To see what your prof would show you if we were together in class, scan down the syllabus looking for light green boxes, usually with links.
If you are looking for opportunities in the Syllabus to earn extra points by acting in ways that usually result in higher grades, look for the pink. These incentives are covered specifically in the Course Plan you submit.
If you are looking for how to tell what to do when and for course policies about look for the red in the syllabus. These issues are covered specifically in the Course Schedule at the end of the syllabus and in a separate link on the Course Menu.
TSI
satisfied in Reading and Writing
You must log in at least 3 times a week and
check both Blackboard Messages and
Announcements. If I email you in Blackboard Messages, you must read and reply
or call your instructor if you do not understand. You must be sure you have
read all announcements since your last login.
I make every effort to return messages (course
email, phone, discussion postings) within 36 hours (weekends and holidays excepted).
During
Online Office Hours (listed on the first page of this syllabus), I respond to
Blackboard Messages and postings on the Discussion Board. I am glad to help you
online, to meet you on campus, or to work with you by phone. If we both have
Blackboard open, working together by phone frequently brings the fastest
solution. I teach on two campuses: Richmond Campus on Monday, Wednesday, and
Friday and Sugar Land on Tuesday and Thursday.
·
Social Responsibility (SR) - intercultural competence, knowledge of
civic responsibility, and the ability to engage effectively in regional,
national, and global communities
·
Personal Responsibility (PR) - ability to connect choices, actions and
consequences to ethical decision-making
Upon successful completion of this
course, students will:
1) Create an argument through the use of
historical evidence.
2) Analyze and interpret primary and secondary
sources.
3)
Analyze the
effects of historical, social, political, economic, cultural, and global forces
on this period of United States history. The Syllabus & Success Discussion
provides a link on why these matter to you. Use that link.
Your professor follows History Department policy that all courses require students use primaries and “historical evidence” and they create an “argument” (not just repeat). Click here for details about those terms. (URL: http://www.cjbibus.com/GS_HistDept_Student_Learner_Outcomes.htm) (See Student Learner Outcomes.) |
This textbook is required for all written
assignments: David M. Kennedy, Lizabeth Cohen, and Mel Piehl, The Brief American Pageant: A History of the Republic, 9th edition. It is the one-volume edition containing 41 chapters and is used
for both History 1301 and History 1302. The ISBN is 9781337124645; however,
that ISBN is a “bundle” and includes both the textbook and an online program
called Mindtap. In this course, we will not use Mindtap.
You must use your textbook and other resources provided in the
course (including primaries for your 3-Part Writing assignment) as your only source for your written
assignments. For all written assignments, you must cite a specific page from the textbook or a primary for your facts. (See
Evidence Requirements in History & All Assignments.)
You will need a computer, an external webcam and microphone, a
reliable internet connection, and access to the WCJC Blackboard site. Please
note that embedded webcams cannot be used, since they do not give good scans of
the testing environment. An external (clip-able) webcam is required for the webcam
testing option.
Offer that might help some
of you: If you have a laptop with an internal webcam and microphone, I am
willing to let you try to do to use to do what Respondus calls an Environmental
Check with the Sample Respondus Exam. My guess is that a person who is very
careful might be able to do it correctly. If you want to try this with the
Sample Respondus Exam, email in Blackboard Messages. I will file your message
and reply back with some tips that I hope would increase your odds of making this
video be clear enough.
Just so there is no misunderstanding: I will be the only judge of whether your
Environmental Check video is clear enough. My reason is that I am the one who
has to give my word that you could not have cheated.
The
Respondus & Success Discussion provides information on online monitoring.
Use it.
You are responsible to prepare your computer
and its browser to work with WCJC’s Blackboard. Getting Started
provides the Distance Education FAQs that contain the technical information you
need and how to get more help if needed.
This course uses Learning Quizzes, Lessons,
writing assignments, and other course work to help you learn the essentials of
history, but also to prepare you, if that is your goal, for further academic
study or for the world of work. You can:
·
Master basic
concepts and content that help you figure out what is happening in the world
you live in
What’s a concept? Click here for a definition and 2 examples.
|
·
Practice skills
at learning new and varied things, something essential in a rapidly changing
world where workers may have to retrain many times
·
Develop skills
necessary as a successful decision maker about your own life and about your own
vote
·
Strengthen
practical skills in reading, problem-solving, and writing that are necessary
for all those roles.
