201 announcements HST201 End of first week REMINDER by Joe Escobar - Monday, 6 December 1999, 09:54 PM Hello students, Here is that first email "announcement" reminder that promised to send to you this weekend. To receive a full tuition refund, you must officially drop any or all of your courses in ExpressLane by tomorrow evening, Sunday, by midnight. I hope the first week in my class wasn't that bad, but if it was, be sure to get your money back. smile 74 out of 83 students successfully met the first class deadline, which was to take the Chapter 1 computer quiz and earn 10/20 or better before 5pm last Friday. I hope that the 9 students who missed that deadline will not miss the next deadline, the Chapter 2 computer quiz which must be taken by 5pm, Monday evening. REMEMBER, you can take the quizzes AS MANY TIMES AS YOU NEED to earn this score and get credit. The gradebook in Moodle is always up-to-date. Click the Grades link (left side of the class Moodle page), and you will see whether you have a 1 or 0 for the Chapter 1 quiz. Your Current Class Grade is always accurate. As of right now, you will either have an A+ or an F in this class. The votes are beginning to roll in from our first anonymous Week 1 Opinion Poll. Be sure to enter your choice by the Monday, 5pm deadline. After entering your choice, you will be able to see the response totals representing all students in both the 10am and 1pm class sections. Many of you have also completed posting in the Point of View Forum. This post is also due by Monday at 5pm. That's all for now. Glad to have you in class. See you Tuesday. Joe HST201 End of week 2 REMINDER by Joe Escobar - Tuesday, 14 December 1999, 02:06 PM Hello students, Here is that email "announcement" reminder that promised to send to you this weekend. Your required work for Tuesday's class is pretty simple. #1 Watch the 6 minute clip on the Puritans. #2 Read Chapter 3, and ... #3 Take the quiz on Chapter 3 before Monday's (tomorrow's) 5pm deadline. The gradebook in Moodle is always up-to-date. If you see problems with the grade, then be sure to contact me and get it cleared up. See you Tuesday. Joe HST195 End of Week 3 Reminder by Joe Escobar - Tuesday, 21 December 1999, 08:41 PM Hello all, Here is another Moodle announcement reminder. Your required work for Tuesday's class is pretty simple. #1 Read and take notes on Chapter 4 #2 Take the quiz on Chapter 4 before Monday's (tomorrow's) 5pm deadline . #3 Continue working online with your group members on your Colonial History Wiki topic. See you Tuesday. Joe HST201 End of Week 4 REMINDER - VERY IMPORTANT by Joe Escobar - Monday, 27 December 1999, 12:33 PM Hello all, This is an important email, filled with information that will have a significant impact on your grade in this class. Please be sure to carefully read it all. MIDTERM EXAM STUDY LIST As promised, you will find three versions of the same midterm study list under the Class Handouts link in Moodle. (html, pdf, and Word .doc) The list is based on the four chapters we've covered so far, and is alphabetized and unsorted. I would highly recommend that as you study for your exam, that you attempt to sort/organize the list in a rough chronology, according to the 4 textbook chapters/topics we covered: Ch 1 - When Old Worlds Collide: Contact, Conquest, Catastrophe Ch 2 - The Challenge to Spain and the Settlement of North America Ch 3 - England Discovers Its Colonies: Empire, Liberty, and Expansion Ch 4 - Provincial America and the Struggle for a Continent That would be a good "self check" on how well you remember and understand what we've been doing these past 4 weeks. You will be responsible for printing this page out. Any student attempting to take the midterm exam without this guide would be unwise. It is never too early to start using the Student Forum or Moodle Messaging to organize your own midterm exam study groups with your peers. We will not use any class time to review considering we'll be covering the material in Chapter 5 - Reform, Resistance, Revolution, which is also on the midterm exam. COLONIAL HISTORY WIKI This, your first major online assignment is due this coming MONDAY by 9pm. Your job is to come up with the most complete, well-written responses to the posed questions. IMPORTANT - My last instruction to you concerning the wiki is about the final format. It should look like this. Group # <---(put your group number here) 1. The question text here Your group's answer following the question. 