United States History I Syllabus for 2017-2018
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Instructor Information

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Book an appointment: Use Booking link on Blackboard 

 

 

 

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Course

HIST-1301-003 United States History I

Prerequisites

<p>Prerequisite: RDNG 0331-minimum grade of C or a score on a state-approved test indicating college-level reading skills</p>

Course Description

A survey of the social, political, economic, cultural and intellectual history of the United States from the pre-Columbian era to the Civil War/Reconstruction period. United States History I includes the study of pre-Columbian, colonial, revolutionary, early national, slavery and sectionalism, and the Civil War/Reconstruction eras. Themes that may be addressed in United States History I include: American settlement and diversity, American culture, religion, civil and human rights, technological change, economic change, immigration and migration, and creation of the federal government.

Student ResourcesStudent Resources Website

Department Expectations

Occupational License Disclaimer

Notice to Students enrolled in an educational program for preparation of issuance of certain occupational licenses:

Students enrolled in an educational program in preparation for obtaining certain occupational licenses are potentially ineligible for such license if the student has been convicted of an offense. For further information, please contact your advisor, the Legal Clinic, or the faculty member in charge of the educational program that you seek to enroll in. The further information you will receive will include notification to you of your right to request a criminal history evaluation letter from the licensing authority in order to clarify your particular situation.

Hours

(3 sem hrs; 3 lec)

Class Type

Online Course

Syllabus Information

Textbooks

Required: REVEL E-Book, The American Nation: A History of the United States Volume I. The link to join the REVEL course can be found through the textbook tab on Blackboard. 

Supplies

E-book and assignments can be accessed via a smart phone, tablet, or computer. 

Student Performance

 Assignment Breakdown

*25%: REVEL Assignments. There are 16 chapters in the REVEL e-book. Each chapter consists of activities- short quizzes over the reading material and a chapter quiz. If you don't get the answer correct on the first attempt, it will allow you to choose another one without penalty, as these assignments are intended to be open-book. At the end of the semester, the overall average for REVEL counts as 25% of your course grade. Although self-paced, you will have assignments due every Monday at 11:45 pm, with the exception of the first week. Don't sweat losing a few points- 300+ points are usually available each week, but keep up with the assignments or your grade will be negatively effected by the end of the semester! Note: these grades are not automatically transferred. Generally, I manually transfer them every couple of weeks.

*40%: Blackboard Exams. Four Blackboard exams comprise 40% of your course grade. Each exam covers four chapters and consists of 50 multiple-choice questions, which you have 1 hr to complete. You can use your textbook/notes but the exam will automatically submit after 1 hr, so use your time wisely! You are required to use a special browser (Respondus Lockdown Browser) in order to take the exam. You can use an on-campus computer or download the software onto your computer. You MUST use the link that I have provided in Blackboard in order to put the program on your computer! Amarillo College has a license with Respondus for online classes and the link will provide the free version that we have. Because of the special browser, each exam has a generic password, which can be found under the test description. Note: The test description doesn't show up on a lot of mobile devices, so if you don't see the password, look on a computer or email a classmate! There is an optional 100 question comprehensive final that can be used to replace your lowest exam grade. You will have a minimum of four days to complete each exam- usually Saturday-Tuesday, with the exception of the optional final where you only have two days. 

25%: Blackboard Discussions. There are a total of four Blackboard discussions throughout the course of the semester, which generally fall between the exams and are due every other Friday. The introductory discussion is graded on a complete/incomplete basis. Discussions #2-4 utilize primary sources in the REVEL e-book and are graded based on use of document(s) and coherent arguments. Responding to two classmates is a part of your grade for discussions 2-4.  

10%:Course Paper.  The state of Texas requires an ethics paper for this course. This is a research paper and you are required to use at least one academic source. This is a department-wide assignment. Be sure to read the FAQ that I created for this assignment, which can be found on Blackboard! While a research assignment, it also requires you to connect your personal experiences with the topic. You will lose at least one letter grade if you do not do this! 

Students Rights and Responsibilities

Student Rights and Responsibilities

Log in using the AC Connect Portal

In order to receive your AC Connect Email, you must log in through AC Connect at https://acconnect.actx.edu .

If you are an active staff or faculty member according to Human Resources, use "Exchange". All other students, use "AC Connect (Google) Email".

Expected Student Behavior

Although an online class, you are expected to be polite and respectful to your classmates in online discussions. 

Grading Criteria

A: 90-100

B: 80-89

C: 70-79

D: 60-69

F: <60

Attendance

This is a self-paced class, but assignments must be completed by the due date! I open assignments early to give you as much flexibility as possible. If you miss an exam, you have the option of replacing the 0 by taking the optional Comprehensive Final Exam. For the ethics paper, I will subtract one letter grade for each day the assignment is late.   

REVEL assignments can only be submitted after the due date in extenuating circumstances. This is largely due to the fact that it only allows extensions in blocks of 24 hrs. Please note that REVEL will not give you credit for work that is submitted after 11:45 pm on the due date. For example, if you open the chapter quiz at 11:28, you will only get credit for the first couple of questions that are answered before 11:45. Do them as early as possible! 

However, Blackboard tests only need to be started by the due date. For example, exams have to be started BY 11:30 pm on the due date. However, the Discussion Board will disappear after 11:30, so make sure to submit all of your responses before then!  

Calendar

Week 1 & 2: REVEL chapters 1-3 (no chapter quiz for chapter 1) & Blackboard Discussion #1 

Blackboard Test #1

Week 3: REVEL chapters 4 & 5

Week 4: REVEL chapters 6 & 7; Discussion #2 

Blackboard Test #2 

Week 5: REVEL chapters 8 & 9 

Ethics Paper due Friday November 17th

Week 6: REVEL chapters 10 & 11; Discussion #3

Blackboard Test #3

Week 7: REVEL chapters 12 & 13 

Blackboard Test #4

Week 8: REVEL chapters 14-16 (No chapter quiz for chapter 16), & Discussion #4 

OPTIONAL comprehensive Final 

Note: There is some overlap between Blackboard test days and REVEL assignments. You can take the exam before the due date in REVEL, but you have 1 extra day to take the Blackboard exam. In other words, REVEL assignments are due on Mondays, exams are due on Tuesdays, although it opens the previous Saturday. 

Additional Information

Please thoroughly go through the Blackboard sections and send me an email with any questions that you might have!

Syllabus Created on:

01/14/18 8:22 PM

Last Edited on:

01/14/18 8:30 PM