Syllabus
69-103 Habits for
Success (1 credit)
online
Instructor: Ms. Bobbi Dubins |
Office Hours: Tuesday and Thursday 2:00-3:00 |
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When the great cello player Pablo Casals
reached ninety-five, a young reporter asked him, “Mr. Casals, you are
ninety-five and the greatest cellist who ever lived. Why do you still practice six hours a
day?” Casals answered, “Because I think
I’m making progress.”
The above quote illustrates the theme of the class—habits. Becoming successful in anything, including
college, begins with the motivation and mindset to be successful and the
willingness to create and practice the habits of success.
The pace of this class is fast and much like a study skills seminar. We’ll explore personality and learning styles
and then apply this information to create new work and learning habits. There is no trick to
becoming a successful student, although we will certainly employ note-taking,
listening, and test-taking strategies.
This course will emphasize the study skills and habits for success in college that also form the foundation for achieving success on the job, such as becoming an active learner. Instruction is designed to help students improve academic skills in listening, note taking, time management, textbook study, and test taking. Activities will include application of study techniques to courses in which students are concurrently enrolled. Open to all students as an elective.
Required Textbook and Materials
1. Text:
978-0-13-223557-0
2. Academic
planner / calendar – planner that has either one day or one week per page. Do not use a calendar that shows the entire
month on one page.
3. Notebook
paper
4. A
folder (or three-ring notebook) for storing papers and hand written notes.
Your primary resource is the textbook. If you don't want to come to campus to pick up the book, you can either order it from the Allegany College of Maryland bookstore and ask them to mail it to you (301-784-5348, there is an additional fee for shipping) or order it online from www.amazon.com, www.barnesandnoble.com, or www.efollet.com . If ordering online, use the ISBN number indicated to be sure you order the correct textbook. If you choose this route, please be sure when you order that the textbook is in stock in order to avoid delays.
Main
Topics:
Learning
Online
Adjusting to College Life
Time Management and Prioritizing
Learning Styles
Listening and Note Taking
Memory
Test Taking / Test Anxiety
Technical Requirements
If you have never taken an online course
before, this course will be different for you. Our primary means of
communication will be through the Internet, therefore, you should be
comfortable with using a computer, the Internet and email.
You are expected to have:
1. Basic computer and Internet literacy
skills. This includes the ability to work
comfortably in a browser, send and receive email with attachments, use a search
engine, and create and modify documents in MS Word.
I recommend that you take the online quiz
to see if you have the technical skills to succeed at distance learning at http://www.marylandonline.org/prospective_students/assess/tech_savvy
2.
Reliable
Internet access (you must provide your own
Internet Service Provider). Important- A high speed connection is
strongly recommended, as some course materials are offered as audio or
video over the Internet. If you do not
have a high speed Internet connection, you must have access to a computer with
a high speed Internet connection several times through out the course, so you
may need to come to the ACM campus computer lab to view the material.
3. An email account (Hotmail and Yahoo are not recommended. It is recommended that you either use the
email account provided to you by your ISP or that you get a free email account
from Google.
4. Browser (Internet Explorer or Netscape. See http://www.allegany.edu/dl/onlineorientation/ooprequisites.shtml for the latest supported browser
information.)
5. Software and/or Plug-ins:
a. Windows Media Player
b. Power Point or the (free) Power Point viewer
To download and install free plug-ins go to http://www.allegany.edu/dl/updates.shtml
6.
Hardware
a.
Working
speakers
For additional information on technical
requirements and skills, please see the college Distance Learning web site at www.allegany.edu/dl.
Please note: Technical difficulties do occur during a semester. However, technical difficulties do not excuse late or incomplete assignments. Always plan on completing the assignments well before the due dates, in order to prevent problems from last minute technical glitches.
You may also want to:
- Take the online quiz to see if distance learning is for you
at http://www.marylandonline.org/prospective_students/assess/online_learning_for_me
Reading Skills
In an online class, it is customary for students to be required to do more reading than in a traditional, face-to-face class. It is especially important for students to be able to read and comprehend what is in the textbook. If reading is not your strength, you should consider getting assistance from a tutor or your reading instructor, or taking this course in the traditional (face-to-face) classroom instead of online.
Welcome
to the online version of “Habits for Success”.
Since there will be no face-to-face class meetings, it is imperative
that you are conscientious, motivated and self-disciplined. While the course is very flexible in terms
of when you put in the time, you can expect to average about the same amount of
time as a normal lecture course. College
courses require approximately 2 hours of homework/study time per week for each
hour spent in class. This means a 3
credit course requires 9 hours of work per
week, for a total of 144 hours per semester. Since this is a 1 credit course, the total
time required will be approximately 45 hours, done over a period of 8
weeks. Therefore, you should plan on spending 6
hours per week on this course.
Note that this course is NOT self-paced. Assignments are due by specific dates. You may work ahead if you like, but you may not “work behind”. All assignments are clearly indicated in the weekly folders areas of the Blackboard course site.
Your weekly assignments will include some combination of reading the textbook, viewing/listening to PowerPoint presentations, viewing/listening to online audio/video, completing exercises/assignments/essays, completing self-study “quizzes” and participating in the discussion board. A list of all assignments and their due dates is included in the course calendar, as well as in the weekly folders in Blackboard. I will NOT remind you of when assignments are due. You are expected to refer to the calendar and weekly folders to complete all assignments on time. If you have difficulty with the assignments or have any questions, please contact me and I will be happy to assist you.
You will have opportunities to interact with other students enrolled in the course. You are encouraged to communicate with other students in the course by email, by use of the discussion board or by phone. Interacting with other students in the course will enhance your learning experience. You will also be required to participate in weekly discussions with other students in the class using the Blackboard discussion board.
