HIST 112 - US HIstory - Frank Chartrand
| Course: | US HIstory |
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| Professor: | Frank Chartrand |
| Email: | chartrfj@piercecollege.edu |
| Format: |
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| Course Length: |
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Introduction
Why American History? Because we study everywhere else, often and in different formats. US History is actually more often neglected by schools. You live here, you should know something about the history of the place you live!
Course Description
This course covers the main events, actors, and themes of the 20th century, primarily focusing on their impact on American history (i.e. cultural, political, and social movements), including a discussion of America's central institutions.
What to Expect in this Course
Welcome!
Thank you for signing up for this class during this very difficult time. For some of us, switching to online (canvas) is more difficult and complicated than it is for other students. Until March 2020, I would never consider using Canvas or being online. I have learned a lot since then and I have changed my mind.
I have not had an easy time, and I hope you will forgive some of the awkwardness of what is presented, at least until I can go back and refine it. If there are ever any issues, please let me know (chartrfj@piercecollege.edu)
If this is your first time on Canvas or an online class, please don't stress. It will all be okay!
US History 112 - US history from the mid 19th century through the start of the Cold War. It may seem daunting, but it really is not as stressful as it may at first seem.
Even if you do not believe me, by the time the class is done and over, you will understand what I mean by less daunting and stressful than it may first seem to be. I will be here to help as will other students. I believe in a class of whatever size, there are always some students who can help, and others who need a little help. There will be a place for you to ask for and receive help, on this canvas site. I will be checking in with you, your discussions, and in your messages and communications regularly. I will also be checking the time you spend on the class site. If I notice any issues, I will contact you. Likewise, if you are having issues, please let me know.
Why this class:
I know many of you may not have a passion for American history but now is a unique period in American history, and provides you a perspective few have ever had the benefit or misfortune to be a part of. To do American history justice, would take us so much more time, unfortunately we do not have unlimited time.
I think each chapter should take 2-3 hours per week to 'lecture' and maybe 1 hour for discussion and assignment, maybe another hour and that is about what a chapter takes. That is about 4-5 hours per week. When you are in-person/in the classroom, we would have 3 hours of lecture per week (during winter and summer its a bit different) and then you would put in about the same amount of time at home studying/reading the text/notes. Online would be approximately the same. I see us doing 1-2 chapters per week, in some cases maybe more. Please pay attention to dates and when lectures and assignments are available and when they close. I cannot accept someone asking for more time because they were not paying attention to dates and times, after I have spelled out how much of a concern it is and that you need to pay attention to your TO DO lists! Additionally, some components of a MODULE will not be listed in the TO DO so ... keep on top of the material!
Syllabus:
I will be providing you with a Syllabus - it is now posted on the class website on Canvas BUT will not be available until the session begins. However if you check out the course material on my wix site, powerpoints, assignments and the syllabus will all be available (Links to an external site.)!
How the session will be structured:
I will be using MODULES for the chapters / weeks. Each Module will contain either one or two chapters (it depends on the material).
Each MODULE will have several components: Lectures (approximately 3-6), a Discussion (you will be required to post to and comment on another students post), an Assignment (not every Module will have an Assignment), and a Quiz (ranging from 20-50 questions).
Each MODULE will be available at a certain time and will close and be unavailable at a certain point. They are not available indefinitely.
Each ASSIGNMENT will be available at a specific time and will close at a specific time. There will be 3 assignments ranging from 10 points to 30 points each. I will notify you when I assign each assignment, but they are all listed on the WIX website for my history classes (Links to an external site.).
Each Discussion will be available at a specific time and will close at a specific time. You are required to post to every Discussion (3 points) and to comment on other posts (2 points). Each discussion will be worth 5 points. If you do not comment on another post, the maximum score you may receive is 3.
The Lectures will be available when the Module is available BUT they will become unavailable approximately three days before the MODULE closes/ends/is unavailable. The Lectures are me talking using the powerpoint. I will not just read the powerpoint, I do add and amend material in the powerpoint. Some of what you will need for quizzes is said in the lecture and not written down. AND you are required to watch the powerpoint before you can move on to a new module.