In Spring 2011, I became increasing concerned about students and why they were not succeeding. I began doing surveys each term to ask students:
The results showed—until they were graded on evidence--50% to 60% of students from 2011 to
2017 did not have basic experiences
such as having to be factually accurate when writing about reality. Click here
to see what past students said they did not know before grading of their
papers on evidence in this course. |
Because of long term professional work in varied industries and because my Master’s degree and my doctorate degree were earned at different universities, my experience said this lack of 5 basic experiences by a large portion of students was not fair to them. They would have unnecessary difficulties:
If you follow the 5 Good Habits for Evidence, you can
practice at a freshman level the skills you need to succeed in your future.
Click here
if you think there is a job that does not require the 5 Good Habits for
Evidence. |
United States History II covers from 1877 to the
21st Century. The course is split into three Units, or major time periods, that
reveal shifts in our history. The three time periods are:
·
Unit 1: Creating a New America from 1860 to
1900
·
Unit 2: Moving to the World Stage – America from 1900 to 1945
·
Unit 3: Transformations – America from 1945 to
the Near Present
Two resources at the top of each Unit help you know
how to work:
·
The Checklist for Success for the Unit shows you what to do in the Unit.
·
The Unit Study Guide helps you focus your work so you save time—and make
a good grade on your Unit Exam.
The safest approach is to click on History
& All Assignments. It provides everything you need in one place. Each Unit
is the same: its content, its Blackboard discussion, its quizzes, and its Unit
exam.
The Getting Started activities are listed on the last page of the
Course Orientation link. If you come in past the due date, you must still do these activities but I
will record—temporarily—a 1.11 for the grade. At the end of the term, you email
your instructor that you have not been late with other assignments and I will
gladly change the grade to match what I have entered in the Comment for that
grade.
Quizzes, whether about concepts or evidence, always consist of:
· A self-test so you can find out what you know and do not know—with no points lost for find that out!
· Once you submit the self-test, Blackboard automatically displays additional content (if needed) and a full-test that you may repeat. The highest score counts.
If you take the Self-Test by the recommended date in the Course Schedule, you earn 1 extra credit point. (You must also attempt the Full-Test, which is located in the same folder. Tip: Why not repeat until you have the highest score?)
These quizzes occur in Unit 1 and Unit 2. The content of the
Evidence Quizzes comes primarily from a tutorial on the 5 Good Habits for
Evidence, with some additional content provided with it. The grading of writing
assignments is on how you apply these basics of evidence. (See Evidence
Requirements in History & All Assignments.
Learning Quizzes let students focus on concepts, such as the meaning of words, the location and traits of places, and parts of essential documents. Understanding concepts helps you understand accurately the facts you encounter in print, online, or just talking. Questions from these quizzes are also 8 (over 30%) of the 25 questions on each Unit exam.
In this class, questions do not
require that you show you know everything,
but you show that you know something.
The questions focus on your recognizing significant traits of such things as
regions, time periods and their dominant beliefs or events, and historical
figures. Tip: The best way to learn these is in the
instructor’s Lessons in each Unit, not the textbook.
The Syllabus & Success Discussion provides a link with examples. Use that link.
Because I see students memorizing random facts, I am trying to get you to focus on useful, usable facts for your life time because history is about how life works. History provides the content and learning it usefully requires the tools: · to make a decision safely · to answer a boss · to understand the news enough o either to understand what is going on o or to know that you do not trust the speaker or writer and better go look up reality In this class, questions do not require that you show you know everything, but that you show that you know something. The questions focus on your recognizing significant traits of such things as regions, time periods and their dominant beliefs or events, and historical figures. (See Learning Quizzes, Concepts, and the Goal of Exam Questions) Click here for an example of a question that lets you show that you know something that is worthwhile. (URL: http://www.cjbibus.com/GS_Good_Habits_What_Is_a_Question_Where_You_Show_You_Know_Something.htm ) |
You work together as a group to ask and answer questions you
have. The questions can come from Learning Quizzes, Evidence Quizzes, content
in a Lesson, items in the Study Guide, or any content covered in the Unit. For
discussions where students help each other learn, your instructor approves your
post before it is visible to the group. If you made an error that might damage
another student, your instructor gives you feedback so you can repost.
