College of the Redwoods
CURRICULUM PROPOSAL FOR DISTANCE EDUCATION COURSE
Date: February 2, 2013
1. Division: Humanities and Communications
2. Course ID and Number: ENGL 9
3. Course Title: World Literature: Early Modern to 20th Century
SHORT TITLE (appears on student transcripts; limited to 30 characters, including spaces): World Lit: Early Mod to 20th C
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?
The Multicultural and Diversity Committee identified ENGL 9 as a course “having the potential
to promote a diverse community and help attract diverse faculty." But ENGL 9 is rarely if ever
taught face-to-face due to concerns about enrollment. However, as a DE course, English 9 has a
much better chance of filling. Students at all locations would have the opportunity to enroll,
providing broad access to this general education and transfer-level elective. Additionally,
students who prefer a technologically-mediated learning process will benefit.
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 is organized by bi-weekly modules. Each module contains reading assignments
and reflective activities that can be assessed. Reading assignments include text and web-based
readings, instructor-authored readings & audio-lectures (captioned) and may include captioned
audio, video, and web-based multimedia assignments. Assessable reflective activities could
include student posts and replies to discussion forums, group projects, writing plans, critical
papers, peer editing exercises, and self-assessment activities.
Curriculum Approval: 01.23.09
Academic Senate Approval: 03.04.09
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The course uses College of the Redwoods' Learning Management System (LMS). Students
will be required to have a broadband Internet connection, a computer with the recommended
operating system, and an audio/video recording device (a smart phone, a PC video link, etc.).
Students would access the course syllabus, schedule, lesson plans, calendar, grade book, and
other supporting course materials through this system. Students would be required to login twice
a week to view or download course materials, submit assignments, contribute to discussion
forums, collaborate through group projects, and communicate with the instructor.
8. To illustrate the description in #7, describe what students in this course may do in a typical week of this course.
A typical week might include completing a reading assignment from the anthology (let’s say,
selections from “The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano” and “Narrative of
the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave.” Students would then do a reflection
activity and post to at least one “Conquest and Resistance Question” on the discussion
board. The next assignment might be to view Chimamanda Adichie, “The Dangers of a Single
Story” TED.COM talk and then join a group and contribute to the “The Danger of Single
Stories” group project found on the discussion board, in which small groups of students
write a paragraph together listing and describing examples of "Single Stories" (stories that
become unfairly "representative" of an entire culture or nation. An example might be Chinua
Achebe’s novel Arrow of God).
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.
The instructor and students would be in communication multiple times per week so that
regular contact would be maintained and the frequency would be the same as might be expected
in a face-to-face class. Students would be required to post substantive comments to threaded
discussion forums, reply to general e-mails, and access weekly assignments and materials in the
LMS. The instructor would monitor and respond to and evaluate student communications
regularly and would develop a record-keeping system that tracked student participation. The
frequency and quality of student work would be assessed weekly to create a feedback loop.
Those assessments would be integrated into the grading system so that students would be
motivated to contribute and to keep pace with the demands of the class.
10. Describe the nature and frequency of student-student interactions in this course.
Students would post to and reply to one another in discussion forums at regular intervals, at
least weekly. They would work together in small groups several times during the semester to
answer questions, create group projects, and to engage in peer-to-peer support in the critical
writing process.
11. Describe how you will identify and respond to students experiencing difficulty in this course.
The instructor would respond to student questions and concerns promptly and advise the
student based on the nature of their difficulty, usually within 72 hours of their query. The
instructor would also be proactive in reaching out to students who were not asking questions or
expressing concerns, but who were nevertheless struggling to participate fully or to succeed on
frequent, formative assessments (usually comments and scores for discussion forum
submissions).
Additionally, the instructor would maintain a threaded discussion for general questions
about the course and post "office hours" -- a firm deadline by which students might expect to
hear a response to their question or concern.
One common difficulty is poor student attendance and participation. The instructor will make
the attendance and participation policy clear on the syllabus. That policy will comply with current
English Department policy on attendance, participation, and progress (see sample syllabus).
12. Will exam proctoring be required?
No
Yes
Curriculum Approval: 01.23.09
Academic Senate Approval: 03.04.09
2 of 4
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.
Assessments will be frequent. Most will be formative and "low-stakes," such as providing
graded feedback on discussion board posts and group projects. Discussion board assignments
will scaffold skills so that students will develop paragraphing, quoting, summarizing, analyzing,
and evaluating skills in advance of their papers. Critical papers will generally serve as summative
assessments, and rubrics for papers will be available in advance and clearly articulate how
success is to be measured. Students will be required to submit papers through an institutionally
supported plagiarism-protection website, increasing the likelihood of originality and academic
integrity.
14. Describe the equipment and staff resources necessary to support the course for students and instructors.
Support from IT and LMS management staff.
15. Describe the contingency plan for this course if access to the delivery system is interrupted.
E-mail could be used in the short term; a commercial, social-networking site (such as
FACEBOOK) with private group capabilities could be used if a long-term disruption was
expected.
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: Ruth Rhodes
Tel. Ext: 2336
Approvals:
Department Chair:
Dean, Distance Education MaryGrace McGovern
Division Chair/Director: Rachel Anderson
Date: February 2, 2013
Review Date:
Review Date: 4/5/13
Review Date: 4/5/13
CURRICULUM COMMITTEE USE ONLY
Approved by Curriculum Committee: No
Yes
Date: 04.26.13
Academic Senate Approval Date: 05.03.13
Board of Trustees Approval Date: 06.04.13
Curriculum Approval: 01.23.09
Academic Senate Approval: 03.04.09
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