Global Studies Online - DGS 110

Summer 2016 Syllabus

with Instructor Stephanie Delaney, JD, PhD

Preferred Contact Method: Canvas Messaging or email at sdelaney@highline.edu 

Telephone: cell/text 206-395-9485

Online Classroom: canvas.highline.edu

Text: None- All Course materials will be provided online

Course Objectives and Outcomes

Upon the successful completion of this course with a 2.0 grade or better, you will:

• Actively think and write about global perspectives in geographic, cultural, political and economic contexts;
• Understand the impact of economics on environmental policy decisions;
• Appreciate the importance of understanding who people are and why they think and behave the way they do;
• Learn how to analyze the same environmental problem in different geographic, cultural, social, political and economic contexts, see how and why there are different responses to the same problem;
• Be able to put the daily news events into a broader environmental and economic context;
• Be able to use the internet for academic research.
• Be able to think critically; to develop the ability to identify and summarize assumptions, issues, and salient arguments, as well as to draw logically valid conclusions from statements, images, data, and other forms of evidence, relevant to discipline- and occupation-specific content, and to assess the implications and consequences of conclusions.
  

Learning Expectations: This is an online course, where all work happens over the internet. There are no requirements to come to campus. However, that does not mean that you should not work as hard as you would in a face to face class. There will be regular and challenging work that will require your regular attention.

What I expect of you:

• That you are fully present when participating in the class
• That you do the reading in a timely fashion
• That you work cooperatively and respectfully with your group members and that you carry your share of the workload
• That, if something happens to interfere with your ability to meet your course obligations, you tell me as soon as possible. If your group work will be impacted, you need to let them know too.
• That you communicate professionally in all class related communications - email, text, instant messages, etc, adhering to standard Internet rules of netiquette (http://www.albion.com/netiquette/corerules.html).
• That you do the assigned activities thoughtfully and in a timely manner.
• That you have fun learning about the Global Environment.

What you can expect of me

• That I give you course work that is well organized and reasonable, so that you can appropriately schedule your study time.
• That I give you challenging work that allows you to explore the topic in a way that interests you.
• That I give you regular graded activities so that you always know how you are doing in the class.
• That I give you advanced guidance on how things will be graded so you know my expectations for an assignment.
• That I grade the work in a timely manner (within 1 week of the due date) and that I grade fairly.
• That I give you all the support and training you need to succeed in the Canvas classroom.
• That I have fun teaching the class so that it will be fun for you to learn.

Getting Help

Technical Support - For technical support, including problems logging in to Canvas or web sites, contact the Help Desk.

• Highline Helpdesk https://its.highline.edu/ 
• helpdesk@highline.edu
• 206-870-4880

Mobile Access - This class is mobile friendly. Canvas has mobile apps for your Apple iOS device (iPad, iPhone, Touch) and for Android devices. In addition to the apps, you can use the browser on your mobile device, to do nearly anything in Canvas including the following activities:

• Access course readings
• participate in discussion
• take quizzes

Library Support - For help with library research, including access to Proquest, Ebsco, and other online databases from off-campus, visit the library website.

• https://library.highline.edu/
• refhelp@highline.edu
• 206-878-3710 ext. 3232

Writing Help. If you need advice with any stage of drafting your writing assignments, visit the Writing Center, which is part of the Highline Tutoring Center in Building 26. Writing consultants can help you with editing techniques, brainstorming, thesis statements, organization and many other issues. Just stop by and make an appointment in Building 26.  The writing center also has consultants available online.  

Make sure to visit the Writing Center, either in person or online, several days in advance of any assignment due date.

• https://writingcenter.highline.edu/
• 206-592-4364

Accessibility. If you need course adaptations or accommodations because of a disability; if you have emergency medical information to share with me; or if you need special arrangements in case the building must be evacuated, please provide me with the Letter of Accommodation you have received from the Office of Access Services.  Access Services is located in Building 99, Room 180.

• https://access.highline.edu/ 
• access@highline.edu 
• 206-592-3857

Activities

During this class, we will have several activities designed to meet the objectives of the course. Please note that our weeks start on Wednesdays and end on Tuesdays. Content is posted each Wednesday at 6am. Assignments are due weekly on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

Weekly Quizzes – For each week you will have a short, objective quiz. The quiz questions will be multiple choice or true/false and will be graded automatically by Canvas so you get instant feedback. The assignment goals are to

• Insure you have read and understood the material

• Give you a quick measure of how you are doing

• Provide alternative for people who are uncomfortable with writing to demonstrate knowledge

You are welcome to use your assigned readings as a resource. The questions will be presented to you ahead of time. Read the quiz questions and have them available as you do your reading. If you answer the questions as you read, you will be ready to take the quiz when you complete the reading. The quizzes will be posted on Wednesdays and due by midnight on Saturday.You may take each quiz twice. You will earn a “complete” if you score 85% or better. Quizzes are due each week by Saturday at midnight.