Blackboard refers to these as “moderated” posts. Instructions and the grading
rubric are in the Discussion’s
Description.
The questions in the Unit Exam are pulled from Learning Quizzes (8
of the 25 questions), the instructor’s Lesson links, with these requirements
reinforced in the study guide. There are 25 questions in sets (so questions
vary from person to person).
The 25 questions, at 4 points each, in the Departmental Final Exam
were written directly or chosen by the History Department. Caution: Departmental policy is an F for the course if you do not take the Final. In other words, if you have an
A average for all the prior work in the course and if you do not take the Final
Exam, I am required to enter an F for your final LETTER grade for the course.
Distance Education has provided this introduction: This course
requires the use of Lockdown Browser for taking online exams. The Lockdown
Browser software prevents a user from accessing other applications or going to
other websites during an exam. The webcam records you during the exam to ensure
you're only using resources that are permitted. Together, these tools make it
possible for students to take online exams from any location, and at times that
are convenient. It also creates a fair testing environment for everyone in the
course. Instructions for downloading the Lockdown Browser software are posted
in the course.
In this course, you will find all you need for monitoring online
exams in a folder within Getting Started.
Writing assignments are freshman level, brief, and uses only the textbook and resources in the course. You focus on a specific historical question as though you were teaching another student. You follow rules for citation provided in the course. Every part of the writing and all feedback, including your peer review of others’ work, is to be based on the 5 Good Habits for Evidence. It is not about style or opinion. It requires you practice skills essential to get and keep a good job. Your instructor enters points only after you respond to feedback—whether that feedback was from your instructor or a student who peer reviewed your paper.
Your writing assignments are located in Required Writing in History & All Assignments. Instructions and any materials you need are there. You post your writing in a type of Discussion that requires that you post before you can see other students’ writings. Your instructor uses Blackboard Messages to email feedback, and you reply to that email to get the points entered. Caution: You must complete all 4 Evidence Quizzes to see the writing assignment. If you have completed all 4 and do not see the writing assignment, email me immediately.
By the date in the Course Schedule, you also post your peer review of 2 other students’ work in the same Discussion. That peer review must provide feedback on content and on evidence using the Good Habits for Evidence rubric. You must reply to the peer review feedback from each student to get points. Your instructor also grades your peer reviews with a rubric in the Discussion tool.
The Syllabus & Success Discussion provides a link explaining peer review and
citation. Use that link.
What’s a peer review? Click here for peer review and where to find more on the word citation. (URL: http://www.cjbibus.com/GS_Good_Habits_for_Evidence_What_Is_Peer_Review_and_What_Is_Citation.htm |
For your paper, you follow the instructions and answer one of the questions provided. You use primaries. You write a brief paper and a reflection. Since a word count can be hard to think about, the paper—if printed—is to be under 1 page double-spaced; the reflection, under ½ page. For both, you provide citation as specified.
For your peer review, you follow the instructions on how to give specific feedback in the Discussion tool. You focus your feedback on whether the other student followed the 5 Good Habits for Evidence. For this, you are specific. If you refer to something in the textbook, you provide citation.
The Syllabus & Success Discussion provides links explaining primaries, peer reviews,
and citation. Use those
links.
What’s a primary? A secondary? Students in history are required to use primaries. You have an assignment to help you practice that. Click here for details about those terms. (URL: http://www.cjbibus.com/GS_HistDept_Student_Learner_Outcomes.htm) (See Student Learner Outcomes.) |
This is a 1000-point course, with points added
as you earn them. Announcements let you determine your current letter grade at
the end of each Unit. If the grade is lower than you want, ask for help. The
Final Letter Grade is determined by this scale:
Point
Range |
Final
Letter Grade |
895 – 1000 |
A (exceptional) |
795 – 894 |
B (above average) |
695 – 794 |
C (average) |
595 – 694 |
D (below average) |
Below 594 |
F (failing) |
The 1000-point course consists of these
points, with the last 2 being written work:
This course does not offer extra credit at the
end of the class to help a few people make a higher grade. It does offer extra
credit to all students for doing
things that will make them better students. Because these offers require that
you do things at a specific time or way, what you do is covered in the Course
Plan that you do in Getting Started.
