GEG 100 ONLINE! Cultural Geography ORIENTATION Fall 2008

~/~ Home ~/~ Syllabus ~/~ Schedule ~/~ Discussion ~/~ Orientation ~/~ Review ~/~ Textbook Website ~/~

• All students must log-in to our BlackBoard website:
  • go to http://harper.blackboard.com
  • follow the instructions to "log-in",
    • If you need help see: How do I join my class?
    • and: What is my user name and password?
  • go to "courses", and
  • find "GEG 100 ONLINE! (Fall 2008 - Section 059 - Cultural Geography)"

   

  • Blackboard help:
    • Blackboard Tutorials: http://www.harpercollege.edu/doit/dlinfo/Bb.shtml
    • Telephone, email, and face-to-face technical support
      • Telephone: 847.925.6866
      • Email: studentsd@harpercollege.edu
      • Student Service Desk

   

  • YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESS:
    • Be sure to enter your e-mail address when you enroll in BlackBoard, or
    • Click on "Course Tools", then "Personal Information", then "Edit Personal Information", and enter your correct e-mail address

• WEBPAGE
  http://www.harpercollege.edu/mhealy/geg100i/home.htm

• We do NOT meet at Harper once a week and there is NO certain time that you must be online.

• Always put "GEG 100" and a message in the subject lines of e-mail messages sent to the me. To avoid viruses, I delete messages prior to reading them if I don't know who they are from.
  
  
• You are NOT on your own. Your instructor is available to provide assistance and answer questions:
  • BlackBoard Discussion Forum for course CONTENT questions
  • E-mail for personal questions: mhealy@harpercollege.edu
  • Call me
    • Harper: 847-925-6352
    • Home: 815-728-1571
    • Cell: 815-861-7265
  • NOTE: Do the assignments EARLY so that you have time to contact me if needed. I may not always be available the evening before an assignment is due.

   

• EXAMS:
  • Exams will be taken at the Harper Testing Center on, or before, the day it is scheduled (see SCHEDULE ).
  • You must have a picture ID and you must finish by closing time.
  • For the Testing Center location, hours, and phone number see: Assessment Center hours

   

• MANY OF YOU WILL NOT COMPLETE THIS COURSE
  • Distance learning courses tend to have a high drop rate. Many of you will not complete this course. If you cannot devote at l;east as much time to this course than you do to regular face-to-face college courses, drop now
  • College Counselors suggest that you should spend 2 hours studying EACH WEEK for each course credit-hour. Since this is a 3 credit-hour online course you should spend around 9 hours EACH WEEK preparing (3 hours that you would normally be in class and 6 additional hours).

   

• TEXTBOOK CORRECTIONS
  • TEXTBOOK WEBSITE
    
    
• SYLLABUS
  
  

COMPUTERIZED CHAPTER ACTIVITIES

• Go to the textbook website at: http://www.wiley.com/college/kuby
• Find our textbook (4th edition) and click on "Student Companion Site"
• Then click on "Computerized Chapter Activities"
• You will need to remove your textbook or find the Printed Workbook Activity Pages on the Textbook webpage.
• NOTE: before doing the chapter activities go to the "ASSIGNMENTS - BEGIN HERE" link on Blackboard
• STAPLE the activity worksheets before mailing them
• You will need BOTH the "Computerized Chapter Activities" webpage and your textbook to do the assigned activities
  
• Before doing an assigned activity, FIRST go to the "ASSIGNMENTS - BEGIN HERE" link on Blackboard

• "Spatial Pattern" means "describe WHERE"

• AGAIN: You must STAPLE the assignment pages.

ORIENTATION REVIEW

• Review the ORIENTATION web page
• Read the SYLLABUS, pay close attention to the SCHEDULE
• Log in to BlackBoard
• Always BEGIN each assignment by clicking on the "Summer Assignments" link on Blackboard or on the CHAPTERS link
• Begin Assignments EARLY - You may need help.
• Assignments MUST
  • be completed and in the mail by the date listed on the SCHEDULE
  • stapled
  • mailed in a 10" x 13" envelope
  • include a self-addressed 9" x 12" envelope with the Harper address label
• Before taking the exams be sure to do all of the REVIEW activities and ask for HELP if you don't understand them
• Use the Discussion Forum if you have questions on the assignments or for other "course content" questions
• "Spatial Pattern" means describe WHERE
• Always put "GEG 100" and a message in the subject lines of e-mail messages sent to the me. To avoid viruses, I delete messages prior to reading them if I don't know who they are from.
• STAPLE your pages together before mailing them to the instructor.

• WHAT IS GEOGRAPHY?
  
  • Two Broad Fields:
    • Human (Cultural) Geography
    • Physical Geography
      
  • Human Geography is often studied from two different Perspectives:
    • Regional Geography (GEG 101)
    • Systematic (Topical) Perspective (GEG 100)
      
  • We can study the geography of almost anything - as long as it has a "spatial " component. [CHAPTERS]
    
  • Three Broad Questions
    • WHERE?
    • WHY THERE?
    • WHY DO WE CARE? / WHAT CAN WE LEARN?
      
    • We will focus on the WHY THERE question
      
    • Examples:
      • Chapter 1 Instructor's Notes
      • Breweries in Illinois

 REMEMBER: before doing an assigned activity FIRST go to the " Assignments-Begin Here" link on Blackboard.

INSTRUCTOR:

E-Mail instructor: mhealy@harpercollege.edu
Office: J-262
Phone: 847-925-6352
Home: 815-728-1571
Cell: 815-861-7265