English 111—Methods of Written Communication (Distance)
Fall 2011
UAS
Credits: 3 semester hours
Instructor: Gayle L. Hammons
Office phone: 907-747-7746
glhammons@uas.alaska.edu
Toll Free FAX (in Alaska only) 1-800-478-3552
907-747-6653 or 1-800-478-6653 (UAS Sitka front desk)
Academic/Technology Facilitators -1-800-478-6653 ext. 9469
Blackboard Help desk (toll free) 1-800-478-8226
Instructional services: 1-800 478 6653
Office Hours: 8:30-11:30 am, Tuesdays and Thursdays in my office
on-site, Rm 10???, UAS Sitka, by phone, or by appointment.
Textbooks/Readings: Students must purchase- Rise B. Axelrod’s Reading Critically, Writing Well, 9th ed., ISBN 0-31260761-X
 Diana Hacker’s Writer’s Reference with Exercises, 7th ed., ISBN 03112-60147-6
 Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (preferred edition is
the Prestwick House 2005 edition, ISBN 1580495834, but any
unexpurgated edition is acceptable.)
 Ernest Hemingway’s The Snows of Kilimanjaro and other stories, ISBN
0-684-71807-3, and The Old Man and the Sea, ISBN; any
unexpurgated edition of these is fine. (*Please look online to
see if any of these works by Hemingway or Twain are
available free, or as online-books.)
The instructor will provide the following readings: miscellaneous
essays to supplement emphasis on academic writing.
Course Description: This course emphasizes the necessity for good, clear
written and oral communication necessary for personal, academic, and jobrelated success. Students will experiment with different styles and voice,
and work on individual style, strengths, and weaknesses, using the writing
process, including brainstorm techniques, pre-writes, rough drafts, re-writes,
and editing techniques. There will be written exams and/or oral seminars on
major readings. Out-of-class assignments will include reading all genres of
literature as required, doing research, writing papers, personal essays,
literary essays, and completing on-line assignments, discussions, etc.
Virtual Classroom/Distance Tools:
These tools will be the foundation of our classroom. If you are
unfamiliar with them, or need assistance using them, please don’t hesitate
to contact me or the Academic/Technology Facilitators. You should be as
comfortable as possible using both of these sites as we begin the class.
*For instructions on finding your UAS username, setting your
password and accessing your UAS email account, go to:
http://www.uas.alaska.edu/sitka/start/
or
go
http://classes.uaf.edu, and then click on the login help link.
to
Go
to
the
course
website
at
UASOnline,
http://www.uas.alaska.edu/online/and you will be directed to the UAF
Blackboard site.
UAF Blackboard will serve as our virtual classroom. Our course will be
“held” on this site. You need to be visiting and working on this site
regularly. I recommend you visit it daily.
At UAFBlackboard you will:
- Check the course “announcements” from me
- Read the course Description/Syllabus, Course Calendar,
changes to Calendar, etc.
- Access additional readings, etc.
- Access commentary, supplemental instruction, lectures
from me
- Contact other students in the class via email and
discussion groups
- Complete small group assignments
- Turn in papers
- Do peer reviews
- Take exams
- Participate in discussions
- Link to Egan Library and The Learning Center
- Check your grades on the online grade book
In short, this site is our virtual classroom. There is a link to this
site from our UAS Online page.
Discussion Boards: We will use these to discuss all manner of
topics, such as the texts, or any additional readings or
commentaries I provide, etc. and to discuss the writing
techniques learned in the text or additional samples I have
provided. By posting these online, we will create a “dialogue”
about the many pieces of literature we will be reading.
Question & Answer Discussion Board: This will be a place in
which you can ask any questions regarding the reading, lectures,
assignments, or anything else that arises that is not already on
the syllabus or course calendar! I encourage you to answer each
other’s questions if you’re able. I will check this site often and
answer any unanswered questions. You can always email me
with a question, but usually if you have a question, most likely
your classmates do as well, so posting it here is a more efficient
way to answer everyone’s concerns.
Chat Discussion Board: I have added a “coffee chat space” that
is simply an open space for you to chat with each other. This is
your casual space. You can chat about your classroom
experiences, the work you are doing, etc. Enjoy each others’
company. Just remember this is part of a UAS class, and
professional behavior is expected. Unprofessional behavior,
coarse language, flaming, etc. will result in automatic expulsion
from the class.
Course Requirements:
Students will---Participate in weekly discussion boards of composition topics and/or
textbook readings, as well as assignments/practices. These will include
personal reflections, comparisons to other readings, current events, history,
etc., as response to teacher and class-generated questions about the
assignments.