Sometimes a module/chapter will have videos you can watch. If you watch them, you get 1 point. If you don't, you may not be able to answer a Discussion question later.
If you ever have an issue being unable to get into a module when the date for it to open passes, it is because you did not complete some component of the prior module. I will not argue about this, the canvas system knows what is and is not completed. You will have to go back and make sure you have read/done and completed everything in the previous module. At that point you can contact me and I will then go in and check to see what you have and have not completed and I will advise you accordingly.
Approximately three days before the Module closes, the QUIZ will be available. You will have a few days in which to take it. You will not get to see the questions you got wrong. There is a time limit. You will see one question at a time, answer it, and move to the next question. There is a selection of 100 possible questions for every quiz you take. The 'system' will randomly select the number you get (the whole class will have the same number of questions, possibly different though from other students and in a different order).
I would attach an image here but I can't so imagine :- )
A MODULE is the big box - for us the MODULE is a chapter or chapters.
In the box are different smaller boxes.
Lectures are one box.
Discussion is one box
Assignment may be a box.
Quiz is a box.
You are allowed to open the MODULE on a certain date and time. And at a certain date and time the box closes and you can't open it.
Lectures open up when the box does and they close BEFORE the box does.
Discussion opens at a certain time and closes up on a specific date and time.
Assignment box opens and closes on certain dates and times.
The quiz is open for a few days toward the end (usually the last 3 days) but it will also close up and cannot reopen.
All Powerpoints for this class are available on the course website which is located at my wix history site (Links to an external site.). The WIX website is what I used exclusively until March 2020 when we were moved online onto Canvas. I will keep WIX for the immediate future. I will be posting an introduction video/powerpoint in the next two weeks and it will explain all these details. I will be posting the Syllabus on the Canvas page AND on the WIX history site. The textbook should be listed on the bookstore link (Links to an external site.).
The bookstore sells the loose leaf version. If you find the bound edition used, that would be fine. I find it very difficult requiring students to spend over $100 for a book they will not use after the class. It is available online in many formats - you can purchase it chapter by chapter from the publisher (cengage.com) or buy it used.
Required:
Every component I create and post, will most likely have a 1 point value attached to it when you watch or read it. These points will all be added to your assignment totals at the end of the course - more on this in a later posting. I understand 1 point is not very much but there may be 10 or so of these components over the course and 10 points might help!
I do have prerequisites for some of the Modules - this means you must do everything in the previous Module to be able to move on to the next module. Watch the lectures, do the Discussion, take the quiz and do the assignments if there are any.
Possible points: In US History 112, there are a possible 430+ points.
Please pay attention to dates - when modules open and close. This will probably be the most difficult part of the course!
LATE: What about turning something in late? Well, everything will have a DUE DATE. That component will show up in your TO DO column on right hand side of the screen. PLEASE pay attention to the dates. PLEASE. In the last 5 months the biggest issue and most common with students has been due dates. If you turn anything in late (after the DUE DATE) and I allow late submission for that component, you lose 10% per day, automatically.
ASSIGNMENTS: You will have between 1 and 3 assignments for the course. These will usually be between 1-3 pages. You will upload them in either a PDF, DOC, or JPG. Those three are ok. There are several that do not work - we will discuss this at a later point. If an assignment is turned in late you will lose 10% per day.
QUIZ: You will have a quiz - taken on Canvas. Your quiz is timed. While you may believe you can 'cheat' and have all your notes available to take the quiz, remember the time is ticking away and you may get most correct and run out of time. You do not get to review the questions nor see the answers. The FINAL is not cumulative for the multiple choice. If you have a particular question about what the correct answer was and what you had wrong, you may communicate with me using the Canvas Messenger and I will respond to you within 72 hours. You can only take the quiz during the window - no late attempts.
On the subject of communication: I prefer my school email: chartrfj@piercecollege.edu but you may also use the Canvas Messenger to communicate with me. I will reply within 72 hours and maybe sooner. I do not respond on Friday, Saturday or Sunday. I do not reply after 5pm in the evening during the week. If you send me a message at 9 pm on Thursday, you can expect a reply Monday morning after 8 am. If you do not get a reply with 72 hours, you may assume your message was never received and you should send it again, please.
