Welcome to History 1301

Hello and welcome to the orientation for History 1301.

My name is George "Andy" Anderson. I will be your instructor for this semester. I have taught 1301 and 1302 here in Houston at North Harris College and at HCCS. I'm really looking forward to this semester.

History 1301 is a survey or overview course that will take us from the beginnings of human life in the Americas through the end of the Reconstruction after the Civil War. We will examine the early social, political, and cultural events that shaped our country's early history, influences that are still at work in the nation we know today.
Distance Education vs. "Live" Classrooms
For those of you that are new to Distance Education, an "online" class can initially seem very different from a traditional "classroom" course...but that's not really true. Both an online and a traditional course have text books and supplemental readings, both have tests to take and papers to write, and both have schedules and due dates. Needless to say, both have instructors and students.
But the online course is very different in the "delivery" mechanism: instead of a classroom, you have a PC. Instead of raising your hand to ask a question, you send an Email. Instead of driving to campus, parking, walking to class (and back again), the online student simply logs on using a PC - at their own schedule.
It's Still College...
However, this online class is still a History course with the same high standards set by the History Department at HCCS - so don't think think this will be easy: it's still college. And like the rest of your college experience, you will get out of this course what you put into it.
I read once that the "A" college student spends 3 hours of outside study for every hour inside the classroom (for a 3 hour course credit, that's 9 hours of outside study per week). This online course will be no different: the serious, successful student will need to put in a solid, self-directed effort to get a good result. In a "First Eight" class, more time per week may be required.
But let's talk about how much more interesting this will be compared to a traditional "live" class.
-Assignments will be Emailed to me at your convenience and I'll make every effort to grade things quickly and get your grade results to you electronically.
-I'll be visiting the "Towne Meeting" most Wednesday evenings in our private WebCT Chat Room - and I hope to "see" you in there; students will use the Chat rooms for CE Groups, sharing ideas, or whatever.
-The four Section Exams are taken online and are open book / open notes.
- You will be encouraged to work with your fellow students on the weekly assignments and you will share in online discussions with the entire class.
-There is enough extra credit available that an enterprising student can use it to improve a full letter grade.
Self-Directed Schedule
The First Eight and Second Eight sessions cover the same material as a 16-week class but in this 8-week courses, the assignment schedule is determined by each student: it's a student or self directed schedule. "Pacesetter" target submittal dates are provided so the student can roughly judge their progress through the short semester but in reality, all assignments are due at the end of the course.
It is strongly suggested that students keep up with or stay ahead of the Pacesetter target dates, that is, submit assignments throughout the 8-week session. Grades for submitted assignments will be posted weekly (generally, in by Sunday, graded by Tuesday).
This course cannot be completed successfully by leaving everything for the last week. I expect students to send a WebCT email periodically and let me know how they're doing. I will review student progress and contact students who are not progressing through the assignments.
Importance of the Syllabus and DE Orientation
You will find the syllabus for this course on the next page; please READ THE SYLLABUS CAREFULLY!. The syllabus is very detailed and spells out what the course requirements are, what is due when, how your grade is calculated and a host of other subjects and issues that might normally be covered in a first traditional class lecture. Sure, I probably missed something in the syllabus and you can contact me about that , but I hope you will find it complete enough to help guide you through the next semester.

For now, please make sure you carefully read the rest of the WebCT orientation pages; the information in those pages is absolutely critical to your success. Pay particular attention to bits and pieces about your PC's hardware and software. There are required applications that you may need to download and the reliability and speed of your Internet connection is highly important. If you have a flaky setup at home, you may want to consider using PCs on campus or at your local library - especially when taking a timed online test.

And lastly, this course assumes you are already proficient in the use of a PC, how to use the Internet, and how to use standard PC applications (such as MS Word, Email, etc.). The purpose of this class is to learn American history - not to learn about computers. If you are not reasonably "computer literate", please acquire the necessary basic skills before attempting this class.

"See" You Soon

I guess that about wraps it up for now. I'm looking forward to working with you this semester as your education takes another step forward.

Regards,

Andy