English 2322: British Literature I on the Internet
Online Orientation Information
Dr. Guzmán-Treviño
Summer 2004
(8-week)
I strongly encourage you to print this orientation information as well as the Course
Syllabus you will access via my TC webpage.
About Connectweb:
Below you will find important information about Connectweb. Once you get into the
program, you will learn a great deal more.
You must have a Connectweb license number. You won’t be able to stay in the class
without entering this number into Connectweb. You can get this license in one of two
ways: buy it at the TC bookstore (Ask for a Connectweb license.) for $26 or, within the
program, about three or four days after you first log in, you will see a message that you
need to purchase a license. Follow that link and you can pay with a credit card within
Connectweb. If you do it this way, you pay only $20. You actually have a 10-day grace
period in Connectweb without entering the license number into the system before you are
deleted, but you must buy a license and enter that number into the program within ten
days. License numbers are tied to names, so if you have a friend who has taken a
Connectweb class, you cannot use his/her license number. The good news is that if you
take Connectweb classes in the future, your license is good for those classes.
Logging in to Connectweb:
From the TC homepage www.templejc.edu, click the “Distance Education” button; then,
click “Connectweb.” You can print that page and get into the class. (Be sure you return
to the Distance Education page/Connectweb page later to download and print your
Connectweb Student Manual.)
You will not be able to get into the class unless I've placed you in this class in
Connectweb. Sometime Tuesday morning, June 1st, I will input all students who have
registered up to that time; however, keep in mind that registration information may not be
made available to me in a timely manner. Therefore, if you register and are not able to
access the class even though you have followed my instructions, call and leave me a
voice message. (298-8383) In this voice message, please speak clearly as you say and
spell your name, and provide me with a telephone number where I can reach you, if
necessary.
Important Connectweb Information:
You have a 7500 character limit if you complete homework within
ConnectWeb in the small "Quick paper" window (which you will see when you go
back to "Assignments" above and click "Work on paper."
It is often easier to write in your word processor and then upload that file
after you have revised and worked on the homework. Also, if you upload a file,
there is no character or word limit.
To do this, complete your homework in your word processor (remember that it is not
necessary to stay online to do this) and create ONE Word document. When your
homework is ready to upload,
get back online and log in to ConnectWeb. Click the "Assignments" button at
the top of the page. Then, under this assignment, click "Work on paper." You
will now be in the "Quick paper" screen. Click "Switch to Upload paper." At
this screen, click "Browse" and find your homework file on your computer.
(Note: make sure the file is either a Microsoft Word doc file, an ascii txt
file, or an html file. These are the only types of files ConnectWeb will
upload correctly.)
After your file is listed in the space under "Upload paper," click "OK" and
the file will be uploaded into ConnectWeb and automatically posted so I can
see it and all the other students in your group can see it. To see what you
have uploaded and make sure it worked, you can click "Preview paper." Make sure that
you have all your homework answers in one Word document!
If you want to change what you have uploaded and posted, you will have to
repeat the whole process: go back and make changes to the Word document on your
computer and then upload the revised file. Uploading a paper more than once
does the same thing that saving a document over and over does: it copies
over the old upload and replaces it with the new one.
You should now be ready to go to your word processor and begin writing your
first assignment.
Instructions:
First, plan to have:
___ this printed orientation information
___ Course Syllabus (accessible from my TC webpage)
Second, carefully read EVERYTHING! Don't skim.
Course Introduction:
My name is Dr. Guzmán-Treviño. Welcome to British Literature I on the Internet!
Let me assure you that this Internet course has the same reading assignments, homework,
and tests as an on-campus English 2322. Basically, you will be given assignments on a
weekly basis. The homework assignments, instructions, and lectures will be posted using
Connectweb. You will post answers using Connectweb. Each week, your homework
will be due on Thursday by 12:00 noon. Your first assignment will be posted later today
and will be due next Thursday, June 10 by 12:00 noon. Each Thursday I collect your
work. I print each student's homework; as soon as I've collected everyone's homework, I
post the next week's assignments. Therefore, you always have about a week to complete
assignments. However, keep in mind that you are taking a summer class; that means that
each week you are responsible for completing two weeks worth of work!