2. Second question text here The answer here. and so on. REMOVE THE TEXT OF ALL other group planning and discussions, member names, who is doing which question, etc. The text fonts should be uniform in size and BLACK in color. You may use other colors, bold, or italics sparingly, if you wish to add emphasis or to make important points. WIKI FEEDBACK MECHANISM All students will complete a brief, private survey, beginning Monday at 9pm and concluding by the Midterm Exam deadline. It will be your chance vote on the best group responses and to let me know how this assignment worked for you. MIDTERM EXAM You midterm exam will NOT be taken in class. It will NOT be taken at home. It WILL be in Moodle and accessible ONLY from the computers in the Social Science Testing Lab, CEN456 (4th floor of the Center Building). This testing lab serves MANY instructors and students at Lane, and it is the 5th week of the term, which is midterm exam time for many classes. I urge you not to procrastinate until the last moment. You will need to bring photo ID with you in order to take the test. Your midterm exam can be taken on the followings days and times: Friday, October 30, from 9am to 5pm. (The lab closes at 5pm and they don't allow students to begin long exams less than an hour before closing time. This applies to all testing days.) Saturday, October 31, from 9am to 1pm. (Campus Security 463-5555 opens only 2 doors on the cafeteria level and one on the 4th floor, main stairway.) Monday, November 2, from 9am to 7pm. (Most of you will probably take the exam this day. Don't wait until 6pm.) That's all for now. See you Tuesday. HST201 Midterm Exam REMINDER by Joe Escobar - Wednesday, 5 January 2000, 03:50 PM Hello, Just a quick note to remind you that if you have not yet taken your midterm exam, tomorrow, Monday, is the final day to take it. The testing lab in CEN456 is open at 9am and will close at 7pm. Don't wait until the last minute. Good luck. HST201 Midterm Exams are over by Joe Escobar - Wednesday, 5 January 2000, 09:43 PM Hello students, Midterm exams are over. After running an item analysis of the questions and determining exam difficulty, all scores were adjusted by 10%. Moodle now shows your current grade in the class, complete with attendance/participation, poll, forum, wiki, computer quizzes, and midterm exam. I'll talk about grades tomorrow in class, before we start material on Chapter 6, The Revolutionary Republic. So please hold your Moodle message questions until the conclusion of tomorrow's class. It is important that you read the chapter, take the computer quiz by this week's WEDNESDAY, 5pm deadline, AND to complete the Colonial History Wiki Survey and Feedback questionnaire by the Wednesday, 9pm deadline.e See you tomorrow. HST201 End of Week 6 Update by Joe Escobar - Sunday, 9 January 2000, 10:09 AM Hello students, Your performance in the Taking Sides Forum over the next few weeks will constitute 100% of your online work grade for the remainder of the term (referred to as Historical Topic Discussions in the Syllabus ... 15% of your grade) As of this writing, 26 out of 77 students have chosen their Taking Sides Issue, either #7 or #8. In order to choose wisely, you need to read both sides/pages of the handout you received in class on Thursday. If you were not in class, the handout is called Pick_One_Issue_7_or_8.pdf and located under the Class Handouts link in Moodle. While there is no real "deadline" to pick a topic, any student who has not done so before we meet in class on Tuesday will be behind. Why? Well, once you've chosen your topic, you have an additional reading assignment based on your choice. You are responsible for reading (and in the future, viewing/listening to) all of the materials you will find under the appropriate Class Handouts folder, either those in Issue_7_Revolution or Issue_8_Founding_Fathers. The first part of the Taking Sides Forum will consist of posts and replies among and between your group members. In short, you will analyze which "expert", "yes or no", makes the better case? This forum will begin bright and early, Monday morning at 12:01am. BE SURE to read guidelines for scoring so you can see how you will be graded on this work. Also, don't forget to read Chapter 7 in your textbook and complete the computer quiz by the Monday, 5pm deadline. HST201 Video Notes by Joe Escobar - Sunday, 9 January 2000, 10:46 AM This is just a "quick check" I thought I'd try out. surprise If, at the end of class yesterday, I had asked you to submit the notes you took on the long, 21 minute video we saw, how would you have done? Here are my "chicken scratch" notes that you saw me scribble on the whiteboard during the video. I do NOT expect that any student would have gotten all of these, but I do expect that you would have at least a few. Look for the biases: * Narrator compares Amer. Rev. to Vietnam * Title of the video - How Britain LOST the War * Britain #1 naval power - if only we fought on the sea * G. Washington was a racist - black troops * A slave's help accounted for the British victory in Savannah * Blacks in northern colonies "wanted to believe" in the Dec. of Indep. * Dr. Frank Robinson - unfair ? - what would you have done? - don't even ask it! * French tried to humiliate the Brits * Battle Savannah - rebels lost 15x as many soldiers as Brits (bloodiest battle of war) * The South under British control was a "promised land" for Blacks * G. Washington flip flopped on Black soldiers - freedom in hands of Congress * Narrator - Rebel soldier "depth" was better than their ability * Rice Kings of SC - $ * Tarelton