I would like to welcome you to the investigation of our environment and our impact on that environment. We will investigate the fundamentals of our environment and the interrelationships of living plants and animals. The greater your understanding of these concepts, the greater the impact you can have on your community.  This can change all of our lives.

Description (as it appears in the college catalog)

Environmental Science 1050: (ENVS 1050-0801 & 0806 SC)  4 Credit Hrs.      Prerequisite: none.

This interdisciplinary science course is a study of environmental problems and alternative solutions to these problems. The integral nature of all parts of the environment as well as specific environmental problems are stressed. Such topics as man and his relationship to the environment, energy resource limitations, land use, water and air pollution are included.

Required Materials

• Text:  Environmental Science, thirteenth ed., by G. Tyler Miller, Jr. and Scott Spoolman

• An ISP to receive e-mail and log on to Angel.

• Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel  versions: 97 or later   DO NOT USE MICROSOFT WORKS!!!  Microsoft Works word processor will NOT work for this class.  It doesn't matter that it is called Microsoft Word.  

Pre-Requisites For The Course

1.

Confident and competent computer ability.

2. 

You must have the ability to meet a vigorous schedule (logging in 5 days a week for 8 weeks), and the motivation to do intensive work to complete this course. Remember you have signed up for a class that, when taught on ground, meets four hours a week for sixteen weeks for sixty four hours of class time. Research indicates that students should spend two hours of study and preparation for each in class hour. WOW! That's 192 hours {64 + (2 * 64) = 192}. Do not expect this course to require less time. This means 24 hours per week for eight weeks. PLAN YOUR TIME CAREFULLY.

Course Goals

This course explores the conceptual aspects of the environmental sciences which will use the textbook, lectures, discussions, and seminar reports or exams to give insights into the concepts of nature.  To get the greatest benefit from the course, regard each concept as a set of problems to which you are forcing nature to give an answer.

Week/

Seminar

Topic

SYLLABUS

Fall 2010

Due dates for the first week

Autobiography due by midnight Monday Aug 23 (post in the Discussion Board)

NOTES:

*Post your autobiography to Autobiographies (Lessons tab) in Angel.

See the Angel Calendar for due DATES for all assignments all semester.  The due DAYS are listed below. (scroll down to item 4 in this syllabus)

*Sign and return Student Statement of Responsibility (found in Lessons tab in Angel)

*Check your Angel e-mail to obtain your student number for this course.  Check your Angel e-mail daily for the first seven days of class.

*Obtain “IrfanView” from the Useful Software Link at  http://www.sciencescene.com/EnvironmentalScience/!evspage/evspage.htm  web site and install it on your computer.  Vista users do not need to do this.   They may use the Snipping tool that comes with Vista.

Grade Components

The final grade:

Autobiography  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

  20

points

Summary Note to a Future Classmate Class . . . . . . . . . . . .  

  20

points

Class Participation  (20 points each week). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 points for discussion question answers,  3 points per day, for five days, for QUALITY responses to classmates, 2 points for posting  final thoughts. 

 160 

points

Total  

 1000

points

Grading Scale:  For active students completing the course (points)

A   934 - 1000

A-  900 - 933

B+ 867 -  899  

B   834 - 866

B-  800 - 833

C+ 767 - 799

C   734 - 766  

C-  700 - 733

D+ 667 - 699

D   634 - 666

D-  600 - 633

E   (00-599)

Assignment:

Welcome, our first week together will be busy. We will be introducing ourselves, setting up our computer systems, and beginning our first assignments. As always, if you have any problems or questions please post your question in the First Day hand-out Syllabus Discussion Board.

1. 

Carefully read this syllabus.  

(Submit the Student Statement of Responsibility (Lessons Tab in Angel)  to www.turnitin.com .)  Once this is accomplished you will receive an e-mail, in Angel, with your student number for this class.  This number is the number of the Discussion Question that you will answer each week.  The link to the instructions for the Discussion Question is found in step 7 below.

4.

Purchase the required materials and establish an account at http://www.turnitin.com/static/index.html.   Click on Create an Account in the upper Right corner. You will need an e-mail address to establish the account.  You can sign up for free e-mail at www.hotmail.com (or any other provider of your choice.)  You will need the following information to establish the account;

5.

