Professor’s Welcome Message
Welcome to Gavilan College GEOL-1 Physical Geology Online Course!
Hello Geology Student! My name is Ray Rector, your geology
online instructor for this course.
Congratulations
for signing up for my introduction to geology course here at Gavilan College
during this semester – you picked a great program! This is a
No-Cost, 4-unit, college-level, lecture-lab combination earth science course that takes place over a 16-week time span and is
taught purely online and asynchronous on Canvas.
How
This Online Geology Class Works:
1) The student (that’s you!) uses this asynchronous online
classroom platform (Canvas) to learn introductory geology and successfully get
college credit for doing it. To complete this course, you will need to successfully
attempt a set of geology lecture and lab study topic assignments, post on the
Canvas discussion board forums with your fellow students, take quizzes and a
final exam, and go on virtual geology fieldtrips.
2) The instructor (that’s me!) is primarily a course content
facilitator, discussion leader, and learning outcome assessor – I’m
here to make sure that you are able to access all the course content, that you
understand how to successfully complete all the course activities, and finally,
grade your assignments and tests. You and I primarily communicate
via discussion board and email me using the “Inbox” link found on
the main Dashboard Canvas page. You can also reach me at my email addresses
at both, rrector@gavilan.edu and geoprof@geoscirocks.com. Additionally, communication can be done via
Canvas Zoom.
3) The information (course content) you need to learn in this course
is found in several places: a) your textbook, b) instructor lecture notes, c)
instructor’s website links, d) numerous website and online article links
that have been included in the assignment instructions, and e) direct personal
communication with me.
4) Navigating through our Canvas course site is somewhat
simple. When you log into our Canvas course, you’ll notice that
there is a menu on the left side of the course page, where all components of
the course are listed. This menu has several linked categories that
include the following: “Home”; "Announcements”;
"Assignments"; “Discussion"; "Quizzes; and
“Grades”. Below are some details for each Canvas menu item:
a) The
“Home” link is where you will find all the various course
components listed/expanded to view.
The “Home” page also has important logistical documents and
information, such as my instructor welcome message and video links, and the
course syllabus and schedule. Other
useful items are also there and include assignment and test-taking tips,
plagiarism info, a link to my personal educational website, and Canvas help
links.
b) The
“Announcement” is where to find weekly update messages concerning
current course activities and due dates.
c) As
noted above, means of communication between course participants is done from
the "Discussion" link.
Note that "Email" messaging is done outside the course page,
but within the general Canvas Dashboard site under the “Inbox”
Icon. Alternately,
I can be contacted via traditional email at both, rrector@gavilan.edu and geoprof@geoscirocks.com. Lastly, Canvas Zoom will be used for
student-instructor communication by appointment.
d) Assessment components (graded lecture and lab class
activities) of this course are found under the "Assignments", “Modules”,
“Discussion”, and “Quizzes” sections.
e) The course’s geology science curriculum is
found on the course’s Canvas homepage under “Learning
Resources”, and at my personal student website at www.geoscirocks.com.
Primary learning resources
include FOUR major sources of information, including 1) the no-cost e-textbooks,
2) the professor’s lecture materials (Power Points and lecture notes), 3)
streaming geology documentary videos and 4) geology video slide tutorials, along
with several Internet geosciences education links.
f) Lecture geology study topics and study resources
are found in the Canvas home page Schedule of Course Activities table. Required lecture tests (quizzes and
final exam) are found in the “Quizzes” link. Required lab
activities (lab worksheet activities, lab quizzes, and lab reflections) are
found in the “Modules” link.
g) All course quizzes and final exam are found in the
“Quizzes” link. You get three attempts at the quizzes,
and are untimed. Exams are timed
with two attempts. All tests are
open-book.
h) You have access to your grades in the course
through the “Grades” link.
i) The “Discussion” link
includes several different forums, including two graded forums. This where students can hold public or
private discussions concerning course work – primarily students helping
students – and for raising any sorts of questions, comments and concerns
about this course or anything in general. Lastly, each lab module has a lab
reflection discussion activity where you share your geology lab experience with
class.
