MANATEE COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Department: Social and Behavioral Sciences
Instructor: Dr. M. Todd Smallwood Semester: Fall 2008(09-1)
Course: U.S. History I (AMH 1010) Office: Brad. Room 9-103 CRN/Time: #10605 Bradenton/Wednesday Rm. 9-203 Venice Classroom #10649 Venice/Thursday Room 847 Email:
Class Handout # 1: Policies
This course in U.S. History I (AMH 1010) will be conducted according to the below noted policies. These will be discussed during the organizational lecture, but if there are any questions later, please ask your Professor for an explanation.
Purpose: To provide a balanced presentation of our national history from pre-discovery to about 1877. This will include: discovery and development of the colonial period, the Revolutionary War period, the establishment of the Constitution and Federal Government, development of our political parties and institutions, expansion, economic development, and the entire Civil War and Reconstruction periods.
Course Description: AMH 1010 United States History I (3) (A.A.) This course meets Area III of the A.A./A.A.S./A.S. general education requirements. This one-term course of United States history covers the European discoveries of the Western Hemisphere to the end of Reconstruction. Emphasis is on historical study to determine the social, economic and political issues through Reconstruction.
Method: Since this is not a traditional lecture course, but a full web course, there are no in-class lectures by the Instructor or in-class reviews of the test material. Nor is this type of course easier or shorter, but perhaps more convenient. Considerable self-discipline is necessary to keep up with the material. The class meets together only once, being the mandatory orientation to explain the course and web requirements. There will be four equal, separate exams covering one part of the course each. These will be taken on-line, per the Class Handout #2. The Professor is available to provide assistance via emails, during office hours, and on-line discussions. Class Handout #3 provides the reading assignment schedule which requires each student to submit some portions of the course work, via the web, on a weekly basis.
Web Requirements: AMH 1010 (B01. B02 sections) is a new web based course which requires the course content and assignments (including text readings) plus discussions to be completed by the individual student via the web, using access to MCC’s new Angel platform. Therefore, each student must have consistent access to the web, most preferably via some type of high-speed connection, be able to send/receive emails, submit homework assignments as attachments in word format, and have already acquired basic computer skills. Each student is fully responsible for his/her ability to meet the above course requirements. Failure to meet the requirements will not be accepted by the Professor as a valid excuse for failing to complete course requirements, including timely submission of assignments.
Requirements: Reading assignments will be from the approved text, The American Promise, Vol. I (latest edition) by Roark et. al. There is a text study guide available from the publisher, but it is not required. Instead, the Professor recommends that each student access the same information free from the publisher’s web page and/or via the Angel web course.
Proper classroom behavior is expected, and unacceptable behavior may result in the student's being dismissed from the class. All cell phones and/or pagers must be turned off (or put on silent vibrate) during class. Attendance is mandatory for the orientation session, and any student missing this first meeting without the Professor’s approval will be dropped from the course. Failure to attend/take all the scheduled exams may result in the student receiving a Failure unless the student withdraws before October 27, 2008.
Withdrawal Policy: In accordance with the Manatee Community College policy as stated in the college catalog, students may withdraw from any course or all courses without academic penalty of a WF by the withdrawal deadline as listed in the Manatee Community College academic calendar. This semester, this date is October 27, 2008. The student must take responsibility for initiating the withdrawal procedure. Students are strongly encouraged to talk with their instructor first before taking any withdrawal action. The instructor will not withdraw students.
Standards of Conduct: Students are expected to abide by all Lancer Student Handbook guidelines. In addition, students are expected to observe acceptable classroom or web behavior, which is behavior that fosters an atmosphere of learning, free and open exchange of thought, and respect for the professor and classmates within the learning environment. Inappropriate behavior, in any form, will not be tolerated and may result in the student being asked to leave the classroom, make a course section change, removal from the course, or suspension/dismissal from college.
