Towards the end of the term you started adding another forum that we had to post to. I think that you should post both forums at the beginning of the week so that we have more time to do the initial and then more time reply and have more discussions.

The forums were an easy A. I, myself, twice did not get full credit for forums, but it was very understandably my own fault.  The due dates and what's expected were laid out clearly.  One thing that may not be 100% apparent from the grading style, is if students actually kept up on the book reading before posting.  I know at one point I had not read the chapter but posted anyways and received full credit.  The grading style may separate those just posting anything and those too honest to post.

As someone with an extremely heavy work/school schedule, I decided to take an online class for the ability to work as I needed when I had time. Although I understand your frustration with people posting just before the deadline, I felt it unfair to penalize students for posting before a deadline when the assigned work is technically on time. I also wish you had accepted late work for the same reason. I found the length of assignment reasonable, and the group sizes reasonable as well. Whether or not it was worth the time and effort varied from week to week. Some groups were fun and engaging, others were downright frustrating and difficult to respond to.

At first I found it confusing as to what was appropriate to respond to on another student's post. I thought that by asking a question, even hypothetical, that it helped carry the thread forward. I know for me that having two chapters to read in a week plus watching the videos was a little daunting with the other class work I had to do during the week.

 The main issue I had with the forum was the Wednesday deadline. I work full time and take other classes as well and sometimes it was hard to have reviewed the material and post by Wednesday. I know you released the material in advance so we could work through it over the weekend, but it seems I was using the weekends to finish prior week.

Initial deadline was too early, for me personally, because I often work late at night so I didn't have adequate time for all of the readings and videos. However, as an instructor, I could see how hard it would be to anticipate everyone's schedules, and the need for "back and forth conversations" between students throughout the week. I wish there was a little bit more feedback rather than just scores on our forum posts, although in the syllabus there were pretty clear guidelines for the posts. Some weeks I had not much clue why I failed, and some weeks I was shocked I got an A. I believe the length of each assignment was appropriate. I learned a lot in this class, so I have to say it was worth my time and effort. However, it was my highest stress class, and so mentally not all worthwhile.

I rated this class as well above average and highly effective.  That said, at times it has been a struggle to complete all the reading and viewing.  I thought this course took more of my study time per week than my on campus LCC courses.  On the other hand, I feel very well versed on the Vietnam War by now, so it is hard to complain.  I am a hard worker and studier, but I wonder if the average student can adequately manage the reading, viewing and posting assignments.  

Having the deadlines (seems reasonable from your end) but can be difficult to meet the two deadlines. Though, I think it is the best method, because I cannot come up with a better solution. I like that the forum posts counts for a substantial part of our grade, (because I'd rather write an essay than take a test) however, to draft a GOOD post with solid info which is all sourced can take awhile, so often times felt I was stressing for a post, which I know cannot be worth more than 3-4 pts, didn't feel worth my time.

Perhaps, heavier topics that everyone can relate to (agent orange, PTSD, knowing vets, ect) those forums could stay open longer -even until the end- for students to discuss these topics over time as they learn more facts. 

*I really was hoping for an interview-a-vet assignment all term! I think that it is a way for people to connect this information with their everyday lives and understand perspective again.*  

My best solution: 

Make it so a student has a requirement of 20 forum posts / 10 weeks -OR- 50 forum points that can be met w/in 10 weeks

This is a way for some students to completely fail or for others to get ahead!

I think the initial deadline is important to have, everything else on the list is fair and adequate. In my opinion, yes I do think the forums are worth the time and effort required because they can be a great learning tool, a great way to get involved in the class, these forums really helped motivate me to dig right in to the material. 

Again just my opinion here, but the forums could be better if: a) students participated more, and b)  if there were more questions. Students may actually get involved more if there were more question to choose from when addressing them.

When taking an online class, it's easy to forget that your interpretation of the materials and information isn't the only way to view them. I sincerely enjoyed being able to interact with the other students and see perspectives that were different from my own. I was amazed as to how exposure to opposing views facilitated the learning process and an increased comprehension of the course. The one week timeline for assignments allowed enough time to complete the, sometimes daunting and intimidating, amount of reading. It was definitely well worth the time and effort.

It was well put together, just took a couple weeks to get used too. 

I enjoyed the forums! They gave us a chance to connect and receive other points of view. I do not believe the deadlines were unreasonable or hard to meet. I work 40 hours a week, and took full time credits and had NO issue with getting less than an A+ on the forums. I actually got a B on my first forum because even though the instructor stated it, it wasn't clear to me that I could post as much as I wanted. The A+ grade was in my hands and I realized that after the first forum. The length of the forums was perfect as well because (within deadlines) one could pop in quickly and make a post or response. I even did it at work a few times. Shhh...

