College of the Redwoods
CURRICULUM PROPOSAL FOR DISTANCE EDUCATION COURSE
Date: 4/4/2013
1. Division: Business and Applied Technology
2. Course ID and Number: CIS 12
3. Course Title: Programming Fundamentals
SHORT TITLE (appears on student transcripts; limited to 30 characters, including spaces): Programming Fundamentals
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 12 is not being taught on those campuses. CIS 12 is a required course for the
CIS Networking AS and CA awards. By offering CIS 12 online, students at those other campuses
that are pursuing a CIS Networking award can meet this program requirement without traveling to
the Eureka campus. Also, the online modality offers many students, (especially the single parent
and displaced homemaker special populations under the Perkins Career-Technical Education Act
IV of 2006), 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.
The 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 the Alice software
program 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
1 of 5
where students can collaborate. Students take quizzes and exams online. Lectures are delivered in a variety
of formats: 1) Web-based PowerPoint/PDF presentations. 2) Short closed-captioned videos demonstrating
programming concepts. In addition, if a student is struggling with a concept, 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
 Review 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
 Take a quiz to assess knowledge
 Review lab instructions
 Complete and submit lab work via the CLE “Assignment” link
 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 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
 Post a reflection on the week’s materials and concepts to the Discussion Forum
 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 questions for students to address
through research from their assigned course materials and/or using the Internet. Students must
respond by a certain date. The instructor may reply to the student's response by asking
additional questions that require further inquiry. Students can expect the instructor to participate
in the discussion forums at least three times per week. The instructor will participate more
frequently when a thread involving the instructor exists.
In addition, students will be required to reflect on the material and concepts covered each
week by posting to a reflection forum at the end of the week. The instructor may respond to the
student if further questions about the material exist. Students can expect the instructor to
participate at least once in this forum per week.
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. Students can expect an answer within 48 hours.
The instructor will prompt students to stay on task and on time by using the calendar tool,
weekly announcements, messages and email as needed.
Students may send the instructor messages and/or emails concerning questions about the
course and expect a response within 24 hours.
In addition, the instructor may hold a "virtual" office hour using synchronous communication
technology such as CCC Confer.
Curriculum Approval: 01.23.09
Academic Senate Approval: 03.04.09
2 of 5
Students will receive prompt feedback from the instructor on homework assignments, online
activities, quizzes, and examinations. Students can expect feedback and scores posted to the
Gradebook tool within 5 days after submission.
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, at a minimum, 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 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.
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.
The instructor can also use virtual office hours, a teleconferencing tool like
CCCConfer and customized screen or podcasts to demonstrate concepts or skills that
the student is struggling with.
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.
Exams are developed and administered using the CLE Tests & Quizzes tool. Students are
Curriculum Approval: 01.23.09
Academic Senate Approval: 03.04.09
3 of 5
given a set amount of time to complete an exam. Exam proctoring may also be used via Tegrity
Remote Proctoring. 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. Test proctoring can also be
administered at another institution such as a library, a College of the Redwoods branch campus,
or another school’s test proctoring site. 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 prompt feedback to the student through the appropriate assignment page and can
return student work with embedded comments. All assignments, quizzes, and examinations will
include detailed instructions and grading rubrics so 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.
a) A learning management system that allows documents and grades to be posted.
b) Dependable access to a computer that is not more than 8 years old.
c) Dependable access to an internet connection, preferably high-speed.
d) Closed-captioning solution for custom created screencasts.
e) Support from IT and CLE management staff will be necessary in case of log in problems or
outages
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
4 of 5
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
Tel. Ext: 476-4366
Approvals:
Department Chair: Clyde Johnson
Dean, Distance Education MaryGrace McGovern
Division Chair/Director: Jeff Cummings
Date: 4/4/2013
Review Date: 4/4/13
Review Date:
Review Date: 4/4/13
CURRICULUM COMMITTEE USE ONLY
Approved by Curriculum Committee: No
Yes
Date: 04.12.13
Academic Senate Approval Date: 04.19.13
Board of Trustees Approval Date: 05.07.13
Curriculum Approval: 01.23.09
Academic Senate Approval: 03.04.09
5 of 5