Quiz errors – If you experience a technical error while taking the quiz, you must email Stephanie within 1 hour of the quiz error. The quiz will be reset for you as soon as possible. Barring extraordinary circumstances, no more than 2 quizzes will be reset per quarter.

Weekly Discussion – Each week you will have an activity to do and a related question to answer. The question will be answered using the group discussion board and will be discussed with your team members. The goals of the assignment is that you

• Get to do an activity that brings what you are learning into the context of your own life

• Have the opportunity to interact with your classmates

• Learn to appreciate the diverse perspectives of your classmates.

Initial discussion postings are due each week by Saturday at midnight and replies are due by Tuesday at midnight. To earn a “complete” on the discussion, you must reply to at least 3 of your peers.

Weekly Essay – Each week you will be assigned an essay question to answer. The goal of the essay assignment is to:

• Help you learn how to analyze the same environmental problem in different geographic, cultural, social, political and economic contexts,
• Help you understand how and why there are different responses to the same environmental problem
• Give you a way to explore your country of choice

The essays are submitted in Canvas each week by midnight on Tuesdays. You will earn a “complete” if you meet all of the essay criteria, outlined in Canvas.

Service Learning - This is an opportunity to combine what you are learning with the real world through involvement in it. The Service Learning Project requires some interaction with the general community.  More detail will be provided in Week 2 when the project is assigned.

The project has three graded components.

• Service Learning Proposal – (25 points) Here you will describe to me and the class what you are planning to do for your project. It will be posted in the Service Learning Discussion area.
• Service Learning Update – (25 points)Here you will update us on how your project is going. Post as a reply to your proposal in the Service Learning Discussion Area.
• Service Learning Project – (150 points) Here you post the results of your project, following the assignment requirements and rubric guidelines.

Grading Contract

We have a 1000 point grade system with 30% each for the essay and discussion, 10% for quizzes, 20% for the Service Learning Project and 5% for a combination of the pre class assignment and the weekly feedback surveys.

We are using a contract grading system for this class. This basically means that if you do all of the things I ask, you are guaranteed to get a 3.8. My goal in contract grading is to reduce the stress of grades and help you to focus on learning. Thus, all assignments are graded as complete/incomplete. If you do the assignment on time and according to the assignment directions, you will earn a “complete”. If not,you will receive an “incomplete”.  All “incomplete” work is eligible for one resubmission within 4 days of receiving the incomplete grade.

If you complete all of the activities below, you will earn a 3.8 (93%).

• the Pre-Class Assignment
• the Weekly Essays
• the Weekly Discussion
• the Weekly Quizzes
• the Weekly Feedback Survey
• the Service Learning Project
• The Final Portfolio

How is my work graded? Each assignment is graded “complete” or “incomplete”.  If you do all of the work as described in the instructions and do it well, the work will be graded as “complete” and you will get full credit.

If it is not done well or the instructions are not fully followed, it will be graded as “incomplete” and you will get no credit. If work is graded as incomplete, you have one opportunity to resubmit, after making edits based on the feedback provided in the assignment. You will have 4 days after the grade is posted to resubmit.

Each assignment has a rubric associated with it, explaining what I look for in reviewing the work.

How do I get a 4.0? A 4.0 is reserved for extraordinary work and will only be considered at the end of the quarter. You may petition for a 4.0. To petition for a 4.0, you must demonstrate

• that you completed all of the above
• that you regularly posted 5 or more quality responses in the Weekly discussion (3 are required, plus 2 or more extra posts).
• that you earned at least 3 “gold stars” for additional extraordinary work or contributions to the class (this includes both academic work and service work like answering student questions and reporting errors in the course and suggesting solutions)
• that you have added at least 3 quality resources to the course via Flipboard

You may petition for a 4.0 in Week 8 of the quarter.

What happens if I don’t complete everything? Each assignment is given points and if you earn fewer than 85% of the points (850 points), then you will be assigned a grade based on the Social Sciences grading scale. 