Review the syllabus. Make sure to follow the syllabus closely so that you do not miss any due dates.

Weekly assignment due days:  

Day 1: Autobiography due Day 1 by midnight (first week only)

Day 2:  Discussion Question due by Day 2 midnight (post in Discussion Board Lessons Tab in Angel)

Day 3:  Web Resource Article due Day 3 by midnight (submit to www.turnitin.com)

Days (1-7) Discussion Board Surprise Homework due by > It's a surprise! (post in Discussion Board)

Day 6:  Application Project  is due Day 6 by midnight (submit to www.turnitin.com)

Day 7:  Quiz must be taken by Day 7 before  11:30 pm.  Anyone who misses a quiz will receive a zero for that quiz.  Late quizzes are NOT given.  (Quizzes are 50 points each.  They are located in Angel under Lessons tab)  Although they are open book/note quizzes, the quizzes are timed.  This means you must study ahead of time.  Extra time will not given for the quizzes.

Day 7:  Post to the Discussion Board your "Final Thoughts" about the seminar.

(Participation points are earned by posting a thoughtful REPLY to a classmate in the Discussion Board (Lesson Tab in Angel) any five out of seven days.  Discussion Question postings, Discussion Board Surprise Homework,  Web Article Postings, Final Thoughts postings, and general questions do NOT contribute toward the five out of seven day participation requirement.   These items receive their own points and do NOT contribute towards the five out of seven day requirement.)

All assignment due dates are listed in the Calendar in Angel. 

6.

Go to the web site  http://www.sciencescene.com/EnvironmentalScience/!evspage/evspage.htm   and review the web site on Environmental Science. Go to the section labeled “Useful Software” and open the document labeled “Directions for installing IrfanView". Read and follow the instructions to load the software onto your computer.  This program will allow you to add pictures, taken from the web, into your reports.  (This program is for Windows only.)  Mac users go to USEFUL NOTES at ScienceScene.com. http://www.sciencescene.com/EnvironmentalScience/usefulnotes/envssci/envuns.htm Vista users do not need to download any software.   Vista users can use the Snipping Tool located in your Accessories menu.

7.

Obtain and read the first seminar (Seminar 01) entitled Science, Technology and the Environment at http://www.sciencescene.com/EnvironmentalScience/01ScienceTechnologyandtheEnvironment/01a-Seminar.htm  The discussion question assignment, the web article/resources assignment, and the application project instructions are found at this link.   If the assignment is not turned in by the due date it will not be accepted.  (There is a seminar for each week totaling 8 Discussion Question assignments, 8 Web Article/resources assignments, and 8 Application Projects  projects, and 8 Final Thoughts for the semester.)

POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

Overview Of The Seminars

Each online seminar is designed around a specific topic in Environmental Science. Each topic will consist of:

Specific learning objectives.

Readings developed to promote an understanding of the  topic and to aid in the completion of the objectives.

Discussion questions

Application Activities (Week 8 will have a group project)

Internet or Web investigations

Quizzes

Disclosure

In a virtual classroom, all electronic actions are documented and persons outside the classroom may observe the class.

Student Responsibility

• * Remember you have signed up for a class that will require approximately 20 - 24 hours a week. PLAN YOUR TIME CAREFULLY and DON'T PROCRASTINATE!

• * Be respectful of your classmates and the instructor.  Do not make accusations or call anyone names.  Do not yell.  If you are experiencing problems with a classmate, e-mail the instructor privately.

• * Be conscious of grammar and spelling in all of your messages.  It is very tempting in the virtual classroom to become lax in this regard.  If you are familiar with communicating via the Internet, you know that often abbreviations and slang are used in the electronic environment.  However, this is a college course, not a "chat room", and attention to grammatical detail will be expected.  Internet ease is NOT allowed.  You must use capital letters and punctuation where necessary.  Attendance points will not be awarded to students who use "internet ease" on the Discussion Board. Using emoticons are acceptable and encouraged. :-)

• * All work must be submitted on time.  No assignments will be accepted late except for extreme situations.  It is the responsibility of the student to discuss any such circumstance with the facilitator privately.  20 % of the total value of the assignment  will be deducted for each 12 hours late for any situation.

