 50 students this term sent me the e-mail, your Conduct score could be affected.

Communication on the Internet is sometimes slow and frustrating. Things that are working fine one day may slow down or crash the next. Be prepared for the worst and try to complete assignments ahead of deadlines. Also, if you've never used anything like the particular online discussion environment we'll be using (the Internet Classroom Assistant...more information is provided below), it will take you a little time and effort to start to feel comfortable with it. I recommend that you spend the needed time to gain familiarity before the first forum discussion is due. If you encounter a problem that you can't figure out on your own, contact me and we'll work it out.

Diligence
 

This is not a self-paced course. You'll be required to do regularly occurring assignments, just as you would be required to attend class regularly in a lecture course. Failure to do all assignments on time will not result in failure of the course, but late and skipped assignments will affect your grade. The method of evaluation leaves room for some occasional slips. However, students who calculate the Method of Evaluation, and then attempt to do exactly the minimum amount of work necessary for an A (or a B, etc.), inevitably fall just a little short. They think, "I can skip this assignment because all I need on the exam is an 85 and I'll still get an A." Then they make an 83 and get a B. Often, the next step is to look for some way to make the instructor responsible for their less than satisfactory grade. I think you can guess how far that will get you. The reality is that, if you're working creatively and energetically but slip a little on one of the tests, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt when grades are calculated at the end of the semester. But, if you're trying to beat the system, you get the system's judgment. (Rest assured that thirteen years of college teaching allow me to recognize when a student is trying to beat the system.)

Details  (PLEASE READ CAREFULLY)
 

The information you'll need to complete the study quizzes, the forums, and the essay or project can be accessed from the Calendar of Assignments. The Calendar page contains links to each individual assignment, with each assignment link appearing on the due date for that assignment.

The Course Syllabus page lists the individual requirements of the course and how each requirement affects your overall grade for the semester. Below, I'll explain how you'll carry out each of those requirements.
 

1) Study quizzes must be submitted to me by e-mail. Your answers to the study quizzes should be sent in the body of an e-mail message, not as an attached file. The questions in the study quizzes (which consist of short answer and fill-in-the-blank questions) are numbered and also organized by textbook chapter. Your answers should be numbered and organized exactly as on the quiz assignment page. Do not include the questions in your e-mail, only the answers.f

The Subject line on your e-mail should use the following format: the quiz number (for example, Quiz 3), followed by a colon (:), then a space followed by your first initial and last name (for example, J. Baker). So, for instance, if your name were Janet Baker, then the Subject line on your e-mail with your Quiz 3 submission should say Quiz 3: J. Baker. If you use this exact format for your Subject line, then my e-mail account at the college should automatically send back a message confirming that your quiz was received. If you don't receive a confirmation, then either your submission wasn't received or you didn't use the appropriate Subject line. (Please remember that you won't necessarily receive the confirmation immediately. If the Internet is congested and running slowly, or if the college's e-mail server is very busy, or if your e-mail service provider is very busy, then it might take anywhere from several minutes to a few hours for your email to reach me and the automatic reply to reach you in return.) Also, you must include your full name in the first line of the body of the e-mail containing your quiz answers. Failure to follow these guidelines for the Subject line format and inclusion of your full name inside the e-mail could result in a deduction from both your quiz score and your Conduct score.

The questions for each study quiz can be accessed through the assignment links on the Calendar of Assignments page, where the due dates for each quiz are also indicated. Please be aware that I will grade and return quiz scores in batches of two -- for example, both Quiz 1 and Quiz 2 after the Quiz 2 due date, but before Exam 1.
 

2) Discussion forums take place on a Web site called Internet Classroom Assistant (ICA), which provides an online educational environment. However, the information for each forum -- the subject matter, the readings, and the questions -- is contained on a page of this course Web site. At the bottom of each forum assignment page is a link to the ICA site, which you can use to go to the discussion forum and post your responses. These forum assignments can be accessed through links on the Calendar of Assignments page. The Calendar page will also indicate the due dates for each forum. There are two rounds (and thus two due dates) for each forum: the first due date is for your original response to the forum topic and questions, and the second due date serves as a deadline for your follow-up responses to the thoughts of other students and to my own response to the first round.