--Complete all assignments and exercises, such as written response to
reading assignments, in the form of essay exams, fast-writes, creative
pieces, and/or responses to teacher or class-generated questions, requiring
analysis and synthesis, as well as formal response (i.e.in the form of
essays, group work, creative pieces, personal essays, etc.)
--Complete quizzes and tests as assigned
--Participate in Peer Review of formal essays with class partner(s)
--Provide Reading Reflections as you read the text(s).
--Final Self-reflection--students will offer written evaluation of their work
accomplished during the semester, analyzing these works, discussing
frustrations and successes and growth
--Final Problem/Solution research paper—students will research and write a
formal research paper detailing a problem and/or its solution, and the
student’s own critical response to the research(This work serves as your final
exam.)
College Competencies/General Objectives: An integral component of
students’ education at the University of Alaska Southeast is the six essential
college competencies. This course will focus on five of them: communication
(reading, writing, listening, speaking), critical thinking, information literacy,
computer usage, and professional behavior.
By the end of this class, students should be able to—
-Write for different purposes and audiences
-Review, analyze, and utilize research from different sources, for the
purpose of communicating ideas effectively, both in written and oral form
-Use writing and reading for inquiry, thinking, and communicating
-Understand the relationships among language, knowledge, and power
-Listen effectively and respond to others’ ideas productively
-Review, analyze, and discuss a variety of literary genres
-Understand how genres shape reading and writing
-Use test-taking skills to enhance self-expression
-Use the writing process effectively
-Use self-editing skills to improve writing
-Use appropriate voice, tone, and level of formality
-Speak effectively for different purposes and audiences
-Utilize computers for a variety of purposes
Requirements:
1) Oral and written response to reading assignments—these will include
personal reflection, and informal and formal response to teacher and
class-generated questions about assignments
2) Summaries—these will be brief summaries of major points of several
different genres of literature, including essays and short stories
3) In-class essays—these will be in the form of fast-writes, creative
pieces, and/or responses to teacher or class-generated questions,
requiring analysis and synthesis
4) Research papers—there will be four major papers required this
semester; all of them will be research papers. Three of the research
papers must have a minimum length of 1500 words; the final
problem/solution research paper will have a minimum length of 2100
words. Subjects will include general interest, government and/or
societal issues. In all research papers, primary and secondary sources
are encouraged; students will practice interview techniques, as well as
skills necessary for productive research on the Net.
5) Final self-evaluation—student will offer written evaluation of their work
at the end of semester, analyzing works, discussing frustrations,
successes, and growth, in the form of self-reflection.
Academic/Course Policies:
a. Accountability: I am here to work with you and help you; you
are accountable for your performance in this course. If you
miss class, attempt to hand in work late, or are otherwise
negligent in your duties as a student, I ask that you take
responsibility for your actions. Your accountability starts with
the careful reading of this Course Description/Syllabus, and the
Course Calendar. As part of your responsibilities, you must
make it a habit to check the course homepage regularly, at
least four times a week. Set yourself a schedule to check it.
b. Plagiarism and Academic Dishonesty: All work submitted in this
course must be your own and written exclusively for this
course. Plagiarism of the work of others is a serious offense
and will result in automatic failure of the class. It can also result
in further disciplinary measures taken by the Committee for
Student Disciplinary Action. Please note the policy in the UAS
Student Handbook.
c. Attendance: I consider your logging into the course website as
attendance. You must log in at least four times a week, even if
it is only to read something. Please notify the instructor, via
email or phone, when you are going to be absent ; if you miss a
week of Discussion Boards, or are logging in less than four
times a week, you are in danger of being removed from class. If
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
you do not log in for two weeks, you will automatically be
removed from the class.
Due Dates/Turning in papers: Papers/assignments are due at
the time and date set in the syllabus. There is a specific
procedure in place for turning in papers. This semester, we
will be using Turnitin2, a new program, a website where
you turn in all rough drafts and final drafts of the four
major papers.
File-Naming Conventions: To help organize the work in this
course, please adhere to the following conventions when
naming assignment files: name the file with your first name,
last initial, assignment name, and then a one-word description
of the assignment. So, the file name of my first draft of the Concept paper
would look like this: GayleHConceptRDfear.doc.
Late assignments: The learning in this course requires in-depth
reading, reflection, writing, discussion, independent work, and
team work. To achieve our goals, you must complete your
work in a timely manner. I do not accept late work. Barring
extenuating circumstances, failure to turn in any one of the
four major papers on time will result in failure in the class.
(This is department policy.)* (Now please read the * at the end
of this document!)
