Contact Information
Instructor: Dr. Mary Beth Booth, O.D. (Associate Professor, Geography)
Office: Room 2145, Building 2000
Northridge Campus
E-mail: mbooth@austincc.edu
Mailing address:
Telephone: 512-223-4023
Fax number: 512-223-4310
Office Hours: First 8 week session (January 17th – March 9th)
Monday and Wednesday
11:15 am – 5:15 pm
SAC Room 1224 (Note: If I am not in Room
1224, look in Room 1207)
223-9207
Thursday
7:30 am – 12:30 pm
NRG Room 2145
223 - 4023
(Or by appointment)
Second 8 week session (March 19th
– May 10th)
Monday and Wednesday
9:30 am – 2:30 pm
SAC Room 1224 (Note: If I am not in Room
1224, look in Room 1207)
223-9207
10:00 am – 1:00 pm
NRG Room 2145
223 - 4023
(Or by appointment)
This course introduces the student to an area of study that brings together and interrelates the important elements of the physical environment of humans. The nature and characteristics of the physical environment, their development and distribution are emphasized.
Introduction to Physical
Geography GEOG 1301 is designed to provide students with a basic knowledge of
the earth’s environment and its components and the interrelations among
the various environmental elements; provide a general education that assists
students to think critically, and to apply the basic knowledge, skill, and
principles of physical geography to everyday life and their chosen careers; and
to prepare students for transfer and success in a baccalaureate degree granting
institution.
Course Objectives
By the end of this course, the student will:
·
Be able
to describe what Geography and Physical Geography are.
·
Understand
the physical principles and processes governing the circulation and
characteristics of the atmosphere and climates on Earth.
·
Understand
the physical principles and processes governing the circulation and
characteristics of water on Earth.
·
Understand
the principles of geomorphology and the processes that shape the landscape.
·
Understand
the distribution and dynamics of organisms and their environments.
·
Understand
the directional and locational systems employed on the surface of the Earth
·
Be able
to use and analyze maps.
This course is an on-line Internet-based course. Students will read/study the textbook, complete Internet-based multiple choice quizzes on the companion website for the textbook, and take four tests that cover the textbook material. The course will be administered through the ACC Blackboard site (http://acconline.austincc.edu). Once you have enrolled in the course, go to this website and click on the “Login” button. If you don’t already know what your User ID/password is, click on the “What's my User ID?” link in the upper right hand of the web page. Once you are logged in. follow the link to this course (Introduction to Physical Geography - GEOG 1301 ((48742)). If you are not familiar with Blackboard, go to http://irt.austincc.edu/blackboard/student.html for an online tutorial on how to use Blackboard. If you have trouble logging in to Blackboard, email or call the instructor immediately.
Required Textbook
Hess, Darrel and Dennis Tasa. 2011. McKnight's Physical Geography:
A Landscape Appreciation.
Technology
Requirements: You will need the following:
Reliable Internet access and a working ACC email address ("working" also means that your mailbox is not full.) Computers with Internet access are available at each ACC campus. (See http://irt.austincc.edu/collegecomputers/ for details).
Email in Blackboard
Every ACC student is given an email account through ACC. This email address will end with @g.austincc.edu. This is the email address that I will use and the college will use to contact you throughout the semester. Because this is an online class and my primary way to communicate with you will be via email, as a requirement of this course, you MUST activate your ACC email account and check it at least four times per week. To learn more about this email and how to activate it, go to http://www.austincc.edu/accmail/. Activate it today and start checking it regularly. There is a way to forward the email from this account to your regular email account if you so wish. See the above link for more information.
The last day to
withdraw from this course for this 12-week Spring 2012
session is Monday, April 23, 2012. It is the YOUR responsibility to withdraw from
the course if needed. Normally I will NOT withdraw you from the class
once you have started it. The only students that the instructor will
withdraw are students who have never logged into Blackboard by March 10, 2012.
Academic Integrity
Students enrolled in this class are responsible for observing the policy on academic integrity described in 2011-2012 ACC’s “Information You Need to Know” (http://www.austincc.edu/current/needtoknow/ ).
Acts prohibited by the college for which discipline may be administered include scholastic dishonesty, including but not limited to cheating on an exam or quiz, plagiarizing, and unauthorized collaboration with another in preparing outside work. Academic work submitted by students shall be the result of their thought, research, or self-expression. Academic work is defined as, but not limited to tests, quizzes, whether taken electronically or on paper; projects, either individual or group; classroom presentations, and homework.
If a student commits any of the
above actions, the instructor may seek disciplinary action in the form of an
academic penalty (which may include a course grade of 'F'). Such disciplinary
action will be at the discretion of the instructor.
Each ACC campus offers support services for students with documented
physical or psychological disabilities. Students with disabilities must request
reasonable accommodations through the office for Students with Disabilities on
the campus where they expect to take the majority of their classes. Students
are encouraged to do this three weeks before the start
of the semester.