I think you should have an example of good posts so people can see how often a week to post, an idea of how long or detailed they should be and differences between a 1.2&3 posting.

other than the slight confusion with instructions, the deadlines, time frame, groups, etc were fair.

I liked the coarse and nothing really felt like a waste of time.

I felt that this course was more than just interesting. I enjoyed reading and learning new information about the Vietnam War. There were many great aspects to learning things I wasn't aware of happening prior to the war. I found that the instructor is very passionate about what he wants his students to walk away with. There is a lot of reading to keep up with and documentation that needs to happen. I do not regret taking this class even though I did not need this class for my degree. I can walk away knowing that I done my best considering I had limited resources and access to the internet. I would strongly suggest before taking an online class that you have constant access to internet. I felt that had my instructor known I was a student that needed certain help with my understanding and comprehension in completing test. I could have gotten more help. But, I thank him for everything and being so patient and helpful to all students.   

I think everything involving the forum posts went very streamlined and worked well. The post scoring scale was new to me, but I got used to it quite fast. One week length for assignment is normal, and good. As far as being worth my time and effort, you betchya. Being able to converse and bounce things off our peers was very educational, and served as a very useful tool to help facilitate the learning of all things talked about regarding the Vietnam war. 

I felt the forum scoring was fair and provided good guidance.

I learned quite a bit in this class. The only part that confused me week after week was the heading on forum posts. 

I think the deadlines were fine, and the groups were good. Maybe the subjects could be a little more accessible (as in easier to find and get to. Clicking through to a couple different pages isn't a huge deal, but it felt like unnecessary work.)
Questions were good and very easy to expand on, although more instructor feedback would be nice, not just peers.

The forums were a challenge for me as they were one more thing to juggle. This class required a great deal of reading and video watching, and to carve out time to write three substantial posts--and one by Wednesday--seemed to be asking more than I was able to do. There was just too much going on. 

At first I was a little thrown by the forum posts, because I felt I needed time to do the reading for the week before I could post. I soon realized that the first post could reference reading from the previous week, and subsequent posts could utilize reading from the current week. It might be helpful to point this out to students. The other difficulty that I had in my forum posts was citations. As I did the reading, I took notes, but did not write down page numbers, as you instructed us to use in our citations. It might be helpful to prompt students to keep track of page numbers in their notes.

Also, for my first forum post, I basically wrote a paper. It would be helpful to include example posts in the syllabus, perhaps one of each potential score, so we would know what is expected from the beginning. But overall, I think we caught on pretty quickly.

I really enjoyed many of the forum discussions.

I felt there was too many topics for the forum covered each week. Otherwise this was an excellent way to stimulate discussion and learn from my peers.

Your timely responses helped me to improve my fourm post.

I don't think the forums really got people discussing the topics in depth. I believe an in class setting would be more effective for this class.

I have taken a class that did not require any materials and it was very helpful and easy. I have also taken classes that had free books online. But that I have also taken classes that require books that cost way to much and some that are very cheap, I think that instead of taking away the physical textbooks, they should just lower the price of them, so that some people can actually take classes that they need, but cannot because of the price of the required books.

I already purchase my books by etext by ipad, phone, and laptop and only print out what I need from my home printer.  It's useful to have short website links because I can print it out and highlight, but a textbook isn't worth using the paper.  I think most people understand "dead links" and can either navigate around it or it can inform you in order to get another source.

If someone is worried about paper and ink cost compared to free online sources, they may not realize how easy it is to obtain refillable syringes for ink cartridges and about five bucks for more than enough paper.  I can buy a really nice printer for the cost of a book, even rental books.

This term I checked out the Appy book from the Eugene Library, so that was free. I also rented the Herring book from Amazon and it was only 13 dollars, so I spent next to nothing on materials. It doesn't make too much of a difference to me whether we're reading online or from a physical book. I have constant access to my laptop so printing wouldn't be necessary, and as long as the links are well organized surfing to different sites doesn't bother me at all. I've taken one other online class, but the materials were all instructor-written and on one site so it was much different. 

I do not like to spend hours reading online. If I have something large to read, I print it out and read it in sections.  I am kind of on both sides of this, by printing out what I need and being able to highlight on it is good, but then again if I had to do that for the whole textbook it would be very time consuming and costly.

 I am all for not buying textbooks. The books required for this course were inexpensive, however there are many vast free resources out there. I have never taken a class with free online materials only.