Technology: Taking this type of class is extremely challenging.
There are types of learners who should not take a distance
class. Our personal lifestyles and/or home lives can also
impact success in this type of class. I offer a self-quiz to help
you decide if you are prepared for the challenges this type of
learning offers.(Please go to >>>) Obviously, you need easy
access to the Net, Blackboard, etc. You must also have access
to some type of media software such as RealPlayer. You need
Microsoft Word. If you have trouble accessing any of this
because of your computer set-up, you’re going to find this
course difficult; you will be unhappy. IMPORTANT: ask yourself
this question: “What will happen to my participation in this
course if my computer goes down?” If the answer is, “I am
doomed,” then you should withdraw from this course and
register for a face-to-face section of English 111. You need to
have backup technology plans, because a downed computer will
not excuse you from the work in this course.
Incompletes: The grade of “Incomplete” can be given only in
unusual circumstances where a student has successfully
completed the majority of the course with a grade of C or
higher but has been unable to complete the final requirements
of the course due to unavoidable extenuating circumstances.
Grading:
Expository essays—300 points
Personal essays—100 points
Tests—100 points
Research paper (final)—900 points
Discussion Board participation:300 points (tallied at end of semester)
Misc. assignments, group work, etc. range from 20-100 points each
93%
83%
73%
63%
of
of
of
of
total
total
total
total
points
points
points
points
earned=A
earned=B
earned=C
earned=D
Assignments, essays, etc., turned in later in the semester will be weighted,
as this shows improvement. A very long time ago, I learned that averaging
grades was unfair. Averaging grades punishes a student for not knowing the
course content immediately upon entering the class. Thus, I grade on
improvement. Doing all the work is necessary to pass this class;
improvement over the course of the semester demonstrates a student’s
abilities and knowledge. It is extremely likely that if a student begins the
course with C papers, but ends up writing A papers, and participates in all
course work, that student will earn an A in the class!
All four major papers will be graded using a writing rubric available in Course
Documents. Students are encouraged to “meet” with the instructor at all stages
of the writing process. Overwhelming research indicates this type of writing
conference is the most beneficial to students. Office hours are listed above, if you
live in Sitka and prefer just to drop in. You may also MAKE AN APPOINTMENT!
Students’ grades are available online at the class website. Please note any
discrepancies you may find, and let the instructor know. The final grade for the
course is NOT determined by this online program. This online grade book is for
you to check the accuracy of the instructor’s recordkeeping. The four papers are
the most important determiners of your grade, with the final paper/final exam
worth all of the other three papers combined. All other course work is done to help
you improve your writing on the papers, and to prepare you for future course work
as you pursue your degrees or certification. This other course work definitely has
an effect on your final grade, however.
Participating in an Online Writing Course: For some of you, this will be your
first experience in an online course. You’ll no doubt find this to be a
different experience than that of a face-to-face (f2f) class. Following are
some things to think about as you begin this online learning experience.
Follow the Course modules. I create careful Course modules to help you
stay organized.
If you closely read and follow these modules, you
significantly increase your chances of success in here.
It is crucial that you adhere closely to the class deadlines. In fact, you
should ask yourself a question: “Am I self-motivated enough to meet these
deadlines?” If the answer is “No,” then you should probably switch to a f2f
section of English 111. Too many students stubbornly resist the obvious:
they are not good candidates for an online class because they cannot meet
the deadlines on their own. Unfortunately, many of those students have had
poor outcomes in the course as a result.
Contact: Most of our communication will take place via—
Discussion Boards
Email
Phone
Eluminate drop-in sessions
I will spend time checking emails and Discussion boards each weekday
morning, between 8-9 am Alaska time, and again in the afternoon, around 4
pm Alaska time. The day before a major assignment is due, I will check
email more often, and be available more often. If there is EVER an
emergency, do not hesitate to call me.
Note: There is a temptation in an online course for you to think of your
professor as a robot who never sleeps or who enjoys an occasional weekend
off. While you are college students, and you may do some of your most
productive work at 2 in the morning, I am getting older, and I am usually in
bed by 10 pm. Remember that when you email me in the wee hours of the
night, or on the weekends, and cannot understand why I have not
responded to you!!
*I understand that life happens. If there is something going on in your life
that may be impacting your ability to turn a paper in on time, please let me
know and we will attempt to work something out. Knowing this, I also offer
ONE “Late Pass” for any one assignment, which allows you an extra three
days on any assignment. This will NOT work for Rough Drafts or tests,
however. Also, it will definitely NOT work for the Final Research Paper.