First Things First:
I will teach this course exclusively
online. If you have problems using Blackboard, you can go to the Atrium
during business hours and ask a student technician to help you. If you
have trouble with your email account, you can call the help desk at
973-720-HELP. Any problems that come up should be handled via email,
though you can leave or have someone leave a voicemail message for me
if any emergency arises.
The campus bookstore can dropship the one textbook (Women Images & Realities
4th edition, Kesselman et al, McGraw Hill 2008/2003, ISBN
978-0-07-312764-4) for this course through the mail, and you can order
from them by fax, phone or online. If you order from anywhere else you
risk getting your book late, or getting the wrong edition! I order 25
used copies for per section, per semester. I allow 2 weeks for
orientation. This is usually enough time to get the correct edition of
the textbook, but remember we'll have Labor Day weekend in the middle
of orientation period this fall!
This course is taught online, but not just email-only or Website-only. It is a combination of both email and the Web!
You will need to go to directly to http://bb.wpunj.edu/ to access your course
in Blackboard by the official first day of the semester. (Going through
AOL and/or WPConnect can cause delays and interruptions!) You need to
go to http://student.wpunj.edu/ to access your student email account in Outlook. You'll need *both* email and the Web to complete this course!
Course Structure & Schedule:
The course will be automatically opened on 9/1 or 9/2. I will post all
reading and writing assignments by the end of orientation. Here is a
basic outline of the work that will be expected of you:
A Log is a short paper (generally not more than 2 doublespaced
pages) that will answer one question about all the assigned readings (7
per log) from the textbook for a given theme (Storytelling, Radicalism,
Personal=Political, and Patriarchy vs. Herstory). (If you want to vent,
you can make it longer, as long as you don't forget to answer the
question for each article!) There will be four in all, due over the course of the semester.
A Forum is on the course site's Discussion Board. There are four required forums,
plus one optional forum that will be up during the orientation period.
Each will have its own assigned online reading plus one textbook
reading, as well as its own deadlines. There will be separate
deadlines, one for posting in response to the forum question and
another to post in response to a classmate.
The Research Project will be your choice of three options (which
will be posted and described in full by the end of the orientation
period). It will be completed in four assignments, each with its own
deadline, throughout the semester.
The Review Q&A is no more than 5 questions that will be
answered with a quote and corresponding page number from the textbook,
or a quote from one of my online lectures. Those questions will be more
short and technical than the 4 log questions. The two review tests will
be "open book" and due via email. (Pages must be cited to count for
grade credit, even if you paraphrase or if the article is only one page
long, unless the question concerns one of my online lectures!)
Homework:
Logs and forums are two different things: Your 4
"reader response" logs must be sent to me directly, while your 8 forum
posts will be made in Blackboard for the whole class to read. Your
project assignments and your five-question reviews will be sent to me
directly via email.
Grades:
Standards for letter grades and grounds for
failure for any assignment, theme or the course as a whole will be all
spelled out in the syllabus, which will be posted in the course site.
Course Grading:
The average of your four theme grades will count for 50 percent of your
course grade, but all four logs must be handed in for you to pass the
course. The reviews will count for 25% of your course grade, but both
must be handed in for you to pass the course. The research project will
count for 25% of your course grade, but must be handed in complete (as
four assignments) for you to pass the course.
What You'll See on Blackboard by the end of orientation:
I
will post a copy of this welcome letter in the Announcements section,
my vitae (aka my resume or faculty profile) and the syllabus, plus a
"tip sheet" for accessing Blackboard and using its features. I will
post all four of my lectures, as well as the reading and writing
assignments with complete directions and deadlines. The Orientation
forum will be posted first, and the other four required forums will
follow one after another throughout the semester.
Your Technical Prerequisites:
You will need to meet
certain hardware and software minimum requirements, you'll need
*reliable access* to a computer, and some acquaintance with email,
sending attachments, Web-based forums, and basic Internet research
(news and Web search engines, accessing online readings posted by the
Library, etc.). You need to know how to read and follow *written*
directions, be able to do offline and online research independently,
and know how to budget your time and mental energy.
"Introductory"
doesn't mean easy and "online" doesn't mean automatic. An online class
is more flexible but it is not always more convenient. It is up to you
to figure out if you can handle the technical requirements and meet
weekly deadlines.
This online course will not allow you to lower
your academic standards or be lax in your time management skills.
Expect to spend a few hours on reading or writing assignments *per
week*, including researching and preparing your project.
If you do
not acclimate yourself to the course by the time you need to start
handing in written homework, you will need to contact the Academic Support Center.
As they state: "At the Academic Support Center, students receive
one-on-one tutoring assistance for numerous lower-level and upper-level
courses, as well as for basic skills math and reading courses.
Workshops designed to help students develop effective study skills and
strategies are frequently offered. From the Center's lab, students may
access network computer facilities. Study groups, and exam review
sessions are also available." However, if you don't have time to get
help taking this course if you need it, then you really have no time
for this course!
Problems?
Blackboard has its own form to fill out if you
can't access the course, and that's linked from the
http://bb.wpunj.edu/ front page in addition to various help files of
interest to new and returning online students. Go to http://bb.wpunj.edu/
and check out the Student links on Blackboard's front page. They show
you how to log on; there are directions on how to look up your user
name and how to use email and the drop box; plus a breakdown of common
problems and a link to the form to fill out to report problems.
"See" You All Very (!) Soon!
Jennifer Swift-Kramer, aka JSK
Women's Studies