Frequently Asked Questions

General

1. What's the lowest number of points needed to get an A in the class?

As a general rule of thumb, 90% and above is an A, 80% and above is a B, and so on. I absolutely reserve the right to change that scale depending on how the class unfolds, but after several semesters of this class, I'm pretty consistent with that scale. The number one reason that students get lower grades is that they do not submit all of their assignments, or they miss the deadlines.

2. Is it o.k. to visit with you in person during your office hours? Is it o.k. if I call?

Of course! I originally wanted to have a few traditional classroom lectures for this course, but the university is quite adamant -- if it's an online course, I cannot require face-to-face meetings. The logic behind it is that some students taking this course could theoretically be in another state (or even another country), so we have to treat all students consistently. On the other hand, it's perfectly acceptable to come in during my office hours, so don't be shy, especially if you're having difficulties.

3. Help -- I'm new to this online stuff! I finally realized what I was doing wrong with my computer, but I did terrible on the first few quizzes because of computer glitches. Will it all count against me?

I take all of this on a case by case basis. As the instructor, there are tools available to me to determine what went wrong and why it went wrong. Honest mistakes can happen....

I'm more understanding about these glitches at the beginning of the semester, so the answer is: no, I generally will not count these glitches against you. However, take your time, correct these problems, and get into good habits with these quizzes, because I expect everyone to have these procedures together in a few weeks. If the same problems occur at the end of the semester, I will be much less understanding!

 

The Quizzes

4. Do you mind if we submit our work ahead of the posted schedule? What if I completed all the quizzes in two weeks?

For the moment, I don't want you to get TOO far ahead of schedule. We're still adding students at the beginning of the semester, and they're still getting familiar with the online environment. On the other hand, I have no objection if you get a few weeks ahead in the modules. No harm done.

Just be aware that I post the scores for the online exams on a regular basis, but NOT on an up-to-the-minute basis (if I did, I would not have time for anything else!). This means I won't post scores for the first time until we're a few weeks into the semester and things have settled in. This shouldn't be too big an issue, because your score on the quizzes are given to you each time you complete the quiz.

Finally, if you can do all the quizzes in two weeks... hey, more power to you! There's no rule against it. However, I think you'll get more out of the class if you stay close to the posted schedule.

5. What if I'm in the middle of a quiz when I accidently click on submit by accident? If I press the enter button or move the scroll on my mouse, it accidentally gets submitted.

Be very careful about completing those quizzes! If you submit a quiz more than once, the score you get the first time is the one that counts. Sometimes students in a rush press the "enter" button by accident and end up with a zero. I do my best to be understanding about this situation, but please be careful! The records I get can show me a great deal, but all I expect is that you show reasonable caution.

6. I submitted my quiz, but when I checked the posted scores, it didn't show up. Why wasn't it recorded? How do I know the quiz went through?

I made a decision last semester to avoid using WebCT for this course. I personally felt that you spend more time learning about WebCT and less time learning about environmental health!

However, that decision has its good points and bad points. The good news is that you have a lot less hassle getting online with my approach, and I think it ends up being a pretty friendly course for people who have never taken an online course before.

The bad news is that you do not have instant posting of all your scores ! You DO have instant feedback for each single exam -- for example, you should know your score. Indeed, when you submit the exam and get the score back, that's the indication that your exam did go through.

However, I will not post the cumulative scores for the first few weeks of the semester (after every student has settled in), and even then I will only post the scores for exams that are due. The reason for this is that it does take some processing on my part, and I do not want to be calculating scores for the entire class on a daily basis -- I simply do not have the time for that!

Basically, if you want to get ahead of schedule, that's fine with me. However, I will post exams only when it's after the due date.

In the meantime, be sure to stay up to date by reading the hypernews messages -- it's the one critical way that we can stay in touch as a class.

7. Suppose I can't remember whether I took a certain quiz, and the grade has not yet been recorded. If I mistakenly take that quiz over again, what happens?

If you take a quiz twice by mistake, I count the first score. You are not penalized in any way. However, I request that everyone try to keep this to a minimum, because it slows up my ability to record the scores.

The Essays

8. I am not quite sure how to go about this paper. Are you going to give us a guideline of what we're to read and how are we to respond?

For guidelines, see: http://www.csun.edu/~vchsc006/353/issues.html#1

9. Can I pick my own topic for the essays?

Sure! However, you do need to get my approval before you start. I'm pretty flexible, as long as it relates to the course material.

10. Can I submit my essay in person (i.e., the traditional way)? Can I turn it in as an email attachment?

No! This is specifically a hypernews assignment.

11. For posting the essay on hypernews, is it to be typed in Word or just type it as if I were adding a message?

As far as I know, hypernews does not accept Word attachments. Basically, you'll have to copy and paste from Word to Hypernews. You'll lose a lot of the formatting from Word, but I'm not concerned about that. It won't affect your grade.

12. Do we need to site sources for the essay? Do you expect MLA or APA format or is any type is fine? For the essay project, is it required to use outside sources?

Any format is fine, as long as it's internally consistent and well written. Each essay is worth 50 points. There is no minimum required number for sources, but I would want your arguments to be well supported and not simply opinions.

13. How does the third essay work? Is it required?

If the class as a whole does an excellent job on the first two essays, I will consider converting the third essay into an optional assignment. Those who wish could complete the third assignment and, if it is good enough, it could replace a lower score from the previous two essays. However, all of this depends on how the class does. I'm hopeful and optimistic...