College of the Redwoods
CURRICULUM PROPOSAL FOR DISTANCE EDUCATION COURSE
Date: 3-18-2012
1. Division: Business and Applied Technology
2. Course ID and Number: CIS 1
3. Course Title: College Computer Literacy
SHORT TITLE (appears on student transcripts; limited to 30 characters, including spaces): College Computer Literacy
4. Please select the distance education method that best describes how the course content will be delivered to most
students taking this class:
CTV
DE 52: One-way video and two-way interactive audio (delivered video and telephone)
ITV
DE 51: Simultaneous Interaction: Two-way interactive video and two-way interactive audio
Online
DE 71: Internet based - Simultaneous Interaction: Session under supervision of instructor not
available by line of sight using the Internet with immediate opportunity for exchange
between participants.
DE 72: Internet based - Delayed Interaction: Session under supervision of instructor not available by line of
sight using the Internet without the immediate involvement of the instructor.
Other
DE 53: Simultaneous Interaction: Two-way interactive audio only
DE 60: Text One Way
DE 70: Audio One Way
5. Attach course syllabus to this proposal.
6. What perceived need will this distance education course address?
There are no full-time CIS instructors at either the Del Norte or Mendocino campuses and
consequently CIS 1 is not being taught on those campuses. CIS 1 is either an elective or a
required course for several other programs. By offering CIS 1 online, students at those other
campuses that are pursuing other programs can meet their program requirements. Lastly, the
online modality offers students, who work full-time or are responsible for the care of others, an
opportunity to take this course.
7. Describe in detail how the course content will be delivered and how students will engage this content. Be sure
to describe the specific technologies and/or software to be used.
This course uses College of the Redwoods' Course Learning Environment (CLE). Students
must have a broadband Internet connection, a computer with the recommended operating
system, and office software installed. The course syllabus, weekly lesson plans, calendar,
lecture materials, supporting course materials, discussion forums, assignments, quizzes, exams,
gradebook, announcements, messages and email are all handled through the CLE interface.
Students are required to login several times every week to view and/or download course
materials. Students submit completed work via the "Assignments" submission link provided.
Students engage in weekly discussion forums. A "student lounge" discussion forum is provided
Curriculum Approval: 01.23.09
Academic Senate Approval: 03.04.09
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where students can collaborate. Students take quizzes and exams online. Lectures are delivered
in a variety of formats: 1) Web-based PowerPoint presentations. 2) Short closed-captioned
videos demonstrating particular skills (e.g. the use of section breaks to create multiple page
formatting options) In addition, if a student is struggling with a skill, a short customized video is
created and emailed to the student.
8. To illustrate the description in #7, describe what students in this course may do in a typical week of this course.
Login to the CLE to review Weekly Lesson Plan.
Read assigned material from text.
Read instructor-created lecture material.
Review material from websites identified in the lecture material.
Post a Discussion Forum message addressing critical thinking questions from instructor and
demonstrating knowledge gained from assigned reading.
Review assignment instructions.
Review supporting assignment materials such as podcasts, screencasts, or web-based
materials.
Review Discussion Forum message(s) posted for further discussion.
Reply to two other classmates' Discussion Forum messages describing their viewpoint or
position on the topic and sharing new knowledge gained from further research and/or reading
since their original message.
Complete and submit assignment via the CLE "Assignment" link.
Review Discussion Forum messages posted for further discussion.
9. Title V mandates “regular and effective” contact between DE students and the instructor. Describe the nature
and frequency of instructor-student interactions in this course.
Weekly discussion forum participation will be a required component of the course. Each
week, the instructor will post a discussion forum topic with multiple questions for students to
address through research from their assigned course materials and using the Internet. Students
must review the instructor's forum posting and respond by a certain date. The instructor may
reply to the student's response by asking additional questions that require further inquiry. The
instructor provides a "general questions" forum where students can post questions they have
about the course. These questions may be answered by other students in the course or the
instructor if no response is given. The instructor will prompt students to stay on task and on
time by using the calendar tool, announcements, messages and email. Students may send the
instructor messages and/or emails concerning questions about the course and expect a prompt
response. In addition, the instructor may hold a "virtual" office hour using synchronous
communication technology such as CCC Confer. Students will receive feedback from the
instructor on homework assignments, online activities, quizzes, and examinations
10. Describe the nature and frequency of student-student interactions in this course.
Each week, students are required to discuss the questions posed in that week's discussion
forum topic with two other students in the class. In addition, students are required to share
something new learned from their reading and/or research with these other students. As needed,
students can use the "student lounge" discussion forum provided by the instructor to discuss
course-related matters. Students are encouraged to support one another. As the opportunity
presents itself, students may assist and receive discussion forum credit for helping other
students that are struggling with conceptual material presented in the discussion forum topics.
As it occurs, students may provide answers to student-initiated questions posted to the "General
Questions" forum. Some online activities may require students to work in groups. In these
cases, asynchronous or synchronous communication can be used, but students will have the
experience of scheduling their group activities and will gain team-building skills.
11. Describe how you will identify and respond to students experiencing difficulty in this course.
Curriculum Approval: 01.23.09
Academic Senate Approval: 03.04.09
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Students who send a message or an email or post a question in the "General Questions"
discussion forum are responded to promptly. As the instructor reviews discussion forum
postings, they can quickly assess whether the student is struggling with the topic(s) being
discussed based upon their responses.