English 2322 is a survey of literature beginning with Old English through the Restoration
Period. During the semester, we will read and study literature divided into three periods:
Old and Middle English, the Renaissance, and the Restoration. You will take a major test
over each of these three sections; in addition, you will be assigned a research paper.
Let's now review the Course Syllabus. (See note above about way to access this Course
Syllabus.)
Reviewing the Course Syllabus:
Instructor Information:
From the syllabus you have my name, office number, telephone number, and e-mail
address. I have voice mail, so feel free to leave a message if you like. We will primarily
use Connectweb for communication, but some of you may also want to send me e-mail
messages.
Required Texts:
You can see that I require three textbooks. The first is the literature textbook. This book
contains most of the required readings; however, you'll also see that I've listed The
Tempest because that important play is not included in your text. I also require the MLA
Handbook.
Student Information:
During the week of June 1st through June 3rd, you must send me an e-mail message with
the following information:
1. Your first and last name
2. Your course name and number
3. Your mailing address, including city/state and zip code
4. Your e-mail address
5. Your telephone number/s (home/work)
Also, in this e-mail message, write a short note telling me about you, including any
details you think I should know. In your short note or paragraph, answer this question:
Why are you taking this course via the Internet?
Send this message to sguzman@templejc.edu.
Other Materials
You'll notice that I've included a section labeled other materials. You'll need an erasable
pen or liquid paper for tests. You may choose to purchase or locate translations of
Beowulf and assigned selections from The Canterbury Tales. The versions in your text
are difficult to read; these translations are optional.
Evaluation:
This next section in the syllabus shows how your grade is determined. You can see that
your weekly homework counts 15%. As I begin to post your homework, I will explain
what you must do and how many grades you are earning.
The major section comes from your grades on major tests. As you can see tests count
70%. Each test includes both objective and essay items. I will explain more about tests
as we get into the course. You must take all three tests in the Temple College Testing
Center. I usually try to provide a 3-day window for taking tests, and I try to give at least
a week notice before a test will be administered. More information will follow about the
Testing Center.
The final category listed is the Research Paper. I will assign you a particular author and
his works. Again, more information will follow once we get into the semester, but I will
let you know that you will need your MLA handbook for this research paper as papers
that do not follow this format will not receive passing grades.
Grades:
I will not post your weekly grades unless I receive a message from you asking for your
grades. Since your homework is due on Thursdays, I usually spend most of the weekend
grading and try to have your work graded by Monday afternoon. Therefore, if you want
to know your grades for the previous week, send me a Connectweb message late Monday
or early Tuesday, and I'll be glad to let you know. Especially at the beginning of the
semester, I encourage you to keep track of your grades.
I will, however, post messages to all students with your grades on major tests. You can
expect a message from me on the Tuesday that follows a testing week. That means that if
you were taking a test this week, you would receive a message with your test grade by
next Tuesday. When I post these grades, I usually include an updated semester average
to let you know where you stand at that time.
Class Guidelines:
Here you see standards of good writing. Your writing must conform to MLA format, and
you should plan to use your erasable pen or liquid paper on tests.
Attendance/Assignments:
You can see that the next section covered in the syllabus is attendance. Please take the
time to carefully read this section and remember that each week you do not post your
homework by the due date and time, you are counted as being absent. Remember also
that for every additional week (after the allowed 2) of not posting, you will lose 2 points
from your final average.
By the way, on-campus students must spend at least 3 hours preparing for each class.
You should plan to spend more than that amount of time because one, you are taking the
course via the Internet, and two, you are taking this course in 8-weeks instead of 16weeks. You must take into account that at home you are making up the time of sitting in
a class. Later in this packet I'll refer you to some student comments. No, I'm not trying
to scare off anyone; I just want you to know what you're getting yourself into.