• * You are now part of an online learning environment. It is your responsibility to participate--to ensure that you benefit from the experience. Participation is recorded daily.  It is also expected that you will provide constructive criticism of the virtual classroom environment, including procedures, application activities, etc., in order to aid the facilitator in the modification of the course as it is deemed necessary.

• * Plagiarism of any material is a serious offense and will result in failure of the course.  This includes cutting and pasting answers from the lectures and websites, or copying directly from the textbook.  All answers are to be written in your own words.  When quoting a source, quotation marks must be used and the source must be cited.  An explanation of the quote may be required depending on the circumstance it is being used and the nature of the quote.     Quotes can be used to enhance an answer but should not be the answer, unless you are specifically asked to provide a quote.  Deductions will be taken for excessive paraphrasing/quoting.  Outside sources may be used if properly indicated as such. Also, any kind of cheating will not be tolerated and will result in failure of the course.  Using projects/articles from previous students will result in a failing grade for the COURSE.  

• * Unacceptable behavior that interferes with the attainment of the course goals will result in being dropped from the course until the problem has been resolved, or you are assigned the letter grade of an "E".

THE MAIN RULE OF THIS COURSE IS:   DON'T  PANIC!

If you're having a problem, or something isn't clear, it's safe to assume others are facing similar challenges, and together we can solve it. Learning with asynchronous technology can be an incredibly freeing experience, but it can also be extremely frustrating when it doesn't work as it should, or you can't get an immediate answer. Keep phone numbers of technical support and team members handy, but identify tasks you CAN continue on and keep moving forward. Experiencing technical problems or unclear assignments is often, unintentionally, part of the learning experience. It is wise to treat these as “opportunities” for thinking through ways YOU will minimize and solve these problems should they occur again (which, of course, they will).

WHEN YOU EXPERIENCE PROBLEMS:

There are several types of problems that you could encounter in this course:

Computer/Hardware Problems

For any hardware related problems you should contact the vendor or service department of the “store” where you obtained your equipment.

Internet Service Provider is Down. What can I do?

First, contact your Internet Service Provider for assistance. If that fails, or if you cannot make contact with your provider, Macomb's libraries have a limited number of computers linked to the Internet. You can use one of these computers, on a first-come, first-serve basis.  Also, many local libraries have public computers available for a short amount of time.  Many Kinko's have computer rentals.

Course/ Learning Related

Please feel free to post questions in the Questions and Answers discussion forum at any time and the instructor, or a classmate, will get back to you as soon as possible. If YOU see a question in the Discussion Board relating to some procedure or concept that you have mastered, PLEASE  respond and help that student.  

PARTICIPATION:

Participation points are earned by posting a thoughtful REPLY to a classmate (or instructor)  in the Discussion Board any five out of seven days, as measured by the number and quality of notes sent to the Discussion Board.   Discussion Question postings, Discussion Board Surprise Homework,  Web Article Postings, and Final Thoughts postings,  do NOT contribute toward the five out of seven day participation requirement.  These items receive their own points and do NOT contribute towards the five out of seven day requirement.  Notes of a personal nature on the Discussion Board do not count towards participation. (This includes thank-you notes, nice comment notes, I agree with you notes, questions concerning the seminar work, etc...) An absence does not excuse the student from the responsibility of participation, assigned work, and/or testing.  

Class discussion/participation is required to keep the class interesting and to maximize your learning. You are encouraged to actively participate in discussions (it is 16% of your grade!!) and bring personal experiences to the class forum. You are encouraged to bring into the course any items from current events which apply to the material being studied in this course.  Simply providing a link to an article will not earn participation points.  Providing a link, and a summary (written in your own words) of what you read in the article will earn participation points.  Your contribution is expected to enrich the discussion, therefore your response should contain information that  provides additional information, not previously provided by a classmate or the instructor.  Quality response includes furthering the discussion on the relevant topics pertaining to the current seminar.  Students are expected to provide thoughtful responses.   NOTE:  The class participation grade is based on the quality and number of days notes are sent to the Discussion Board and NOT the quantity of messages sent!  Comment notes that say "Thank-you", "Nice Comment", "I agree", "You are so right!", or questions concerning the weekly seminar application projects, etc... do not count as quality notes.  Participation points will not be awarded for these types of notes. It cannot be emphasized enough how important participation is to the final class grade. 