massacred 100 of 350 (Brit video), (American) textbook says all 350 were killed * Interviewing people on a bus? FYI...These could probably serve as future "According to the video" questions that you might see on the Final Exam. wink HST201 End of week 7 UPDATE by Joe Escobar - Monday, 17 January 2000, 04:37 PM Hello all, TAKING SIDES FORUM UPDATE One of the problems with me scoring some of your Taking Sides posts now, instead of at the end, is that the Moodle gradebook will "show" a low score until I have scored ALL posts after our Monday, November 30, 9pm deadline. I do, however, have this temporary grade in an unscored category which does not affect your true, current class grade, displayed in the Moodle gradebook. For the record, at this point in time, students should have a total of between 5 and 6 points to be earning full credit on the Taking Sides online forum assignment, so far. You will notice that I've now posed the second question(s) of our debate(s) (Issues #7 and #8). Your new posts and replies will go under my question "post" labeled Part Two - Adding audio content to the discussion. The topics are the same, and the PDF reading assignment still applies. The new material for this week is an audio file that each student must listen to (located in the appropriate folder under Class Handouts ). You should probably take a few notes and/or quotes when listening so you can use them for your posts and replies. NOTE: Although you can still post and reply under my part one question post, it is time to move more of your attention on to part two. Many students are so very far behind at this time, not having made a single post, that you need to work very hard to catch up over the next week. LCC WEEK 8 DEADLINE I promised all of you after the midterm exam that I would give multiple reminder of this important deadline. Please remember that the LCC Week 8 deadline to make any and all schedule changes is THIS coming Friday. If you don't like your current class grade, aren't doing the class work (online discussions, attendance, quizzes, etc.), or won't be able to put the time in to score a high final exam grade, then please take this opportunity to change your course schedule for this HST201 U.S. History course (and/or any LCC course you are enrolled in) by Friday. Change the grade option to either an AUDIT or a Pass/No Pass. Neither will negatively affect your GPA. You can also drop a course so that your college transcript won't have any record of your attendance or performance in the class. (As always, check with your counselor or advisor first, to see what options you can pursue given your academic program or educational goals.) To make changes, login to ExpressLane at http://www.lanecc.edu That's all for now. See you in class on Tuesday. HST201 Start of Week 9 by Joe Escobar - Wednesday, 26 January 2000, 11:00 PM Hello all, As you may have noticed, I was not able to score your posts or post the new prompt on Saturday, as I had originally planned to do. I had a situation arise that took all of my time the past four days, but all is well now. I have now posted the last Taking Sides Forum prompt, and it should be your main focus for this week. The due date is exactly a week from today, next Monday, November 30th at 9pm. I hope to have all existing posts "scored" by tomorrow evening. We have just one class this week, due to the Thanksgiving holiday. Tomorrow we will be covering the material in Chapter 8. See you then. HST201 End of Week 9 Update by Joe Escobar - Friday, 28 January 2000, 11:22 AM Hello all, Just a quick note to let you know that I have completed scoring the posts for both weeks 1 & 2 (prompts 1 & 2) in the Taking Sides Forum. Ignoring the low percentage % score in the Moodle gradebook, if you have earned a raw sum in the 10-12 point range (or higher), then you are on track for an "A+" grade for this assignment. Keep up the good work for this last week. For the nearly 20 of you who have not made a single post, partial credit is better than no credit. I'd strongly recommend you participate before the upcoming Monday deadline. NOTE: The forum scores have not yet been factored into your current grade visible in Moodle. How much will this impact your final grade in this class? You can take a look at your current Moodle grade and subtract a full 7.5% if you choose not to do any of this assignment. NOTE #2: If you have been participating, you do NOT get to add 7.5% to your current class grade in Moodle. Sorry, it just doesn't work that way. Enjoy your Thanksgiving Break. I'll contact you once more when the final exam study list is ready and for a reminder about the Monday deadlines for both the Chapter 9 computer quiz (5pm) and the Taking Sides Forum (9pm). HST201 Start of Week 10 REMINDER by Joe Escobar - Tuesday, 1 February 2000, 09:54 PM Hello all, As promised, you will find three versions of the same final exam study list under the Class Handouts link in Moodle. (html, pdf, and Word .doc) The list is alphabetized and unsorted. Be sure to take your last computer quiz for Chapter 9 by 5pm Monday (tomorrow). Finally, the Taking Sides Forum comes to a conclusion tomorrow. Make your final posts and replies by the 9pm deadline. See you in class on Tuesday. HST201 Week 10 Update by Joe Escobar - Friday, 4 February 2000, 03:11 PM Hello Students, I have just completed posting all of the Taking Sides Forum grades, and have updated ALL other grades, including attendance, quizzes, etc. for the entire term. What you now see in the Moodle gradebook is your current course grade going into the final exam next week.