The instructor can respond in the discussion forum and further prompt the student to re-read the
appropriate material. Also, the instructor can have a more private conversation with the student
by sending them a private message.
Discussion forums, assignments, quizzes, and exams are graded promptly. The instructor will
make detailed comments regarding the score achieved and will refer the student to the materials
provided that were pertinent to the discussion forum, assignment or quiz.
Exam scores are reviewed by the instructor. Those students with scores that fall below average
or are significantly lower than any previous exam score, are notified via message, email, or
phone. Exam taking skills can be reviewed.
A periodic review of course grades is done to determine who is slipping. Those students are then
notified using the message and email system. Help is offered via an exchange of emails, a
telephone conversation, or a synchronous online communication.
Students who are not participating through the weekly discussion forums or assignments are
notified using the message and email system.
Students who do not respond to messages or emails are then called.
12. Will exam proctoring be required?
No
Yes
If yes, who will proctor exams?
13. Describe how assessments are used in this course to ensure that student work is evaluated effectively and
accurately.
Objective exams are developed and administered using the CLE Tests & Quizzes tool.
Objective exams are built from a random selection of questions from various chapter pools of
questions. In addition, the order of questions and multiple choice answers are randomized.
Students are given a set amount of time to complete an exam. Exam proctoring may also be
used. Tegrity’s Remote Proctoring feature ensures the integrity of exams taken off campus.
Using a webcam and microphone the student can take their exam at their home while Tegrity
records video of the student taking the test, along with the associated screen activity. The
recordings cannot be paused while the student takes the exam, and when completed, the
recording is immediately uploaded for the instructor to review. Assignments and quizzes are
developed by the instructor and administered by the appropriate CLE tool. Students submit their
completed assignments and quizzes to the appropriate CLE page and the instructor downloads
these submissions for grading. Assignments have a set period of time for completion. The
instructor provides feedback to the student through the appropriate assignment page and can
return student work marked up. All assignments, quizzes, and examinations will include detailed
instructions and grading criteria so that students will know what is expected for successful
completion of course assessments.
14. Describe the equipment and staff resources necessary to support the course for students and instructors.
Support from IT and CLE management staff will be necessary in case of log in problems or
outages
Curriculum Approval: 01.23.09
Academic Senate Approval: 03.04.09
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15. Describe the contingency plan for this course if access to the delivery system is interrupted.
Short term disruptions of less than a week or two can be handled using College of the
Redwood's email system or adjustments in due dates. Longer term disruptions over 2 weeks
would be problematic.
16. Both state and federal law require community colleges to design courses to ensure access for students with
disabilities, including compliance with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. Please indicate the steps taken to
ensure accessibility by checking the Yes, No, or NA boxes below. For further assistance with accessibility and
assistive technology, please contact DSP&S.
Yes No NA Requirement and Purpose
1. The course delivery provides a text equivalent for all non-text elements such as images,
animations, applets, audio/video files and art. This will enable a screen reader to read the
text equivalent to a blind student.
2. The course delivery provides descriptions for important graphics if they are not fully
described through alternative text or in a document’s content. The description would inform
a blind student of what a picture represented.
3. The course delivery ensures that information conveyed by the use of color is also
understandable without color. For example, so a blind or color-blind student could
understand a color-coded representation of DNA.
4. The course delivery provides textual equivalents to audio information (captioning). The text
will enable deaf students to know what others are hearing.
5. The course delivery provides an alternative audio description for multimedia presentations.
The sound will enable blind students to know what others are seeing.
6. The course delivery ensures that moving, blinking, scrolling, or auto-updating objects or
pages may be paused or frozen. The movement can be distracting for students with certain
disabilities.
7. If using faculty web site vs. college provided course management system, the web site
identifies, by labeling or other appropriate means, row and column headers. The
identification will enable screen readers to discern the headers, which disclose the purpose
of the data in the rows and columns.
Curriculum Approval: 01.23.09
Academic Senate Approval: 03.04.09
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Yes No NA Requirement and Purpose
8. If using faculty web site vs. college provided course management system, the web site
provides title frames and includes sufficient information as to their purpose and relationship
to each other. This will help blind students understand the organizational purpose of the
frame.
9. If using faculty web site vs. college provided course management system, the instructor has
ensured, through HiSoftware’s “Cynthia Says” http://www.cynthiasays.com/ or other
appropriate verification, the usability of pages, and will attach to this proposal evaluation
printouts of Section 508 and WCAG—Priority 1 compliance.
10. My course syllabus recommends that students who require accommodations for a disability,
such as accessible formatting of course materials, contact me immediately. Example: “In
compliance with equal access laws, I am available to discuss appropriate academic
accommodations that you may require as a student with a disability. Students are
encouraged to contact Disabled Students Programs and Services (DSP&S) for disability
verification and for determination of reasonable academic accommodations.”
Submitted by: Chris Romero
Approvals:
Department Chair: Clyde Johnson
Dean, Distance Education Geoff Cain
Division Chair/Director: Jeff Cummings
Tel. Ext: 4366
Date: 3-22-2012
Review Date: 3/22/12
Review Date: 4.19.12
Review Date: 4/12/12
CURRICULUM COMMITTEE USE ONLY
Approved by Curriculum Committee: No
Yes
Date: 4.27.12
Academic Senate Approval Date: 5.4.12
Board of Trustees Approval Date: 6.5.12
Curriculum Approval: 01.23.09
Academic Senate Approval: 03.04.09
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