Examinations: There will be only four (4) on-line examinations of the textbook material, and will consist of multiple choice questions covering the text book material only. These will be similar to the quiz questions in the study guide and on the text book publisher’s website. Usually, you will answer 56 questions per exam. Since each is worth 2 points, some extra credit is included in the exams. You are expected to take each exam when scheduled. Unless approved by the Professor, failure to take an exam will result in a zero for that exam. Under special circumstances, the Professor may approve a student taking an exam at an earlier date or different location (Testing Center). The grading scale is:
Grading: There is a maximum total of 1000 points available, distributed via written exams, on-line homework assignments, on-line discussions, and on-line quizzes. The composition is:
Item Points
Exam #1 125
Exam #2 125
Exam #3 125
Exam #4 125
Sub-total 500
Questions 180
Discussions 160
Quizzes 160
Sub-total 500
Total 1000 pts
Grade A 900-1000
Grade B 800-899
Grade C 700-799
Grade D 600-699
Grade F 0-599
General: the Professor will answer any questions regarding the course material or policies after class or during office hours as needed. You may contact the Professor by leaving a message with one of the department staff assistants, or by arranging a meeting before or after the class period. However, the best way to contact your Professor is by sending an email, including full name, class and request. All students are encouraged to discuss any related questions or request with the Professor as soon as they occur. If any student needs special assistance, please inform the Professor as soon as possible. Students are encouraged to “log on” to the Professor’s web page http://faculty.mccfl.edu/smallwm/index.html for other ways to contact him and to access course data, including the publisher’s valuable course and textbook supplements.
Instructor: Dr. M. Todd Smallwood
Office: Bradenton, Room 9-103: Venice Classroom Phone: Bradenton 752-5302 (sec’t)
Office Hours: Bradenton M/W/F 9-10 AM, 11-12 AM and by appointment
Email:
Class Handout #2
Testing Schedule
Meeting Dates: You are expected to attend all on-campus meetings as scheduled below.
Bradenton Campus Venice Campus
Day- Wednesday Day- Thursday
Time- 5:00 - 6:50 PM Time- 5:00 - 6:50 PM
Place- Room 9-203 Place- Room 847
Orientation-August 20, 2008 Orientation –August 21, 2008
Exam #1- Exam #1-
Exam #2- All On-Line Exam #2- All On-Line
Exam #3- Exam #3-
Exam #4- Exam #4-
* Note: all exams are on-line, Venice #4 is a day early 07/01
Please note that any make-up exams for the Venice class would be held at the Venice Testing Center in Building 100.
Class Handout #3
Subject Text Reading Activities Due Date
Part I
1. Ancient America Chapter 1 D 08/27-08/28
2. The New World Chapter 2 D 09/03-09/04
3. Southern Colonies Chapter 3 Q 09/10-09/11
4. Northern Colonies Chapter 4 D 09/17-09/18
5. Exam #1 As Above ---- 09/17-09/18
Part II
6. 18th Col. America Chapter 5 Q 09/24-09/25
7. Empire/Crisis Chapter 6 D 10/01-10/02
8. American Revolution Chapter 7 Q 10/08-10/09
9. New Republic Chapter 8 Q 10/15-10/16
10. Exam #2 As Above ---- 10/15-10/16
Part III
11. New Nation Chapter 9 D 10/22-10/23
12. Republic/ Power Chapter 10 Q 10/29-10/30
13. Expanding Republic Chapter 11 D 11/05-11/06
14. West/ Free North Chapter 12 Q 11/12-11/13
15. Exam #3 As Above ---- 11/12-11/13
Part IV
16. Slave South Chapter 13 Q 11/19-11/20
17. House Divided Chapter 14 Q 11/26-11/27
18. Civil War Chapter 15 D 12/03-12/04
19. Reconstruction Chapter 16 Q/D 12/10-12/11
20. Exam #4 As Above ---- 12/10-12/11
Web-Based Assignments
The following summarizes the web assignments for this course. These are repeated on the website, and explained in greater details. Due dates for each assignment are also provided on the website. Students are cautioned to ensure that all required activities/ assignments are completed and submitted by the appropriate due date/time. Late submissions will either not be accepted or will be assessed a 25% grade penalty.
