English 208

Instructor Information:

Textbook: Textbooks: (Required) The Norton Anthology of World Literature, 2^nd ed., Ed. Sarah Lawall. New York: Norton, 2002. (NA on reading schedule.)

Optional texts: The Aeneid and The Odyssey are both available in prose. You can buy them at Barnes and Noble.

A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature, eds. Wilfred L. Guerin, Earle G. Labor, Lee Morgan, John R. Willingham. (henceforth, HB on schedule.)

Testing: Students will take 2 supervised, timed, on-line exams on campus.

Accessing this Course: Click the Creating my WebCT account at the top of this page for instructions on creating your WebCT account. Once you have created an account, click on Adding Courses to my WebCT account for instructions on adding courses to your WebCT account.

After you have completed the orientation activities linked above, read all the information on this page, and enrolled in the course through the college, send an email message to me (profshier@yahoo.com) with this information: (1) your full name, (2) your phone number, (3) the course and section number, and (4) any questions you might have about the course. Send this message from the email account you will be using during the semester.

* Submit all reading responses.

* Participate in online discussions of readings. You should check the discussion boards for new posting daily if at all possible.

* Take all reading quizzes.

* Write one 3-5 page analytical essay and revise if necessary. The student also writes a longer researched essay.

* Log on twice weekly, every week.

* Students who do not log on at least twice weekly every week are considered to be cutting class. When the student accumulates more than 4 cuts during a 15-week term, 2 cuts during a 10-week term, or 1 cut during a shorter term, the student may be dropped from the course at the instructor's discretion.

* Work as part of a group to design and produce a website incorporating traditional paper and web research. The group will use small group discussion boards, email, and chat rooms to collaborate on this project. This project will require access to a large college library.

* Submit two essay exams at the Testing Center.

Your grade for the course will be calculated as follows.

Assignment / Percent of Course Grade

Quizzes------------------150 points

Responses----------------150 points

Discussion Board----------100 points

Analytical paper-----------150 points

Research project (group)--250 points

Exam I--------------------100 points

Exam II (Final exam)-------100 points

Your interest in English 208, I trust, reflects your curiosity about the global community, about societies which have shaped our culture. Who were the founders of this remarkable global community? What values, experiences, assumptions, beliefs, traditions, wisdom do the various members bring to this community? We will begin to look for the answers to these questions in our readings. World literature offers enjoyable and challenging readings in various genres including non-fiction, fiction, drama and poetry, as well as opportunities to explore geography, religion, and histories of ancient civilization through literature.

Throughout the course, you will be submitting weekly reading responses to me for a grade. These average 400-500 words each. You will also contribute to discussions on the class bulletin board. In the last month of the course, you will work in a group to produce a term project, a webquest or web-based research project.

I'll be posting quizzes on the web site weekly. The questions I ask are not demanding, and you can take the quizzes 2 times. I give these reading quizzes only to encourage you to complete the readings on time and to focus the discussion that follows. Doing well on them will help your course grade in a major way.

You will also contribute an objective, 10-question quiz (multiple choice or matching) on one lesson, based on the textbook and 5 of my questions. Five of the questions must be your own, and I will ask you to revise them if they are confusing or too obvious. You must also provide the answer key.

1. Am I an independent learner, able to take responsibility for my own education?

2. Are my reading skills strong?

3. Can I easily follow written instructions?

4. Am I willing to commit a significant amount of time to reading and writing?

5. Do I have strong time-management skills?

If you can honestly and confidently answer "yes" to questions 1-5, then an internet course may be right for you. HOWEVER,

6. Do I need a lot of interaction with the instructor and classmates?

7. Do I need verbal instructions and lots of one-on-one talks with a classmate or instructor?

8. Are my reading skills so-so, or even weak?

9. Am I pressured for time, struggling constantly to juggle work, school and family?

If you answered "yes" to all or most of questions 6-9, then an internet course is probably not a good choice for you. Students who do well in internet courses are independent learners with strong time management and reading skills.

As an instructor, I am committed to delivering quality educational opportunities to Midlands Tech's students, and I want to see all of my students succeed. For some students, that may mean an Internet course is a good choice, and for others, it means that traditional, live classes are a better choice.