Psychology / Sociology 230

1

Human Sexuality

Psychology / Sociology 230

Distance Learning

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Dr. Robert J. Atkins, Ph.D.

Phone: (206) 526-7011

Office Hours: M.W.F. 9:00 – 10:00

Office: Rm. IB2327A

E-mail = Please send email for this class through ANGEL (Class website)

Instructor’s campus email:

(subject = your student + the class and time you are in)

Class website:

Login material (Write your items in the space below)

User name: ______

Your entire student id number

Password: ______

Your entire student id number

Support phone numbers and emails:

For subject matter and syllabus questions:

Read syllabus and class materials for your answer before calling or emailing your instructor.

For using Angel and the Distance Learning system.

Tom Braziunas, Director: 206-527-3619

Email:

Carol and Joanne, Office Assistants: 206-527-3738

Email:

My Grades:

Exam #1 _____, Exam #2 _____, Exam #3 _____, Exam #4 _____,

Comprehensive Exam = ______Total = ______

Course summary:

The daily activities for this course will involve (1) reading that chapter in the text, (2) going online and listening to the class presentation for that chapter, and (3) developing answers to the study guides. Your class grade is based on the four non-cumulative midterms, one comprehensive exam.

NOTE: This syllabus is long because it gives you detailed step-by-step directions to help you as much as possible.

Contents:

How to get started, plus Student Information and Help Desk, technical information, and other helpful items, go to:

How to log into yourcourse materials: Go to:

Click “Log On”

Put in your User name and Password. (Your entire student ID number)

Click on the name of the course E.g. PSYC / SOC 230 – Human Sexuality

Materials for the course:

Required Text:

Our Sexuality by Crooks & Baur, 10th. Ed. ISBN# = 0-495-10326-8

To purchase the text from the NSCC Bookstore, go to:

> Student Services > Textbooks > Order Your Textbooks > follow Steps 1 - 4

Click on: the current quarter > PSYC (SOC) > 230 > Section #ATKINS > CONTINUE.

You can also rent the text for the quarter by going to:

Hardware and software:

Computer: PC or Mac

Internet connection:

Preferably DSL or cable, not a dial-up (however, dial-up can work, it is just slow).

Software:

Internet browser: Firefox (PC or Mac) or Internet explorer (PC) is recommended

Microsoft Word

Microsoft Power Point Viewer

Ability to listen to WMA files (Windows Media Player)

The ability to use the above software. Your instructor is not “Tech. Support”.

The ability to listen to recorded podcasts (WMA files) for exam reviews.

Online materials: Available on class website

1. Class Presentations

2. Study Guides

3. Exam Reviews

4. Discussion Questions

5. Power Points

6. Reference Materials

Outcomes

This course will help you develop attitudes that encourage you to:

*Demonstrate a willingness to learn from many cultures, persons, methods, and viewpoints.

This course will help you develop the skills to:

* Demonstrate the ability to think critically through discussions of the reading and class material.

This course will give you the knowledge to:

* Understand the nature of the individual, of human values and of the relationship between the self and the community.

Note: Often people have had traumatic experiences or have strong feelings on certain topics. If you feel any of the topics in the text or class will be emotionally damaging to you, or difficult to learn about or discuss, or would create a “hostile environment” for you - do not take this course. If you have a disability of any type, you should contact the Educational Assistance Center.

Instructor’s background

Your instructor has an AA degree from Fullerton J.C., B.A. and Masters degrees from California State University at Fullerton, and a doctorate (Ph.D. degree) from the University of Washington. He is a full time tenured instructor at North Seattle Community College, and has taught at NSCC for over 35 years. Prior to teaching at NSCC, he taught at Jamestown College (a four year college) and at St. Phillips Community College.

Your instructor has taught this Sociology course over 200 times during the past 30+ years as a classroom course, a hybrid course, or a fully online distance learning course.

He has also had experience in the following areas: a public mental health clinic in Seattle, the Educational Psychology Clinic at the University of Washington, The Adult Development Program within the Dept of Psychiatry, in the School of Medicine at the University of Washington, and the Sexual Dysfunction Clinic – Dept. of Psychiatry – School of Medicine – University of Washington.

He has also visited and talked to inmates in the following institutions: Monroe Penitentiary, Shelton Penitentiary, Purdy Women’s Correctional Center, Echo Glen reformatory and Mc.Neil Island Penitentiary.

