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Syllabus

Grammar Basics Course Syllabus
Course Syllabus Downloadable Document
Distance Learning Fall 2017 
Course Delivery Method - ONLINE

This course is an online course. 
An online course does not require face-to-face meetings. 
All learning activities will take place online.

Course: UNIV110 - Grammar Basics
Semester Hours: 1
Semester Year: Fall 2017
Instructor: Mrs. Tammy Hotchkiss
Email: thotchk1@my.westga.edu
Website: Professor's Journal
Office Location: On Campus - ARC Room 123
Office Telephone: 678-763-4737
Office Hours: Friday, 8:00am - 5:00pm (in-person)
Online Hours: Monday - Thursday, 8:00am - 11:00am

COURSE PREREQUISITES
A student enrolling in this course should have basic computer, grammar and writing skills. As an online course, student will need to understand basic navigational skills for a web application, basic video operation skills, as well as ability to download required reading materials.  
COURSE DESCRIPTION  
This course to assist students in learning basic grammar skills. This course will introduce students to a basic level of understanding of parts of speech and their definitions, sentence structure, pronoun protocol, handling verbs, verb tenses, adverbs, adjectives, prepositions, prepositional phrases and basic punctuation.  
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
The conceptual framework of the College of Education forms the basis on which programs, courses, experiences, and outcomes are created. With the goal of Developing Exemplary Practitioners, our programs incorporate ten descriptors (knowledgeable, reflective, inquisitive, decisive, adaptive, proactive, leading, collaborative, culturally sensitive, empathetic), clustered into three interrelated and overlapping themes, that demonstrate our commitment to (a) Professional Excellence; (b) Field-Based Inquiry; and (c) the Betterment of Society. These themes and descriptors are integral components of the conceptual framework and provide the basis for developing exemplary practitioners who are prepared to improve schools and communities.
National and state standards (National Board for Professional Teaching Standards [NBPTS], International Society for Technology in Education [ISTE], American Association for School Librarians [AASL], and Georgia Professional Standards [GaPSC]) also are incorporated as criteria against which candidates are measured.
The mission of the College of Education is to provide excellence in the initial and advanced preparation of professionals for a variety of settings, to foster an innovative learning community, and to empower a faculty committed to teaching and the dissemination of knowledge. This course’s objectives, activities, and assignments are related directly to the conceptual framework and national standards, as identified below.
APPROACHES TO INSTRUCTION  
A variety of instructional strategies will be employed in this course including readings, evaluative analysis and review, small group discussion, individual and small group hands-on production, and self-reflection and assessment. A variety of interactive technologies will be used for communication, discussion, instruction, and sharing of resources, projects, and other information.
As such, you will be required to complete the following online activities during this course (times are approximate):
Discussion posts/blogging
160 minutes
Audio/video instruction
40 minutes
Other online assignments/activities
160 minutes
Total
360 minutes
Additionally, it is anticipated that students will need to work independently for twice the number minutes listed above to complete the online activities.
Instructor Note:  
What the above is trying to say is that you have to work about 6 hours (360 minutes) per week. The verbiage is required for our SACS accreditation, and it is awkward because we are using the old face-to-face “seat-time” trying to quantify “online seat time”. It satisfies the needs of administrators to count things. Just try to schedule in 3 hours per week for this course. If you struggle with technology, add a few more hours to that number. If you require assistance with Canvas, please try Canvas Help at https://guides.instructure.com.
COURSE OBJECTIVES  
Upon satisfactory completion of this course, students should be able to perform the following:
  • Communicate effectively through discussion board assignments
  • Demonstrate understanding of the basic skills necessary to use the following:
    • Noun
    • Pronoun
    • Adjective
    • Verb
    • Adverb
    • Preposition
    • Conjunction
    • Interjection
  • Identify the proper use of sentence structure
  • Define basic grammar terminology