MEETING TIMES: We may meet 1-2 times on ZOOM during the course of the session. These are not required, but they would occur during your regular class period times which means you would have that time free normally, anyway. I cannot guarantee we will, and if we do, it will be something I figure a week before and I will send out an ANNOUNCEMENT letting you all know. Please, maybe get a camera now and a headset or some way to speak, check it all on your computer to ensure it works, and update ZOOM to 5.0 so you can engage in the class meeting. Again, I will let you know if and when we do this.
You should try to be involved with this course at least 3 hours per week (about the same amount of time the class would meet in person, plus a little more). I understand for a small percent, it may not be necessary to spend 5 hours a week on a class, but for the majority it would be a good idea.
CONFIGURING CANVAS: On the left side is ACCOUNT - under account is NOTIFICATIONS. Go in and configure the notifications you desire. Make sure you are getting notified of any announcements or messages. Also, there is PROFILE and I believe (I cannot see into the student view so I can't be sure) you can in the right column add an email you want to receive messages sent to. This would be a good time to add your personal email so you get notices I send!!!
You are required to post in DISCUSSIONS (more on this in another message). You are also required to respond to another students comment. Nicely. Kindly. Respectfully. This is not political correctness - it is simply being nice. We don't have to agree with what we write, but we can be nice in our disagreement.
ATTENDANCE: You are required to post to Discussions - if you miss 3 discussion posts, I may drop you. If you miss two quizzes - I may drop you. If you fail to turn in an assignment and you miss a quiz or do not do a couple discussions - I may drop you. You need to be involved. I understand an online class taught asynchronously is easy to forget and become detached from and lose focus - please don't. Therefore, the first drop will occur after the 1st assignment is required and the Syllabus quiz. Failure to do these two, will result in you being dropped.
If you are dropped, I will not re-add you again, unless you provide me with written documentation of a medical issue.
I have set up under DISCUSSIONS, a QUESTION AND ANSWER forum. You may post questions on anything related to this class, and other students can answer you. I may pop in to look sometimes, but it is mainly for students. This forum is instead of study groups - some students create them in a classroom situation, so the QUESTION forum may help.
SPECIAL SERVICES - if you are entitled to special services, please contact them (Links to an external site.) and sort it out. I believe they will let me know, but you should also let me know. You may even have to remind me - I do forget, but I will do whatever it takes to help you succeed in this class.
ADDING LATE: If you add late, you are still responsible for everything, on the same schedule as everyone else. If you have questions, it is your responsibility to contact me - OR post in the Student Forum Question and Answer, and other students can answer you (I would urge students to visit the forum to check and see if anyone needs help that you may be able to answer). Failure to grasp the requirements of this class will not result in me extending dates and times for you, rather, it will result in you receiving a lower grade. PLEASE PLEASE pay attention to dates and times.
DUE DATES are when something is DUE BY. It is the deadline. It is the last day to give it to me (upload to Canvas). There is a window after the DUE DATE you may still upload but it is LATE and you will lose 10% per 24 hour period, regardless of how soon after the due date you upload it. You could upload it 5 minutes after, and you will lose 10%. LOOK AT THE DUE DATE and deal with that, do not operate on the assumption that there are extended periods anything can be submitted. Doing it that way will lower your grade.
If I have forgotten something I will add it to the next posting/announcement. I understand the class will not be posted for you to start perusing for a few weeks, but in the meantime, read and re-read this message and any that may follow. If you have any questions before the class begins, let me know - if enough people have the same question, I can include it in a mass posting.
Types of Assessments
Assignments, Quizzes/ Multiple Choice, Chapter Discussions, Final Essay
Textbook Information
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Liberty, Equality, Power: A History of the American People, Volume 2: Since 1863 , 7th Edition, ISBN-10: 1-305-08415-2 or ISBN-13: 978-1-305-08415-5 |
Other Relevant Course Information
Contact me if you are on the waitlist
Additional Resources
Canvas
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Last updated: 06/04/2021 Sub#: 192