General Information
Return to Homepage Fall 2008 Course Syllabus Fall 2008 Course Outline WR 227 Outcomes
Skill Requirements First Week Attendance Requirements
Instructions on accessing this course in Blackboard
Everything
you need to knowInstructor (Fall 2006): Eleanor Latham, Ph.D. vita
Phone: (541)-383-7547
Office: MODOC 213
Summer Office Hours: Monday Through Thursday 9-3 & by appt.; Fall office hours TBA
This is not a self-study course: weekly participation is required.
Regular access to a computer with an internet connection; daily access preferred; daily access at home ideal. A Windows machine is preferable: students with MAC computers will need substantial computer expertise to compensate for compatibility problems.
Current/Recent Netscape or Internet Explorer (students with AOL can use AOL as a connection but must access the course through Netscape or IE). Students with AOL may expect significant problems attaching files.
A reasonably recent version of Word, Works, or WordPerfect (note: WordPad is NOT the same thing as Word! WordPad is NOT sufficient!)
Competent computer keyboarding skills.
Competent computer skills and understanding.
Competent internet skills.
Willingness and ability to learn new skills as necessary
On Campus Requirement: None
Orientation: Complete COCC's on-line orientation (visit http://web.cocc.edu/onlineorientation for more information) in order to register or join the wait list for this class (note: if you have already completed the orientation for a previous on-line class, you don't need to do so again).
First Week Attendance Requirement: DUE BY WEDNESDAY, 11:55 p.m., Sept. 24.
Log-on to our Blackboard course (access from My Login from COCC's homepage); follow instructions in the post labeled "First Week Attendance Requirement Instructions" located within the Assignments folder in our Blackboard class site. The process ensures that you have found and are able to log onto the course site and have at least a basic knowledge of how the course is set up. You will need to
1. find the instructions;
2. follow the instructions
Note: your general Blackboard access is available roughly one week before classes begin; all assignments and first and second week materials will be available then. Please do not contact me or the support staff with questions about why you can't access the course prior to Sept. 17.
Note: course is password protected; see http://blackboard.cocc.edu/Login/default.aspx for instructions on accessing Blackboard.
If you do not
"attend" during the first week (i.e., complete
the first week attendance assignment by Wednesday Sept. 24), you will be administratively withdrawn from the
class and your spot given to a student on the waiting list.
Students on the waiting list who
do not "attend" by completing the first week
attendance assignment will lose their place on the waiting list.
How will an on-line writing course work?
 | Lecture "posts" and a questions and answer board in our password protected course area in Blackboard replace the primary text book and in-class content and instructions (e.g., Week 1 Content contains the material I expect you to have read and/or completed in Week 1; Week 2 Content contains the material I expect you to have read and/or completed in Week 2). |
| Discussion Board and online group areas replace traditional group work and class discussions. |
| You will turn in assignments mainly using Turnitin (an online assignment dropbox); emergency alternatives are detailed in the online course materials. |
| You will receive comments on your work in the same venue as you turned the work in. I expect you to read and apply the comments, particularly on rough drafts. |
| Conferences with the instructor will be by e-mail, phone, live chat, or in person. |
| Note that the college policy of attendance during the first week applies to this course: you must follow find and instructions located in Course Materials: Assignments (instructions are labeled "First Week Attendance Requirement Instructions") within the Blackboard class site. |
|
How do I register for this course? (Note: the Fall section is currently full, with a waiting list.)
Instructions for students on the Waiting List: You will have temporary course access just as registered students do; this does NOT mean you are "in" the class. Fulfill the first week attendance requirement as for registered students. I will admit students to register as spaces become available until Monday of the second week of classes (note that having course ACCESS isn't the same as being REGISTERED in the class). "Permission to register" (what I provide) doesn't register you--you must register for the class yourself!
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT COURSE EXPECTATIONS:
 | This section of WR 227 is equivalent to other distance and on-campus WR 227 sections: the standard expectation for college courses is 2-3 hours of out-of-class work for each hour of in-class work: a 3 credit course in a 10 or 11 week term should take the average student, in an average week, 9 hours each week. Underprepared students will require more than the average. |
| An on-line 3 credit course could take you more or less than the standard hours depending on how quickly you read and write and how thoroughly you absorb what you read, and depending also on your technical skills. Most students find that online courses take them 1 1/2 times the time they spend on traditional classes. If you are a slow reader and/or a slow writer, and/or a slow typist, it will take you more. Also, the in-class work in a traditional class includes immediate access to instructor assistance; in an online class, you need to allow additional time to get telephone, email or Q&A discussion board responses. (Note: do not simply dispense with instructor assistance in an online class--if you would ask the instructor or other students for help doing an assignment in a traditional class, ask the instructor or other students for help in an online class!) |
Tuition and fees are the same as for any other WR 227 section (3 credits) plus an additional on-line fee of $30 ($10 per credit). Actual tuition varies based on your residence status--see your C.O.C.C. schedule or catalog for details.
You should plan on accessing course material at least twice a week. Students who have daily access to the internet will have a distinct advantage in the course.
Announcements and updates will appear periodically. All assignments except for the final report are due Wednesdays (assignments can always be submitted early).
Ask most questions using the Q&A folder in the Discussion Board in the Blackboard course. If you need to email me directly on a personal matter, please include the course number in your subject line.
Note that this is NOT a self-paced or open ended course: I will post announcements and updates; assignments are due on or before specific days; your rough draft must be posted in time for your partners to respond by the peer review deadline; discussion board comments have specific deadlines, and so on. You should expect to participate at least twice a week. Capability for checking e-mail on a daily basis will simplify your participation in this course.
Email I send you will go to your COCC email account. Either check that account regularly or set it up to forward email to an account you do check regularly.
This section of WR 227 follows the regular (11 week) C.O.C.C. Fall Quarter schedule, beginning Sept. 22 and ending Dec. 12 (final report due by Dec. 8).
Top of Page