Social Sciences Department Grading Scale 

95+= 4.0                87= 3.2                79 = 2.4                71 = 1.6                63 = .08
94= 3.9                86= 3.1                78 = 2.3                70 = 1.5                62 = .07
93= 3.8                85 = 3.0                77 = 2.2                69 = 1.4                61 = .06
92= 3.7                84 = 2.9                76 = 2.1                68 = 1.3                60 = .05
91= 3.6                83 = 2.8                75 = 2.0                67 = 1.2                59 = .04
90= 3.5                82 = 2.7                74 = 1.9                66 = 1.1                58 = .03
89= 3.4                81 = 2.6                73 = 1.8                65 = 1.0                57 = .02
88= 3.3                80 = 2.5                72 = 1.7                64 = .09                56 = .01

Other Important Information

Email and web access requirements. Highline's Distance Ed Technical Requirements are available online at http://distanceed.highline.edu/tech.requirements.php.

This class requires regular and sustained access to an internet-connected computer. You are required to either access your Highline Student Email, or forward that account to another service that you regularly check. You will be required to have access to a web browser.

Highline's official channel of communication with students is your Highline Student Email account. E-mail communication in this course will occur via Canvas Messaging, and/or your Highline Student Email account.

Late Policy. Life often gets in the way of study. To accommodate that, you have 3 Late Passes. To use a Late Pass, you must

• Notify Stephanie before the assignment is actually due. Anytime before the actual midnight deadline is fine.  The notification must be via the late pass submission form in Canvas. Your request will be approved as long as you have late passes remaining. Thus, you do not need to wait for a response, as all requests will be approved.
• Turn in the assignment within 4 calendar days of the due date with a note that it is being submitted late with a late pass.

• Only one late pass per assignment.

If no late pass is used, late work will be accepted for 7 days with a 50% penalty. No late work will be accepted after that.  In addition, no late work will be accepted after August 15.

Please note: The late passes are here to make the class easier on you. There is no benefit at all to not using the late pass, so please use them. That is why they are available.

Submitting Your Work: Please note that all assignments must be posted in Canvas. Assignments will not be accepted via email or by any other means for credit. If you are having technical trouble, you may submit via email as evidence that you did the work on time. However, work submitted via email will not be graded. The work submitted via email must be submitted in Canvas within 2 days of the due date or regular late penalties will apply. A Help Desk Ticket number must accompany late submitted work to be eligible for the two day extension.

Extra Credit: This class moves along at a brisk pace and is challenging. If you fall behind, I think it is more important that you focus on doing well on what is due right now rather than using precious study time trying to work on extra credit assignments. Because of that, no extra credit is available.

Grade Reports: This class is designed so that each student who works diligently should achieve a grade mastery grade of 93% or 3.8. To assist in that effort, in weeks 3 and 6 I will give you a Grade Report which will update you on whether or not you are meeting course expectations.

Within 7 days of the posting of your Grade Report, you will be expected to respond to the grade report with an acknowledgement of your grade as either meeting the course expectations or not meeting the course expectations. If you believe my assessment is incorrect, you will be expected to raise the issue at that point. Grade complaints based on grades acknowledged to be accurate will not be entertained. Failure to acknowledge the accuracy of the grades within the 7 days is default acceptance of the grades as posted.

If you are not meeting the expectations of the course, your acknowledgement must include the specific steps that you will take to meet expectations or an acknowledgement that your current performance is as good as you can do at the moment.

Professional Communications: College is like work and in that way I (and all of your instructors) expect you to communicate professionally. That means that in all communications you must:

• identify yourself fully, including our class name (DGS110 or Global Studies) and your first and last name
• use complete sentences, including proper spelling and grammar.

Communications that don't meet the two criteria above will be sent back for clarification. Also remember that I will reply to your email within 1 business day, so look for that reply and respond if needed.

Policy Regarding Academic Dishonesty. Cheating, plagiarism, and other forms of academic dishonesty are unacceptable in my class and at Highline Community College and are subject to disciplinary action by the college.  Any suspect documents will be returned and no credit given. For more information on what constitutes plagiarism and the steps you can take to avoid it, click on the plagiarism materials under the How to Succeed in the Class area in Canvas.

Confidentiality. Your student records are protected by the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). This includes the privacy of your interactions in this class. It is important that everyone respect the privacy of our classroom. Do not share out the work, discussion posts or other communications of your classmates without their express permission. For more information on your rights and obligations in this regard, visit https://registration.highline.edu/ferpa/index.php.