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I hope
this lengthy syllabus answers most of the questions you may have now and
later. If not, let me know and I’ll make it longer :-) LW 1.
General Course Information back to top Physical Geography is a Category B2 (Lower Division Science) GE course. It is also a required
core course for geography majors. Except for the following three required
in-class meetings and exams, the class is offered completely online via
Blackboard. The three required in class meetings are (Please bring a photo ID with you for all in class
meetings and exams): • In-class orientation: Mandatory in-class orientation is
Thursday January 4 12:00 – 12:50 pm in 5-125.
Students with schedule conflicts should contact me before the
orientation. • In-class Midterm: Thursday Feb 8 12:00 – 2:00 pm in 98-5C-15. • In-class Final: Tuesday March 13 12:00 – 2:00
pm in 98-5C-15. • Exam time and location may change.
Check up dates in class. Objective of the
course: Through the exploration of the physical
environment of the earth, including atmosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere, and
biosphere students will learn basic terms, concepts and methodologies in
physical sciences. After completing the course, students should have more
awareness, better understanding, and deeper appreciation towards our natural
environment and its interrelationships with human activities. General education B2 program assessment: As a pilot study of the General Education Program Assessment effort, students’ work (assignments, discussions, exams, quizzes and surveys) produced in this class may be submitted to the university’s GE B2 assessment committee to review. In no way your grades will be affected by this project. In most cases, only statistics generated from the class will be used, however, in some cases, your written work (without name attached) may be analyzed by the committee and included in the report. If you have concerns about this, please let me know. If you wish that your work not to be included in the study, please sent me an e-mail indicating so. Your participation will help to improve the GE program for future students. 2.
Instructor Contact Information back
to top Instructor
Dr. Lin Wu (http://www.csupomona.edu/~lwu/web/) Office 5-145 Phone: 909-869-3578
E-Mail: LWU@CSUPomona.edu Office
Hours: see http://www.csupomona.edu/~lwu/web/schedule.htm 3.
Required Text and Other Sources back
to top McKnight
& Hess: Physical Geography: A Landscape Appreciation. 8/E. 2005, Prentice Hall. ISBN 0131451391. (The book came with a multimedia CD which is helpful but not required
for the class) Alternatively, you can
use the SafariX eTextbook
version (ISBN 0131288482) at http://www.safarix.com,
which cost less than the printed version but the subscription only lasts for
150 days. 4.
Grading back
to top
5.
Quizzes, Midterm and Final back
to top Exams
and quizzes are intended to assess your mastering of the knowledge related to
the course subjects. You are responsible for the materials assigned in the
textbook readings as well as covered by discussions and assignments. Quizzes will be given
online and they are designed as closed book examines. You will be given
a limited time to complete each quiz once you started. There will be no
sufficient time for you to go through notes or books searching for answers
during the quiz. You can still submit the quiz past the time mark but you may not
receive scores or your scores may be reduced. Most of the quizzes are available
in a two-day period, typically from Monday
12 am to Tuesday 11:55 pm. In case system-wide technical problems occur, the whole class will be
given an opportunity to retake the quiz or I may drop a particular quiz score
dependent on the situation. To accommodate occasional technical or other problems for an
individual student, one lowest (or missed) quiz score will be dropped. If
you encounter technical problems, you need to seek help to resolve the
problem (see technical guide section for resources) as early as
possible. Frequent technical problems will not be excused and your grades may be
affected. Most of the time, you will see the raw scores of the quizzes
after you finish the quiz. In some cases, I need to grade the quiz and post
the scores a few days later. These
scores may be adjusted later and percentages of total quiz scores will be
calculate as the 10% of your total course grade. Practice
quiz online. It should help if you can use the quizzes
and tests on the textbook’s companion website http://wps.prenhall.com/esm_mcknight_physgeo_8
as practice quizzes, however, please note that the questions on the website
cover all the contents in a chapter, which may be more than what we require
in the class. On the other hand, not
all the questions I use in the quizzes and tests come from the same test
bank. Midterm and final are mandatory in-class exams. These exams will be held in a computer lab and you will take them online. These are closed book exams. See section 1 and/or class calendar for dates and locations. Please bring a photo ID with you. Midterm and final makes 40% of the course grades (20% each). 6. Assignments back to top The
assignments are designed to enhance your learning experience related to the
course subjects and to build connections between the course subjects and every
day life. To take the advantages of an online class, many of these
assignments use online resources. It is your responsibility to arrange
your time to work on the assignments and turn them in on time. The assignments should be
completed individually unless it is specified as a group project. You should
follow the direction carefully given by each of the assignment to avoid
technical problems. The
assignments are not easy tasks and require time to complete. No late assignment will be accepted unless
prearranged. Contact me ASAP via e-mail for
requesting a late submission if circumstance arises. Assignments will
be graded after the submission deadline. Typically, you should receive
your grade within a week after the deadline. Assignments make 40% of the
course grades. 7. Class