I have already created an account for you on the Internet Classroom Assistant, with a username and password. (Your ICA username and password were included in the e-mail that I sent you to begin the semester.) Each time you go to the ICA site, you'll be asked to enter your username and password. (If you encounter difficulty logging in to ICA using the information I've given you, please contact me by e-mail.) After you login, you should see a home page with a number of links and function areas. We will only be using one area of the ICA -- the Conferencing area. This is where we will conduct our forum discussions.

Under the Conferencing label, you should see one or more bullets telling you whether there are new messages posted for any forum topics. Ordinarily, there will be new postings ("messages") when you log in. Click on the forum topic link provided in the "New messages" bullet, and you should see the forum area for that topic, with all messages that have been posted in that forum. For each forum, I will initiate the discussion with a kickoff message that briefly re-states the topic or questions that were posed to you on the forum assignment page. If the information displayed below a message indicates that there are Replies to it, then look just to the right of that information. You will see a link that says either "Show Replies" or "Hide Replies." If you see "Show Replies," then click that link to display all replies.

To post your original response to the forum topic, click the Post New Message to: "(topic name)" link that appears at the top of the screen as you read my kickoff message. You will then see a "New Conferencing Message" page, with an input window (called "Message Text") for the text of your message. I recommend that you prepare your response to the forum topic before you login to ICA. (Remember that all the information you need to compose your original response is found here on the course website, on the forum assignment page.) Type up your response in a file on your computer. Then, after you login and go to the forum topic and read my kickoff message, click the Post New Message to: "(topic name)" link and use the cut-and-paste function on your computer to put the text of your message into the Message Text window. Then click the "Post New Message" button. Your response will be posted to the forum and appear at the bottom of the list of existing posts.

To post a follow-up response to any message, click the Reply link that appears just below the "Subject" line of the message you're reading. (Be careful not to click the "Send a personal message" link. Your response will not be posted to the forum if you do.) After you click the Reply link, everything after that should work just as it does with the Post New Message procedure. When you've finished typing your response and clicked the "Post New Message" button, your follow-up will be posted to the forum under the original message that you replied to. (The replies to an original message will all appear listed below that original message, in the order that they're posted.) All of your follow-up responses to the forum should be made using the Reply link for existing messages.

For each forum assignment, you are required to post your own original response (by the first forum due date) to the questions raised in the assigned reading. After the due date for your original response, you will return to the forum to read the responses of other students and my own follow-up to the first round of the forum discussion. (My own follow-up message will usually appear about three or four days after the first deadline.) You must post at least two follow-up responses to classmates of your choosing and one response to my own follow-up. The follow-up round of the forum will continue until the second due date (typically one week after the first due date). Your score on the forum assignments will be based upon the regularity of your participation and upon the content value of your contributions.

Now, what exactly does that mean? Regularity? Content value? Well, there are no clear-cut, set criteria for what constitutes full credit for a forum assignment. Part of your score, of course, comes from your original response, which counts for about 40% of your total points for the assignment. A good original response should show evidence that you've thought carefully about the readings and the questions that have been posed to you. Most students need at least 150 to 200 words to construct such a response . . . some need more.

The remainder of your forum points comes from your follow-up responses. As noted above, it takes at least three thoughtful, substantial follow-up responses to secure the full allotment of points for the follow-up portion of your score. These are usually (but not always) shorter than the original responses. However, by 'thoughtful' and 'substantial', I mean that your response should show evidence of having read and thought about the post you're responding to and should then contribute something new -- a supporting example, an extension of the argument or line of thought, a disagreement along with an explanation of why you disagree, etc. (When you're replying to my own follow-up, you should attempt to respond to one or more of the new questions that I raise in that follow-up.)

I don't mind responses that say things like "Good job" or "I agree with you" or "I like that." Such remarks help to lubricate the dynamics of human conversation. But please understand that those kinds of replies, by themselves, don't garner points for your score. Nor do replies that simply restate the remarks of the person you're replying to. On the other hand, a reply that says something like "I agree with you, and here's why...," or "I really liked that. It made me think about...," probably will garner some points for your score because you're about to add something to the discussion.

