Dear Teleweb Student: Summer 2008

Welcome to the St. Charles Community College’s teleweb course Transforming America (History 102-W1: United States History Since 1877). My name is Hal Berry, Professor of History and theatre at SCC. I will be your instructor for the course. I teach full-time at SCC and thus will be on campus Monday-Thursday to answer any questions you have on the course, your assignments or your grades. My office is located in the Daniel Conoyer Social Science Building (SSB), Suite 1104, Office H. The direct number to my office is 636-922-8261. If I am in class, a meeting or not in, contact the Office Coordinator, Christy Gant, at 636-922-8398. You need to know my e-mail at hberry@stchas.edu.

Please Note: Transforming America is a teleweb course. Teleweb courses add Internet activities to the video/DVD's programming and textbook responsibilities. You will need access to the Internet and experience with e-mail and the World Wide Web in order to effectively complete the course.

The advantage of a course online is that you can work at your own pace and do so at home instead of in a classroom and a campus. The downside of online courses is that many find it hard to separate home from relaxation and their private life and often do not discipline themselves to do the work for the course. Hence, statistics show that there are a larger number of drops with online classes as opposed to campus classes. This is one very important thing you will have to guard against.

Telweb courses are the equivalent of on-campus courses in terms of workload and academic expectations. Do not make the mistake of assuming that online courses should somehow be easier. This course will be no harder and no easier than if you were taking one of my campus classes. This is a transfer college course. All written assignments must be submitted via e-mail attachments. Always keep your information saved so if your e-mail somehow gets lost, you can send it again. Things happen with the Internet. When you send your e-mail always clearly label your e-mail “Assignment for His 102-W1.” In this way, I will hope it does not get lost in the spam file—as unwanted mail. Things like that often occur at large institutions that have institutional spam controls.

This course will survey U.S. History since 1877. The text begins with Reconstruction and that will be included as a beginning to understand the rest of the history. Much of the social, political and economic reality of the nation from 1877-1900, can be understood only if one is able to grasp the momentous opportunities for good and evil that presented themselves to the nation after the end of the Civil War. The textbook, paperbacks and videos provide the student with the content for this course. Together, they present a glimpse into our national past and the lives of Americans who now deceased helped shape the nation.

What does the student need to get started?

A. Course syllabus: You need to read it and develop your planning time to watch the videos/DVD's, read the text, read the paperbacks and accomplish the written assignments. Run off a hard copy so you can have it as a daily reminder of what needs to be done. If you have any questions contact the instructor.

B. Get the text book, DVD’s and the paperbacks:

The American Promise: A History of the United States, Vol II: From 1865, 3 edition by Roark, Johnson, et al. (Boston/St Matins, 2007)

My Antonia, Cather, Willa,

Ragtime, D

 DVD’s Transforming America - from library circulation desk

The textbook and the paperbacks must be purchased as they are critical to the student’s success in the course. The Videos/DVD’s are checked out through the SCC Library. A Student ID is needed in order to check out materials.

For this section, students do not need to purchase the Telecourse Guide For Transforming America. All of the course assignments are on the syllabus which will integrate the visual history with the texts. All of the materials assigned for this course will be used in the assignments.

 C. Telephone orders for Teleweb students:

Students may call the Bookstore at 636-922-8448 to place their order. The bookstore will give the video textbook pricing information at the time of the call. There will an additional shipping charge. Students may use Visa, Master-Card, or Discover. Students may also make special arrangements to purchase their books with a mailed check. Items will be shipped UPS.

D. For this section, there will be no planned quizzes. All exams and assignments are written. This means that it is the responsibility of each student to pace themselves and keep up on the reading and watching and working on assignments.

E. Due dates:

If an assignment is e-mailed late there will be a reduction in the grade.

1. One day late: No penalty

2. Two days late: Five points deduction

3. After the second day, a full grade will be deducted unless there is a medical reason for the delay. I would need an e-mail or letter from a medical office verifying that the student was unable to fulfill the assignment on time. If some family tragedy forces the student to go to a funeral, I would need to have an obituary notice as valid proof.

4. Longer than one week, there will be an automatic ‘F’

 F. Dropping the course:

It is assumed all students want to do well in this course. It is also assumed that I will reach out to all students who need assistance. But, if a student finds it simply impossible to continue, I advise that person to drop so that the poor grade is not placed on a transcript. It is a simple procedure to drop before the deadline. Look on the college’s semester calendar and find the exact drop date for courses.

WebCT/Blackboard courses will not be available to students until five working days prior to the start of the semester.

Good luck, enjoy and work hard

Sincerely

Hal Berry

Professor of History and Theatre