Each student is strongly encouraged
to participate in online discussions. In any educational situation that
includes discussion and critical thinking, there are bound to be many differing
viewpoints. Students may not only disagree with each other at times, but the
students and instructor may also find that they have disparate views on
sensitive and volatile topics. It is my hope that these differences will
enhance the discussion and create an atmosphere where students and instructor
alike will be encouraged to think and learn. Therefore, be assured that your
grades will not be adversely affected by any beliefs or ideas expressed in discussions
on Blackboard or in assignments. Rather, we will all respect the views of
others when expressed in discussions.
There are a series of Internet-based quizzes on the companion website for the textbook. These quizzes together will be worth a maximum of 100 points (3 points apiece). See below for details about the quizzes.
|
|
Total Points Available |
|
Lecture tests |
400 |
|
Quizzes |
100 |
Total Points available |
500 |
Grades will be based on the following:
Letter Grade |
Total Points Earned |
|
A |
450 - 500 |
|
B |
400- 459 |
|
C |
350 - 399 |
|
D |
300 - 349 |
|
F |
0 – 299 |
**NOTE: The grade of
“I” (Incomplete) is very rarely assigned in this course. In the
event that a true emergency (such as hospitalization) prevents the student from
taking the final, a grade of “I” may possibly be given at the
discretion of the instructor. Incompletes must be made up by the deadline
published in the official ACC academic calendar or the “I” will
automatically be converted to an “F”. This deadline is sometime
during the middle of the Summer 2012 semester, but it
is the student’s responsibility to check ACC”s official academic
calendar for the deadline and submit all work by that deadline.
**NOTE: The quizzes are meant to help you raise
your grade. Many people have difficulty with the tests as the tests cover a lot
of challenging material. But you can raise your grade by accurately completing and
submitting the quizzes by their respective deadlines.
Tests
There
will be four online tests but these tests MUST be taken at one of the ACC Testing
Centers. All the tests are multiple-choice. There are approximately 10 – 12
questions from each chapter. The tests are worth a maximum of 100 points each.
As
per ACC’s official policy, these secure online tests must be taken at one
of the ACC testing Centers which offer secure online testing through Blackboard
on a Respondus Secure Internet Browser. These are the only testing centers you can use: Cypress Creek,
Eastview, Northridge, Pinnacle, Rio Grande, Riverside,
Round Rock, South Austin, San Marcos, and Fredericksburg Academic Testing
Centers. Eastview and
BEFORE using the testing center, go to this website: http://www.austincc.edu/testctr/. Read all the information posted there about the
testing centers. Make sure you click on the “Student Testing Center
Information” and carefully read all the information posted.
Here
is the link to the information about how to take a secure online test at an ACC
testing Center: http://irt.austincc.edu/respondus/students.php. I strongly suggest that you print out this page
and read it over carefully before going to the testing center.
Once
you have logged into Blackboard at one of the testing centers, go to the main
page for this class. Click on the Exams button on the left side of the page and
then click on whichever exam you are taking. When it asks if a password is
required, click No. You don’t have to click Save
after each question, you just have to click Submit when you are all finished
the test. Do NOT click the Submit button until you are totally finished the
test. Once you have submitted the test, the test will be automatically graded
and your grade will be sent to the instructor’s gradebook in Blackboard.
You will be able to review your test and the correct answers if you wish to.
**NOTE:
If you are taking more than one test at a time, students are required to wait again in
line, if one exists, to take the next test. See this link for more details: http://www.austincc.edu/testctr/documents/STUDENTGUIDEFORUSEOFACCTESTINGCENTERStemporarybaa_001.pdf
There are NO make-up tests. There are NO retests.
**NOTE:
To get the most points that you can in this course, check the test deadlines
carefully and plan ahead so that you can take the tests by the stated
deadlines. Cars break down, children get sick, testing centers get very crowded
at the end of the semester, bosses want you to work overtime, and babysitters
don’t show up. So DO NOT wait until the last day to take the tests. If
you do, you run the risk of not getting to the testing centers on time and then
you will not be able to take the test.
Test Number |
Chapters covered |
Deadline |
|
1 |
1, 2, 3,
& 4 |
April 3, 2012 |
|
2 |
5, 6, 7, & 8, |
April 3, 2012 |
|
3 |
9, 10, 11, & 13, |
May 10, 2012 |
|
4 |
14, 15, 16, & 19 |
May 10, 2012 |
Note: All the tests will be in the testing centers at the beginning of the semester, so you can finish the course as quickly as you want to. But you must take Tests 1 and 2 by April 3rd and you must take Tests 3 and 4 by May 10th.
Please note: ACC will be closed for Spring Break from March 12 – March 18, so you will not be able to take tests during this week.
To encourage you to keep up with the course work, I have created extra credit opportunities for you. You can earn extra credit points by completing test1 and 3 by the following dates:
· If you take test #1 by March 5, 2012, you will receive 10 points extra credit.
· If you take test #3 by April 23, 2012, you will receive 10 points extra credit.
Note: Although there are 20 chapters in the book, we will only be covering 16 of them. Chapters 12, 17, 18, and 20 all contain very valuable information, but it is too difficult to cover all the chapters in a one-semester long course. I have chosen the 16 chapters that I think will best help you understand the physical world around you.
