*Online classes require good computer skills and proper technical requirements. Check the page: online_geog.html to see if your computer has the required hardware set-up (if working at home). There are also software plug-ins that will be required so that you can view course materials. These plug-ins (Adobe Acrobat Reader, Powerpoint viewer, latest version of Java) are free downloads and links are provided for your convenience at online_plugins.html.
* Online classes also require the student to possess certain characteristics to be successful. If your technology skills are weak, you might consider taking the "face-to-face" version of this course.

Required On-Campus Activities
There are no required in-class meetings, however, you will need to come to campus to take exams (taken at High Tech Center 1, HT1-143). There are a few labs during the semester in which you will need topographic maps to complete the exercises. These materials will be on reserve in the library here on campus and you will be made aware of which lab exercises require a trip to campus.

Lab Exercises and Quizzes

Lab exercises will help reinforce the basic concepts within this course. Each exercise is scheduled to follow the week in which you learn about a particular topic. There will be a few occasions in which the lab exercise is on an unrelated, yet important geographic topic. I will always post information on the lab to help you with math problems and general procedures/skills. Lab exercises are not submitted or graded. You will be required to take an online lab quiz to assess your mastery of the week's materials. You will not have to come to campus for weekly lab quizzes as they are in Blackboard within each week's learning unit. The lab exercise and quiz must be completed within the week they are assigned. After the posted due date (at 11:55 pm), the quiz will expire and become permanently unavailable. It is very important that you do not launch the quiz until you are ready to complete it, start to finish. You are allowed only one attempt at a quiz and it must be completed the first time it is launched...so don't decide to "check it out"! If you do, you will be stuck taking it right then and there.

When you are ready to take a quiz, make sure that you have all of your materials with you. You may use your textbook, atlas, notes, lab exercise, and instructional materials to help you answer the questions. Have a calculator at hand also. You will not need materials from the library to complete a quiz. All questions are based on work done in the week's exercise. If you completed the lab and understood everything, you should get a perfect score on the quiz.

Course Attendance
You must login within the first two days of the start of the online class. If you do not login and have not contacted me, you will be dropped. During the course, our 'week' begins on Monday at 12:01 a.m. MST (mountain standard time = the time in Phoenix, AZ) and work must be completed by the following Sunday night at midnight MST . It is your responsibility to attend class (online) at least 3 times per week. If you do not login to the course for more than seven days (including weekends) without contacting me, your login will be disabled and you will be dropped.

In order to succeed in this class, you will have to login regularly (3-4 times per week, preferably every day), read the textbook and all class materials keeping up with the class schedule. This is a survey course with a tremendous amount of information. Please make sure to set aside a regular time to study for this course. You will need to spread out your studying over the week rather than trying to learn it all in a day or two each week. Pay attention to all deadlines for graded quizzes, assignments and exams. Quizzes and exams will expire and be unavaible after the published due dates.

Withdrawal Policy
Please refer to the current catalog for withdrawal policies, procedures and refund dates. If you do not follow the correct procedure for withdrawing, you will receive an "F", which can only be removed by retaking the course. It is your responsibility to drop the course if you intend to do so. Do not rely on the instructor to drop you from the class. If you are having difficulties, please let me know. Please don't just disappear from class. If you wish to drop after the unrestricted withdrawal date, I can drop you electronically, just ask.

Grading
Grades will be determined by 5 exams, a GEOCOMP exam, a final exam, and numerous lab quizzes. The scale below will determine student grades. The distribution does not employ a curve.

Lab Quizzes (based on lab exercises)	150 points	.......... ...........
Exam 1	50 points			Letter Grade
Exam 2	50 points		630 - 700 points	A
Exam 3	100 points		560 - 629 points	B
Exam 4	100 points		490 - 559 points	C
Exam 5	100 points		420 - 489 points	D
GEOCOMP Exam (extra credit, but not optional)	50 points		less than 420 points	F
Cumulative Final Exam	150 points
Total Points	700 points

Exams and quizzes will consist of a combination of questions including any of the following types: matching, labeling/identification, hot spots, multiple choice, fill in the blanks, math problems, or short essay questions. No cellphones, pda's, mp3 players, or laptop computers allowed during exams. You will not be allowed to use anything other than a basic calculator during testing at the High Tech Center (no cellphone or pda calculators allowed). The GEOCOMP and final exam are comprehensive.