Other travel experiences include trips to: Europe, Japan, China, Mexico, Hawaii, Alaska, the Caribbean, Egypt and Greece.

Teaching Philosophy

In general, the objective of my instruction is to help you understand the terms and concepts presented in the course.

Explanations are often given in the form of stories, examples, and case studies to elaborate on the concepts presented. These ideas are often presented visually in power point slides (sometimes accompanied by photographs). For auditory learners, the class presentations are recorded. Finally, for those who do best reading, the text supplements the class information.

The objective of the class presentations, is to not only dispense information you need for the exams and the Study Guides, but also to give you the feeling of being in a class along with the spontaneous stories and examples to aid you understanding of the material. Recordings also give you a feeling of the instructor’s personality so he is seen as a real person rather than a written lecture. I like to feel it gives you the “heart and mind” of a class that you would get no other way. This also gives you the ability to pause and rewind the presentation, which you can not do in class.

Grading:

Grading consists of the four midterms, and one comprehensive exam.

Exams:

There are four midterm exams (50 pts. each) and one comprehensive exam (85 pts.). They are all multiple choice.The four midterm exams are not cumulative and cover only the chapters for that exam. The exams will test your knowledge of concepts, terms, and findings. You will also be asked to apply some of the fundamental concepts to new situations.

How to do well on the exams:

The exams come from the text and many additional items to help you understand the material. Use the Course Calendar at the end of this syllabus to keep yourself on track so you will have covered the material and understand it before the exam date. To understand each topic, listen to the class presentation, take notes, and complete the exam concepts.

Before the exam, listen to the exam review and revisit these items in your text. The “How to Study”, sheet in this syllabus, discusses how to read the text material prior to listening to the class.

Study Guides for exams:

Go to: Course Resources >Useful Links > Study Guides. This file gives you a study guide for each chapter. These are designed directly from the exams. While you read the text, listen to the class presentations, and view the Power Point slides, keep these sheets with you, and work toward being able to answer each of the questions. These will then help you during the exams.

Taking the exams:

When taking the exams on line you may use the study guides, your text, or dictionary. You may not have anyone else helping you in any way. When taking the exams, you must answer one question before going on. You may not go back. Also, If you skip a question you may not go back to answer it. It is best to have an answer for each question.

How to take an exam:

NOTE *** Turn off the pop-up blocker in your web browser

To turn off the pop-up blocker. With Firefox, go to tools > Options >Content, and uncheck the "Block pop up window". With Explorer, go to Tools > Pop-up blocker > Turn off pop-up blocker.

1. Log in and go to your course home page.

2. Click on “Lessons” > then Exam number > then “Begin Now” > then “Continue” (Note the time remaining in your upper right corner)

3. Answer the first question >then click “Next” (Answer all questions) >

4. Finally, when all questions are answered, click “Submit” then “OK”.

Note: Your time remaining is shown in the upper right hand corner. At the end of that time, the exam will automatically stop and will not be reset. Therefore, please watch your time remaining.

Trial Exam:

There is currently a trial (ungraded) exam under the “Lessons” (Exams) tab to familiarize you with the test taking system. You may take this exam unlimited times. The real exams can only be taken once. You are not expected to know the answers to these questions, and it is not graded. This is just a trial run to be sure you know how to take an exam.

Exam Scoring:

The score you receive will be the grade indicated by the computer. I feel this is the fairest for the largest number of students. While I am glad to discuss the exam with you, it will not change your score. Any changes in question wording, etc. will be considered for next quarter, but will not be used to change scores this quarter.

Make-up exams:

For students who miss a scheduled examination, one make-up session will be held. You may make-up any one of the four previous midterm exams (not the final comprehensive exam) at that time. There will be no make-up exams at any other times (see the “Course Calendar” for the make-up date). Since there is no make-up or retaking for the final exam, do not miss it!

Retake exams:

If you feel you did not perform at the level you expected on an exam, you may retake one exam. In all cases, you will receive the higher of the two scores as your final grade. Please see the “Course Calendar” for the retake date. There will be no exam retakes at any other time.

Please note: The date for retaking an exam, and making up an exam is the same day. Therefore, if you have taken all the exams, you may retake one, however, if you have missed an exam, this period would need to be used for making up this missed exam. If you missed two, you will receive a zero (“0”) on one of them.

