BIOL 2306 Living Planet

• Hello and welcome to the class. • This course is based upon Living Planet, an

amazing nature series consisting of 12 videotapes.

• The series is narrated by Sir David Attenborough and produced by the BBC.

BIOL 2306 Living Planet

• This is an ecology course.• The course is designed for non-science

majors, although many science majors also take it for transfer credit.

PCM Section

• This section is designed as a distance learning course and requires the regular use of a computer.

• PCM = Personal Computer with Modem

Living Planet Preview

• This series looks at various ecosystems, such as deserts, forests and grasslands.

• Attenborough takes us through each ecosystem, looking at characteristics of each ecosystem and the types of plants and animals that live there.

• The photography is amazing and Attenborough is an excellent narrator.

Deserts: An example of an Ecosystem

• Let’s look at a specific example. Deserts are covered in episode 6.

• As Attenborough discusses deserts, he will cover certain concepts about deserts. These include:

• What makes a desert a desert? • Where do you find deserts on our planet? • What conditions cause deserts to form? • How do plants manage to live in desert conditions? • How do animals manage to live in these conditions?

Distance Learning

• If this is your first distance learning class, please go to the Distance Learning web site at http://dl.austincc.edu/students/ to get more information about distance learning courses.

Distance Learning

• Distance learning means that students do not attend traditional lectures at specific campus locations.

• Distance learning courses are designed to be taught through the use of videos, reading and activities (web-based or group discussion).

Distance Learning

• Distance learning does not mean that you are taking a class without deadlines.

• There are exam deadlines that you will be expected to meet.

• You will also be expected to participate in online discussion groups on a regular basis.

Distance Learning

• Additional lecture material will be posted on Blackboard and you will be expected to read this material.

• You will be expected to participate in any web-based activities that are assigned.

Time Commitments

• Distance learning courses provide opportunities for students to take classes in an alternate format.

• However, the typical distance learning student spends more time studying than traditional students and works more independently to learn the materials.

Time Commitments

• It’s a great way to learn if you are self-motivated.

• However, it does take more time and self-discipline.

• You will need to manage your time wisely, especially in a short summer semester.

Syllabus

• Before you go any farther with this orientation, you will need to print out a copy of the syllabus.

• If you do not have a copy of the syllabus, you will find the syllabus on the Blackboard web page at http://acconline.austincc.edu/ (available on 5/24/07) or on my web page at www.austincc.edu/bspeer

Syllabus

• Read the syllabus carefully. • This presentation will only go over the

materials that you need to get started in the course.

Blackboard

• As explained on page 1 of the syllabus, we will be using Blackboard extensively in this class for:

(1) weekly online small discussion groups

(2) supplemental course materials

(3) for posting grades & announcements

(4) sending e-mails

Blackboard Login

• The Blackboard login page is at: http://acconline.austincc.edu/

• If you have not used Blackboard before, click on the link “Student Guide – Getting Started with Blackboard”

• If you have problems, use the link for “Blackboard Support Site”

Using Blackboard

• Update your personal information in Blackboard as soon as possible.

• Check Blackboard regularly throughout the semester

Required Course Materials

• Living Planet Concepts and Questions, 8th edition by Speer, Maxim and Strong. This study guide is available at the ACC bookstores or you can print it from this web site: http://www.austincc.edu/biology/labmanuals/23068th/ind23068th.html

• Living Planet video episodes (12 total). These will be shown on ACC cable (see page 14), available as streaming videos on the Blackboard site, available for watching or checking out at the ACC libraries (see page 4) or available for purchase (see page 20).

Online Discussion Groups

• Read this section on pages 3 and 4 of the syllabus.

• You will be assigned to a small group discussion forum.

• I will post a different set of questions every Monday for the group to discuss.

Online Discussion Groups

• You can also use your group discussion forum to ask each other questions about the video episodes or any course material that you do not understand.

• Questions will be posted for weeks 1-5. • I will not post any questions during week 6

(July 2-5).

Online Discussion Groups

• You will be graded on participation in your group.

• There will be five weeks of online group activities.

• Your participation in the group will earn up to 20 points per week.

Exams• See pages 5-7 in the syllabus.• All exams are given in the ACC testing

centers. • Locations of ACC testing centers: Cypress

Creek, Eastview, Fredericksburg, Northridge, Pinnacle, Rio Grande, Riverside, Round Rock Higher Education Center, San Marcos and South Austin.

Exams• There are seven required exams in this

course. • There are mandatory deadlines for each

exam.