  • Demonstrate their understanding of basic grammar through discussion board assignments, successful completion of homework and satisfactory completion of testing
TEXTS, READINGS, AND INSTRUCTIONAL RESOURCES  
Required Text:
Martin-Gay, E. (2015). Pre Algebra & Introductory Algebra, 4th Edition. Berkley, CA:Pearson.
ISBN-10: 032195579X ISBN-13: 978-0321955791
Students will need:
Access to the Internet, through Internet accessible devices such as a computer, notebook, standard web camera, and standard microphone.
TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS
Minimum
Recommended
Web Camera
640 x 480 resolution
1280 x 720 resolution
PC Users
Windows Vista
Windows 8
iMac Users
Mac OS X 10.5 or higher
Mac OS X 10.10 Yosemite
Internet Download Speed
.768 Mbps
1.5 Mbps
Internet Upload Speed
.384 Mbps
1 Mbps
RAM
1024 MB
2 GB
Ports
1935, UDP/TCP
1935, UDP/TCP
ASSIGNMENTS, EVALUATION PROCEDURES, AND GRADING POLICIES  
Class Participation  
Participation is expected and necessary. You need to participate in the course regularly. Lack of participation, failure to complete work in a timely manner, or other noted absence of participation may lower a student’s cumulative point total by 10 points.
You will find a discussion forum named “Q & A Discussion” in Canvas under the Pinned Discussions. This forum will serve to post all your inquiries related to the class, as well as a channel to communicate course related announcements. Please post your general questions about the class here. Monitor this board often, as updates are made when questions are asked and answered. This is a general questions forum; however, in order to benefit the class as a whole, please limit your posts to questions relevant to this class. All students are encouraged to help others, if you know the answer. Check it often!
Discussions  
You will have weekly discussion assignments. You are required to respond to the discussion prompts provided by the instructor. With a few exceptions, you are expected to make an initial posting on each evening. You are expected to read and participate in ALL online discussions. In some of the discussion, you will be required to post your initial thoughts and respond to other postings. Please make certain to read each instruction. In order for a discussion to be considered complete you must respond to the postings in a meaningful manner.
(“I agree” or “this is interesting” are not proper responses).
  • Note that I may add/delete discussions in addition to the ones listed in the syllabus and class schedule. If this is the case, you will be promptly notified of this addition.
  • The topic of the discussion is subject to change, so check often.
Student Work  
All student work submitted during the course is required to be original. All projects must be complete in order to be graded. It is strongly recommended that you begin work on ALL of the assignments as soon as you begin the course. You are allowed to work ahead. Do not rely solely on the suggested schedule to tell you when to start and finish these assignments.
Due Dates  
All products/assignments/discussions will be due on the due dates posted. Due Dates are located on the course schedule. Do not fall behind in the class. Late assignments will not be accepted and will be assigned a score of zero. Missed assignments may be made up only in the event of valid emergencies. If you know you will have any issues submitting any of your assignments on time, contact me PRIOR to the deadline to make possible arrangements.
Submitting Assignments  
Students are expected to submit assignments on time. Valid reasons for submitting work late must be cleared by the professor in advance. It is the student’s responsibility to contact the professor when extenuating circumstances take place. Ten percent of the total grade might be deducted for each day an assignment is late up to 50%. Without exceptions, late discussion board postings/replies will result in a grade of zero. All Canvas assignments are due by midnight on the date due. Any assignments posted after midnight are considered late. Each assignment in Canvas has a due date and a cut-off date. No late assignments more than 2 days late will be accepted.
Assessments/Assignments:
Students will have reading assignments, discussion board assignments, video tutorial assignments, pre-assessment test, and an exam at the end of the course.  
  1. Grammar Assignments

Course Modules
Above, you will see references to the grammar assignments; full instructions for each of the assignments will appear in the proper modules for each assignment. Upon completion of all assignments, students will be provided an exam of topics covered.
Note: To receive full credit, all assignments, tests and final exam must be completed by the prospective due dates.


