Introduction to the Distance Learning Course
for
Survey of American Literature
English 204

Last Update:  Monday, February 14th, 2005 

Instructor: Karen D. Austin
Shepherd University, Shepherdstown, WV 25443
email: kaustin@shepherd.edu 
webpage: http://webpages.shepherd.edu/kaustin/

If you are want to get pre-approval so that you can add this class via RAIL, read this page before sending me an email with the following information:

• your full name
• your new SU ID (which you can retrieve on RAIL)
• the CRN and semester for course (such as 31091 for Fall 2004) and 
• Shepherd College logon (such as jsmith02) but do not give me your password!

I need these four pieces of information in order to grant you pre-approval to enroll and to log you into the electronic classroom.  Pre-approval will be granted on a first-come, first-serve basis. I always grant more approvals than I have space to ensure the class fills, so be sure to add via RAIL as soon as possible after receiving approval.  I will not be granting any overrides, but you can keep trying to add during the add/drop period.  Note when tuition is due; a few students will lose their spots for nonpayment a day or two after that date.

If you want to get a feel for the class, here is a copy of the syllabus, which lists only the authors and not the readings, since I tend to change the readings a bit from semester to semester. Nevertheless, it will give you a sense of what the class involves:

http://webpages.shepherd.edu/kaustin/204i_syl.htm

This first online quiz will cover the information on this web page, so read with care! 

Lecture Module: Policies

English 204: Survey of American Literature
Instructor: Karen D. Austin
Shepherd University, Shepherdstown, 25443

Each quiz will include an essay question. I'll give you the question ahead of time so that you can write it before you open the quiz if you choose. This will give you more time to answer the other more objective questions.  The essays should have an introductory paragraph concluding with your thesis, at least two body paragraphs, and a conclusion that summarizes and presents a final insight.  Proofread for errors for more points. 

NOTE: Use (P) between paragraphs because WebCT's current version has been collapsing paragraphs pasted in from word processing software. Or if you are comfortable with html, use the codes <p> and </p> to open and close paragraphs. 

Essay Question:   Write a 4 to 6 paragraph essay on the following topic.  Students enrolled in face-to-face classes drop or fail at a rate of about 15%. Students enrolled in online classes, drop or fail at a rate of 40%. Write an essay in which you examine the difficulties inherent in distance education (online) and set forth strategies that students can adopt for overcoming these difficulties.  Among the problems include the temptation to plagiarize (which can lead to having to withdraw from the class or to failing the class).  Here is the grading criteria for essays.  Be sure to read the grading criteria carefully because there will be a quiz question or two on it. 

Course Policies

You should note the course goals, as set forth by the Shepherd University English Department, so that you can better understand the purpose for the class assignments:

Also, DO NOT SKIP the first quiz over class policies and WebCT functions. Material on this page (the quiz material) is essential for understanding how to succeed in this class.

The first quiz will ask you 15 questions about the material here. The essay question (worth half the available points) will ask you to analyze the problem and present solutions for the high drop/withdraw/failure rate for online classes.

You can find the required readings online or in the SC Bookstore. The anthology The Norton Anthology of American Literature, Sixth Edition, Shorter. and the novel,  Storming Heaven by Denise Giardina are both be available in the Shepherd University Bookstore. Giardina's novel is about the West Virginia coal mining wars at the beginning of the 20th Century.  You may want to rent the movie Matewan, which has fictional elements of it, but is set in this same context and overlaps with Giardina's book. 

You must have completed English 101 and English 102 or their equivalents prior to taking English 204.  If the registrar office does not have a record of your finishing English 101 and 102 (here or elsewhere if you are a transfer student), then you cannot take English 204 until you complete these prerequisites.

You must be registered as a student at Shepherd University in order to take the class. This may be the only class you ever take from Shepherd, but you must apply to the school and be accepted as a student in order to take this class.

You must enter the class through your Shepherd University computer account.  The class will be conducted through WebCT, an electronic course management system (aka an electronic classroom) that requires a Shepherd University Logon and Password as well as RAIL registration for entry.  WebCT houses the syllabus,  the lectures, the bulletin boards (class discussion), the weekly quizzes, the full paper assignment, and the final exam. 