participation back
to top Participation including online discussions, working on and turning in none-graded items (e.g. student info, GE assessment questions, class surveys, etc.) Online discussion is an integral part of an online class. In a way, it replaces the interactive component of a face to face class. It is intended to enhance/broaden your knowledge while improving writing/communication skills. Discussion topics will be posted each week and you may start a new topic if it fits the subject. Technically, the discussions will be conducted through the Discussion Board in the Blackboard. To make the discussion effective (to achieve more with less time for everyone), it is very important that you write thoughtfully and follow the directions carefully. •
Subject related messages should be
posted under the assigned topics. These topics are related to the chapters we
are studying. You may suggest new topics if they fit the subject. You
are encouraged to engage in the discussions in a contributive
and timely manner. • Messages related to class
logistics (clarification for due dates, availability of
assignments, technical problems, etc.) should be posed under the topic of
Class Logistic on the discussion board. Respond to the questions if you
have answers. • Discussions related to assignments
and quizzes are encouraged; however, no direct answers to the assignments and
quizzes should be posted or given to classmates before the assignments are graded.
Discussion board
or e-mail? Understand that if you post a message on the
discussion board, the whole class will see it. Please distinguish
messages intended for public or private viewing and use
appropriate means to deliver them. Only messages that contribute to
(or seek) clarification and enhance the course contents should be posted on
the discussion boards. All the other messages should
be sent as private e-mails. For example, if you are not clear about a
procedure for an assignment, you can either send me an e-mail or post a
message on the “Class Logistics” board. You probably will get a faster
response from a classmate if you use the discussion board. If you have the
same question as a posted message, you may want to send me an e-mail to inform
me that you have the same problem. In that way, I will know that it is
not an individual problem while the class will not have to spend time to open
and read many repetitive messages. If you see a question posted on the
discussion board and you have an answer for it, use reply on the discussion
board so others having the same question may learn from you. However,
if you just want to thank a classmate who responded your question, you should
send a private e-mail. Please use languages that are appropriate for an
academic environment at all times when you post and sent messages, public or
private. Participation is 10% of the course grads and will be assigned by the end of the quarter based on the following criteria:
8.
Taking the Online Course back
to top Although
this is a complete online class offered through the campus Blackboard, it is not a self-paced,
self-guided course. The course is conduced on the weekly bases
following the same calendar as a traditional academic course. Each
week, you will be given instructions assigning you
tasks to be completed or to begin during the week. These tasks include
readings, assignments, online discussions, quizzes, etc. It typically takes 6
– 8 hours weekly to complete the tasks and you need to “visit” the online
classroom at least twice a week. Although you can choose your time and
day to work on these tasks, you need to follow the given time frames
carefully. Typically, you will be given at least one week to complete
an assignment and a two-day period to take a quiz. All quizzes, tests,
assignments and other due dates are posted in multiple places in the online
classroom. You are responsible for checking into different areas of
the online classroom on regular bases (at least twice a week) to make sure
that you receive instructions and updated information. My
teaching of the class will be delivered in a combination of the following
forms: 1) instructions and chapter highlights posted in the
online classroom to guide you through reading and to help you focusing on the
most important subjects. 2) periodical Announcements to explain and reflect on
progress, assignments, current events related to the course subjects, or
other class related matters; 3) messages posted on the Discussion Board to respond your postings or
questions; 4) assignments and tests to enhance and assess your
learning; 5) grades and comments to give you feed back about
your learning process; and 6) E-mail, voice
message and office
hour meetings if necessary to assist you with your individual needs. Although
an online class provides flexibility and opportunity for many, it is not for
everyone. In addition to access required software and hardware, studies suggest that the keys to be
a successful online student are: Commitment: An online class is not
easy. You need to have the commitment and patience to overcome
technical and other problems that often accompanying an online class. Time management: An online class
gives you the flexibility of managing your time but may not
save you time. You need to locate at least 6 to 8 hours each
week for this course within the period that you can work efficiently.
You need to check into the online classroom at least twice a week, sometimes,
more often. Study Skills:
You need to develop efficient study skills to master the required course
material. I have designed many different learning activities to help you
studying the material. You need to develop your learning skills to make
these activities productive to you. Technical
skills: You will need certain degree of technical proficiency
to be successful in an online course. The technical guide section of
the syllabus provides you with resources that will help you to solve
technical problems. It is your responsibility to seek help and to solve
problems in a timely manner. Open
communication is very important in an online class.
