Recommended: English 1A

Upon successful completion of the course, the student should be able to:

1. Compare and contrast the federal model of government to the California state, county, and city models of government.

2. Analyze the contributions of Spanish culture and achievements to California history and culture.

3. Critique the contributions of Native Americans to the California lifestyle, traditions and value systems.

4. Analyze and explain the growth of California to its modern day setting.

5. Justify and explain the political and economic success/failure of the State of California, particularly in relationship to its educational, cultural, political institutions and ideals.

6. Reconstruct the ecological and political threads of California's water problems.

These requirements will be met through written exercises, class discussions, quizzes, and examinations.

Why attend a history class? Besides obtaining GE units, it is impossible to fully understand the present without knowledge of the past. Over two thousand years ago the Roman statesman and author Cicero expressed this point when he wrote, "To be ignorant of what occurred before you were born is to remain always a child."

Students must be able to use ETUDES-NG.  Please work through the free ETUDES-NG tutorials before being the class:

http://www.siskiyous.edu/online/etudes/index.htm.

It is the students responsibility to learn how to navigate and use ETUDES-NG.

Title: Competing Visions: A History of California, First Edition

Author: Robert W. Cherny, Gretchen Lemke-Santangelo, and Richard Griswold del Castillo

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin

ISBN: 0395-95964-0.

Title: English Simplified

Author: Ellsworth, Blanche

Edition: Most recent edition.

After reading the Syllabus and other course information, the first thing you will need to do is take the Intro Quiz.  You can take the Intro Quiz as often as needed until you earn a perfect score.  Once you pass the Intro Quiz with a 100% score you can move onto the next assignment.  Again, you can take the Intro Quiz as many times as you need to to earn a perfect score.  (By doing this you learn the requirements for the class, and your first grade for the semester will be an "A"!)

Module Work

The class is divided into several modules. (Links to each module are found on the "Modules" page; to access this page click on "Modules" in the left-hand column menu.)  In most cases, each module has an objective quiz, a written assignment, and a discussion forum.   

• Quizzes:
  • Quizzes are based on the Competing Visions textbook and have objective questions.
  • You can take each quiz only once.  Each quiz is timed.  Once you begin to take a quiz, you may not stop.
  • Objective quizzes have ten questions per textbook chapter, and you have one hour per chapter to answer all the questions in a quiz.
  • A quiz may be taken during the time we are studying the module in which the chapter is being discussed.  Quizzes open at 12:15am on the first day and close at 11:45pm on the last day a module is being discussed.  (See the Class Schedule for dates.)
  • To access the quizzes, select "Test Center" from the left-hand column menu, and then select the current quiz.
• Written Assignments:
  • Written assignments are based on information from websites, the required class books, or other assigned readings.  (Module 1 requires you to only answer questions based on website readings, so you can complete this module even if you do not have the class books.)
  • Written assignments may be submitted anytime the module is being discussed.  Written assignments open at 12:15am on the first day and close at 11:45pm on the last day a module is being discussed.  (See the Class Schedule for dates.)
  • You submit your written assignments to me on ETUDES-NG's Assignment webpage.  To access the written assignment submission box, select Assignments from the left-hand-column menu, and then select the current assignment.
• Discussion Board:
  • Students are expected to participate by making relevant, thoughtful, constructive and respectful posts on the Discussion Board at least thrice per week.
  • Throughout the time we are studying a module, I will post at least one discussion question on the Discussion Board relevant to that module.  Students are encouraged to respond to this question, respond to other students' posts, and post questions or topics of their own.  I am particularly impressed by students who draw connections between the historical period under study and the present.
  • At least three posts need to be made each week.  For grading purposes, posts need to be made at least one day apart.  However, students are encouraged to make more than three posts each week and more than one post each day.
• Test:
  • There is one objective test in the class based on information from Competing Visions.
  • Approximately forty percent of the questions are taken from the quizzes, so make sure you study your past quizzes before taking the test.  The remaining questions will be new to you.
  • The test is open for only one day!  You must take the test on its due date between 12:15am and 11:45pm.
  • You must take the test on your own; you may not have help from anyone else when taking the test.

Evaluation, Grading, and Determination of Final Grade

• Quizzes:
  • Each objective question is worth one point.
  • Soon after the the module closes, your score and the correct answers will be available.  Some people may ask, "Why can't I get my score right after I finish the quiz?"  In previous quarters I sent student scores out immediately after the quiz was completed.  However, students have suggested it would be helpful if they received the correct answers as well as their quiz scores; this way quiz questions can be studied in preparation for the final.  Since it would be unfair to release quiz answers before all students have taken a quiz, the best solution is to release student scores and correct answers only after the modules close.
• Written Assignments:
  • Questions worth five points require a short answer.
  • Questions worth twenty points require an essay answer.
  • See the Important Class Information module for more detailed instructions on answering written assignments.
  • I try to grade all written assignments before you submit your next assignment, but sometimes it may be longer.
• Discussion Board:
  • Posts are worth a total of one hundred points.
  • A maximum of fifty points will be awarded approximately half-way through the class based on posts to date.  At the end of the semester, the remaining fifty points will be awarded based on second-half-of-semester posts.
• Tests:
  • The test is based on information from the Competing Visions textbook.
  • Unlike quizzes, the test is open for only one day!  You must take the test on its due date between 12:15am and 11:45pm.
  • Tests are not returned to students.
• Life Happens Points:
  • Unexpected events occur in all our lives.  Sometimes our schedules are interrupted with rather insignificant events such as a last-minute work schedule change, a power outage, or a vehicle malfunction.  Other times the unforeseen event is serious; a close friend dies, a loved one is diagnosed with a serious illness and must spend time in the hospital, or you might be in an accident.  Events such as these might result in you missing a module's quiz and written assignment.
  • Therefore, since life happens, at the end of the quarter, I will add ten points to everyone's grade (this equals one objective quiz or approximately half of a written assignment).  If you complete all the module quizzes and written assignments, these added points will be extra credit points.  If, for whatever reason (including adding the class from the Wait List after the first module), you miss a module's quiz or written assignment, you will be able to maintain your grade in the course.
  • This means there are no make-up quizzes or written assignments - no matter how tragic the circumstance.  Remember, the Life Happens Points won't let you fall behind if you miss some work.
• Final Grade Determination:
  • At the end of the semester I will add up each students' points.
  • Students who earn 90% or more of the total possible points will receive an "A," 80% or more equals a "B," 70% percent or more is a "C," 60% or more is a "D," and below 60% is a "F."
  • The instructor has absolute and final discretion in awarding grades.
• Incomplete:
  • “Incomplete academic work for unforeseeable emergency and justifiable reasons at the end of the term may result in an "I" symbol being entered in the student's record. The condition for removal of the "I" shall be stated by the instructor in a written record (Incomplete Contract). This record shall contain the conditions for removal of the "I" and the grade assigned in lieu of its removal. This record must be given to the student with a copy on file with the Registrar until the "I" is made up or the time limit has passed. A final grade shall be assigned when the work stipulated has been completed and evaluated or when the time limit for completing the work has passed. The "I" may be made up no later than one year following the end of the term in which it was assigned. The "I" symbol shall not be used in calculating units attempted nor for grade points.” (2007-2009 COS Catalog, 23).