The History Department has student learner outcomes that require
writing based on evidence and that require that you use primaries as well as secondaries. The Syllabus & Success Discussion provides
a link to explain those objectives and the meaning of the terms primary and
secondary. Use that link.
The written work must be over 25 percent of your final grade, a
requirement for all history instructors. That minimum means formal writing
assignments are essential to pass. The Syllabus & Success Discussion
provides a link to show you math examples so you can see how that 25% writing
requirements makes success in writing essential. Use that link.
Your professor follows History Department policy that all
courses consist of a minimum of 25% written assignments. The math of 25%
means that—if you want at least a C—you must do written work. Click on these
examples of the math. (URL:
http://www.cjbibus.com/GS_HistDept_25_Percent_Min_So_You_MUST_Write.htm) (See Caution about the History Department’s Course Objectives and Its 25% Writing Requirement.) |
For many students, a United States history course is the first
time they have had to write about something that is real—not just opinion—and therefore requires verifiable evidence from a reliable
source. Some students never had United States history before. Some students
are very uncomfortable and inexperienced with writing.
Also, history is cognitively like biology: both disciplines are
real and both are also detailed, complex, and interconnected. That means you
have plenty of ways to be wrong about those realities. Many students seem to
have problems with both of these disciplines.
To try to help students with the issues above, this course does
three things. First, it provides information and quizzes on these basic rules
of evidence so you can find out what you do not know about evidence before you write. Second, it uses one
rubric for all writing assignments and your feedback on that rubric tells you
which of the 5 Good Habits for Evidence—which way of working—you may need to
change. Third, with permission of the History Department to do this experiment
to try to help students, it divides written grades in two parts:
The Syllabus & Success Discussion
provides a link to show you how dividing written grades in those two parts can
help your grade—and your skills. Use that link.
Your instructor, however, splits grades with 1/2 on writing content and ½ on following the 5 Good Habits for Evidence. Click here for an example of how a C can become a B. Click here for required Course Objectives, the separate Good Habits for Evidence grade, and how it can help you.(URL: http://www.cjbibus.com/GS_Good_Habits_for_Evidence_As_Separate_Grade_Example_of_the_Math.htm |
What’s a rubric? Click here for the definition and examples of rubrics in this class. (UIL: weeek http://www.cjbibus.com/GS_Good_Habits_for_Evidence_What_Is_a_Rubric.htm ) In this course rubrics are used to grade every stage of a writing assignment and to grade Learning Discussions. |
For written assignments, your professor requires that your only sources are the textbook and resources that the professor provides in the course, including primaries. To be clear: No Google. (See Required Course Materials.) |
For written assignments, you also must cite a specific page from the required textbook for your fact. (See Required Course Materials.) |
What do these requirements mean? Your prof can quickly tell if you made things up, misread, plagiarized, “half-copy” plagiarized, changed a person’s words to match what you wished he or she said. What is more useful is that your prof can prove it. Now you may be thinking that is impossible, but Evidence Quiz 2 provides examples of students’ work (unnamed of course) and their sources so you can see for yourself. |
Merriam-Webster’s
Online Dictionary defines the word incentive as:
“something that makes a person try or work hard or harder.” |
There are two types of incentives in
the course to help you persist:
1.
With the 3 Learning Discussions,
you earn 10 incentive points on each one, a 50% increase
·
If you post as its rubric explains and if you
earn over 14 points out of 20
·
If you make over 60 on the Unit 1 Exam
2.
With Learning Quizzes and Evidence Quizzes,
you earn 1 incentive point for each quiz:
·
If you take both of a quiz's parts:
·
Its Self-Test so you can find out what you know and do
not know (a key to success)
·
Its Full-Test so you can teach yourself any missed
concepts by taking the test as many times as you want, with the highest score
counting
Tip: If you made 100% on a Self-Test (and
especially on many Self-Tests), I have an alternative way of grading that means
you do not have to take a Full-Test when you already know the content. Email if
you are in this situation and I will explain the details.