Week Activities
1. Read Chapter 1 Participate in discussions, take quiz
2. Read Chapter 2 Participate in discussions, take quiz
3. Read Chapter 3 Answer on-line questions, take quiz
4. Read Chapter 4 Participate in discussions, take quiz
5. Take Exam Exam #1, covering chapters 1-4
6. Read Chapter 5 Answer on-line questions, take quiz
7. Read Chapter 6 Participate in discussions, take quiz
8. Read Chapter 7 Answer on-line questions, take quiz
9. Read Chapter 8 Answer on-line questions, take quiz
10. Take Exam Exam #2, covering chapters 5-8
11. Read Chapter 9 Participate in discussions, take quiz
12. Read Chapter 10 Answer on-line questions, take quiz
13. Read Chapter 11 Participate in discussions, take quiz
14. Read Chapter 12 Answer on-line questions, take quiz
15. Take Exam Exam #3, covering chapters 9-12
16. Read Chapter 13 Answer on-line questions, take quiz
17. Read Chapter 14 Answer on-line questions, take quiz
18. Read Chapter 15 Participate in discussions, take quiz
19. Read Chapter 16 Answer on-line questions/Participate in discussions,
take quiz
20. Take Exam Exam #4, covering only chapters 13-16
For the Bradenton class, the weekly web assignments “open” in each chapter at 8 AM on Wednesday and “close” the next Wednesday at 5 PM. You are not permitted to submit work EXCEPT during these times. The on-line Exams will be “open” only from 8 AM on Tuesday to 5 PM on Wednesday. For the Venice class, the weekly web assignments “open” in each chapter at 8 AM on Thursday and “close” the next Thursday at 5 PM. Again you are not permitted to submit work EXCEPT during these times. The on-line Exams will be “open” only from 8 AM Wednesday to 5 PM Thursday. Dates and Times will be included in the web assignment notice.
General Web Class Instructions
In order to meet course requirements and to obtain the maximum benefits/grades from this blended web course, all students are advised to read the orientation module, the web course netiquette module, and these general assignment instructions before beginning the course work. These instructions are also found on the course website. Actual details per weekly assignments are provided in the web course for each chapter.
Questions: After reading the relevant textbook chapter, each student will be required to answer, on-line, several basic questions in the space provided. After doing this, and before the exercise time-window has expired, follow on-line instructions to send your assignment to the “drop box” for grading. Grades will automatically be down-loaded into the web course grade module, where students can view their own scores. Since there are 18 on-line questions to be answered, each is worth10 points for a total (per the hand-out) of 180 points. Partial credit is given for incomplete answers.
Discussions: On other weeks, students will be required to participate in a discussion board (not chat room) by either posting comments on the week’s questions or by responding to other student’s postings. There is a space limitation for both postings/responses, and a strict time-window. Follow on-line instructions to send your material. Grading will be done as described above. Since there are 16 on-line discussions to be completed, each is worth 10 points for a total (per the hand-out) of 160 points. In each discussion, one-half of the class will “post” the question’s “answer”, while the second half will “post” a reply. Students will alternate between the “halfs”. Again, partial credit will be given for incomplete answers.
Quizzes: Each week students will be required to take a brief quiz on the textbook chapter’s material. The individual questions are randomly selected by the web system, and thus each student takes a different quiz. Again, follow on-line instructions for sending your answers. Grading system is as above. There are 16 chapter quizzes to be answered. Each is worth 10 points for a total of 160 points
Technology: The Professor is not an expert in technology or in this Angel platform at MCC. If you have systems or web course problems, use the help features on the system and/or contact the MCC help desk at 752-5357, , or click on the link (to HelpDesk). Please note that MCC will not be able to provide assistance regarding your individual web provider or service. For course content questions or assignments, please contact your Professor.
Caution: Students are again advised to watch carefully to ensure that assignments are completed fully, sent through the system, and submitted within the time-window. The web course system is designed to reject assignments sent too early or late. If you believe that you have a valid reason for an exception to this requirement, contact your Professor via email ASAP.