As a college student who makes minimum wage, and pays their own bills, I am not very willing to buy college textbooks. I often skip them entirely, or rent them, if I can't find them cheap to purchase on Amazon. However, I have had instructors provide many dead links and that escalated to confusion and irritation among students, and it's a hassle. I do have to say that I would prefer to spend a little more time researching on the computer than buying costly textbooks, if that were a feasible option. I have a printer, and it uses toner instead of ink, so it is a much cheaper option for students. I also had to print out all of the transcripts to the Episodes of War videos to highlight and follow along. I have taken a class that used online materials, and it was simply a pdf file of the textbook. We didn't have to read much out of it, so I printed the couple of chapters we did need. I hate staring at a screen to read, and lose my place all of the time. For those of us students who do not have access to printers, online-only material would be unfortunate for those like me, who can't read for long periods of time on a screen. 

This class provided many free downloadable materials, I find this course to be above average in use of available current technology.  I prefer to read in length on paper. It seems easier on the eyes and is easily transportable without needing an internet connection.

I HATE the system that is college text books. It's a scam. Yes, information online will need to be organized and instructors will need to take measures against links disappearing or changing (however if this was a campus-wide request, I'm almost certain there would be LCC help outlets which would help teachers with this...) and these measures will take more TIME, but to people who don't have a lot of MONEY, this problem can be solved with TIME. Also, if we hate the idea of uneducated people, why do we hide the information that could elevate their knowledge and change humanity altogether?

I developed my far-out opinion after a course I took @ UO, in which the professor required 4 FICTITIOUS PEICES OF LITERATURE (which would have been anywhere from $60-250, depending on the quality) and A PACKET FROM THE 'COPY STORE' WHICH COST $15. I only bought the packet because I knew that these old-ass books would be online, and voila I was reading the same books as my peers, on my computer, for 5-20 mins of my time searching for the book. (In case you were wondering, we never opened the packet, because we simply 'lost time' in the course.)

COMM 105, taught by Jay Fraiser, is a course @ LCC currently which only has material that is to be accessed online. Links went down during the term. Fraiser had back-up links with the same info. Jay had links available for every topic & was very organized & I think a role model for OER.

GEO 148, taught by Shelly Mortensen, @ LCC didn't require a book, she taught required material & provided us with links on moodle.

All I'm gonna say here is, all the online material is great, but I think we still need our books, and no I would not want to print out the entire book.

While some textbooks can be ridiculously expensive, I still prefer a tangible organized book that I can hold in my hand. I find it difficult ,and sometimes physically detrimental to the eyes, to read too much or for too long from a computer screen. One of my other online classes has no textbook, only online material, and I find it more difficult to retain the information. If cost is such a problem, there are other alternatives than simply reading everything online. Being able to rent a textbook, like the Herring book, is a great option. 

Rent!!! so much cheaper

Personally, I do not like the idea of online books. They are harder for me to read, and if there is internet lag it makes it much more difficult. I had an online book this term, and it was still $60 and it expires after three terms. I really don't like the idea of online books. Maybe offer them as an option, but not the only option. If the book is free, fine maybe I could make it work. But for me, sitting down with a book makes me absorb the material so much better. I have not taken a class with only free online materials. I have worked with eBooks, and they are not free nor easy for me to use. 

I like reading printed material better, but this semester i have gotten used to online reading. I had a class this semester were she provided all the material we would need in her weekly lectures, which i did like alot as she put the information we needed plus extra links if we needed them. I have also taken online classes with online books, which was very costly because instead of ordering the book on amazon, i had no choice but to buy a. a copy of the book with the code for the website as well or b. pay the same amount for only online access to the book. It also got very confusing with having 5 classes each having its own website to go to for your reading and work. I do not have a printer myself but this sememster a class required that i print and write on pdf's then return them.. the library was awesome for this, just 10 cents a paper to print and then take a photo copy and send it back with a mobile device. That worked well. 

I do not want to spend more than $20 buying books for a coarse. Going to several websites is no problem for me. 

I think that yes, it would be beneficial for online books instead of having to purchase textbooks, paperbacks stink. I like the idea of printing a couple of chapters out at a time. Or say the instructions we need to know for the class. I also like the idea so students can create study guides how they need to so they can review for tests.

Personally, I would love to NOT buy these expensive text books and personalized class "notes" that are more often than not required of students to buy on top of tuition, fees, etc. I don't mind doing the majority of my reading online, or printing. I guarantee I would spend less $ printing (definitely if I print at public places like the Public library for example) compared to the amount of $ I spend on my textbooks. Plus, its easy enough to save useful links to your Favorites tab, making it simple to navigate to the pages used most often online (like a bookmark ). And yes, I have took a class that used only free, online materials. It was at LCC last Spring, ANTH 101. 

