Monday, June 22, 2009

Some recent questions answered for online course

  1. For your online class, which upcoming exam will have the "Warrior's Don't Cry" quiz questions on the test? Exam 2
  2. which exam will have the "Ceasar Chavez" quiz questions on the test? Final exam
  3. I was just wondering if chapter 37 quiz was going to be put up soon. I am working my way there and I do not see the quiz available yet. thanks. My bad. It's there now.
  4. have a few questions, one for the worriors dont cry the syllabus says the quiz and the discussion is due sunday june 21 but the actually quiz says it doesnt close till july 7. I seem to recall thinking that some of you might need more time, so I extended the dates.
  5. another question is where can i find the last book.. every website i tried it says there is no book by that name. There are plenty here starting at about $3.50.
Keep up the good work and remember, "small strokes fell mighty Oaks."

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Clear sentence construction

Watch and listen to this short video. It really helps me with my sentence construction.


Can y'all hear the audio?

What is a Paragraph?

Okay. I know that you guys know what a paragraph is. However, you still need to know what are my expectations of your discussion posts. Below, I clearly lay out these expectations along with the rubric under which your work will be evaluated. I look forward to reading your posts.

A paragraph is, first and foremost, a unit of thought. You are telling me what you think about a particular topic. In this case you are responding to a question prompt. Therefore, the first sentence should introduce your thought as clearly as possible. I should be able to tell by the first sentence what that paragraph will express to me. Ideally, your first sentence should state a claim. The following sentences should draw evidence from the book to support your claim. They should convince me that what you say is supported by the book. The concluding sentence should answer the question, “So what?” How has this paragraph answered the question that you selected? How has it added depth or breadth to our understanding of the book? How am I a smarter or better-informed person for having read this paragraph? Very few paragraphs answer all these questions, but you should try to accomplish at least one of them. That is the ideal and the basic structure. Remember, I want to know what you really think; not what you think I want you to think. Have fun, and speak your mind! It’s easy when you actually believe what you are writing.

Grading—paragraphs will be graded on the following:
1. Structure/organization, does the paragraph function as a unit of thought?
2. Evidence, does the paragraph draw specific references from the book as evidence to support the claim(s) made in your paragraph?
3. Analysis, does the paragraph explain logically how the evidence presented supports the claims made?
4. Proofreading, the paragraph should be free of grammatical errors and misspellings.

exam for online students

The exam period starts today, and runs through Saturday. You have two hours to complete the exam, and you should have seen all the questions before in a quiz. You will have to take the exam at a proctored location, preferably an LSC assessment center. Dont forget to check the closing times where you'll be testing here.

If you are in my face-to-face class disregard this notice. This is for online students only.

Good luck!

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Amusing the Million Discussion

I am really enjoying the discussion. I should probably clarify (a little late for most of you) that I only intended for you to respond to one question. I must have worded the assignment badly somewhere, because everyone seems to have read it the same way.

If I haven't responded to your discussion post yet, I soon will. I will comment on each discussion post as I go through them. I'm not grading just now, because of a technical issue I just discovered and will have to address Monday.

Keep the discussion posts and comments coming. What you have to say to each other is important, too!

Error-Chapter 27 quiz

Hey,
One of the questions in this quiz has a wrong answer. I can't tell you which question number it is, because the randomizer (which I can't turn off) scrambles the order of the questions for each student. It's a question is:

The rise of the automobile:


The actual correct answer is D all of the above, but it is being marked wrong. Unfortunately, I can't change the settings at this point, so I'll raise everyone's score 4 points.

Hat-tip to Verenice for finding this and pointing it out /:-)

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Study aids

I'm reposting this because it might be useful to some of you.

Find chapter outlines, etc. at

http://www.wwnorton.com/college/history/america7/

Hat-tip to Tamera :)

Update: Some of these tools suggest that you email me stuff. Don't do that. Only email me when you want to "talk" about something.

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Can't find "Amusing the Million?"

Try dealoz.

And If you're waiting for your copy to come it, don't sweat it. It's a short book with pictures and large type. You'll be able to read it quickly, and I hope you find it as fascinating as I am.

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Discussion Board--where is the link?

It's best not to access the discussion boards or the quizzes through those buttons on the left. Far better to go through the icons on the home page. Go to:
  1. home page
  2. unit 1 folder
  3. Unit 1 discussion module
When you click the Unit discussion module, it should open to this

Here, I've circled the discussion link in red.
I hope this helps.

Discussion questions for "Amusing the Millions"

Hey, I had the wrong content link in the Unit 1 discussion module. Now, it has the proper discussion link. If anyone would like to suggest different questions, this would be the time and place.

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

What if you bought "Ragtime" instead of "Amusing the Millions"

I'm hearing from a lot of people who have Ragtime instead of Amusing the Millions because it was listed on an old syllabus on my website (I've got to find a way to send people straight to this blog, instead). If you have Ragtime, just go ahead and use that book. I have some discussion questions I can post for it, and we can just have two discussions at the same time.

HIST 1301 face-to-face (ftf) dates updated

got 'em done, mostly anyway.

Due dates updated

Hello,

Last semester, I changed all the due dates before the course went live, and then they all reverted back to what they were before. So this time, I waited until the course started to change the due dates. Well, it took a little longer than I had expected but all the Unit 1 due dates should be correct. Also, there was some bad information in the syllabus, which I have since changed. If you are away from any Lonestar assessment center and you need to take an exam, you can do it at any proctored location that is recognized for that service. I have even known a public library to have proctoring facilities. It's better to do it at Lonestar if you can, because, otherwise, we have to make special arrangments. But I don't mind if it's necessary.

By the way, there is no orientation quiz. I made one once, but it was so dumb I was embarrassed. I presume you took the online tutorial. If you have any problems or questions, lets just work it out here on the blog.

Monday, June 1, 2009

eCourse is live!

The eCourse for HIST 1302 is live and ready for action. This afternoon, I will be resetting all the due dates. Until then, the due dates are going to look all wrong. Go by the due dates listed on the syllabus. Good luck!

The course goes live at noon.

Hey, if you wondering when you will be able to access the course material, it should be at noon today. See you then!