Syllabus for EH 101 Hybrid
English 101
Mr. Mike Briscoe,
BS, MA, Ed.S., The University of Alabama
Mike.briscoe@adjunct.wallacestate.edu
Fall, 2009
Thursday 6-8:30pm
This syllabus is subject to change.
Class Meetings:
This is a hybrid class. Therefore, you will only be required to come to class to complete the required essays. Five out of the six essays will be done in class, with only the research paper being done outside of class. However, for the research paper, you will be required to bring a copy to class, as well as a saved copy of it on a flash drive for download into WebCT.
Materials:
- A Writer’s Reference. 6th ed. Hacker, Diana. 2007.
- Wallace State ENG 101 packet.
- Tuesdays With Morrie. Albom, Mitch. Doubleday. New York. 1999.
Absences:
Absences for the nights of the essay are not allowed unless it is one of the reasons listed in the Wallace State handbook. Those usually include doctor’s notes, jury duty, etc. Those do NOT include routine doctor’s visits. It is your responsibility to check the handbook, and bring all necessary documentation to class upon your return. You will then be given a reasonable amount of time to complete them, usually one week.
Office Hours:
I can only be reached by email outside of class. My email address is listed above. If it is extremely, extremely urgent, contact the English department chair, Dr. Beth Johnson, at 256-352-8219. She will then call me, and give me a message to contact you.
WebCT Assignments
Keep in mind, if you miss the window of opportunity, you will be “locked out” of that particular assignment. WebCT won’t even let you click on the link anymore for that assignment.
Computers:
Computers can be a great thing. However, they can be your worst nightmare, especially for such a course as this. You should have a computer that works, needless to say. You should have Microsoft Word 2007. You should know how to use it. You should have reliable (key word) Internet access. You should be willing and able to log in weekly and check/turn in assignments. Read this part carefully: No excuses will be allowed for any kind of computer related problem which might result in your missing the assignment. It is your responsibility to make sure that you avoid the inevitable computer related issues.
Helpful hints (please feel free to help me add to this list):
- Avoid typing anything if there are storms in the area. Lightning does strike. It causes havoc with power outages, Internet access, computer crashes, etc.
- Set your computer to back up all of your work every ten minutes or so and use a “thumb” drive, aka “flash” drive to back up your work. These are found everywhere these days, and are usually the cheapest at Office Max or Wal Mart.
- Make sure you have enough toner/ink in your printers. Have you ever gone to Wal Mart at 3am to buy a cartridge? I have, and it wasn’t pretty.
- Make sure you have Microsoft Word 2007. That’s the program I’m using to send back your essays to you for revision. If you don’t use Microsoft Word 2007, you won’t be able to open any of my attachments. If you don’t have Microsoft Word 2007, check with the bookstore to see if they have it and can give you a student discount on it. Otherwise, I would suggest going to Office Max and purchase Microsoft Home & Student 2007. It has Word 2007, plus several others including Power Point, One Note, etc. I believe the cost is about $150, but don’t quote me.
Bad Weather
I’m going to make every effort to be at Wallace on the assigned nights. However, storms do arise. If there is a Tornado Watch and/or Warning in effect for Cullman County, then you can pretty much bet that I’ll not risk driving to class. Look to my website at www.schoolrack.com/brisc001 to see if I have canceled class for that night.
Grading:
Grading is done by a points system. The total number of points is divided by the actual number of points received, and the average is calculated.
Note cards: 20 points each
Note card grades are given each week in WebCT. Since this class is designed for Thursdays, then all note card grades are due in to WebCt by 9pm. These cannot be made up for any reason. They are for students who are conscientiously and actively reading the materials and are “religiously” signing in to WebCT and turning them in on time. You must be actively logging in each week to complete these assignments. Twenty points doesn’t seem like much, but in the end, it can make the difference between a A or a C or a C or an F.
Essays: 100 points each x 5 essays in class = 500 points
Essays will be done in class, in the computer lab 3, with the exception of the research paper. No essay can be made up for any reason. I do not give make up work on these assignments. Make sure you are in class, well prepared, and ready to stay as long as it takes to write a thoughtful, five paragraph (or more), five hundred word essay.
You will be required to download the essays into WebCt before leaving the computer lab. This is so I can check them, and send them back to you for revision.