Here are instructions for retrieving your password if you've lost or forgotten it:

1. Go to RAIL: http://www.shepherd.edu/rail/  and click on "Next Stop Rail--All Aboard"
2. Type in your User ID (from the back of your Rambler card) and your PIN.
3. Click "Log in"
4. Click "Personal Information"
5. Scroll to the bottom of the list of links.
6. Click "Password Management"
7. Click "Retrieve Original Password"
8. Read and accept the Acceptable Use Policy.
9. Your username and password are now displayed. We STRONGLY suggest that you not write down the password. If you feel you must write down this password in order to be able to sign in for the account training, be sure to destroy the paper with the original password on it.
10. Click "exit" once you have finished.
11. Click "Return to Homepage" to return to the screen to the beginning.

Type this url for the WebCT class:

courses.shepherd.edu 

which looks like this once the entry page fully loads: 

http://online.shepherd.edu/webct/public/home.pl 

From this page, you will have to type in your Shepherd University logon and password in order to gain entrance to the electronic classroom (course webpages). If you have changed your password for email, uses your NEW password. Once you give me your logon (NOT your password), I will enter it into the WebCT account. Nevertheless, I will not do until after I receive class rolls. You have to clear up parking tickets, library fines, and prerequisites before RAIL will let you enroll. 

You must use your SC email account, even if this means that you set your SC account to forward to your preferred account (yahoo, aol, hotmail, juno, citlink, etc.) in case of very rare problems with the WebCT server. Starting Fall 2003, all instructors at Shepherd University are requiring their student to use their SC email. This way, teachers can look up your email accounts, and  teachers can always know your account since the SC email address never changes (but students often change ISPs). Also, we don't have to be embarrassed by suggestive email addresses!  Sometimes I have to send email to some or all of my students, and it's a lot easier for me to use the SC email because it's the same as your logon.  I will email you all to tell you when the WebCT classroom is open, AND I'LL BE USING YOUR SC EMAIL ADDRESS,  so check your SC email regularly or set that account to forward.

Here are the instructions for setting your SC account to forward to your preferred accounts:

1. Go to RAIL: http://mail.shepherd.edu
2. Type in your Shepherd username and your password
3. Click LOGON
4. Click CONTINUE
5. Under the PERSONAL options menu, click on "Change Mail Forwarding Information."
6. In the dialogue box, type the e-mail address that you would like to use to receive e-mail.
7. Click SAVE.
8. Cick LOGOFF.
9. Any e-mail sent to your Shepherd University address will now be forwarded to the address that you designated. IF YOU CHANGE YOUR PERSONAL ISP/EMAIL ADDRESS, CHANGE THE INSTRUCTIONS FOR FORWARDING.

You must have moderate computer literacy for classes that employ WebCT as a teaching tool.  You must have a good command of online technology: sending email, sending attachments, posting to bulletin boards, and surfing the Internet.  I can answer some questions about how to negotiate through online technology, but I cannot spend very much of my class time on technology issues. 

You must have a stable Internet Service Provider for Distance Learning Classes.  If your computer server cuts off in the middle of a quiz, the WebCT software will process your quiz as finished, even if you have not answered all of the questions. You can drop three of the quizzes over the course of the semester, which allows for you to drop quizzes that involve technical problems. In other words, you can drop three quizzes for any reason including technology problems BUT NO MORE THAN THREE.  If you have a slow or sputtering dial-up ISP or an ISP that has irregular service, you will end up having too many technical problems to take the class. You must find access to a computer that has a stable Internet connection, or you cannot take a class with a WebCT component.  Note that I never give extensions or additional drops for computer problems. NEVER! Solve this problem before the class even starts by employing a good connection.

You have to disable pop-up blocking software in order to take the quizzes.  Because the quizzes in WebCT open up one screen inside of another, blocking software prevents the quiz from opening if you have this type of software installed on your computer. Be sure to disable this blocking software before opening the quizzes. (Note: you can post to the bulletin board and read the lecture modules with this blocking software in place, so don't be fooled into thinking you will not have problems once you actually try to take the first quiz.)