Homework and written assignments will be submitted using Blackboard. Instructions are provided the first week of class. For general information about using Blackboard please see http://www.allegany.edu/dl/onlineorientation/ooblackboard.shtml.
Blackboard
will be the primary method for conducting the course. Please see the Blackboard section below for
more information.
A
face-to-face orientation to the course will be conducted by the instructor the
first week of class. This gives students
an opportunity to meet the instructor and ask questions about how the course
will be conducted. This orientation is optional, but
highly recommended. The
face-to-face orientation for the fall 2008 semester is scheduled for Thursday,
August 28 from
Somerset campus – AC-27
Bedford Co. campus - BR 17
Assignments will consist of some combination of reading the textbook, viewing/listening to PowerPoint presentations, viewing/listening to audio/video online, completing exercises/assignments/essays, completing self-study “quizzes” and participating in the discussion board.
Tests are not a major component of the course, however, it is important for online students to get experience taking tests and using the campus testing centers. Therefore, there is one test in the course that requires students to use the testing center.
When
using the testing center, please contact the center in advance to verify hours
of operation. If you would like to take
the test in advance of the scheduled week please contact me to make
arrangements. The tests may not be
taken after the scheduled dates. If you are not located near a testing
center, arrangements can be made for you to use an authorized proctor. You
must inform me by the second week of class if you plan to use an authorized
proctor instead of a testing center. I
have final approval on the authorization of a proctor.
You will have at least a one week period in which to take the test. This should allow everyone the flexibility to schedule their tests at a convenient time.
TESTING CENTER CONTACT INFORMATION
Charlie Jackson, phone (301) 784-5554, fax 301-784-5060
Mary Ann Clark, phone 814-652-9319, fax 814-652-9775
Mollie
The
student’s final grade will be comprised of:
|
Assignment |
Points |
Percent of grade |
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Pre-chapter “Where are you?” assessments (7 weeks) |
35 |
8% |
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Open book, self study “quizzes”, weekly. (7 weeks) |
105 |
25% |
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Weekly assignments/exercises/essays, 3-4 per week (8 weeks) |
150 |
35% |
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“Attendance”, 3 points possible per week (8 weeks) |
25 |
6% |
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Discussion board participation, weekly (10 points per week, 7 weeks) |
70 |
16% |
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Test |
50 |
12% |
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Total |
435 |
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Note: The point value of each category/item may
change slightly, depending upon topic interests of the class as a whole.
A = 90-100%
B = 80-89%
C = 70-79%
D = 60-69%
F = Less than 60%
Students
will not receive mid-term grades in the
Students
will receive a weekly grade for logging into the course. Since there is no face-to-face lecture in
this course, students’ progress will be measured based upon the completion of
their work. Students are required to log into the course at least 3 times each
week. Any student who does not log into the
course for 2 consecutive weeks will be dropped from the course for
“non-attendance”. This also applies to students who do not
complete any assignments for a 2 consecutive week period. If you are receiving financial aid, this
may cause you to lose your financial aid.
No
late assignments will be accepted. Since
there is no face-to-face lecture in this course, students’ progress will be
measured based upon the completion of their work. Any
student who falls more than 2 weeks behind in their work will be dropped from
the course. If you are receiving
financial aid, this may cause you to lose your financial aid.
The online quiz feature will be programmed so that quizzes will be unavailable after the due date has passed. Any other type of assignment that is not submitted on time will receive a grade of zero.
Exceptions will only be made in extenuating circumstances that can be documented.
Students should contact me if they are having problems completing any assignments. Don’t wait until the assignment due date has passed to ask for help!
This course will be conducted using Blackboard software. You do not need to purchase software to use Blackboard, however, you will need a login and password to access it. The college will assign that to you automatically. See the Blackboard link below to obtain your username and password.
You should immediately familiarize yourself with Blackboard by going to (http://www.allegany.edu/dl/onlineorientation/ooblackboard.shtml) and then logging into your Blackboard account. You should be able to perform the following functions in blackboard by the end of the first week of class:
Log
into your blackboard account (remember to log out when finished!)
Find and read announcements
Find and read course assignments
Find and read course documents
Send email
Find the discussion board
Find the assignment “View/Complete” link
Find the grades area
You should also view information about what is expected of you in an online course by going to http://www.allegany.edu/dl/onlineorientation/oorientation.shtml.
Student Conduct and Plagiarism
The college has a strict policy on academic dishonesty. You are expected to understand and abide by the policy as defined in the student handbook.
The ACM student handbook defines plagiarism (page 62) as:
a. “the submission, as your own work, of papers or parts of papers actually written by another;
b. including in your own work a passage written by another person without giving due credit; i.e., quoting or paraphrasing without proper citation of source.”
Academic Dishonesty also includes failure on your part to keep your current and past assignments out of the hands of other students who may misinterpret their origins. To receive credit for quantitative assignments, please show all calculations. It is also suggested that you keep a record and/or rough draft of written or other work until you have received your final grade.
For additional information on plagiarism, and how to avoid it, go to http://www.indiana.edu/%7Ewts/wts/plagiarism.html . For information on plagiarism and writing bibliographies and citations, go to www.allegany.edu/plagiarism/ .
In compliance with federal 504/ADA requirements,
Allegany College of Maryland supports the belief that all, “otherwise
qualified,” citizens should have access to higher education and that
individuals should not be excluded from this pursuit solely by reason of
handicap. The college is committed to the integration of students with
disabilities into all areas of college life. Therefore, support services are
intended to maximize the independence and participation of disabled students.
Further, the College complies with applicable state and federal laws and
regulations prohibiting discrimination in the admission and treatment of
students.
Any student who has
a disability should contact Disabled Student Services (part of the