·
If you complete both 2 days before the Unit
Exam starts
The Syllabus & Success Discussion provides an example of
research on persistence.
I protect grades by encouraging behaviors that help people succeed. That is why there is an extra credit (1 point) that lets me measure and reward a bit those who are keeping up. Guys, it is persistence that saves you most of the time. Never give up when you just start to sweat. (See Your Course Plan and Extra Credit for How You Work and Opportunities to Improve a Weak Grade) Tip: This is one of my favorite advocates for students
and for how to help them. Click on this video of a Ted Talk by Angela Duckworth (URL:
https://www.ted.com/talks/angela_lee_duckworth_grit_the_power_of_passion_and_perseverance) |
Over the last 2 years, I have been increasing worried that students were having trouble with history because they had limited background worse because they did not know concepts, such as the meaning of words, the location and traits of places, and parts of essential documents. That is the reason for creating the Learning Quizzes, and the Self-Tests and the Full-Tests. Also 8 out of 25 question each Unit Exam will come from the Learning Quizzes for that Unit. In the surveys of students in Spring 2017, they responded that they would this opportunity to teach themselves some basics using quizzes. They can also help you prepare for over 30% of the Exam questions. (See Learning Quizzes, Concepts, and the Goal of Exam Questions.) I am not the only one worried about students:
|
I make every effort to provide
feedback for written assignments by one week after the DUE date. If I cannot, I
post an announcement. I generally:
Cautions: I do not enter points for writing
assignments until you respond to feedback. If you do not respond after the
first week after I provide feedback, I change the grade to 1.11 until you do
respond. If you want to do the next part of the assignment, you must respond
to feedback. Until then, you are classified as a Reader in the discussion and
you can see posts, but not post yourself.
WCJC requires—as it should—that instructors include WCJC’s Academic Honesty in Online Courses statement in the course. Look carefully at WCJC’s Academic Honesty Statement for Online Classes (provided in Getting Started), and you will see the reason for WCJC:
· Requiring instructors to monitor online testing
· Requiring students to act with online testing with equivalent actions that they would do for an on-campus exam
To speak personally, I take my responsibility to WCJC seriously so I will be looking carefully at those videos of each of you taking each exam. There is also another reason that I take this seriously. The habits that students practice are who they become. If somehow a few of you got used to cheating, the greatest wrong is the damage that you have done to yourself. In the real world where you must make a living, you will not be ready to get or—what’s harder--keep a good job.
You may have habits for testing that are totally innocent,
such as preferring to take exams on your bed or couch. On the other hand,
instructors experienced with the responsibilities of monitoring online testing
say taking an exam on a bed or couch makes it easy to hide cheating from the
webcam used in monitoring.
So what do you do? When you take an
exam online, you do the equivalent
actions to what you would do in an on-campus exam. In other words, whether you
were cheating or not in an on-campus class, you would not want to look like you were cheating and you would act
accordingly. The list of actions below let you know:
· What actions dishonest students do during an online test
· What penalties experienced instructors apply to exam grades when they see those actions
First, look at these penalties and the descriptions of the actions that result in 0 points for the exam or 30% off the grade. Second, look at the next sections so you start doing online testing in that way that protects you.
Caution: Instructors experienced with monitoring exams recommend these penalties, and I will apply these penalties if you do these things:
If
You Do One of These Things |
The Penalty Is |
|
0
for the Exam |
Minus
30 percentage Points |
|
Do an incomplete video for what
Respondus calls the Environmental Check |
|
X |
Do not have enough lighting for
the instructor to tell if you are cheating |
|
X |
Do not position your Photo ID
carefully. Your name must be readable and your photo must be clear. Tip: practice with your webcam
so you can do this. |
|
X |
Have anything near where you take
the exam unless your instructor has told you to use specific resources during
the exam. |
0 |
|
Move so you are not recorded at
all by the webcam |
0 |
|
Move the webcam from where it was
during what Respondus calls the Webcam Check so it no longer shows your face
and upper body |
|
X |
Play music or other audio
recordings during exams |
0 |
|
Talk with anyone for any reason
at any time during the exam |
0 |
|
Turn off the microphone although
it worked during what Respondus calls the Webcam Check |
|
X |
Instructors have to do online monitoring and students have to do online testing following the rules that are covered in the Checklists. Because this is required, students will not be able to see the current exam:
· If they have not successfully completed this monitoring part of Getting Started or if they did not successfully meet those requirements for the prior exam. (They will have to redo the Sample Respondus Exam and its video to confirm that they can meet those requirements.)
