College of the Redwoods
CURRICULUM PROPOSAL FOR DISTANCE EDUCATION COURSE
Date: 11-25-2013
1. Division: Humanities and Communications
2. Course ID and Number: HIST 4
3. Course Title: Western Civilization to 1600
SHORT TITLE (appears on student transcripts; limited to 30 characters, including spaces): Western Civilization to 1600
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?
This is an existing Distance Education course that is due for a routine update. It is an introductory level
course serving a wide variety of learners.
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 currently uses MyCR as the primary platform for delivery and communications. This includes
email, Discussion Forums, lessons, and announcements. MyCR has a number of course enhancements
including tests (with quiz, essay, and short answer features), a Gradebook, assignment submissions,
documents for student feedback drop boxes, the ability to upload content (text, visual, and aural), and links
to Internet pages. It also has the ability to use course packages from textbook publishers.
8. To illustrate the description in #7, describe what students in this course may do in a typical week of this
course. The course content for a typical week is made available to students on Saturday morning and most
of the work is due by the next Sunday night, giving students an eight day period in which to complete all
tasks. They will first read the Weekly Announcement which includes a recap of the syllabus entry for the
Curriculum Approval: 01.23.09
Academic Senate Approval: 03.04.09
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week, an overview of all weekly tasks, and reminders about upcoming long-term (multi-week) assignments.
They then go to the weekly Lesson which has two to three modules, each of which may have links to
readings, PowerPoint presentations, quizzes, reference documents, prompts for assignments, and links for
assignment submissions. They are instructed to complete the readings for the week, including a Lecture
written by the instructor which analyzes the written and visual material, then take the weekly Quiz. Each
week's tasks include at least one, and sometimes up to three, Discussion Forums based on a prompt written
by the instructor in which they are required to make one long original posting of their own by midweek,
and then cross-post to at least two other students before the Sunday night deadline. Over the course of the
semester, students are required to watch four full-length movies and write short analytical reviews based
on prompts written by the instructor to evoke historical interpretation of the material. There are also four
short Response Papers based on prompts which encourage students to analyze themes that span several
weeks' work. In addition, there is a 10-15 page essay due toward the end of the semester. The process for
developing this essay begin in Week 1 and continue with at least one task each week until the essay is due
in Week 13. Tasks include searching for primary source materials on the web and posting short reviews in
Discussion Forums that are available to all students, searching for secondary source materials, writing
thesis statements, outlines, and draft introductions and conclusions that get feedback from the instructor.
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.
Students receive direct instructor contact on a weekly basis in the form of weekly instructor-drafted course
announcements, lectures, and discussion and assignment prompts. They also receive feedback on
Discussion Forum postings from their fellow students and summary feedback from the instructor. Written
assignments receive elongated feedback from the instructor, usually in the form of Word documents using
Track Changes and Comments. The instructor is available by telephone during four office hours each week,
and through email with a 48-hour turnaround.
10. Describe the nature and frequency of student-student interactions in this course.
Students interact in several ways. The instructor structures Discussion Forum dialogues which are required
each week. There also can be peer-mediated communication assignments in which students interact using
the tools which fit their lives and are negotiated into their direct student-to-student cyber classroom
relationships. Many students email one another directly, supplement emails with phone calls, and can
create their own Discussion Forums through the MyCR class site for this purpose. When logistically
possible, students have also chosen to gather face-to-face in smaller groups, and they have the capability of
scheduling real-time live chats, employ cyber-mediated document-sharing tools (e.g. Googledocs), or
choose to communicate via social media sites.
11. Describe how you will identify and respond to students experiencing difficulty in this course.
The beginning assignments during the first two weeks of class walk students through the beginning steps in
using the functions of the class website, performing basic actions to achieve class success, and help both
students and instructor identify stumbling blocks that beginning online learners often encounter. The key
here is to offer trouble-shooting and materials to students who need extra support. It is important that the
instructor reach out early to students who miss assignments and offer support. The clear weekly structure
of the class helps students organize their schedules and routines, and the de facto eight-day week makes it
possible for students to have maximum flexibility in fitting the class schedule to their own lives. The stepby-step thirteen-week process of building the major essay helps students understand and achieve success
in constructing a large-scale written project.
12. Will exam proctoring be required?
No
Yes
If yes, who will proctor exams?
Curriculum Approval: 01.23.09
Academic Senate Approval: 03.04.09
2 of 4
13. Describe how assessments are used in this course to ensure that student work is evaluated effectively and
accurately.
Weekly quizzes are used to keep students focused on reading and allow both them and the instructor to
track their comprehension. Discussion Forums and Response Papers are used to evaluate their synthetic
comprehension. Grading rubrics are used to structure instructor expectations and to make clear to
students how credit is allocated on written assignments, e.g. the balance between information content and
writing mechanics. These rubrics are made available to students before assignments are due.
14. Describe the equipment and staff resources necessary to support the course for students and instructors.
Equipment includes computers and an Internet connection. When feasible, students can utilize this
equipment at CR campuses. CR also provides online library access to academic databases and other online
resources.
Staff support includes online registration, basic orientation to using MyCR, tehcnical support for resolving
problems of access, and tutoring and library advice services.
15. Describe the contingency plan for this course if access to the delivery system is interrupted.
Contingency plan would be to email students directly with alternative interim assignments. Phone calls
could be placed to alert students to this change in or delay to the plan if email access was interrupted. If
email is inaccessible for more than a week, there is no method reasonably to provide online education, and
this will become a matter of institutional mitigation.
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
3 of 4
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: Tobias Green
Approvals:
Distance Education Expert: Mark Winter
Associate Dean: Erin Wall
Tel. Ext: 2682
Date: 11-25-2013
Review Date:
Review Date: 12/2/13
CURRICULUM COMMITTEE USE ONLY
Approved by Curriculum Committee: No
Yes
Date: 12.13.13
Academic Senate Approval Date: 12.17.13
Board of Trustees Approval Date: 01.14.14
Curriculum Approval: 01.23.09
Academic Senate Approval: 03.04.09
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