Internet Quizzes
For each chapter, you will need to complete Internet multiple-choice quizzes on the companion website for the book (http://wps.prenhall.com/esm_mcknight_physgeo_9/). You must score 70% or higher on the quiz to get credit for it. Each quiz on which you score 70% or higher is worth 3 points towards your final grade. All the Internet quizzes together will be worth a total of 180 points towards your final grade.
We are using the companion website for the 9th edition, because it is free. The companion website for the 10th edition is not free, so that is why we are using the previous one.
For each chapter except chapter 7, there will be 2 very short multiple-choice quizzes to take. Chapter 7 has 3 quizzes. Each quiz covers a particular topic in the chapter. For each quiz, choose the best answer for each question. Then click the “Submit Answers for Grading” button at the bottom of the page. IF YOU SCORED 70% OR HIGHER ON THE QUIZ, then email the results to the instructor by filling out the “Email your results” form at the bottom of the page. Make sure that you put your name, your email address and the instructor’s email address (mbooth@austincc.edu) in the appropriate boxes. Once you have filled out that information, click the Email Results button at the bottom of the page. For each of the 33 quizzes on which you score a 70% or better, you will receive 3 points.
If you scored less than 70% on a quiz, do NOT email the results to the
instructor. Instead, take the quiz as many times as you want until you do score
a 70% or higher. Then email that result to the instructor.
I encourage you to take all the quizzes for all the chapters, but
PLEASE only email me the results of the quizzes listed below.
To access the quizzes, go to http://wps.prenhall.com/esm_mcknight_physgeo_9/. Then click on the appropriate chapter link. Click on the Quizzes button on the left. Then finally, click on the quiz number that you wish to take.
You must submit the results for all of the quizzes for Tests 1 and 2 by
April 3, 2012. You must submit the results for all of the quizzes for Tests 3
and 4 by May 10, 2012.
NOTE: The tests will cover all the topics in the textbook, not just the
topics covered by the Internet quizzes.
See below for the quiz numbers for each chapter that you will need to take.
Test 1
Chapter 1
Quiz 1.5
Quiz 1.6
Chapter 2
Quiz 2,1
Quiz 2.3
Chapter 3
Quiz 3.3
Quiz 3.4
Chapter 4
Quiz 4.3
Quiz 4.5
Test 2
Chapter 5
Quiz 5.1
Quiz 5.3
Chapter 6
Quiz 6.1
Quiz 6.7
Chapter 7
Quiz 7.1
Quiz 7.2
Quiz 7.5
Chapter 8
Quiz 8.1
Quiz 8.10
Test 3
Chapter 9
Quiz 9.1
Quiz 9.5
Chapter 10
Quiz 10.1
Quiz 10.3
Chapter 11
Quiz 11.1
Quiz 11.5
Chapter 13
Quiz 13.1
Quiz 13.3
Test 4
Chapter 14
Quiz 14.1
Quiz 14.2
Chapter 15
Quiz 15.1
Quiz 15.2
Chapter 16
Quiz 16.1
Quiz 16.2
Chapter 19
Quiz 19.2
Quiz 19.3
Study Guides for each topic are available on Blackboard. The study guides
are meant as an aid to help you study for the tests. To access the study
guides, click on the “Study Guides” button on the main Blackboard
web page for this class.
Suggested
Schedule
This
is JUST a suggested schedule to keep you on track. See the deadlines for
taking tests and submitting quizzes in the appropriate sections of this
syllabus (above). You do NOT have to
follow this suggested schedule as long as you take the tests and submit the quizzes
by the deadlines detailed in the in the appropriate sections of this syllabus
(above).
*NOTE* ACC will be
closed on March 12 – 18, so you will NOT be able to take tests on these
days
|
Topic |
Reading Assignment (McKnight) |
Suggested date by which you should complete this chapter |
|
Introduction |
Chapter 1 |
Feb
17 |
|
Portraying Earth |
Chapter 2 |
Feb
21 |
|
The Atmosphere |
Chapter 3 |
Feb
25 |
|
Insolation and Temperature |
Chapter 4 |
Feb
29 |
|
Test 1 |
|
Mar 3 |
|
Atmospheric Pressure and Wind |
Chapter 5 |
Mar
7 |
|
Atmospheric moisture |
Chapter 6 |
Mar
20 |
|
Transient Atmospheric Flows & Disturbances |
Chapter 7 |
Mar
24 |
|
Climate Zones & Types |
Chapter 8 |
Mar
28 |
|
Test 2 |
|
Apr 1 |
|
The Hydrosphere |
Chapter 9 |
Apr
5 |
|
The Biosphere |
Chapter 10 |
Apr
9 |
|
Terrestrial Flora and Fauna |
Chapter 11 |
Apr
13 |
|
Landform studies |
Chapter 13 |
Apr
17 |
|
Test 3 |
|
Apr 19 |
|
Internal Processes |
Chapter 14 |
Apr
23 |
|
Weathering |
Chapter 15 |
Apr
27 |
|
Fluvial Processes |
Chapter 16 |
May
1 |
|
Glaciers |
Chapter 19 |
May
5 |
|
Test 4 |
|
May 8 |