5) Your typical work agenda for each week will include the
following: a) reading one or two
chapters in your no-cost e-textbooks, b)
viewing the professor's recorded geology lectures and PowerPoint presentations,
c) watching one or two “Earth
Revealed” streaming geology videos and several short geology topic
tutorial videos, d) taking a geology
learning assessment lecture quiz, and e)
complete a geology lab module.
6) I personally grade your lab activity worksheets and discussion
posts, whereas the quizzes and exams are automatically graded. Therefore,
you get lab and lecture learning assessment quiz results back very fast,
whereas your submitted written assignments will take longer for me to grade and
get back to you. Please give me a little patience with getting back your
graded written assignments.
Important
Resources and Must-Read Documents
Make
sure to thoroughly and carefully read the course syllabus
and schedule, including my plagiarism policy.
1) The syllabus is essentially the official course agreement between me
(the instructor) and you (the student). This is where all the course
information and logistics are found. Things like textbook
information, how assignments should be completed, and grading
standards are all found in the syllabus.
2) The schedule is, by far, one of the most important
documents during the semester for keeping your studies on a timely track
– things like homework study assignments and test due dates are all there;
it’s a document that you will want to check nearly every day. The schedule has clickable web-links for
all the weekly study assignments, including textbook chapters, lecture slide
shows and tutorials, and streaming geology videos.
3) My plagiarism policy is outlined in the “Online
Netiquette and Student Code” portion of the course syllabus and also
posted on the Canvas course menu.
Please carefully read it.
Note that I use plagiarism detection software like “Tunitin.com”
and “Eve2” on assignments that are turned in to this class.
4)
Assignment and Test taking tips are found in the “Home” page
-- created to help you successfully complete and submit the assignments,
quizzes, and exams.
5)
For those students who are new to the
Canvas online learning platform, a very helpful link to a Online Student
Training page is found at this URL:
https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-10701-canvas-student-guide-table-of-contents
You
will also be using an additional educational website that is designed and
maintained by the instructor (my personal website) exclusively created for maximizing
your learning outcomes. This
website is found at:
www.geoscirocks.com
Once there, click on the
button to
access our classroom web page.
Here you will find a plethora of information that will greatly
facilitate your success in this course.
Assignment
and Test Dates
Each
and every lecture quiz and lab module assignment has two specific dates: 1) the
availability date in which it becomes available for your inspection and
response, and 2) the due date, in which it is due for grading, which is
the same thing as the expiration date, as it also becomes unavailable
for inspection henceforth. Most assignments and tests are due on a Sunday
by 11:59 pm.
Late submitted
assignments and tests are both unaccepted, unless OK’d by me with a
viable excuse. Make sure that you stay on top of ALL due dates (listed in
the Course Schedule).
I hope
that you will enjoy learning about our fantastic planet Earth this semester,
and that you will learn new and interesting things about Earth. Let’s make the most of it in
this geology class! Look
forward to meeting everyone online.
First
Week of Class Activities/Schedule
During your first week of class, you will need to do
several things to get started in this course. Below is the list of Week #1 class
activities:
1)
Read/study the class syllabus and schedule posted on the Canvas class home page
and here
2) Post
an introduction of yourself to class on the discussion board (details in the
Assignment folder) by Thursday.
3)
Read/study the first textbook reading homework assignment – Chapter 1 -
Topics: Introduction to Geology and the Origin of Earth
4)
Read/Watch Study other supplemental homework assignments that covers an
overview of geology and the origin of Earth
5)
Watch the professor’s recorded Introduction to Class and Geology lecture
6)
Take Lecture Quiz 1 by the end of the week.
7) Complete
Lab Module #1 by the end of the week.
Oh, and if you get a chance, please
watch my posted Geology Class Welcome Video from the Big Island of Hawaii
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4s8zDr6TUFY&feature=youtu.be
See you
online the first week of class!!
Aloha!
Ray Rector