NVCC Distance Courses History 121 and 122, Summer 2009
Note: This letter will be mailed to you. Be sure the college has your correct mailing address. Notify me by email if it changes.

May 1, 2009

Dear Students in History 121 and 122:

First things first! Please be aware that your course this summer is a 16-week course being taught in 12 weeks! That means you must not get behind. This course is challenging in 16 weeks, as some students discover too late. Unless you are prepared to work every week and keep pace, you should reconsider your enrollment options.

All content for this course, including the text, can be found at www.academicamerican.com. I suggest that you print the content out and place it in a notebook along with your assignment sheet. Your reading topics are linked from the left-hand column of the Assignments page; assigned documents are listed in the right-hand column. Be sure to read the head notes (top of the page) in the document pages. Exams are based on both topic summaries and documents, including head notes.

TEXT. For students for whom time is an issue or who may not have a high-speed Internet connection, you may purchase a print version of your text plus documents from a print-on-demand service, Lulu.com. You can order a print copy or download a complete pdf file for sections of the course, or for the whole course, directly from www.lulu.com/hjsage. The only difference between the print copy and the web copy is that hyperlinks are included in the web version, and the graphics will be mostly in color. You should note that my text, like my web site, is always a work in progress and will be revised from time to time.  I will alert you of any critical changes (i.e., that might affect exams.)

The bookstore will not carry the print version because the service is print on demand, meaning that the book is not printed until you order it and Lulu does not accept return of unsold copies. Also, the bookstore price would be about double what you pay at Lulu. You can pay Lulu with PayPal or credit card. If you have a problem, I can have a copy sent to you and you can send me a check or money order.

EXAMS and QUIZZES. Each exam and quiz will have a practice quiz/exam in Blackboard. Practice quizzes are not graded, and you may take them as often as you like, print out the questions, or use them any way you see fit. Some of the questions, or similar questions, will appear on the regular quiz or exam, so it is worth taking the practice quizzes. Note that the practice quizzes do not necessarily cover every possible topic.  You may take the two short quizzes at home or anywhere else. There is no password, but you may only take them once and must complete them in one session. You may refer to your text or notes while taking quizzes, but do not close your browser window on the quiz. Resetting quiz may require a 10% penalty.

You will take the Midterm and Final exams for credit in a testing center, using your exam passes. The testing centers have the password. When you finish your exam, click the “Submit” button, and you will see the partial results. After I grade the essay questions and add those points, you may check your final score in Blackboard under “Student Tools.”

Exams and quizzes will be available in Blackboard well before the due date. If you are ready to take an exam or quiz and don't see it, email me and I will make it available.

WRITING ASSIGNMENTS. The course requires one research project with a site visit, and 2 short essays, one of which is a critical film review. Read the project, essay, film review and site visit instructions carefully. I will send another letter dealing with writing projects soon. Meanwhile, look over suggested topics and start making notes.

EXTENSIONS. In the past I have been too lenient in granting extensions, and students have suffered as a result.  Once you get behind, it is hard to catch up. Unless you feel you can complete the course on time, consider whether this course will meet your educational needs and learning style. Students sometimes submit all three written projects at once and thus do not benefit from comments and suggestions I make. So if they do poorly on their first paper, they probably do poorly on all three. Students who run short of time also seem tempted to cut corners and have sometimes failed the course because of plagiarism. Penalties will be assigned for late work—watch Blackboard for notices.

NOTA BENE: All work must be completed by the official course end date.

TIPS FOR SUCCESS:

• The best way to get a good grade is to keep your course progress moving forward. Last semester, almost without exception, every student who finished on time got an “A”. Every student who got an “Incomplete” for the previous semester failed the course. Thus I will no longer give “I” grades.  The time to get started is now. 
• I know you are busy—that's probably why you are taking an online course. However, if you are too busy to come to class, are you too busy to take this course? Online classes take more time to prepare than in-class courses.
• Check Blackboard Announcements every week. I usually post new messages on weekends.
• Be sure to read the syllabus and all linked instruction pages carefully. 
• Please put History 121 or 122 in the subject line of  e-mails and identify yourself in your message. I prefer hsage@cox.net for emails, though I also read my college email. Please don’t send to both at the same time.
• When submitting a paper, start the file name with your last name. For example, smithessay1.doc.

Good luck in the Course!    —JS

History 121 Home | History 122 Home | Updated April 26, 2009