I'm very willing to purchase course materials and I've never taken a class where that was not the case.

I have never used a class like that and I would not want to. I use my lap top, kindle and smart phone depending on how I'm feeling and they all five me a headache. I don't like the Internet but know it is a necessary evil. 

I would love to save money on textbooks, but making everything online from multiple sources seems like a huge logistical nightmare. Maybe if it could be contained to some basic websites that are unlikely to change (government or something similar)

My first thought is: "fantastic, this will save me about $500 a term!" But having used an e-book for a class for the first time this term, I can say that so far I am not a huge fan. I already use my computer and other devices for most of my reading at work and for other aspects of my life, That being said, I don't want to have it consume all of my reading. I like books, I like flipping to an index to find something. Technology is convenient, but I need a break from it every now and then. I would be ready and hopefully able to handle a class that used all outside sources, I'm just honestly not sure how much I would like it. 

I really hate reading online. I even dislike writing on a computer. The screens hurt my eyes. I do, however, think that cheap or free reading materials are a good thing. I don't think that print off entire books cause more problems than it solves, because you can print pages very cheaply at school, and you can use "greener" paper if you choose. 

My biggest concern is the loss of books. I was really glad that this course actually had a real textbook, and second, companion real book as well! I have taken online classes before that just used internet articles, and the quality of education was much lower. So I think it depends on the quality of materials used. If the links are to real, challenging, scholarly writing, then free is better. If It is going to be a hodge-podge of magazine articles and blog posts, then I would rather have a book. 

Another point is that the textbooks for this class already exist and, generally, more do not need to be printed and purchased. Why not have Lane keep 30 copies in the library and lend them out? Or allow more of them to be on a rental basis? There are other ways to make education affordable without compromising quality. 

Prefer digital books on all platforms-computers, tablets, smartphones.

I would be okay with all free online materials.

I have no problem purchasing textbooks or printing materials of the web. I would prefer having a textbook over having to print everything out myself. I have never taken a class that had only free, online materials.

I do not think that google doc is a good thing to use. Some students do not have a gmail account so it makes it difficult and more work. I had a class that required it and google docs is very different and not a good thing to use in my opinion.

Yes, McGraw Hill does textbook multiple choice questions and quizes for chapters of text students are given.  LearnSmart also does a guided textbook reading with detailed due dates for easy progress evaluation.

Not that I can think of!

My writing instructor used shared google docs. These were great for her as she could edit and make comments on the doc itself. However, I don't see how that would be useful to you, as hers were essays she was reviewing.

Can not think of anything to add.

I don't necessarily think it's cool, but it might be useful for students like me, who need to follow along with words while watching videos that are so heavy. The link is for the PBS video transcripts, all 11, and they follow almost exactly. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/vietnam/series/pt_01.html

I would also recommend students to use StudyBlue.com. This website is a free one to make, share, and view note cards as you please. You can easily find students who are/have been in your specific class on your specific campus, and you have the option to upgrade to Pro for a monthly fee. This website helped me a lot because I am always on the go, and I could study while on lunch at work without bringing a massive stack of notecards with me every day.

WordPress is very useful, if you have not looked into it, I recommend that you do! I used Wikipedia a lot when I had questions that were not covered by the course materials.

I considered making myself a detailed time-line on Prezzi, but I'm not sure if it is sharable (like G.Docs).

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I can't think of any offhand.

No

Not that I can think of, I really think our Moodle site was sufficient. 

Maybe some type of video chatting? like send a video of you speaking you oppinion and another student answers in there own video in return? This may also be challenging for some people, but maybe adding it as an option would be better, cooler, and faster for some people.

canvas is what the UO has but moodle is just as good. 

Google docs are very helpful and could be a great benefit for students to send assignments in.

I mean, google docs works well and is free. But I was a big fan of the Moodle forum, and think that by itself suffices. We can post links, make our own forums, pretty much anything and everything we need to do to get a good grade.

I don't know.

The only other Web based program that I have used was a picture site that I've already forgot the name of

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I have found Google Docs very helpful in other classes, and would recommend using that for this one as well. 

The women's studies program has a facebook group on which we share links to feminist-related topics. It is a place for discussion, but part of why it works is that most people have similar views. We don't have any anti-feminism people participating. Participation in a US History/Military Issues facebook group could be really interesting, but would probably be too divisive. Bafflingly, after taking this class there still seem to be a number of people who think war is a good thing.

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I do use Google docs.