*** To see the effect a perfect final exam can have on your grade (like the "current" and "highest" grade columns on the printout I passed around in class after the midterm exam), go to the Class Handouts link and click the web "handout" called Class_Grade_With_Final_Exam.htm Finally, you have a last minute, surprise extra credit opportunity now appearing in Week 11 Final Exam Week. All is explained there. See you tomorrow for the last day of class. *** If you believe that something is not accurate, you must contact me immediately via Moodle messaging. The time to rectify any concerns is now, not after your final exams have been completed and final grades have been submitted to the registrar. HST201 Final Exam Week by Joe Escobar - Wednesday, 9 February 2000, 02:31 AM Hello Students, Welcome to Final Exam Week. All students, in both the 10am and 1pm classes are invited to attend an optional final exam study session on Tuesday, December 8 at 10am in room 18/102. A "repeat", second study session is on Thursday, December 10 at 12pm in room 18/102. Unfortunately, this time is only a few hours before the final exam deadline, but it may be the only option for some people. Final Exam Week is Monday to THURSDAY of THIS week. You will take your exam in the testing lab (where you took your midterm) on any of these days and times, whichever is more convenient for you. Mon - Wed 8:00 am - 8:00 pm Thursday 9:00 am - 5:00 pm CLOSED Friday Please note that your final exam is due, completed by 5pm on Thursday. Don't wait until the last minute as the lab serves students in all Social Science classes and all Distance Learning classes at Lane. Also, I WILL HIDE ALL MOODLE GRADES AT 5PM ON THURSDAY, when final exams have been completed. I will then do as I did for the midterm exam. I'll run an item analysis, check for poor questions, consider exam difficulty, make any upward grade adjustments, etc. ONCE I HAVE FINISHED WITH THIS PROCESS, SOMETIME ON FRIDAY, I will unhide all Moodle grades, send you a final announcement, and you will see your final grade in the course. Please, no emails or Moodle messages saying "I can't see my grade" between 5pm Thursday and whenever you get my email announcement on Friday. I want to thank those of you who have completed the Hybrid Course Evaluation survey (in Moodle). If you haven't done it yet, please do. Whatever extra credit earned by those students who complete this is NOT currently reflected in your Moodle grade. It will appear after the final exam closes and final course grades are revealed to students sometime on Friday. That's all for now. Good luck with your studies. Joe HST201 Final Exam Week REMINDER by Joe Escobar - Friday, 11 February 2000, 08:19 PM Hello all, If you have not done so already, tomorrow is the last day to take your final exam. I was just asked by the testing lab coordinator to let you know that over 800 students campuswide are still scheduled to take computer exams by 5pm, when the lab closes tomorrow. So, please plan accordingly and don't wait until the last minute. HST201 End of Term - Last Announcement by Joe Escobar - Sunday, 13 February 2000, 01:19 AM Hello students, If you completed the survey, you will see a line in the Moodle gradebook that reads: Hybrid Course Questionnaire Scores ignored 1.0 100.0% I thank those of you who took the time to complete the Hybrid Course Questionnaire. I plan to read them over the break and put your good ideas to work for students who take my courses in future terms. Well, the term has come to a conclusion. Final exams are over. The class final exam score average was MUCH higher than the midterm, as I expected it would be. All scores were increased by just 2%. Final course grades have been calculated and are now available on the class Moodle site. Look at the last line which reads: FINAL GRADE IN CLASS HST 201 Letter Grade Percentage Grade to see your final grade in this class. NOTE: If you completed the extra credit survey, then your final grade in class percentage is actually one point higher than what you see in the gradebook. (Moodle can't automatically add one extra credit point to a class that uses weighted grades as ours does.) IT IS VERY IMPORTANT that you check your official LCC transcript grades, available next week. The Moodle and ExpressLane systems are not "connected" for grading, so it is possible that data entry mistakes could occur, although I believe I've been very careful. Enjoy your Winter Break. You've earned it. Sincerely, Joe Escobar