SACRAMENTO CITY COLLEGE
ONLINE COURSE   Summer 2012
 
Geography 308: Online Ocean Studies COURSE CODE: 11855 UNITS: 3
INSTRUCTOR: Michael Hunter
OFFICE HOURS: p.m. (OBA)
e-mail:  hunterm@scc.losrios.edu    website: http://scc.losrios.edu/~hunterm

REQUIRED TEXTS
Ocean Studies Student Package 2011-2012 and Summer 2012
  ISBN: 978-1-878220-45-5   Publisher: American Meteorological Society 2011

DESCRIPTION
This online course is designed to build an understanding of oceanography by examining real-time ocean phenomena.
 
ACTIVITIES
As participants of Geography 306, students are required to:

1. Assignment calendar:

SCC Week    Date                  Topics

1                June 11-14      Ocean in the Earth System
                                            Ocean Basins and Plate Tectonics
2                 June 18-21     Properties of Ocean Water
                                            Marine Sediments
3                 June 25-28    The Atmosphere and Ocean
                                            Ocean Currents

4                July 2-5            Ocean Waves and Tides
                                            The Dynamic Coast
5                July 9-12          Marine Ecosystems
                                             Life in the Ocean
6                July 16-19        The Ocean, Atmosphere, and Climate Variability
                                             The Ocean and Climate Change

2. Read assigned chapters from the Text: answer #s 9 and 10, Review and #10 Critical Thinking Questions


3.  Do the questions in the Investigations Manual AND the Online (from the AMS website) questions.The assignments stay up all semester.


The "Answer Forms" for Investigations A and B and the Online questions are links on the AMS page (right side of the table)

I must receive all course work by the week’s end (Friday night by midnight). (Late work loses 10% per calendar day.)

OBJECTIVES
To succeed in this course, students must complete the class exercises,

Study guide questions, and exams. It is the responsibility of students to do all online work, read the text, take notes, and visit the instructor for help.
 
OTHER SESSIONS
Midterm and Finals Week sessions will be ONLINE.

GRADING
Student grades will be computed by accumulating points from study-guide answers and exams.
On the basis of total points: (this may vary slightly at times)
90% = A
80% = B
70% = C
60% = D

During the course of the year, many students will utilize prearranged accommodations. If you are a student with a learning disability, physical disability, or other special needs, please let me know as soon as possible if you need special accommodations. This kind of confidential discussion is best handled during my office hours or by special appointment. You can expect confidentiality and cooperation regarding any circumstances and needs that have been verified through the disability centers on campus.

ATTENDANCE and CONDUCT

Regular attendance is expected (including tardiness)(this means LATE WORK). (from our Faculty Handbook 2009-2010): A student may also be dropped from a class for excessive absences. The college policy for absences is that excessive absences are defined as 6% of the total hours of class time.

  • LATE WORK IS DOCKED 20% PER CALENDAR DAY: since work submission counts for ATTENDANCE, every day late counts as a day absent. 3 "late-work / absences" is the point at which you can be dropped.

•Regular attendance is expected (including tardiness).

•(from the Faculty Handbook 2008-09 44

IX. Student Conduct Student Code of Conduct)

Students will be dropped from the class  according to college policy on attendance.  (See SCC Col-lege Catalogue.)     

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is representing the work of someone else as your own and submitting it for any purpose. Plagiarism includes the follow-ing:

• Incorporating the ideas, works, sentences, paragraphs, or parts of another person’s writing without giving appropriate credit and representing the product as your own work.

• Representing another’s artistic/scholarly work as your own.

• Submitting a paper purchased from a research or term paper service.

Consequences of Dishonesty

Depending on the seriousness of the infraction, the following may occur as a result of the dishonesty:

• Receive a failing grade on the test or paper.

• Have a course grade lowered.

• Placed on disciplinary probation or suspension.

• Expelled.


Please use the following URL to access the American Meteorological Society (AMS) website for the course:

URL: www.ametsoc.org/amsedu/login.cfm
username: (on the D2L website)
password: (on the D2L website)

WHAT TO DO:
Read the Chapter for the Week.
Do the questions in the Investigations Manual:
a) Answer the assigned Review questions.
b) Answer the assigned Critical Thinking questions.
c) For Investigations A and B: BOTH the Manual and Online portions.
The "Answer Forms" for Investigations A and B are links on the AMS page (right side of the table)


Review Questions and Critical Thinking: DO NOT WRITE THE QUESTIONS ALONG WITH YOUR ANSWERS!:
Please do not write the "questions".
Instead, re-write the question into the beginning statement of your answer.
e.g. "Describe the layer of the atmosphere that directly interacts with the ocean." TURNS INTO: "The layer of the atmosphere that directly interacts with the ocean is..."

Investigations Manual answers: just the one word (sometimes a few) you chose.

I DO want the Question-number with your answer.

Capitalization counts (especially for place names).
Points will be lost.

ATTACHMENT IDs:
Please put you last name on attachments. The Week number too. (e.g. "Jones2.doc)
No more, or less, please.

DO NOT SEND GRAPHS OR IMAGES:

Do not send images or graphs: only email in the answer-form answers (best to copy-paste into Word, or as Rich Text Format).