Pamela Shen/Chabot College/2004
Chabot College
Distance Education Curriculum Support Committee
Course Proposal Form
2004-2005
Course Title & Number: English 7 (Online)
Faculty Name: Pamela Shen
1.
Need/Justification
The DE English 7 course will be delivered online, except for two required on campus
meetings which will allow for students who, due to their respective workloads or family
commitments might not otherwise be able to take this course. There will be only two
required on-campus meetings, one during the first week of the semester and one during
the last week of the semester. Since English 7 is a required, transfer-level course, most on
campus sections are filled to capacity quickly each semester. Full English 7 classes mean
that students are turned away in large numbers every semester when they attempt to add.
Offering sections of English 7 in the DE format will allow more students to complete
their transfer requirements more quickly and provide much greater flexibility to working
and returning students who may have structured time commitments outside of school.
Because students will be required to attend only two required on campus meetings, they
will be able to better work within their own schedules and still complete the same
requirements as they would in a completely on campus version of the course. Students in
the local community as well as those commuting from other areas would be able to take
this course in DE format, whereas they might not be able to take a traditional on-campus
version of the course. In addition, for many students, English 7 is a required class to
transfer to a four-year college or other degree program. Making the English 7 course
more accessible to these groups will mean a likelihood of more students being able to
successfully complete their course requirements and transfer in a timely manner.
Course Content Delivery
English 7 is a standard format, 3 semester unit, lecture/discussion transfer-level course
consisting of approximately 52 hours of on campus instruction. Required at a minimum
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are at least two in-class writing assignments, at least two in-class essays and at least four
out of class essays of significant length; some with drafts and peer review aspects.
The DE English 7 course will include required online participation and two required on
campus meetings; one during the first week of class for the purpose of an orientation and
intake essay, the second during finals week for the purpose of an in-class final exam.
Both the intake essay and the on-campus final exam will serve as controls to determine
that students are doing their own work and to discourage plagiarism. The online course
will include various online resources and online discussion in the form of posted lectures
and threaded discussions; interactive, dynamic, asynchronous online discussion boards
than can be open-access, group-access, or instructor-student access as needed. During the
two mandatory on campus meetings, an orientation to online learning, the course Web
site, an intake essay and final exam will be facilitated.
The online format of this course will help create a sense of community and foster reading,
writing, and critical thinking skills through the use of online, interactive discussion
boards. In these online forums, students will respond to each other and also be responded
to by the teacher (asynchronously). The online format will also encourage a studentcentered environment, while maintaining the integrity of standardized, instructor led
instruction in the online classroom. The DE English 7 course will include all of the
articulated components of the on-campus version of the course.
The DE English 7 online course will include the following required online components:
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Online interaction on a weekly basis (at a minimum) in the form of threaded
discussions, message boards, online forums, and posted lectures that will total at
least the number of hours of instruction not covered in the required on campus
meetings over the course of the semester. Each student will be required to post to
various discussion forums and threads at least two times a week. The posts must
be considered “quality” to be counted for credit. A description of what is
considered a “quality post” will be clearly posted on the course Web site.

A minimum of 15 hours of individual, self-paced and self-directed study and
research consisting of Web research and other specific assignments over the
course of the semester.
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Online submission of at least four essays of significant length, some with drafts
and/or peer review requirements
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Administration of at least two online, timed exams and/or quizzes over the course
of the semester designed to gage comprehension of course materials and required
reading.
The DE English 7 course will also include the following optional online components in
addition to the required on campus meetings:
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Various, optional extra-credit assignments in the form of additional threaded
discussions, online assignments, and reading and response assignments.
Access to additional multi-media Web learning resources, research tools, and
topical, updated online articles.
Access 24/7 to the course Web site and course materials in digital and
downloadable formats
Access to a student thread; an online forum where students can interact with each
other and discuss current, relevant issues in a safe environment in order to foster
both engagement with each other and vesting in the class.
The two on campus meetings of the DE English 7 will include the following required
components:
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A detailed orientation to online learning and navigation of the course Web site
Administration of an intake essay
Administration of in class essays
Administration of an in-class final exam
Nature and frequency of instructor-student interactions:
The DE English 7 course will include mostly asynchronous interactions between the
instructor and each individual student in addition to interaction during the two required
on campus meetings. In addition to email access, students will have access to the course
Web site and all course materials twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Students
will also be able to communicate with each other via email and via discussion boards and
threaded discussions located on the course Web site. The DE English 7 course will
include the following required online components of student -teacher and student-student
interactions in addition to required on campus meetings:
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An unlimited amount of email correspondences between student and instructor
discussing course-related issues, questions, assigned essays, and online
assignments over the course of the semester (within reason).
A minimum of 1 online peer response per week (in addition to the 2 required
posts) requiring each student to respond to the post of at least one other student
A minimum of 2 collaborative peer review/peer editing assignments based on
course materials and/or specific essay assignments
The DE English 7 course will also include the following optional online studentinstructor and student-student interactions in addition to required on campus meetings:

Email access at any time (both student-student and student-instructor)
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Access to course Web site message boards at all times
The option to “meet” online in either public or private (teacher accessible) chat
rooms (synchronous).
Extra Credit online assignments
The option to respond more than is required on the Discussion Boards for
additional participation credit
A “Virtual Office” where students can ask the instructor questions at any time and
generally expect a response within forty-eight hours
Assignments & Methods of Evaluation:
Students in the DE English7 course will submit essays via email attachment online. In
addition, there will be two required on-campus (“in-class”) essays. The number of essays
assigned will be equivalent to an on campus version of the course. In addition, the weekly
required online posting assignments will contribute towards the minimum writing
requirements outlined for this course.
