Summer II, 2017

Hello, my name is Cliff Hudder, and greetings to all signed on for English 1301 Online Class for the Summer II session of 2017, sections 4005 4503 and 4504.

This document is not a syllabus, but a way to give you all an idea of what’s coming up for the course in the May short term. There are some things you can be doing now to get started, but don’t fret too much. Like any “normal” face to face summer class, English 1301 Online proceeds day by day at a reasonable pace, and does not require anything to begin save fulfilling registration requirements, having access the Internet and email and knowing how to use them, and basic keyboarding skills. The course itself will be available in your D2L homepage somewhere around the morning July 13. If you don’t know what a D2L homepage is, no problem! Read on:

THE ORIENTATION: To quell your fears and questions about the orientation–it’s the sort of thing which can be done online, and will not require your presence at any particular location or any particular time before the Summer Semester. This is pretty much how I run the course (with one important exception). I’m always trying to utilize the versatility available to us in an online section.

Orientation: Helpful orientation concerning the D2L Learning system can be located by starting here:  http://www.lonestar.edu/lsc-online/  In addition, there is a short introduction specific to our course which you can read on Day 1 after class starts in July. Should you have questions after examining the online orientation, feel free to ask me via email, phone, or you can even come see me in person in Rm G120F on the Montgomery campus. I do think that even if you haven’t used D2L before, like any software, playing with it for an hour or so will bring familiarity, and I’m expecting a learning curve for such things at the start of the course.

ABOUT THE COURSE IN GENERAL: Like its face-to-face counterpart, Online English 1301 will require approximately two hours of “home” work for every “classroom” hour. This is something to consider in the Summer with its compacted schedule. These classes are not really shorter, and definitely are not easier than their sixteen week counterparts. The main difference is only that material covered each day is similar to that covered in a week during a “normal” section. Policies like testing, journals, and essay assignments are still in place, and must be that way in order to insure the integrity of your credit hours. (Make sure they transfer, that is.) Keeping up is vital in this sort of situation, so take the due dates seriously for assignments in the semester, and don’t expect the instructor to accept late work save under the direst of circumstances.

Another way to think about it: English 1301 online is not a “correspondence course,” but more like a class that meets on the internet, asynchronously, every day. Although you’ve got a lot of flexibility, keeping up with the material each day is important.

There will several assignments: some quizzes over material covered, others (most often) written journal responses to our readings, and a few responses that will go on a discussion list. In addition to these short assignments and journal entries, we will be producing three essays along with drafts for each. TURNING IN ESSAYS WITHOUT DRAFTS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE FOR THIS COURSE. Finally, there will be a comprehensive final exam that has to be taken at a testing center either at a Lone Star College testing facility or some other facility that you’ve arranged.

OUR BOOKS: Axelrod, Rise Reading Critically: Writing Well, Tenth Edition.  New York: Bedford St. Martin’s. This is the anthology from which we’ll be examining our readings using various genres of writing. Beware: many of the other sections are using something else. This book is much cheaper (and better) than the one used by the other sections.  Used copies are available for sale or rent on the Montgomery Campus, as well as online via various sources.  I’ll include the first two weeks readings in the course for those awaiting their texts in the mail.

Also I’ll be sending those of you with grammar or mechanical issues to examine an online resource called THE OWL AT PURDUE: type that phrase into Google and you should be able to find it easily.

THE  FINAL: This is the only exception to the “not having to show up at any particular place at any particular time” aspect of the course. These “in-class” writing assignments for the course will be given on computers and be available at all Lone Star College Testing Centers during the last three days of class. Many other locations can be arranged by students so long as they are proctored. (I have had students complete this course from Chile, Denmark and Iraq, even Sacramento!) But these must be arranged by students!  The final requires arriving at a testing center with a picture ID: there is no other way to insure that those who say they’re taking the course actually are, so you should consider that it is the final that guarantees the integrity of your three credit hours.

That’s probably enough to burden you with before the semester is upon us, but feel free to email me with questions: After July 13, I will answer within a working day. You might also catch me before the semester starts at my office phone: 936-273-7399, or leave a message. As I said, I believe the course will be enjoyable, and I’ve always found that if you jump in, keep up, and attempt everything, it’s difficult to do poorly in English 1301 Online.

Thanks, and welcome aboard,

Cliff Hudder

 

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