Also, I hope you all realize, before I even say it, that I expect you to collectively maintain an atmosphere of civility and good will in the forum discussions. When posting a message, take a moment to consider the tone of your words and how they might be interpreted by someone who's reading them without knowing you. When reading a message, try to interpret as generously as possible before you begin to compose your reply.

Another point about the forum discussions: in my scoring of your forum participation, I won't be grading specifically for mechanical issues like spelling, punctuation, grammar, etc. However, this doesn't mean you should allow yourself to be sloppy and negligent about these things. This is an academic environment, after all, and you should take at least some effort to make your written communications with me or with your fellow students readable and comprehendable. Think of it as just another part of showing good will. So, while occasional slips in writing mechanics will not affect your scores, postings that are consistently sloppy and unreadable will begin to affect your scores.

You don't have to limit yourself to three follow-up responses. If you become interested and engaged in a thread of conversation that is generated out of a classmate's post, as sometimes happens, feel free to continue with it. Also, if you're not quite sure if you've got three follow-ups that will gain full credit for your score, I should let you know that I'm willing to count four "pretty good" follow-ups as equal to three "really good" follow-ups.

When you've finished reading this page, go to the Internet Classroom Assistant (using this link). You should be able to login to your account for the first time (using the username and password in the e-mail I sent you) and look around at the site. (You must do this within the first week of class. Not doing so will result in a deduction from your Conduct score.) I've created a Topic area called "Introductions" that gives you an opportunity to experiment with reading and posting a message in the discussion area. And, if you encounter any difficulties using the site, contact me by e-mail and I'll help you to work through the problem.
 

3) Essays or projects will be chosen from a number of different options regarding both topic and structure. These choices can be accessed through a link on the Calendar of Assignments page. This link will be located on the calendar on the due date for the assignment (which should be the Monday of the final week for the semester). You must choose from the options I provide.

When you submit your essay or project assignment, you must send it as an attachment to an e-mail message. (Your e-mail software should have an option that allows you to attach a file from your computer to the e-mail that you're sending out.) The Subject line on your e-mail should be similar to your Subject lines for the quizzes -- for example, Essay: J. Baker. (This exact format will trigger a confirmation message, just as with the quizzes.) Also, the first lines of your attached file must contain your full name and the name of the assignment -- for example, 1st line: Janet Baker, 2nd line: Essay -- Visual Art Analysis. Additional guidelines for each specific assignment option will be included on the description page for each option. Adherence to those guidelines and the instructions above will be necessary to receive full credit for the assignment.
 

4) Exams will be taken in the Testing Center on the Spring Creek campus of Collin County Community College, 2800 E Spring Creek Pkwy, Plano, Texas, (972) 881-5922. They will be available from Monday through Saturday of the week chosen for the exam. When you go to the Testing Center, ask for the exam for the HUMA 1301 Web course. (It will also be helpful to remember my last name -- DeRouen.) You will take the exam on a Scantron sheet (Form No. 882-E, available in the bookstore), so you will need only a pencil, the Scantron sheet, and your student ID. (If you don't have a student ID, you should get one as soon as possible). No other materials will be allowed. Testing Center policy will not allow a test to be given less than one hour before closing time. Be careful not to put off the test until the very last minute.

Sometime during the week preceding each exam, I will send out a reminder e-mail that notifies you of the material that you should know for the exam. This will usually include the questions from the study quizzes and selected glossary terms found at the end of each chapter in the textbook, but other material covered during the weeks preceding the exam might also be included. The purpose of the reminder e-mail is to let you know what that additional material might be. It will also contain your scores on the two most recent quizzes, along with the correct answers.

Web site changes
 

I will need to update the Calendar of Assignments occasionally during the semester, and I might also make minor changes to the individual assignment pages before we get to those assignments. If you've clicked around to check out various pages on the site ahead of the calendar schedule, your browser might have "cached" (stored locally on your computer) an earlier and out-of-date version of a page. You should use the Reload or Refresh button on the menu bar of your browser each time you go to the Calendar page or an assignment page (or any other page you might have visited ahead of schedule) to be sure you have the right one.

Humanities 1301 -- Introduction

Collin County Community College