No

I may or may not pass this class, but I loved taking it. There is a lot of work, that you need to find a good balance and what days to do certain things before everything is due, but you learn so much, its worth it. The only thing I would change is the 2 forum you have been having us do. Do it earlier in the week so that we can do the first posts on both of them, and then have more time to reply and discuss. By the time I went through and replied to everyone on the first one, I found it hard and pressed for time to reply to everyone on the second one. And was having a hard time making a discussion with the other students.

Overall, I think this class is awesome. You are a great instructor and respond very timely. I would recommend anyone who has the slightest interest in history, take this class.

My only recommendation is to put a recorded video of yourself like an introduction. Online classes are so impersonal...

Written feedback to personal posts on the forum would be helpful. Maybe a warning on the extensive nature of the exams as well, even though I studied the materials I felt extremely unprepared and overwhelmed with the depth and length of the midterm.

Think you covered all that I could think of to ask or recommend/improve.

I would have the initial forum post be due on the weekend. I believe more students would make the deadline that way.

I would suggest weekly quizzes, maybe even optional ones for practice, to help students prepare and gain more confidence for the exams. I often find that classes that provide these, I have more success in.

Although it is a personal preference of the Professor, I would get some feedback on how students feel about the exams on campus. I personally have to pay $30 an hour for my exams and so I feel rushed to finish in an hour, which makes for a high-stress exam and also often makes me less successful. Although I appreciate the no-time limit, it does not help in my personal situation, because the money comes right out of my own pocket. 

Thank you for making this available to me, I really appreciate it.  I also really appreciate the thoughtfulness and amount of time you put into preparing your course.  

If I think of something, I will feel free to email you, (if that is ok) because I think the survey was thorough.

 *I really was hoping for an interview-a-vet assignment all term! I think that it is a way for people to connect this information with their everyday lives and understand perspective again -maybe would work well as a forum post!!!

Not about a question you forgot here, but I think required quizzes would be very helpful too, because needing to study for them also helps a student get motivated, especially for online classes, plus they do help somewhat to be prepared for the exams.

A possible question that you might consider is "Do you, the student, feel that the material provided in this course was unbiased/well-balanced and allowed for independent and well-informed conclusions to be drawn?" Or something to that effect.

Go easy on the first couple week forum grades, as some people may not know what to do or how many posts to upload

The reading was a little much at times, and sometimes the Herring book was a little hard to follow. I usually would read my Herring book, and then watch the DVD to sort of grasp the concepts better. Also, the amount of questions on the tests were a bit overwhelming, and the midterm was very difficult. I have not taken the final yet, but maybe if the tests are going to be so long, lower the question complexity some. 

Those were the only negatives about this course, and I wouldn't really even call them negative. I learned a lot about the subject at hand in this course. I really enjoyed Joe, even though I have never met him. He always got back to me in 2-3 hours at the very most but usually within the hour. This class was the perfect balance of challenging. It challenged me enough to work hard at it, and not be too easy. I really enjoyed this course. 

I would strongly advise that students do not take this course if they can't handle the amount of reading. I am almost graduated from Lane and this was the most reading I have been assigned weekly in a college course. I am not complaining, I am just saying if you are not disciplined to do the readings, this course is probably not for you. 

examples of posts.

Not sure. I thought the midterm was kind of out of line with what was said. By that I mean that some of the questions sounded really subjective when we were expected to more about facts than sentiments of the War.

Just have regular access to the internet.

I think over all it was a damn solid course. Everything was laid out quite clear as far as directions, instructions, due dates, etc. The coursework as well as the videos were very entertaining. I am more than satisfied with my experience in your HST 195 class as a student. 

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For old forgetful people like me, the only suggestion would be to spell or the grading of forums a little better. What type of posts get what score. 

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I would have appreciated one less item per week; one less video or reading assignment. I was often overwhelmed with materials. 

I really loved this class. I feel that it has been very important to the development of my passions and worldview. I have long since been committed to pacifism, but the content of this class helped me be more informed in my opinions. Also, the use of war footage was very deeply impactful on me, and helped to shake me out of complacency. It is unfortunate that we do not see such images of the wars today, but the same scenes unfold every day. I might suggest that you prepare new students for the disturbing and graphic images that we see. I was not expecting to see these things, and while I am very glad that I did, I was very devastated and it actually made the class very emotionally challenging for me. I appreciate the experience very much, but some students might appreciate being prepared for this. I think this could also serve to highlight the importance of what we are dealing with, that the images we are seeing are real human beings and their deaths should not be taken easily in stride. 

Less materials. Excellent course all in all. Very challenging and stimulating.

I enjoyed this class, because it was so well organized.

Nothing that I can think of.