Students will also be required to take at least two tests/quizzes throughout the course of
the semester in addition to a required on-campus final exam which will be administered
during the required on campus meeting at the end of the semester. In addition, an intake
essay will be required from all students at the first required on campus meeting. This
intake essay will help avoid conflicts surrounding plagiarism issues and give the
instructor a representative sample of each online student’s writing. This sample can them
be compared against essays submitted online to ensure that students are doing their own
work. Any questions about plagiarism will be addressed directly. Students whose intake
essays do not seem to meet the minimum competency requirements will be advised if
necessary. Quizzes will be administered and scored online, using the Blackboard
assessment system, which will provide students with immediate and detailed feedback.
In addition, there will be a number of short writing assignments, and online interaction on
a weekly basis (at a minimum) in the form of threaded discussions, message boards,
online forums, and posted lectures will also be required. Each student will be required to
post to various discussion forums and threads at least two times a week; once in response
to the posted assignment and once in response to another student. Each posting
assignment (one-two per week plus optional extra credit assignments) will require a
written response of between 100-150 words. The posts must be considered “quality” to be
counted for credit. A description of what is considered a “quality post” will be clearly
posted on the course Web site.
Verification of student learning will be measured by students’ participation in online
discussion threads and discussion forums and during on campus meetings as well as by
the previously outlined testing and assessment methods. The Methods of evaluation for
the DE English 7 course will include in-class writing, timed testing, reading
comprehension and writing skill assessment, out-of-class essays, peer group and other
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collaborative work, and other assessment methods possibly employed in on campus
versions of the course.
Evaluation criteria for students taking the DE English 7 course would be the same for
students taking the on campus version of the course. Grading policies, a grading rubric,
and specific grading criterion would be posted on the course Web site. These would be
identical to the same that are distributed in on campus versions of the course and would
also be available in downloadable, formatted document form on the course Web site.
Technical Support
All students will be required to have the following software: (1) Windows 98 (or higher)
Operating System or Macintosh OS 8.0 (or higher) (2) A compatible version of either
Netscape Navigator or Internet Explorer Web Browser and (3) Microsoft Word 97 (or
higher version) that will run the Blackboard Course Management System. The hardware
required to run these programs is listed for each respective program. The Windows
Operating System comes installed on any PC machine and the Macintosh OS comes
installed on Macintosh computers. Both Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer are
available for download free of charge online. Microsoft Word is available at a substantial
academic discount to faculty through Faculty Buys and to students through the Chabot
College bookstore or online at the manufacturers’ Web site. Product documentation and
technical support for all of these programs are available free of charge online.
Since the course will be delivered via the Blackboard Course Management System,
which is currently supported through institutionalization at Chabot college, students will
have access to support and help via the online help desk, email correspondence, and the
instructor, as well as other online resources.
Student Services
Students in the DE English 7 course will be required to post at least twice weekly to the
specified discussion threads on the course Web Site. There will be well-defined
guidelines for what constitutes a “quality post” listed on the course Web site. Students
who fail to submit the required number of quality posts per week in addition to
completing the other written and peer-group assignments will be considered “absent” for
that week. Students who are “absent” for two consecutive or three cumulative weeks may
be dropped from the course at the instructor’s discretion—similarly to fully on campus
versions of the course.
Students’ progress in the course will be determined by the quality of their participation in
discussion threads, their work in peer-groups, and their writing assignments, exams, and
quizzes. Assessment of student success will follow the same criteria and guidelines as on
campus versions of the course.
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At –risk students will be notified either during on campus meetings, during office hours
or via private email when they are close to being at-risk of failing the course or when
their academic performance is decreasing. Since the DE English 7 course will require all
students to have valid, working e-mail accounts and since it will also require regular email communication between students and instructors there will be more than adequate
opportunity for instructors to intervene and counsel potentially at-risk students.
Students who appear to lack the sufficient computer and technological skills to be
successful in the DE English 7 course will be referred to on campus offerings of the same
course. A clear description of the computer skills necessary and the hardware and
software requirements for taking the DE English 7 course will be clearly outlined in the
course syllabus and on the course Web site.
Support services to ensure student success and student access to tutoring,
counseling, financial aid, and course support and required materials:
Students in the DE English 4 Hybrid course will have the same access to Chabot College
on campus student resources that all enrolled students have. The WRAC Center computer
lab, along with access to the Instructional Aides will be available to DE students for the
same per semester voucher charge that on campus students pay. In addition, students in
the DE English 7 course will have access to on campus academic counseling, financial
aid, and other support services available to all enrolled Chabot students.
Accommodations for Students with Disabilities
The Blackboard Course Management System is currently accessible to students with
disabilities in accordance to current guidelines. According to the Blackboard
Accessibility FAQ Web page:
“All system images have alt tags, and instructors are able to add alt tags to uploaded
images in the content creation areas of the software (with the exception of optional
assessment images, which should be described in the question or answer text). Framesets
are appropriately titled and have meaningful (noframes) content, describing the
functionality of the frames layout [and] Data tables are optimized for use with screen
readers by adding attributes to associate column headings with table content.”
(http://www.blackboard.com/products/access/faqs.htm)
In addition, every possible effort will be made to accommodate students with various
learning disabilities and/or learning style modalities. Students that appear to be
experiencing difficulty to any of these issues will be referred to the necessary on-campus
support services by the instructor.
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Class Size & First Term to be offered:
If approved, this class will be offered in the fall 2005 semester. The course capacity
would be twenty-seven students, the same as that for an on-campus version of the course.
This number of students is a manageable size for an online class at this level and with the
outlined components.