You must contact me in advance if you know you are going to be unable to complete an exam during the exam period (1 week). You must provide me with a written note or doctor's note (by email) explaining the 'absence'. The missed exam must be completed within the time period I specify. Do not miss the final exam. No makeup will be given. No incomplete grades will be given for the course except under extraordinary conditions.

GRADING RESPONSE TIME: My goal is to have anything that requires my hand grading to be posted within 24 hours of the deadline. Lab quizzes and exams will be graded by computer and should be instantaneous. If I can't make these goals, I'll let you know.

GEOCOMP Exam
The GEOCOMP Exam is a comprehensive examination designed to assess each student's mastery of key competencies in the course. The exam will be administered by computer during Week 16 of the course (this test will be taken in HT1-143, but is found in Blackboard). You must take this exam within the required time period. There will be no makeup period for this examination. This exam is an extra credit exam worth 50 points toward the final course grade. There are few provisions for extra credit in this course.

WANT MORE PRACTICE WITH CONCEPTS and SOME EXTRA CREDIT?: go to the textbook link above or the link in each Topic Learning Module (Unit), select the chapter you are interested in and take the practice quizzes and reviews. I will accept the following three reviews (and no others) for extra credit - you may do all three for each chapter that we are working on ... just hit the links for:

"Multiple-Choice Quiz", "True-False" and "Thinking Spatially".

Email the results to me (directly from the site to lynn.newman@gcmail.maricopa.edu), I'll give you ½ point extra credit for each one (not each question). That means 1.5 pts extra credit per chapter. Keep track of which ones you have sent me so that you send each one only one time! I will update the gradebook to reflect your extra credit. Keep track of your accumulated points to make sure they match - this confirms receipt. You will need to resend them if I don't receive them before the acceptance period is over (see next paragraph).

**Extra credit will only be given for the chapters that we are currently working on (up to the end of Exam week). After the exam period, no credit will be given. In other words, you can't wait until the end of the semester and then do all of the chapters from the entire semester.

Resources and Technical Support
In addition to the textbook...there will be the following online study resources:
*Study Guide/Supplemental notes in Course Topic Learning Modules - in Blackboard.
*Practice Quizzes in the Topic Learning Module - in Blackboard.
*Review Questions in the Topic Learning Module - in Blackboard
*Internet - web exploration to relevant web sites for each course topic. Course assignments may use these resources.
*Discussion area for asking questions are in Blackboard and divided into topic units. Post questions within the appropriate topic area.
*Tutoring - Tutors may be available for students who require additional instruction in this course at the Center for Learning (CL). Information concerning scheduling of tutors can be obtained in the Center for Learning.
*The GCC Library provides walk-up and online assistance with reference questions.
*GCC Student Handbook contains answers to many questions and explains college-wide policies related to classes.
*Technical help is available at the student helpdesk at 623.845.HELP (4357) or send an email message to: student-helpdesk@student.gc.maricopa.edu. To work off-campus, help with Gecko, the student server can be found here.

Academic Misconduct
Cheating and plagiarism will be treated as academic misconduct and will be dealt with as described in the current Student Handbook. Students are expected to display courtesy towards each other while online. Students continually and habitually violating these rules are subject to dismissal from the class, which will result in an "F" grade for the course.

Disabled Student Resources
Every reasonable effect will be made to accommodate students with limitations due to documented disabilities. Students who require special assistance and/or accommodations should consult Student Services and the instructor. The Disabled Student Resources Center (623.845.3080) is located in TDS-100 and can be of assistance.

Course Schedule
If any changes to the schedule occur during the semester, you will be notified of these changes in the 'Announcements' section in Blackboard. You will be responsible for the content of any of these announcements.
Each week you will have a textbook reading assignment, a topic learning module (or two) to study, a lab exercise and lab quiz to complete. Separate modules are noted by the + before the name in the schedule below.


Here is the tentative course schedule for this semester.