· If they do not meet the monitoring requirements on an exam and do not respond to my email about that. If they never respond, they will not be able to see the next exam.
Notice
these cautions about online monitoring in this class:
· Caution: Your points for any exam may change after the instructor reviews the video of your taking your exam.
·
Caution:
In this course, you cannot ignore your instructor’s concerns about the video of
your taking your exam. Tip: See Getting Started and the instructions for how this
works. If you need help, just ask.
It is your
responsibility to email or talk to your instructor if you do not know what to
do. The earlier we communicate, the better are our chances for success.
With due dates for
any assignment, including exams and required writing, there are no
extensions unless it is appropriate to make an extension Open Date/Hour
to all of you. You have these responsibilities:
Tip: Examine
the Course Schedule to determine if you have conflicts and immediately propose
an earlier date. Caution: Use
the Course Schedule (not the calendar and not any other source of dates). Ask; do
not assume.
With a valid,
written excuse for something that no one could plan for, these rules apply.
·
If you miss an
exam, your make-up exam is taken on the date
of the Final Exam.
·
If you miss a
Required Writing (with the exception of Peer Reviews), you receive an
extension, set by me, with no penalty.
Without a valid,
written excuse for something that no one could plan for, you receive a 0.
Tip: If
you had an event that does not meet the criteria of something that no one could
plan for and if you cannot prepare as much as you prefer, do the assignment as
best you can. A low grade is better than a 0.
If Blackboard is non-functioning, first,
please try a different browser to determine if the source of the problem is
browser-specific. If the problem persists within another browser, then submit a
Request for IT Support Form (opens is same
window/tab) or contact them
directly at 979-532-6568. See
the Blackboard Login Page for a link to IT Help Desk hours of operation. Also
contact your instructor immediately using a working form of communication
(email, phone, etc.) should a Blackboard outage occur.
WCJC’s Student Handbook explains
responsibilities for attendance and when a student should withdraw from the
course. With distance learning, Blackboard stores extensive data on time spent
and where. Given the speed of an 8-week course covering 16 weeks’ of work, students
should log in at least 3 times a week to work online with quizzes, resources,
and student discussions. Students should also work offline, including careful
reading of the required sources.
You have signed up for an 8-week course. Your professor follows History Department policy that means the 8-week course consists of the same work that students must do for a 16-week course. (See Attendance Policy.) Tip: At WCJC, distance learning classes are not like an old-fashioned correspondence course where you can do the work when you want as long as you submit something before the last day. Instructors are required—and they should be—to require of you that you do work equivalent to what a student does in an on-campus class. |
Given the speed of an 8-week course covering 16 weeks’ of work, you are to log in at least 3 times each week to work online on quizzes, resources, and student discussions. (See Attendance Policy in the Syllabus.) |
WCJC’s Student Handbook explains student
responsibilities for civility. As with on-campus classrooms, each student is
expected not to disrupt the class or abuse any person. Blackboard stores what
you do (including messages you create with any tool), when you do it, and where
you go. Some Blackboard tools—such as the Discussion Board—not only store
messages permanently, but also make what you write visible to everyone in the
class. When communicating publicly with the whole class and with individuals,
you need to be both kind and collaborative. (See the Course Orientation for
specifics.)
WCJC’s Student Handbook explains student
responsibilities and provides examples of misconduct. It states “plagiarism and
cheating refer to the use of unauthorized books, notes, or otherwise securing
help during a test; copying tests [or] assignments….” The Handbook provides
details on college-level consequences. Also see the Academic Honesty Statement
for Online Classes in Getting Started. In this course, copying any part of an
assignment from the Internet or another source is a zero (0) on the assignment.