  1. Project Assignment
Project consists of:
  • Viewing video
  • Instructions for assignment
  • Links to outside tutorial assistance for writing requirements
* Required Text:
Simon, L. (2009). New Beginnings: A Reference Guide for Adult Learners, 4th Edition. Berkley, CA:Pearson.
ISBN-10: 0137152302 ISBN-13: 9780137152308
  1. Discussion Boards.
Throughout the course, students will be given discussion assignments communicating with peers about topics related to mathematical methods. Class assignments of this nature will be evaluated according to the quality and appropriateness of the information retrieved and posted to Canvas. The instructor reserves the right to change or delete topics. Complete submission instructions are provided in Canvas. (Objectives 1, 2, 3, 4; knowledge, skills, disposition; teacher observation)
IMPORTANT: You need to take your writing in this class very seriously. In addition to the criteria delineated above, structural, grammar, and/or mechanical errors will result in a loss of points. Discussions with numerous structural, grammar or mechanical errors, or missing the writer’s name and the date of submission will result in a lower grade. If you are concerned about your writing proficiency, please make use of the College Writing Center or a personal tutor.
Resources for Writing: 
formatting: http://www.apastyle.org
Purdue Online Writing Lab OWL: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/
for Citations: https://www.zotero.org is a free, open source, web-based tool for managing citations, organizing pdfs, and creating bibliographies. 
for Citations: http://endnote.com is citation management software produced by ISI. A free 30-day trial is available through the EndNote website. The software can be purchased at the Campus Store.
File Naming Protocol:  
Follow this file naming convention FOR ALL SUBMITTED DOCUMENTS in this course are:
  • Your last name followed by an underscore ("_") - with NO SPACES - (e.g., Hotchkiss_)
  • The initials of your first and middle names followed by an underscore ("_") - with NO SPACES - (e.g., TR_)
  • The Assignment Title (a concise version - keep it short) and an underscore ("_") - with NO SPACES - (e.g., InitialReflection_)
  • The course number (i.e., for this course, 1111)
Use the order as described above and assemble the 4 elements into a string with NO SPACES (e.g., Hotchkiss_TR_InitialReflection_1111.docx).
*REMEMBER: You do not need to add the final extension to the file name (e.g., ".docx") when using MS Word.
MS Word does this for you.
GRADING POLICY
The following grading scale will be used:
A = 181 - 200 points
B = 161 - 180 points
C = 141 - 160 points
F = Below 140 points
EVALUATION PROCEDURES 