Let me know when you have questions, concerns, or suggestions. Send me a message if you find
something not working properly (broken links, unreleased information that
suppose to be available to you, wrong answers for the quiz, typo errors,
etc.) I also like to know if the work loads are reasonable and the
works that I designed are helpful or not. Your E-mails will be responded within 48 hours (most of
them within 24 hours) during the weekdays. Please indicate GEO101H in the subject area of your
e-mail message and make sure that your full name is in the message.
Appointments are not needed if you plan to visit me during my office hours;
however, it is highly recommended that you let me know ahead of time.
Occasionally, I have to change office hours or locations in a short notice. 9.
Course Policy and Other Disciplinary
Matters back to top •
No make-up examinations and quizzes will be given unless
special arrangements were made before the examination date on individual
basis. Exceptions will only be given for unforeseeable circumstances with
proving documents. •
Additional in-class exams or oral exams
may be required of individual students if inconsistencies in grades occurred.
•
See assignment section for late
assignment policy. All the required course work should be completed
individually unless it is indicated otherwise. Copied (from web, book, your
roommates, etc.) or “co-authored” assignments will not be accepted. Cheating and plagiarism will not
be tolerated. Copied/shared assignments will result
in no grades for all students involved. If difficulties with the class
arise, students should contact me ASAP to work out solutions within the
course structure. •
No extra work for extra credit will be
offered. •
Appropriate languages should be used all times when you post messages or interact online
with the class.
Posting improper massages and offensive languages will receive no or negative
class participation points and may subject to university disciplinary
actions. •
Refer to current Catalog (http://www.csupomona.edu/~academic/catalog/)
for the university disciplines regarding cheating, plagiarism and other
serious academic offenses. 10.
Technical Guide and Source
back to top Help Desk The help desk is located
at Building 1-100 (Phone 909 869-6776). If you have Bb access or other
technical problems, you may start with http://www.csupomona.edu/~ehelp/
and contact them if you cannot find solutions from the site. Blackboard (Bb) The main campus
Blackboard page is http://www.csupomona.edu/~iit/learning/blackboard/
. From there, you can log on to your
Bb for all your Bb classes using your Cal Poly E-Mail Login and
Password. If you are not an experienced Bb user, you may want to go
through the step-by-step guides and the student manual linked to the main
page and the course menu. Please note
that not all the functions listed on the manual are available for this
course. The Bb settings for this
course will be discussed during the orientation and you can always make an
appointment during my office hours if you need help. The minimum Bb functions
you need to know for this class are:
Browser and
Software Use the “Browser
Compatibility” page at http://www.csupomona.edu/~iit/learning/blackboard/
to check if your browser supports Blackboard. In addition, you may need the
following software to view the course contents: Acrobat Reader and Flash
Player (free downloads at http://www.adobe.com/downloads/),
Windows Media Player, PowerPoint, and Word. If you would like to use
the CD that comes with the book, you need to have the media system set
properly in your computer. (Use of the CD is not required of the course, but
it could help the learning.) File Format and
File Name Most of the work
submitted will be using the online interface and no file attachment is
needed. In some cased when you need to
submit an attachment file, the file should be in one of the following
formats:
Blackboard E-Mail When you sent an e-mail
through Bb, it goes directly to the recipient’s Cal Poly E-mail account. It is important that you check your Cal
Poly E-mail routinely or set mail forward function in your Cal Poly E-mail to
forward your e-mail automatically to your regular e-mail account (check http://www.csupomona.edu/~ehelp/
if you do not know how to set e-mail forwarding). If you use Bb E-mail, a Bb
heading is automatically placed in the subject area. If you use regular e-mail, please state
GEO101 in the subject tile, otherwise, I may never get it. 11. Schedule and Topics back to top (Schedules and topics may change.
Detailed schedules are posted in Bb.) Week 1 Topic: In class
orientation and introduction to the course and
Maps, GPS, RS, and GIS Week 2 Topic:
Earth-Sun Relationship Week 3 Topic:
Radiation and Temperature Week 4 Topic:
Moisture and Wind Week 5 Topic: Weather
and Climate Week 6 Review
and Midterm
Exam Week 7 Hydrosphere
and Biosphere Week 8 Rocks, Moving
Plates and Earthquakes Week 9 Topic: Mass
Movement and Fluvial (stream related) Landforms Week 10 Topic: Wave,
Wind, and Glacial Landforms Final
Week Final Exam |