In the History
Department, instructors may not drop students. Students must drop their course.
WCJC sets the last date for a student to drop a course. That date is on the
first page of this syllabus and also on the Course Schedule at the end. In
making this decision, make sure you also understand the 6 Drop Rule from the
Texas legislature.
Under section 51.907 of the Texas Education
Code, “an institution of higher education may not permit a student to drop more
than six courses, including any course a transfer student has dropped at
another institution of higher education.” This statute was enacted by the State
of Texas in spring 2007 and applies to students who enroll in a public
institution of higher education as a first-time freshman in fall 2007 or later.
There are many exceptions to this rule. Please refer to the current WCJC
catalog for information.
The Course Schedule below (and in a separate link on the Course Menu) covers Getting Started, each of the 3 Units (or time period) in the course, the Final Exam, and every assignment you do to make the 1000 points possible in this course.
Dates |
Some dates overlap in order to give students maximum flexibility during each unit. Last day
for you to “Drop” the course with grade of “W” – Holidays during the 1st 8-week class – UIL (March 23, 2018), Easter (March 29-Mar 30, 2018) |
Due Dates |
Assignments are due at the time in the column Due Date/Hour and automatically close then. |
Due Dates for Incentives |
There is a small incentive for completing all quizzes in a Unit 2 days before the start of each Unit Exam. Those Incentive Dates are listed below. (For details, click Ctrl-F in the Syllabus and type About Incentive.) |
Prerequisites |
This course sets up work so that you have the necessary preparation to succeed. Examples: · You must take a Self-Test before you see its Full-Test. This is automated. · You must take Evidence Quizzes 1-4 before you can do the 3-Part Writing Assignment. If you have completed all 4 quizzes, email me if you do not see the 3-Part Writing. · You must take Distance Education’s Sample Respondus Exam and follow its requirements before you can take Unit Exams or the Final in this course. |
Tests and Passwords |
For Self-Tests with Learning Quizzes and Evidence Quizzes, the passwords is: selftest < No capitals, no spaces, and no
punctuation For Exams (whether for a Unit or the Final), there are no passwords in this course, but you must first click on Respondus before you access an exam. Respondus handles the security. |
The Course Schedule and Where You Do Your
Work |
All work is located on History & All Assignments. It includes all content and all assignments. The Course Schedule below has the same names as on History & All Assignments. For example, Getting Started below is the 1st item on History & All Assignments. All work is either in the specific Unit or the Course Schedule identifies the location by underlining. For example, see the underlined words In Evidence Requirements on the 3rd row for Unit 1. |
Getting Started (MAR 19-MAR 20 & to APR 2 for Respondus Tasks) & Staying Successful All 8 Weeks
Assignment |
Open Date/Hour |
Due Date/Hour |
Complete tasks listed on the last page of the Course Orientation
link. (Tips:
The Syllabus Acknowledgement Quiz and the Course Plan Assignment are left
open until 4/2. If you cannot do the Course Orientation tasks by 3/20, email
me a proposed date immediately.) |
3/19–8:00 AM |
3/20–11:59 PM (Email me if you need later date.) |
Complete Respondus & Success Discussion to understand requirements and ask and answer questions. Then take Distance Education’s Sample Respondus Exam without any penalties. Cautions: ·
You cannot take exams
without this. ·
If you get penalties on the
next exam, you may have to redo the Sample Respondus Exam to show you
understand before you do another exam. ·
Email your prof to review
your video. (Respondus does no notification.) ·
In case of problems, watch
for email from your prof about your video. |
3/21-8:00 AM |