Again, if you miss the assigned date of any essay, you will not get credit, and you will not receive a makeup opportunity. Unless you have a documented, acceptable excuse, what you will receive is a grade of “zero.” Performance = results!
Final Exam (100 points)
For the final exam, you are to read the book Tuesdays with Morri, by Mitch Albom. The book is readily available for purchase online, and should be in the Wallace bookstore. Your exam will be a response paper to the book, and it will be done in class on December 11th . Tuesdays With Morrie is approximately a six hour read.
Research Paper (100 Points)
(isnt’ she beautiful?)
Each student will be required to write a research paper this semester. There are minimal guidelines for the research paper. I have prepared a handout for you to use, but here are a few of the guidelines:
- Paper must be typed, MLA format.
- Must be submitted to me, in person, on the date it is due.
- Acceptable Internet sources do not include Wikipedia, Schoolnotes.com, Cliffnotes.com, Classicshorts.com, www.123helpme.com, or any of those “dot com” type sites. Most sites that are acceptable have the file extensions of “.org” or “.edu” or “.net”. As a rule, students should avoid any of the dot com websites, as these are commercial websites, and used for profit. Typically, they are not creditable sources, or sources that should be used for college level writing.
- Must include a “Works Cited” page
- Must use a five line heading on the front page; there is no need to turn in a title page.
- Outline
- (this left intentionally blank in case I think of something else)
Tests – 100 points each (2 of them)
There will be two online tests assigned this semester. Each of them is online, so there is no need to come to class to take these. You can have as long as you need to take either of these tests. I would, however, try to follow the suggested date on the syllabus, as you don’t want to run the risk of having to take a “whole bunch of” tests at the end of the semester. That is not really a wise thing to do.
Other assignments may be given at the discretion of the instructor.
Keep reading on the next page. J
Date Have Completed before Class:
August 20 Orientation & library tour (http://www.wallacestate.edu/library.html)
EH 101 packet, pages 1-10
August 27 A Writer’s Reference, “Mechanics,” pp. 297-314
Eh 101 packet, pages 11-18, 74-80
Eh 101 packet, Comparison/Contrast, 32 – 36.
Note card due – introduce yourself
September 3 Essay #1, comparison/contrast- TONIGHT, IN CLASS, 6pm. Be prompt. If you are more than fifteen (15) minutes late, you will not be admitted to class for this or any other essay.
September 10 A Writer’s Reference, “Punctuation,” pp. 259-293
Eh 101 packet, pages 19-26; 81-89
EH 101 packet, 37-40, “Mode: Definition”
Begin reading Tuesdays With Morrie, pages 1-32
Note card due
September 17 A Writer’s Reference: “Grammatical Sentences,” read pages 163-215
Eh 101 packet, pages 90-98
Suggestion: Take Online Test #1 by today.
September 24 Essay #2 – TONIGHT, IN CLASS, 6pm sharp!
October 1 A Writer’s Reference: p. 355-412
Eh packet, p. 99-104
Read pages 33-61 in Tuesdays With Morrie
October 8 A Writer’s Reference: Read pages 57-90
Eh packet, p. 27-31
Read pages 62-99 in Tuesdays With Morrie
October 15 Essay #3 – TONIGHT, IN CLASS
October 22 A Writer’s Reference: p. 93-119
Eh packet, p. 66-70
Read pages 100 – 129 in Tuesdays With Morrie
October 29 A Writer’s Reference: p. 123-160
Eh packet, p. 62-65
Read pages 130-159 in Tuesdays With Morrie
November 5 Essay #4 – TONIGHT, IN CLASS
November 12 A Writer’s Reference: p. 317-352
Eh packet, p. 62-65
Read pages 160-180 in Tuesdays With Morrie
Note: Research paper is due next week, in person, and ready to be uploaded into WebCT
November 19 Suggestion: Online Test #2
NOTE: Research paper is due tonight IN CLASS by 6pm. Bring a hard copy of the paper, ready to turn in, plus, bring a saved copy on a flash drive, ready to download into WebCt.
November 26 No Class-Thanksgiving
December 3 Finish reading pages 181-end in Tuesdays With Morrie
December 10 Final Exam – TONIGHT, IN CLASS.