Jane: The greenhouse effect is just a trapping of heat inside of the atmosphere. If we consider the atmosphere a blanket, the Earth is wearing a very thin inefficient blanket and Venus has an ultra thick efficient blanket.

Jane: The greenhouse effect is the same principle that causes our cars to be very much hotter inside than outside during the summer. [Notice this portion is cut and paste from the original post, since this is the portion you are responding to.]

Your First Name: I read about this. What happens is that the wavelengths from the sun enter the car windows and get absorbed by the seats, the dashboard, and carpet. The atoms in the seats, dash, and carpet get excited and then re-emit longer wavelength infra-red radiation. This wavelength is too long to exit the car windows, so it gets trapped in the car, making it warmer inside the car, than outside.

Application Projects:

Develop your application project in MS Word and save as a .doc document. (Mac users should save the file as .rtf). The finished project is to be submitted to  www.turnitin.com .   (Please note:  Microsoft Works is NOT Microsoft Word.  You must use Microsoft Word 97 or later versions.)

Clearly label all of your assignments, indicate your name and seminar number. when saving the report. . For example if your name was John Doe doing application project 01 then you would SAVE FILE AS:  01 Doe.  In addition please place this same information in the top line of the first page of the assignment submission. 

When your seminar work has been evaluated your grades will be entered into the Angel gradebook, (seven  to ten days later), indicating your grade, and strengths and weaknesses of the work.  

Late seminar application projects will not be graded except under extreme situations.  You must receive permission from the facilitator before submitting a late project.  Late projects that are accepted will receive a 20 % reduction in the total value of the assignment for each 12 hours late. Students may not receive grades for late assignments until the end of the semester.

Plagiarism is a serious offense and will be dealt with accordingly.  Students are required to write all answers in their own words to everything all semester, unless otherwise requested.  Quotes should not be used to answer questions but can be used to enhance an answer, and the quote must be cited.  Plagiarized work will result in a failure for the course.  Plagairized answers will result in a substantial application project grade deduction. More information about plagairism will be posted in the Discussion Board.

An example Application Project can be found in Angel > Lessons Tab > First Day Handout Syllabus Discussion Board.

The seminar links to the instructions for the projects each week are found at http://www.sciencescene.com/EnvironmentalScience/TitlePage/evsTitlePage.htm 

FEEDBACK:

1. 

The facilitator will be online each day to answer your questions and to monitor discussions posted on the Discussion Board. Each week the seminar assignments will be evaluated. Late work will be penalized and evaluated by the end of the semester. Personal notes to your instructor/facilitator should be sent to:  feyf@macomb.edu.  Personal notes sent to any other address may not be answered.

2.

Your comments, entered into the discussion board, are reviewed.  Sometimes the reviews will include questions to challenge the student or present a new idea, and sometimes they'll be designed to change the direction of the discussion.  The review may also include the Discussion Board Surprise Homework assignment.  These will be short assignments that will be worth between 5 and 20 points.   They do not contribute towards participation points.

3.

Feedback will be provided to the class on the materials being covered including personalized comments where appropriate and additional lecture materials. ALL threads in the Discussion Board are read by the instructor daily.  The instructor does not respond to all threads.

4.

Grades are submitted to the gradebook 7 - 10 days after the due date.

5.

You have been given a detailed explanation of what is expected each week. There will be no surprises and you will be kept informed as you proceed.

6.

Every attempt will be made to respond to you as quickly as possible.  Of course, you must understand that sometimes there will be delays in this undertaking.  

Seminar days are as follows.  Assignments are due on the day of the seminar specified (by the END OF THE DAY...Midnight) and must have the appropriate day recorded in the sign-on logo (or an earlier date) for full credit. Seminar days are designated as follows: FallWinter and Spring Summer class

CLASS READING ASSIGNMENTS:

Reading with COMPREHENSION is an essential part of this course.  In fact...there is a LOT of reading! This reading will include textbook, instructor lectures/notes, and the notes of fellow students.   It is important to read every note sent by the instructor because these responses are used as a means of generating more discussion.  -DO NOT SKIP DISCUSSION BOARD NOTES!  (You will probably regret it if you do.) The semester reading list is located in the First Day Handout Discussion Board (Lessons tab)  in Angel.

Last Updated: Wednesday, 23 August 2010 23:15:01