The WebCT environment -- which uses a lot of Java Script -- works better with a Recent Version Netscape or Explorer.  In the past, students have experienced technical difficulties when using Internet Explorer and AOL's browser--specifically, students found the browser did not save their quiz questions or the browser kicked them out of the quiz function.  I think the real problem was that people were using old versions of browsers from 2001 or 2002 (or earlier), and WebCT uses a lot of Java Script.  Make sure that you have the most recent version of whichever browser you choose to use.  Some students found they had to borrow someone else's computer with more recently installed browser software to take the quizzes, but they could use their "troublemaking" browsers for reading online lectures and posting to the class bulletin board. 

During a Summer I Session, there will be one quiz every school day (due M, T, W, R at 11). 

Because students only have 4 weeks to complete 16 weeks of work, summer block classes require a lot of time, usually between 4 and 7 hours per class day (Monday through Thursday).  Be prepared for a heavier workload in order to succeed.  The syllabus does not drop ANYTHING when running over a summer session from a fall / spring one. Students who try to do the class an hour before they go to sleep after a full day at work find that that's not enough time for reading the literature, writing the essay and taking the quiz.  Realize that online courses are not easier than face-to-face courses; they are only more convenient -- and in some ways harder.

Each Lecture Module (a week on the semester, one day for Summer I)  will involve the following:

1. Read the online lecture for the week,  half week or day, which will contain some links to other institutions' sites.
2. Read the assigned work(s) from The Norton Anthology of American Literature,  6th Edition, Shorter.
3. If you are in an Internet only section, post substantial comments about each poem, essay, short story or novel chapter on the class bulletin board BEFORE YOU TAKE THE QUIZ covering that work. Fifteen percent of your overall grade will be based on your bulletin board posts. You should discuss the author, context, content, and interpretation of each work in a substantive post. These posts will be graded holistically.  You will not earn points for short, "me too" post made minutes before the quiz deadline. You will get fewer points if the posts merely repeat what other students have already said or contain word-for-word summaries from the lecture modules or from the editor's introductions.  Use the posts to explore your interpretation of the works.
4. Send me direct email to kaustin@shepherd.edu if you still have unanswered questions about the readings after reading the lecture modules, the editor's introductions, and the bulletin board posts.
5. Take a weekly, semi-weekly or daily quiz, which will consist of objective questions as well as an essay question for that unit's reading(s).  
6. Read one chapter of the novel per week or day and take notes on events, personalities, and the family relationships as you go.

Don't be surprised by the time limit on the quiz/essay questions. The quiz/essay will be open book, but they will be timed.  You will have 40 minutes to answer an essay question as well as a number of objective questions (multiple choice, matching, and fill-in-the blank). Of course, these questions are open book, but not open friend. Most student write the essays ahead of time so they can just cut-and-paste them into the quiz, leaving 39 minutes for answering the other questions.

Hit the "Save Answer" buttons frequently, but press the "Finish" button only when you are entirely finished with the quiz, recognizing that once you hit the time limit, the quiz sends automatically.  WebCT provides instructions for each quiz, which you should read before opening the timed portion of the quiz.  Many students lose points because they fail to save their essay answer at all, or they fail to save their work on their essay as they go, then the quiz runs out of time and none of their work is saved. The wise and prudent student will save each objective question as he or she goes, knowing that it's possible to return and change an answer (pressing "save answer again") before finishing the quiz. Also, the wise and prudent student will press "save answer" after finishing each paragraph of the essay question in case he or she runs out of time--or in the hopefully rare case that the Internet connection cuts off.  Briefly, save early and save often!  If you have a problem with saving your answers, you will have to use one of your three "dropped" quizzes for the improperly completed quiz.

Press "Save Answer" often! Press "Save Answer" often! Press "Save Answer" often!  

Every semester several students lose points because they neglect to press SAVE ANSWER.  Let's set a new record for your class and have everyone press SAVE ANSWER for each question on every test.