Therefore, you may take only one exam. It can be either a make-up or a retake exam, but not both. If you take more than one exam, I will only use your first score.

Make-up and retake exams are considered more difficult

I recommend you take the exams as scheduled. Generally, the retake and make-up exams are considered more difficult. The difference is that I tend to "teach to the test" and review for the scheduled exams.

The retake and make-up exams are only from the text. I ask the computer to randomly select questions from a database of questions (e.g. randomly select 50 questions from chapters 1-4). These exams look the same (e.g. 50 multiple choice questions) however, they will have different questions than the originally scheduled exam.

Remember, if you take the original exam, regardless of your score, you can always retake it and receive the higher of the two scores.

Discussions:

Throughout the quarter, you may talk with other students by sending comments, and obtaining replies. This is the distance learning equivalent of talking in class.

There are suggested questions to spark discussion by going to: Course Resources > Useful Links > Discussion Questions. An introduction to the discussion questions is covered in the first file entitled, “00_Intro.Dr.Bob'sQuestions.doc”.

As in class, there is no additional credit for comments and discussions, however, it makes the class more interesting.

How To:

How to post your comments for a discussion:

1. From the class homepage, click on “Discussion Forums > Class Discussion”.

2. Click on “New Post”

3. Put in the title and type your posting

4. Click “Save”

How to reply to a post:

Click on “reply” at the bottom of the posting, and type your reply message.

How to send email to your instructor:

1. Go to the class home page and “Course Mail”.

2. Click on “Quick Message”

3. Click “To”, place a check mark next to “All Course Faculty”, click “To”, then “OK”

4. Type in your subject, type your email, and click “Send”.

How to check your internet browser if you are having problems

1. Go to the class website and log in.

3. Often, simply turning off “pop-up blockers” on your web browser will solve problems.

4. Another way to check your browser is to try all the class activities, such as the Power Points, the recordings, and the class materials. If these all work, you are ok. If you still have questions, call one of the distance learning resources on the first page of this syllabus.

How to see your grades:

Your exam grade will be available when the time for taking the exam is completed. Your grade will show up in the box on the right side of the page when you go to that exam. Due to the digital ability to copy all the questions and archive them, or email them to friends and relatives, you will not be able to see individual questions. If you wish to come to my office, you may see, but not copy, individual questions at that time.

How to see your final course grade:

You may check your grades via the internet at: NSCC home page > Online Services > Look Up Your Grades. Put in your Student ID and Student PIN, then click on “Get My Transcript”.

How to do a class evaluation:

You will receive an email from the Seattle Community College District near the end of the quarter. You may anonymously complete and return this evaluation to the District. There are two forms; one is multiple choice, and the other is an essay opportunity. I will only see the anonymous results after the grades have been handed in. To be sure your email is current, you may go to: NSCC Home page > Online Services > Maintenance > Update Your Address, Email, or Phone.

How to withdraw from the course: You may withdraw from a course via the internet at: NSCC home page > Online Services > Register/Add/Drop Classes, and follow the directions.

Netiquette and Privacy

Words can mean many things and what we intend to say is not always what others hear. This is especially true of "online communication" during which other students do not have the opportunity to see your "body language" and therefore have a greater possibility of misunderstanding what you truly mean.

Please, follow these guidelines in all your online discussions.

RESPECT. We would like to suggest respectful exchanges as a basic ground rule. We feel that informational errors should be pointed out- respectfully (even if stated strongly...). Disagreements that honor the viewpoints of the various contributors are productive and can lead to new learning and understanding.

PRIVACY. Keep in mind not only your own privacy rights but others as well. Do not reveal any information that you deem private.

BE CONSIDERATE of grammatical/spelling errors.

REMEMBER that humor and satire are often misinterpreted online. Communication is more than words. So, be prepared for some misunderstanding and requests for clarification.

BE SUPPORTIVE. We are all still learning. Our job is not to judge or condemn or even praise, although genuine encouragement is a necessary ingredient. We are here to provide information, to address topics in a discussion forum, and to provide assistance in helping each participant use her/his own unique learning style. Reflection generally precedes growth. So reflect upon what is said, provide sincere comments, and hopefully, we will all grow.