Exams• There are no retests but there is an optional

final.• You cannot skip an exam and replace it with

the final. • You must take all seven required exams in

order to receive any grade other than “F”.

Mandatory Exam Deadlines

• Mandatory exam deadlines are on page 8 of the syllabus.

• Please note that you have an automatic 24-hour grace period for exams 1-7.

• You do not have to ask permission to use the grace period.

Mandatory Exam Deadlines

• The grace period will not be extended for any reason.

• There is no grace period for the final. • There are different deadlines for the final,

based on which testing center you decide to use.

• You may take the final at any testing center.

Check page 8 to see what each exam covers.

• The table on page 8 explains what each exam covers.

• Exam 1, for example, covers the introduction.• Exam 2 covers the first two videotapes and

corresponding material in the study guide.

Check page 8 to see the format for each exam

• The table also explains the format for each exam.

• Exam 1, for example, has 41 multiple choice questions and two short answer questions.

• Exam 2 has 36 multiple choice questions and one short answer question.

Review Page 8 before taking an exam at the Testing Center

• Before taking an exam, check to make sure that you know which exam to ask for!

• Don’t make the mistake of studying the materials for Unit 1 (episodes 1 and 2) and then taking Exam 1.

• You will have studied the wrong materials for that exam!

Optional Final

• See page 7 of the syllabus.• There is an optional comprehensive final that

can be taken to replace your lowest (non-zero) exam grade.

• The final cannot substitute for an exam that you did not take.

Optional Final

• The final cannot hurt your grade in the course.

• If it is your lowest exam grade, it will not count.

• If higher, the final grade can be used to replace your lowest exam grade.

Extra Credit

• See page 7 of the syllabus. • Each exam has one extra question for extra

credit. • Exam 1 has one extra multiple choice

question for extra credit. • Exams 2-7 have a written (short answer)

extra credit question.

Extra Credit

• Exams 2-7 will also have an optional map quiz over the geographical locations covered in each unit.

• You will find the blank map in the study guide.• You can find a list of possible geographic

locations for each unit in Blackboard (see Course Documents).

Extra Credit

• You can earn up to 44 points of extra credit on the exams.

• This is the only way to earn extra credit in this course.

Course Grades

• See page 9 of the syllabus.• Your grade for the course will be based on:

7 exams at 100 points each = 700 points

Participation in your discussion

group (5 weeks @ 20 pts) = 100 points

Total points for course = 800 points

Course Grades

• Course grades will be based on percentages:• A = 90-100%• B = 80- 89% • C = 70- 79% • D = 60- 69%• F = below 60%

Withdrawals

• Withdrawal policies are discussed on page 10.

• The last day to withdraw for the first 5.5-week semester is June 27.

Withdrawals

• Please note that I withdraw students only for the following reasons:

(1) A student does not complete the orientation materials by Friday midnight, June 1 and send an e-mail confirmation to me.

(2) A student does not complete exams 1-4 by the mandatory deadlines.

Bloom’s Taxonomy

• See page 13 of the syllabus.• Bloom’s taxonomy is a model that tries to

place mental thinking skills into categories. If you look over this page, you will see that “higher level thinking skills” fall into categories 2 through 6. Rote memorization (recall) is category 1 in this model.

Bloom’s Taxonomy

• In this course, I write exam questions at levels 1-4.

• In Blackboard (under Course Documents), you will find a specific example of how test questions can be written at different levels over the same material.

Testing Center

• See page 16 of the syllabus.• Look at the hours of operation for the different

testing centers and the mandatory exam deadlines for the course.

Choose Your Testing Center

• Choose the testing center that you intend to use during the semester.

• You may only choose one testing center to take exams 1-7.

• Exams will be placed at your testing center of choice.

Testing Center Policies

• See pages 17-18.• The testing center has very strict rules about

testing. • Please read their policies carefully. • If you are banned from the Testing Centers

for violating their policies, you will have no way to take the exams.

Testing Center Policies

• If you do not have an ACC ID, go to the nearest Admissions & Records Office (any campus) and get your ACC photo ID.

• You will not be able to use the testing center without an ACC photo ID.

Testing Center Policies

• Admission to any Testing Center is on a “first come, first serve” basis.

• Please do not wait until the last minute to take an exam.

Read the syllabus carefully.

• All course policies are explained in the syllabus.

• This presentation is just intended as an overview of the syllabus.

• Please refer to the syllabus for complete details about the course and ACC policies.

• If you have any questions about the syllabus or the course, please send me an e-mail at bspeer@austincc.edu