Take the quizzes early in the week or day.  The computer will not accept quizzes completed after the deadline as posted in the quiz function, so note it.  Be sure you do these early -- especially since your computer and the school's server may not have "synchronized watches."  Do not complain about taking a quiz on Martin Luther King Day, Spring Break, or any other unusual day, because you can take quizzes earlier in the week when your schedule permits.  PLAN AHEAD for when you will post to the bulletin boards and take the quizzes. If you tell me EARLY IN THE WEEK OR AT LEAST EARLY IN THE DAY about a problem, that works much better than emailing the hour before the deadline. Again, I will allow everyone to drop  three quizzes, but these drops will include those quizzes missed because a) you didn't get your account before a deadline, b) you had Internet connection or browser problems c) you had problems finding an available computer d) you had a conflict with your work schedule, or e) you had a personal / family emergency.  Again, do not wait until the last hour that the quiz is open to take the quiz!

Do NOT be frivolous or careless with your dropped quizzes. Do not plan to miss three quizzes because you didn't have time to read, or because you were swamped with midterms, or because you  hate reading poetry, or because you had a social engagement that evening. Miss quizzes only in the event of genuine emergencies.  Do not squander these and then later in the semester come begging for me to excuse a missed quiz because you got sick, you overslept, your computer crashed, you were snowed in, your grandmother died, you had to go to a wedding, or you had car problems on the way home from work and couldn't get to a computer. The dropped quizzes are for real emergencies only such as the ones I  just named or tragedies such as being in the hospital or losing power during a blackout during the last hour the quiz was open. The wise student will study for all quizzes, take ALL weekly quizzes and then drop the three lowest scores. Be wise.  The only exceptions require that you be deployed with the military or travel with a SC athletic team; even then, soldiers and athletes will have to make up the work by writing the essays for any quizzes missed beyond three.  I also never give extensions. It's actually really difficult to set up extensions because of constraints of the software. I give you all three drops, and you have to be responsible for how you use them. It's YOUR responsibility, not mine. 

Realize that you cannot work far ahead.  Because we are working together as a classroom community, you cannot take several quizzes in the same week. Well, you can read ahead and even write BB posts ahead; you just can't take quizzes ahead of schedule. This course is not an Independent Study class. Consequently, the students work together--reading the anthology and  lectures in sequence, posting to the bulletin board in a way that comments on both the readings and on each others' posts, and then finishing the quizzes roughly at the same time.  I cannot field questions about several units at one time; we must work together.  You will soon discover that you need a full week or day in order to read all of the material, post to the bulletin board, and review your notes before opening the timed quiz.

Do Not Plagiarize When Writing the Essays and Do Not Collaborate When Taking the Online Quizzes.  In the past, I have flunked students who have submitted essays (or large parts of their essays) that they did not write.  I have also flunked students who have collaborated on taking the online quizzes.  In Fall 2003 alone, 5 students failed the class for cheating.  I do not like having to give students consequences for academic dishonesty, but I am adamant about doing so. DON'T CHEAT; I MEAN IT. I do not know how I can be any clearer on this matter.

The consequences for cheating range from redoing an assignment to failing an assignment to flunking the class to expulsion from the university.  Do not submit another person's writing as your own. Do not collaborate when taking quizzes. You need to place in quotation marks any writing composed by another person--whether you get the source from a web page, a book, a magazine, etc.-- and you need to include in-text citations.   If you paraphrase a publication or draw on another person's ideas, you need to credit the author in-text.  If you are unsure about how to write your paper using MLA citation style, see a tutor in the Writing Center or send me a direct email well before the paper is due.  

Please avoid all the unpleasant business that comes with cheating. Just manage your time and do your own work! If you have anxieties about how to study for this class, then seek help from me and from tutors before you get desperate enough to cheat.  I am very happy to teach you how to read and write about literature. I've disciplined about two students every semester for my six years at Shepherd for these infractions. Don't make me do this anymore. It's unpleasant for you; it's unpleasant for me.

Wow. What a tedious online lecture.  Despite all of these finger-wagging cautions, I want to emphasize that I look forward to teaching this course. I enjoy American literature, and I like to teach others to enjoy it as well. I just want people to be completely forewarned in order to avoid problems during the semester / term that will detract from our discussion of this marvelous literature!  

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