GEOG 130-Y01: Web-Based Course (80/20)

GEOG 130-AY1 & BY1: Environmental Geography
SCIENCE 224
10:45 AM to 1:15 PM ( PLEASE REPORT TO THE CLASSROOM FOR THE FIRST CLASS MEETING)
80/20 Web-based course

Important Course Information
James Hayes-Bohanan, Ph.D.
Updated May 29, 2008

This course will no longer be on Blackboard. It is on Moodle.

Summer One 2008 Schedule
Summer ONE 2008 Mandatory Meetings on:
5/29, 6/19, 6/26 with course completion June 30
Summer TWO 2008 Mandatory Meetings on:
7/9, 7/16, 7/17 with course completion August 8

This section of GE 130 (formerly 196) is offered as an 80/20 web-based course. This means that roughly eighty percent of the course meeting time will occur online, and that we will meet in the scheduled room only about twenty percent of the time. I have offered this course many times in both a traditional and web-based format, so I am well-prepared to help students succeed in this course, even if they have limited experience with academic uses of the Internet.

That said, I do not recommend the course for students on academic probation, students with limited command of written English, or students who have difficulty working independently. I am able and more than willing to work with all such students in my day sections of GEOG 130, but students in all three categories have had great difficulty with my web sections.

If you are taking this course in order to spend less time on the course than you otherwise would, please reconsider your choice. This course offers flexibility in scheduling, but the overall workload is actually greater than in a traditional course.

My purpose in offering the course this way is to provide those students who desire it an opportunity to rely fully on Internet technology for their learning in one course. Another important benefit is substantial flexibility in the personal schedules of students in the course. Since most class "meetings" occur online, it is possible to do course work whenever the student can access a computer.

The class is scheduled to meet in the Science Building, room 224. During the summer courses, plan on meeting three times for orientation, supplemental activities, and exams.

The first sessions will be devoted to orientation: learning the technology used in class, learning course expectations, and learning a bit about other class participants. The entire semester will be spent engaged in online group discussions. These will be meaningful only if we have some face-to-face connections on which to build.

To succeed in this course, students need:

Regular access to an Internet computer connection (either on campus, at home, or at work)
No special software is needed, beyond a word processor and a web browser
Students should be very comfortable communicating in written English on a regular basis
Students may need to attend a training session for Blackboard, which is the delivery system for the course. It is increasingly used in courses of all kinds at BSC.
Students should have basic computer literacy or willingness to learn. "Willingness to learn" equates to willingness to take basic workshops on Windows and web browsing -- in addition to classroom orientation -- if deemed necessary by the instructor

Please feel free to contact me with any questions about this course by calling (508) 531-2118 or sending e-mail to jhayesboh@bridgew.edu .