You can see the note in my syllabus, but I'll repeat it here: don't wait until the night
before homework is due to start posting! The same suggestion applies to your research
paper. You wouldn't believe how many teary-eyed students I get because they waited
until the night before or the morning the research paper is due and discovered some
catastrophic disaster with either their files, computer, or printer. Let me emphasize that
as far as homework is concerned, no late work is accepted for credit, and as far as the
research paper is concerned, you will lose points for paper turned in after 12:00 noon on
the due date!
Late Work/Make-Up Policy:
As you read above, if you post your homework after the noon deadline, you will not
receive credit! One feature of Connectweb is that I am provided with the exact time each
student posts. Yes, that means that if you post at 12:01, you will not receive credit. You
are responsible for making sure that your homework is posted by the due date and time.
No exceptions are made.
As you can see from the syllabus, you can make up a major test, but these make-ups are
not administered until the week of July 12--15. Furthermore, these make-up tests do not
include any extra credit opportunities that the regularly scheduled test may have.
Assignments:
I’ve already explained that your assignments are given on a weekly basis. For this first
week, your assignment will be divided into PARTS. One part may require that you read
specific text chapters and literature selections. Another part may require that you write
responses for each literature selection. (I'll explain more about reader responses as we
get into the course in the first assignment.) Another part may require that you answer the
Group Discussion questions. Another part may require that you write an essay.
I strongly suggest that you print out my weekly assignments. Don’t be surprised if you
print out 4 or 5 pages at first. As I begin to lecture on the authors, short stories, and
poems, you may find yourself printing 10-15 pages. Remember that you are not sitting in
my class trying to figure out what to write in the way of notes. I’m giving you
everything. Of course that means it’ll be up to you to read and learn all of that!
Student Comments:
As I’ve said earlier, I want you to know what you can expect in this course. You must
commit a great deal of time and energy to this course in order to pass. Quite honestly, the
passing rate in this class is not high. Many students enroll in this Internet class because
they think it’ll be easier since they won’t have to sit in class once or twice a week. Let
me tell you: it is not easier; it is more difficult! You will spend many hours each week
preparing your assignments. On the one hand, you have everything you need as far as
information because I tell you everything you need to know. On the other hand though,
you must take the initiative to learn everything. The dropout rate is high in this Internet
class because students finally realize they can’t or don’t want to commit that much time
and effort. Trust me; this course is not for the weak. You don’t have the luxury of
raising your hand and asking questions like students in the on-campus classes do. Of
course, you can send me a Connectweb message, but for students who need that
immediate response, that messaging system is not enough. Believe it or not I do have
students who earn high grades. These students come into the course knowing they’ll
have to work very hard. Last semester I had one student in particular who “aced” my
class. When I asked her what advice she would give to others she said:
“I can’t give the other students advice that they have not already gotten from you.
I studied your lectures, paying attention to areas you stressed. You gave us all the
information and told us what you might ask, so I don’t see how anyone could fail
to do well on the test. By the way, as a nursing student I am used to having to
read 350-450 pages for 1 test and then having 50 question, multiple choice test.
multiply that by four and you have nursing school. So I think your class is great
in comparison….”
Having said all of that, let me say that I am available on an appointment basis. If you
want to meet to make sure you’re getting everything, or if you want to meet to go over
test material, please call and set up an appointment with me. Or maybe you’d like to
have a phone conversation to check on things; I encourage you to stay in close contact
with me.
On-campus Office Hours:
This summer my on-campus office hours are limited. I am teaching an on-campus
British Literature I course Monday through Thursday, from 8 to 10:00 and an on-campus
Composition II course Monday through Thursday, from 10:15 to 12:15.
Virtual Office Hours:
As you might guess I can’t be online every second. I try to check Connectweb several
times during the school days (Monday-Thursday), and then I check again once sometime
every evening (Monday through Thursday). I try to check Connectweb once on
weekends (Friday through Sunday); most often it’s Sunday evening when I check.
I also check my voice mail messages on a regular basis, so feel free to call if you wish.
Now that you’ve read this Orientation Information, you should be ready to begin. Your
first assignment will be posted shortly and will be due Thursday, June 10 by 12:00 noon,
so go ahead and spend time familiarizing yourself with Connectweb and get started on
your assignments. Good luck and I look forward to working with you.