This post is from the most important part of the syllabus for Soc 101 DL and will also be available on the Angel site once it's open. For those interested, however, I wanted to let you get a sense of what's to come a little bit early.
For this class, you will need to use a number of online tools, including and in addition to the main Angel shell. Below, I will describe three online platforms that will be used during the course of the semester. Over the course of the semester, you should access each of these platforms at least three times a week.
It’s imperative that you get familiar with and activate all of these sites as soon as possible. After the first week, we will be moving very quickly through the semester. Don’t let yourself fall behind.
_______________________________________________________________________________ It’s imperative that you get familiar with and activate all of these sites as soon as possible. After the first week, we will be moving very quickly through the semester. Don’t let yourself fall behind.
Angel
The Angel shell is the primary “home” of the course. If you have access to the Angel shell, you are registered in the course. Throughout the semester, you will need to visit the Angel shell to view course documents (e.g. syllabus), your official gradebook (only visible to you and the instructor) and weekly quizzes (LINK to description of quizzes).
Quizzes--For each folder, you will complete a quiz based on the chapter’s content. Quizzes are primarily multiple choice in format, though three to four short answer questions are also included. You will have 60 minutes to complete the quiz.
After quizzes are submitted, I will review to determine if some particular material was difficult for the class to fully learn. I then may add an additional discussion board to expand on that material.
Discussion Board Participation--For each chapter, you will also participate in at least one discussion board. I will post instructions for each board regarding requirements for adequate participation (e.g. number of posts and comments a student will be responsible for), so be sure to note those requirements. Posts may relate to text reading or video lectures/clips posted in the folder.
You will not be able to read other students' posts until you have made your own.
I will also use discussion boards to expand upon material that student quiz results suggest more instruction is needed. Be sure to keep up with these discussions as quiz questions may be added to subsequent quizzes to re-assess learning of concepts and material that had proved difficult.
- Assignment Checklist for Angel: Weekly chapter quizzes and discussion board participation. During fall and spring semesters, quizzes are due each Wednesday at 2pm. Discussion board due dates will be posted in the instructions for each post--this requires you check the site at least once a day.
________________________________________________________________________________
Outside of Angel, we will use a number of social media sites--this is sociology after all. As soon as you activate your Blogger, and Google+ accounts notify me. All class members will be linked to everyone else on these sites.
It may seem annoying to have to keep track of and navigate so many sites, but for me, this is a small price to pay to take full advantage of the learning resources we can easily access.
I also bet that many of you already use and shift between several different online accounts.
During the first week of the class, you should activate your accounts on these platforms and alert me.I also bet that many of you already use and shift between several different online accounts.
________________________________________________________________________________
Blogger
Blogger is a free service that allows the creation of individual blogs. You can activate a Blogger account with your sunyorange.edu email account.
On nearly a weekly basis, you will be responsible for writing, editing and publishing short posts (about 500 words, give or take) that address some specific question or discussion point provided by the instructor. These posts will often also require you to find some outside sources to incorporate into your writings. Each folder will include specific instructions for that chapter's post.In addition to writing your own posts on your own blog, you will also “follow” your classmates blogs and comment on their posts.
To successfully complete this assignment you will usually need to complete outside research, such as finding a recent news story (from the current year, 2011) from a reputable news source (New York Times, BBC, Washington Post, etc.) that supports your analysis.
Occasionally, you will need to do research into academic literature or analyze video clips found on the internet. In each assignment, you must cite specific terms and concepts from the textbook as well as all outside information that you gather.
Occasionally, you will need to do research into academic literature or analyze video clips found on the internet. In each assignment, you must cite specific terms and concepts from the textbook as well as all outside information that you gather.
- Assignment checklist for Blogger: Weekly blog posts and comments on other students’ posts. During fall and spring semesters, posts are due by Sunday evening at 7pm. During the summer, check calendar dates and Angel and Google+ announcements.
I will comment on student blog posts as well, though grading feedback will be communicated privately between myself and the student.
In the following video, I lead you through the process of setting up your Blogger account. It's quick, however, so you'll likely have additional questions. Please ask questions as soon as you run into problems so that you do not fall behind. For instance, I suggest all students set their blog to "private" and add the instructor and other students as "readers." This way, we'll be sure to keep our work private, unless you wish to make it open.
________________________________________________________________________________
Google+
Because sunyorange.edu email accounts are administered by Google, we also have the ability to activate Google+ profiles (link to instructions). If you haven’t done so already, look at the upper left corner of your inbox screen for “you+”I will establish a circle for the class. This means that when I post and you respond to my posts, only other members of the class will be able to view. Same goes for the hangouts (see next paragraph).
Google+ hangouts (web cam meetings) will also be scheduled once a week. Participation in these meetings isn’t required, but can provide the opportunity for face to face interaction.
- Assignment checklist for Google+: Nothing specifically. This platform will simply serve as another venue for interaction among class members. While these chats won't be graded, I strongly encourage you to check the posts at least once every two days (definitely once a chapter) to be sure you're on the same page with me and the rest of the class.
________________________________________________________________________________
Important Note about Sources: In most assignments, you will be asked to use information from the textbook, outside published works and website sources. Whenever you do so, be sure to cite that source in the body of your text and include a hyperlink if possible. Also, in Blog posts, include a Works Cited section at the end of your post where you list bibliographic information of all sources. In discussion boards, provide some description of your source within the text of your response...such as if you found statistics from the Census Bureau.
Also, when using information from other sources, do not use direct quotes. I want all concepts and ideas from other sources paraphrased into your own words. This practice assists in getting a greater sense of the material you're studying.
Grade Weighting
| Blog Posts | 40% |
| Quizzes | 35% |
| Discussion Boards |
25% |
| Total | 100% |
No comments:
Post a Comment