AMERICAN HISTORY 1493 ON-LINE

MICHAEL RILEY, INSTRUCTOR

OFFICE HC 342

TELEPHONE, 918- 647-1270

I. THE CLASS: American History 1493 on-line is designed to allow students the opportunity to earn college credit on a weekly schedule of their own choosing. The course will consist of sixteen chapter assignments/quizzes, four tests, and computer-assisted individual and group participation.

II. ASSIGNMENTS:

Each week, students will have assignments recommended for that week. These will consist of readings, course content exercises and reviews, quizzes, class participation and exams. Recommended weekly assignments are posted on the WebCT calendar, but students may work at their own pace so long as quizzes and exams are completed by the posted deadline and they keep up with class discussion posted on the WebCT bulletin board. It is recommended that students first read the chapter, then prepare for the quiz by logging-on to WebCT and utilizing the COURSE MATERIALS resources provided. When the student is ready, they should then take the on-line quiz by clicking on the WebCT quiz icon.

III. TESTS:

A total of four tests will be given which will cover the following four units:

Unit One……………….Chapters 16-19

Unit Two………………Chapters 20-23

Unit Three……………...Chapters 24-27

Unit Four……………….Chapters 28-31

All exams and quizzes will be given on-line through WebCT. Each exam will consist of fifty questions. Fifty minutes will be allowed to take the exam. The final is not comprehensive. Each exam will count 100 points for a total of 400 possible on all exams. A total of sixteen chapter quizzes will be given. Each quiz will consist of 25 multiple-choice questions. Each quiz is worth 25 points for a total of 400 points possible on all sixteen quizzes. Twenty-five minutes will be allowed to take a quiz, and two minutes are provided for "download time." If your modem or service provider is slow it may take longer than two minutes to download an exam, if this is the case you should take quizzes and exams at the CASC computer lab. If you do miss a quiz or exam, you will be allowed to make-up as many as three quizzes and one exam at the end of the semester during the "Make-up days" marked on your WebCT calendar. If you miss more than one exam, you will receive a score of zero on the earliest one missed. If you miss more than three quizzes, you will receive a score of

zero on the earliest ones missed but you will be allowed to make-up the last three.

IV. INDIVIDUAL AND GROUP PARTICIPATION:

A major advantage of an on-line course over a simple correspondence course is the opportunity it offers for the student to communicate and interact both with the instructor and with other students in the class. Students will be expected to participate in the group discussions of each chapter using the discussions options offered by WebCT. A list of review words and phrases will be posted by your instructor for each chapter and for each unit to help you prepare for the quiz. You should choose one or two of the words or phrases from each word list, look them up in your textbook, and post the information you find on the bulletin board for the class to utilize in preparing for the quiz or exam. Students receiving full participation credit will provide their classmates a minimum of

thirty posts during the course of the semester. To receive participation credit for a bulletin board post a student must:

1. Choose one or two words or phrases that no one else has researched and posted. (Put each one in a separate post)

2. Put the chapter, the number, and the word or phrase in the SUBJECT LINE of your post. (This allows your classmates to determine which words have been taken without opening each message.)

3. Somewhere in your post, you must include the page numbers from your book where you found the information. (This allows your classmates to quickly find the information if they want to read it themselves)

4. Post your information at least one day before the deadline for taking the test or quiz for that chapter or unit.

5. Include everything you think is important in your post. You are only required to do one or two words or phrases per chapter, so they should be completely researched and a paragraph or two written on the subject. No participation credit will be given for one or two sentence answers that merely define the word or phrase. (If you cannot find enough information in the book, you should first provide what information you found in the book and the page number where you found it. Then you should use the internet or some other source to find more information and provide it as well. Just be sure that your classmates know what the book said, and tell them where you found the additional information.)

Students are also expected to participate by using the COURSE MATERIALSs resource provided by WebCT. Although this work is not individually graded, the computer monitors your work here and measures the time you spend and the number of pages you study. The second half of your participation grade or 100 points is based on this work. This resource will greatly aid you in preparing for quizzes and exams. Participation will be worth a total of 200 points, or 20% of your grade. Individually, students should budget enough time each week to complete each weeks assignment on time. Although the pace of each student is different, an average of four to six hours per week may be necessary to successfully complete most chapter assignments.

Under certain circumstances, the instructor may choose to administratively withdraw a student.

Students who fail to participate in the class for an extended time without contacting the instructor will be removed from the class.

V. GRADING: A total of 1000 points is possible in the following ways:

Quizzes, 400 points

Tests, 400 points,

Participation, 200 points.

Letter grades will be determined using the following scale.

900 to 1000 points = A

800 to 899 points= B

700 to 799 points = C

600 to 699 points = D

Below 600 points = F

VI. TEXTBOOK:

THE AMERICAN JOURNEY by GOLDFIELD, VOLUME TWO 3RD edition, Prentice-Hall

Publishers.

This book should be available in the CASC Bookstore. If you have any problems e-mail me or come by my office. This on-line version of the course is still fairly new, and any suggestions for improvements will be greatly appreciated.

Michael Owen Riley