Professor’s Welcome Message
Welcome to San Diego Miramar College GEOL100 – Physical
Geology 100 Online Course!
Hello Geology Student! My name is Ray Rector, your geology
online instructor for this course.
Congratulations
for signing up for my physical geology course here at Miramar College during
this six-week summer 2024 session – you picked a great program!
This is No-Cost, 3-unit, college-level, physical science course that takes
place over a compressed 6-week time block, and is taught purely online and
asynchronous.
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
(hopefully) get college credit for doing it. To successfully complete
this course, you must successfully complete a couple of research writing
assignments, post on discussion board forums with your fellow students, take
several quizzes and exams, and go on an extra credit virtual fieldtrip or two.
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 personal
website email address at geoprof@geoscirocks.com
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) 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 geoprof@geoscirocks.com.
d) Assessment components (graded class activities) of
this course are found under the "Assignments", “Discussion”,
and “Quizzes” sections.
e) The course’s geology science curriculum is
found both on the course Canvas page under “Learning Resources” and
at my personal student website at www.geoscirocks.com.
Learning resources include the no-cost e-textbook, the professor’s
lecture materials (Power Points and lecture notes), streaming geology learning
videos and tutorials, and several Internet geosciences education links.
f) Required research/writing assignments are found in
the “Assignments” and “Discussion Board”
links. You access writing assignment instructions and submit your
assignment response from the “Assignments” or “Discussion”
portal, depending on the assignment.
g) Quizzes and Exams are taken via 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.
5) Your typical work agenda for each week will include the
following: a) reading one or two chapters in your no-cost e-textbook, b)
viewing the professor's recorded lectures and PowerPoint presentations, c)
watching one or two “Earth Revealed” streaming geology videos,
watch, and study the short geology topic tutorial videos, posting on discussion
board, working on a research assignment, and d) taking a learning assessment
quiz.
6) I personally grade your written assignments and forum posts,
whereas the quizzes and exams are automatically graded. Therefore, you
get homework and test results back rather 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,
schedule, and 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 under the “Home” page (URL: https://www.sdccd.edu/about/departments-and-offices/instructional-services-division/online-learning-pathways-1/students/student%20training.aspx)
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 assignment and test 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
assignments and tests are both unaccepted. Make sure that you stay on top
of ALL due dates (listed in the Course Schedule).
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.
2) Post an
introduction of yourself to class on the discussion board (details in the
Assignment folder) by Thursday.
3) Read/study the
first two textbook reading homework assignments: Chapter 1 - Introduction to
Geology and the Origin of Earth; and Chapter 2 – Plate Tectonics
4) Watch the first
three of the professor’s recorded lectures: 1) Introduction to GEOL100
and the Geological Sciences; 2) Plate Tectonics I and Plate Tectonics II. Additionally, study the professor’s
PowerPoints that accompany his lectures.
5) Read/Watch Study
other supplemental homework assignments that covers an overview of geology, the
origin of Earth, and the plate tectonic theory.
6) Take Quizzes 1 and
2 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
I hope
that you will enjoy this class this summer session, and that you will learn some
interesting and important things about our fantastic planet Earth. Here’s
to you having a great learning experience in this course! See you online the first week of
class!!
Aloha!
Ray Rector