• Print out a copy of the Class Schedule and keep it handy.
• Because you know all the due dates far in advance and because you may take the quizzes and tests any time during the twenty-four to forty-eight hour period they are available, late work is not accepted.
• Since quizzes, written assignments, and tests are open over an extended period of time, there is no reason for work to be late; if you have a computer that crashes or there are electrical storms in your area, take the test very early so you will have time to fix any problems or find another computer on which to take the quizzes or test if an issue arises.
• Power outages and computer crashes are no excuse for late work.
• Being without a textbook (for whatever reason) is not a valid excuse for late work.
• Adding the class late is not a valid excuse for late work.
• It is your responsibility to know how to use the world wide web and ETUDES-NG.
• If you miss a quiz or two, all is not lost.  See my previous comments concerning the Life Happens Points.

The instructor has absolute and final discretion in awarding grades.

From the College of the Siskiyous 2007 - 2009 College Catalog (page 28):

Definition:

Plagiarism is an act of theft committed by a person who is stealing someone else’s intellectual property. Plagiarism is an act of dishonesty. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, a writer is misrepresenting someone else’s words or ideas as his or her own.

Examples:

Intentional plagiarism exists when a student lists sources that he or she has not used; when a student copies from a source but fails to cite it, thereby misrepresenting the original source’s ideas as his or her own; when a student copies material from another student’s work without giving that other student credit; when a student buys or borrows a whole paper or portions of a paper from another student or from the World Wide Web; when a student copies another artist’s music or work of art and tries to submit it as his or her own.

Unintentional plagiarism, which is also punishable, may exist when a student attempts to paraphrase or summarize a source but copies too much from the source instead of re-writing the ideas in his or her own words; when a student inadvertently fails to include a parenthetical reference to a source, although the source is listed among the citations at the end of the paper; when a student fails to put quotation marks around quoted material; when a student relies too heavily on external sources, thus expressing few or none of his or her own ideas.

These examples are not all inclusive of every possible form of plagiarism and should not be considered as such.

From the 2005 – 2007 Shasta College Catalog (pages 20-21):

Taking Information

a. Copying graded homework assignments from another student.

b. Working together on a take-home test or homework when not specifically permitted by the instructor.

c. Looking at another student’s paper during an examination.

d. Looking at text or notes during an examination when not specifically permitted by the instructor.

e. Accessing another student’s computer and using his/her data as one’s own.

Providing Information

a. Giving one’s work to another to be copied or used in an oral presentation.

b. Giving answers to another student during an examination.

c. After taking an examination, informing a student enrolled in a later course section of questions that appear on the examination.

d. Providing a term paper to another student.

e. Taking an examination, writing a paper, or creating computer data or artistic work for another

Plagiarism

a. Failing to give credit for ideas, statement of facts, or conclusions derived by another author. Failure to use quotation marks when quoting directly from another, whether it be a paragraph, a sentence, or a part thereof.

b. Submitting a paper purchased from a “research” or term paper service.

c. Copying another person’s assignment and handing it in as one’s own.

d. Giving a speech or oral presentation written by another and claiming it as one’s own work.

e. Claiming credit for artistic work done by someone else, such as a music composition, photos, a painting, drawing, sculpture, or design.

f. Presenting another’s computer data as one’s own.

Other Academic Dishonesty

a. Planning with one or more fellow students to commit any form of academic dishonesty together.

b. Having another student take one’s examination or do one’s computer data or lab experiment.

c. Lying to an instructor to increase a grade.

d. Submitting papers or speeches that are substantially the same for credit in two different courses without prior approval of the instructors involved.

e. Altering a graded work after it has been returned, then submitting the work for re-grading unless specifically allowed by the instructor.

f. Removing tests from the classroom without the approval of the instructor, or stealing tests.

g. Copying computer software from a floppy disk or a hard drive unless specifically allowed by the instructor.”

Attendance Policy

Students must log-in to the class on or before the Module 1 due date AND submit the Module 1 written assignment. If you do not submit the Module 1 assignment, you risk being dropped from the class.

See the current Bakersfield Class Schedule or this class’ schedule for the last day to drop the class.

See the current Bakersfield Class Schedule or this class’ schedule for the last day to drop the class.