4/2–11:59 PM Caution: Unit 1 begins 4/6 so take care of this quickly. |
Assignment (Listed in the Order They Become Open Date/Hour) |
Open Date/Hour |
Due Date/Hour |
Use the Lessons in Unit 1 and its Study Guide
(Textbook chapters: 23 to 27) |
– |
– |
Take all Learning Quizzes in Unit 1. (Tip: See
instructions at the top.) |
3/20–12:00 AM |
4/8–-1:59 PM |
In Evidence Requirements, take Evidence Quizzes 1-2. Tip: Quiz 1-4
are kept open to the end of term as a resource. |
3/20–12:00 AM |
4/8–11:59 PM |
Post and reply in Unit 1 Learning Discussions. (Tip: See instructions in my 1st post and example posts of what you
can do. It ends one day before the exam starts, but I reopen it the next
morning where you can read any postings you need.) |
3/21–12:00 AM |
4/5–11:59 PM |
Take Unit 1 Exam (Incentive Date for all
quizzes: 4/4-12:00 AM) (Caution: To see the exam requires 3+ points in the grade Prof’s Video
Review.) |
4/6–12:00 AM |
4/8–11:59 PM |
Unit 2: Moving
to the World Stage-America from 1900 to 1945 (APRIL 8-APRIL 22)
Assignment (Listed in the Order They Become Open Date/Hour) |
Open Date/Hour |
Due Date/Hour |
Use the Lessons in Unit 2 and its Study Guide
(Textbook chapters: 28 to 34.) |
– |
– |
Take all Learning Quizzes in Unit 2 (Tip: same
instruction as Unit 1.) |
4/8–12:00 AM |
4/22–11:59 PM |
In Evidence Requirements, take Evidence Quiz 3-4 Caution:
You
must take all 4 before you can submit the 3-Part
Writing Assignment beginning 4/8. |
4/8–12:00 AM |
4/22–11:59 PM |
Post and reply in Unit 2 Learning Discussions. (Tip: same instruction as Unit 1.) |
4/8–12:00 AM |
4/19–11:59 PM |
In Required Writing, post your paper in the 3-Part Writing discussion. Caution: To see the discussion, you must do Evidence Quizzes 1, 2, 3, and 4. You must post your paper before the Due Date/Hour to do the remaining 2 parts of the 3-Part Writing Assignment. Late papers are not accepted. |
4/8 –12:00 AM |
4/17–11:59 PM |
Take Unit 2 Exam (Incentive Date
for all quizzes: 2/15-12:00 AM) (Same Caution
as Unit 1. |
4/20–12:00 AM |
4/22–11:59 PM |
Unit 3: Transformations–America from 1945 to the Near Present (APRIL 22-MAY 8)
Assignment (Listed in the Order They Become Open Date/Hour) |
Open Date/Hour |
Due Date/Hour |
Use the Lessons in Unit 3 and its Study Guide
(Textbook chapters: 35 to 41.) |
– |
– |
Take all Learning Quizzes in Unit 3. (Tip: same
instruction as Unit 1.) |
4/22–12:00 AM |
5/8–11:59 PM |
Post and reply in Unit 3 Learning Discussions (Tip: same instruction as Unit 1.) |
4/22–12:00 AM |
5/7–11:59 PM |
In Required Writing, when the 3-Part Writing reopens, peer review 2 other
students’ papers on evidence (not grammar). Caution: The sooner you reply to my feedback on your paper, the faster you
can post your 2 peer reviews. |
4/24–12:00 AM |
5/1–11:59 PM (Tip: read peer reviews of your paper.) |
In Required Writing, when the 3-Part Writing reopens again, carefully
examine the comments about evidence by the 2 students who peer reviewed your
paper. Reply to their peer review according to the instructions. |
5/3-12:00 AM |
5/7-12:01 PM ( |
Take Unit 3 Exam (Incentive Date for all
quizzes: 5/2-12:00 AM) (Same Caution as Unit 1. Tip: Extra days are to help your varied schedules.) |
5/4–12:00 AM |
5/8–11:59 PM |
Final Exam:
1860 to the Present (Early
open APRIL 29-MAY 8)
Assignment (Listed in the Order They Become Open Date/Hour) |
Open Date/Hour |
Due Date/Hour |
Check all existing grades. If you think there is an error, email me the specifics. |
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4/30–11:59 PM |
Take the Final Exam on either date. Caution:
History instructors are required to fail students for the course if they do not take this exam. |
5/5–7:00 PM |
5/6–11:59 PM |
5/7–7:00 PM |
5/8–11:59 PM |
|
Check all new grades. If you
think there is an error, email in Blackboard Messages the exact name of the
grade and your phone # before NOON. |
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5/10 12:00
PM |
I reserve the right to modify
the syllabus during the semester.