COURSE REQUIREMENTS - Please Read Carefully:

EXAMS AND ASSIGNMENTS:

There are three examinations with each exam counting 25% of your semester grade (total 75%), three contact essays each counting 5% of your semester grade (total 15%), and Blackboard work counting 10%. The examinations are on file at the Northridge, Rio Grande, Pinnacle, Round Rock, Cypress Creek, Eastview, South Austin, San Marcos, Fredericksburg, and Riverside Testing Centers. In order to take the tests at any of these testing centers you must present a valid ACC ID and a picture ID before you will be allowed to take the exam. Because of end of semester time restraints, you cannot take the third exam at the San Marcos or Fredericksburg Testing Centers unless you contact me two or three weeks prior to the exam. Exams are NOT located at the Bastrop, Georgetown, Hays, Leander, and Pflugerville Centers.

The exams, which include the videos and the readings, will be a combination of one essay question (20 points) five definitions or short answer (5 points each) and eleven true/false and multiple choice questions (five points each). You should give yourself approximately one hour to complete the exam. Most of the essay questions should average in length of about one page. The Telecourse Study Guide, while not required, could be beneficial for exam preparation as well as the online study guides linked to the syllabus. For information about the Contact Essays and Blackboard work, see below.

RETESTS:

You may take one retest for each of the first two examinations but all retests must be completed no later than July 22. There is no retest available for the third test. The retests, while identical in format, will not have the same questions as the original tests although the study sheets will be applicable. Retests will ONLY be given at the Northridge, Rio Grande, South Austin or Riverside Testing Centers. I will average the two scores together to arrive at your grade on that particular exam. You must have your Student Test Request from the initial test in order to take the retest. Be sure to save this. It will take me about 7 to 10 days to receive, grade, and post your retest grade.

GRADES:

Exam 1 = 25%
Exam 2 = 25%
Exam 3 = 25%
Contact Essay 1 = 7%
Contact Essay 2 = 8%
Blackboard Assignment 1 = 5%
Blackboard Assignment 2 = 5%

Final grades will be assigned on the basis of A =Excellent, 90 - 100; B = Good, 80 - 89; C = Average, 70 -79; D = Fair, 60 - 69; and F = Failing. Incompletes will be given only in very special circumstances, usual medical, and then only if you have a passing average on at least 75% of the course. You must see me to SIGN YOUR REQUEST for an incomplete. It will not be valid without your signature and incompletes must be signed at least ten days prior to the end of the semester.

I will post grades to the Grade Center in Blackboard a week to ten days after you take the exam. Because of FERPA guidelines, the College frowns on faculty sending grades via email or posting them in any other way. If you want your exams mailed to you, please leave me a self-addressed stamped envelope or attach the s.a.s.e. to your test.

SEMESTER CONTACT ESSAYS:

You must complete two contact essays, which will be 15% of your final grade. Your first must be submitted between May 31 and June 28 and the second between July 5 and July 26. Contact assignments will be penalized if you miss the deadline or if you submit failing work, otherwise they will be graded on the basis of "A" equals exceptional work, "B" equals good work, "C" average work, and "D" poor work. Each contact should be a response to the following TWO questions:
1. What I found most interesting and thought-provoking in the readings is . . . . and why.
2. What I found most interesting and thought-provoking in the videos is . . . . and why.

The answer to each question should be 20 to 30 sentences in length and drawn from only the material covered within the contact dates. For example, contact essay number one will cover only the assigned materials between May 31 and June 28 and essay number two only the material between July 5 and July 26.

Please email your contact assignment as a MS Word or RTF document and in the Subject Line type Contact Essay. When you submit your contact, please include your name, the course section number and your student ID number. If you have problems with technology, please contact the ACC Help Desk. I would recommend not waiting until the very last day - having technology problems is not an excuse to miss a deadline. Please only use .doc or .docx file extensions and include both essays in the same document.

  • Contact essays that simply answer or respond to one of the study guide questions will be given a grade of zero.
  • The "why" part of the essays is important. Explain yourself.
  • Contact essays that miss the deadline will be penalized five points per day.
  • Contact essays that fail to meet the minimum length, 20 sentences per essay, will be given a grade of 50 at the maximum.
  • Each contact essay will include two essays, one over a video and another over the reading.
  • Each contact essay should reflect your own thinking and not that of a classmate.
  • The contact essays are not simply a summary of the readings or the video; it is your thoughtful reflection on a section of the reading or a video
  • Please give the name of the video or the sections in the book which you are commenting on.


    BLACKBOARD ASSIGNMENTS:

    You must complete two Bb assignments, which will total 10% of your final grade, each assignment counts 5%. Your first must be submitted between June 10 and July 12. Blackboard assignments will be penalized five points per day if you miss the deadline. You are asked to publically reflect upon a question supplied by me and no two students can choose the same question. A list of questions will be posted to Bb within the first two weeks of class and first come first serve.
    After you choose your question, hit reply and let the class know which number/question you choose. Be sure to write your question down in a safe place. This first assignments should be about 1/2 page in length. Your second assignment is to respond to a classmate's first assignment and no two people can respond to the same assignments. To help in forming your response, you might ask yourself: are there things in the videos and/or readings that would support the position taken? Not support the position taken? Do you agree with the position? Disagree? Explain why you agree or disagree? BE NICE. This is not an opportunity for you to attack someone's beliefs or thoughts. You can critique and disagree, but not attack.

    ONLINE WORK:

    In addition to the work listed under Blackboard Assignments above, you are asked to post any questions you have about the readings or videos and to respond to the questions of others might have. There will be separate Forums for each exam and a forum for me to post updates and other information as well as a forum where you can ask general questions about the course. In addition, throughout the semester I will post audio mini-lectures that discuss the exams as well as other course-related information. This is also where you can view the videos for the course. I encourage you to login often since this is our classroom.


  • STREAMING VIDEOS:

    Students taking a video-enhanced course like this one and desiring to use the streaming delivery mode will need internet access to view streamed telecourse materials through Blackboard. High speed internet access is strongly encouraged. Students can also view programs in the ACC Libraries as well as via Time Warner Cable, Suddenlink Cable, and Grande Communications.

    Students taking a video-based course and desiring to use the streaming delivery mode will:
    1. Log into the Blackboard site; your video-based Introduction to Philosophy course will be listed probably on the right side of the screen.
    2. Enter into our course.
    3. Look under Streaming Video on the left side of the Blackboard screen
    4. Click on "course" page and select program to view

    Additional information can be found on the Distance Learning site. If you have problems with the technology, contact the ACC Help Desk.

    WITHDRAWAL POLICY:

    If you decide not to complete the course, you MUST withdraw yourself. Failure to do so will result in your being given a "F" in the course. Almost all the failing grades in this course are a result of people not withdrawing. Don't be a statistic! The withdrawal deadline and additional information can be found on the Academic Calendar .



    Last updated May 23, 2013
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