Activity
Points Available
Assessment Tools
1. Why is Grammar Important? 
Discussion Board Assignment
25 points
Graded Assignment
2. Pre-Assessment
0
3. Project
100 points
Graded Assignment
4. Exam
175 points
Graded Assignment
TOTAL200
CLASS, DEPARTMENT, AND UNIVERSITY POLICIES  
Academic Honesty: All work completed in this course must be the individual student's original work developed during this course.
Students are expected to adhere to the highest standards of academic honesty. Plagiarism occurs when a student uses or purchases ghostwritten papers. It also occurs when a student utilizes the ideas or information obtained from another person without giving credit to that person. If plagiarism or another act of academic dishonesty occurs, it will be dealt with in accordance with the academic misconduct policy as stated in the Connection and Student Handbook, Undergraduate Catalog, and the Graduate Catalog.
Attendance: This course is taught completely online. Students are expected to log in to the course daily to check the course modules, email, contribute to discussion boards, etc.
Disability: All students are provided with equal access to classes and materials, regardless of special needs, temporary or permanent disability, special needs related to pregnancy, etc. If you have any special learning needs, particularly (but not limited to) needs defined under the Americans with Disabilities Act, and require specific accommodations, please do not hesitate to make those known, either yourself or through the Coordinator of Disability Services. Students with documented special needs may expect accommodation in relation to classroom accessibility, modification of testing, special test administration, etc.
Any student with a disability documented through Student Services is encouraged to contact the instructor right away so that appropriate accommodations may be arranged. In addition, certain accommodations (which will be discussed in class) are available to all students, within constraints of time and space.
Extra Credit:  
Extra credit activities are not available in this course.
Late Work:  
Work submitted after the due date may be subject to penalties to be determined by the instructor. This policy MAY be waived if the student has an emergency situation (illness, death, etc.) AND discusses the situation with the instructor BEFORE the due date.
Student Email Policy:  
Students are provided an email account through the University, which is the official means of communication between the University and student. It is the student’s responsibility to check this email account for important University related information.
Disciplinary procedures described in the latest University Handbook, Undergraduate Catalog, and Graduate Catalog, will be followed when violations take place. Infractions may include cheating, plagiarism, disruptive behavior, and disorderly conduct.
Digital Citizenship
In a technological society, we are no longer able to merely protect ourselves from a measly lock and key scenario. The digital world in which we live is full of predators from hackers to child pornographers. We as online users must ensure the safety of our environment. The nine elements of digital citizenship seem to sum up the majority of hinderances that could prevail and offer simple solutions to use. I have added some basic information to my students to ensure their awareness of its importance.
Digital citizenship can be defined as the norms of appropriate, responsible behavior with regard to technology use. 
1.   Digital Access:   we need to be aware of our online environment and who has access to the digital environment we use.
2.   Digital Commerce:   we must be mindful that many sites contain electronic buying and selling of goods are inappropriate for this course such as: gambling, pornography and other illegal activities and are not welcome to this course. 
3.   Digital Communication:   we are using an electronic exchange of information and we need to respect all information by ensuring our digital environment is protected and secure. 
4.   Digital Literacy:   although society is becoming more aware of the digital environment, there is still a need for a process of teaching and learning about technology and the use of technology in our online environment. Should anyone see something missing in our lesson in this area please notify me.
5. Digital Etiquette:   electronic standards of conduct or procedure must be in place to ensure a proper digital etiquette among users in the environment are outlined in the course syllabus.
6.   Digital Law:   everyone needs to make certain that they are aware that electronic responsibility for ones actions could potentially hold a legal consequence. Behaviors such as hacking, illegal use of others materials, photos, graphics, logos, music, or copyrighted wording is not only unethical, it could result in criminal action.  
7.   Digital Rights & Responsibilities:   although the same freedoms in the nondigital world extended to everyone in a digital world, the same responsibilities of courteous behavior must also apply.
8.   Digital Health & Wellness:   please be aware that certain physical and psychological well-being in a digital technology world should also be a concern. To ensure that you know what is a concern, please see your user manuals to the devices that you are using for this course.
9.   Digital Security (self-protection):   just as you would lock your car or home when it is not attended, certain electronic precautions to guarantee safety should also be in place such as firewalls and antivirus software. 
Although technology security has evolved over the past two decades, we still must remain mindful of the advantages technological predators hold. Even though we secure it more and more, they too are mindful and persist to overcome the boundaries we set. My advice to my fellow online users is to stay current and up to date. Don't become complacent and let a new update or new preventative measure go unused. Be proactive - not reactive.
Professional Conduct:  
Students are expected to conduct themselves professionally. This is an essential quality for all professionals who will be working in the schools.  
Professionalism includes but is not limited to the following:
  • Participating in interactions and class activities in a positive manner.
  • Collaborating and working equitably with fellow students in the class.
  • Actively participating in class each week.
  • Turning in assignments on time (late assignments will result in a loss of points).
  • Treating class members and colleagues with respect in and out of the virtual classroom.
  • Eliminating interruptions in campus classrooms. This includes cell phones and beepers.
Should you have any questions about the syllabus please feel free to contact me. I look forward to a rewarding two weeks with you.


Take Care,
Professor Hotchkiss
thotchk1@my.westga.edu
678-763-4737
Professor's Journal
Office Location: On Campus - Math Building
Office Hours:
Friday, 8:00 am - 5:00 pm (in-person) and Monday - Thursday, 8:00 am - 11:00 am (online)
"Integrating Traditional Graphic Art Design with Modern Web Technology"
University of West Georgia
Go West! Class of 2017
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