Course Preview Page

Oceanography Lab Online

OCE1001L

Fall 2013 465255/465266

There will be no on campus meetings, this is a fully online course.

Faculty Introduction

 Masters Degree in Biological Oceanography

15 years experience teaching all grade levels.

Have been interested in Oceanography since college experiences on the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia.  I studied how shipping affected the productivity of invertebrate organisms.

Course Description

Laboratory methods for the Ocean Sciences. The topics covered will

include problem solving in all aspects of ocean science to understand how the hydrosphere, lithosphere, biosphere and atmosphere of our planet functions and interacts and demonstrate a basic understanding of the unifying principles and processes that link geology, chemistry, physics, meteorology and biology to the study of the world ocean.

Prerequisite(s): MAT0024 with a grade of (C) or better.

Pre/Corequisite(s): OCE1001

·  Computer Knowledge and Skills:

• Students in this course should be familiar with the following computer skills.
• File Management- You should be familiar with finding and saving files on your computer.
• The Internet- You should be familiar with connecting to the Internet through an Internet Service Provider or Network Connection.
• Web Browser Software- You should be familiar with using web browser software to navigate the Internet and locate information.
• Email- You should be familiar with sending and receiving email messages.
• Discussions- You should be familiar with posting and reading discussion messages in a threaded format.
• Attachments- You should be familiar with sending email messages with attached files.
• Word Processing - You should be familiar with creating, editing, saving, and printing documents using Microsoft Word.

·  Other Requirements

• Obtain a County Library Card or University/College Library Card. You will need either a County Library Card which you may obtain at either North Campus or South Campus Library or a University/College Library Card from the Central Campus Library. These cards will allow you to use select library databases. (optional)

·  Log into Course

• The direct link for login is https://bconline.broward.edu.

Methods of Instruction

This is a 1 credit hour lab course. Normally, a one-credit hour lab course would meet an hour and fifty minutes each week (during a 16-week term). In this class, we engage in structured outside or online activities for the remainder of the class time. See the course schedule for a detailed description of learning activities for scheduled class meetings and outside or online assignments. Students are responsible for regularly reviewing the course schedule and completing all required in and out of class assignments.

In this class, we will not meet, however, student could be automatically withdrawn from this course if they miss their online orientation.
Read and refer to this document regularly. It will tell you what assignments you should complete, and how

• Discussion Postings: Discussions are due every Sunday before 11:50PM
• Quizzes:You will have a week to take the weekly quiz. You will have 15 minutes to complete the quiz once started. You will not see the grade until the testing period has ended.
• Tests.There are no comprehensive tests in this course.
• Assignments: You need to submit a written lab report every Sunday before 11:50PM corresponding to the lab content of that week. See schedule below for details.

Read and refer to this document regularly. It will tell you what assignments you should read and when, and how and when you will be assessed.

CLASS SCHEDULE

Throughout the course, the student should be able to present a neat and orderly written record of all lab work.  The student should be able to Include charts, graphs, tables, drawings, photos, formulas, mathematical equations, maps, and written scientifically sound narratives when required.
The assignments will be available from Aug 26 through November 17, 2013

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, the student shall be able to

• develop and use laboratory techniques, critical thinking and course reading assignments to formulate an understanding of how to locate a position on the surface of the Earth using the Cartesian coordinate system and how to interpret marine charts and maps. 
• present a neat, orderly and scientifically sound written record of all lab work.
• develop and use laboratory techniques, critical thinking and course reading assignments to formulate an understanding of the geologic principles that have contributed to the formation and evolution of Earth’s oceans, ocean basins and continents and demonstrate how Earth’s evolution has affected ocean basins, seawater characteristics, atmosphere and climate. 
• develop and use laboratory techniques, critical thinking and course reading assignments to arrive at basic understanding of processes that govern the physics of the ocean and atmosphere.
• develop and use laboratory techniques, critical thinking and course reading assignments to arrive at basic understanding of the processes that govern the chemistry of the ocean,  through course assigned readings, data collection and analysis.
• develop and use laboratory techniques, critical thinking and course reading assignments to formulate a basic understanding of the processes that control the distribution and abundance of life in the ocean and to demonstrate the effects of oceanic life processes on the entire planet.

Course Requirements

To maximize your chances for success in this course, make sure that you meet the following course course prerequisites:

• Course Pre/Corequisites: Oceanography - OCE1001
• Computer Knowledge and Skills:
• Students in this course should be familiar with the following computer skills.
• File Management- You should be familiar with finding and saving files on your computer.
• The Internet- You should be familiar with connecting to the Internet through an Internet Service Provider or Network Connection.
• Web Browser Software- You should be familiar with using web browser software to navigate the Internet and locate information.
• Email- You should be familiar with sending and receiving email messages.
• Discussions- You should be familiar with posting and reading discussion messages in a threaded format.
• Attachments- You should be familiar with sending email messages with attached files.
• Word Processing - You should be familiar with creating, editing, saving, and printing documents using Microsoft Word.
• Other Requirements
• Obtain a County Library Card or University/College Library Card. You will need either a County Library Card which you may obtain at either North Campus or South Campus Library or a University/College Library Card from the Central Campus Library. These cards will allow you to use select library databases. (optional)
• Log into Course
• The direct link for login is https://bconline.broward.edu.

 To complete the online segments of this course, you must have access to computer hardware and software that meets or exceeds BC's minimum hardware and software standards for e-learning courses. It is strongly recommended that you check your computer to verify that its hardware and software configuration meets or exceeds the BC standard.

• Is your computer ready for online learning? Click here to check it out.
• Additional Software required for this Course (optional) Assignments that require word processing must be submitted in Microsoft Word format. Documents created using Microsoft Works, or files that have ".txt", ".pdf", or ".asci" extensions will not meet course requirements. If you do not have proper software on your computer, you can use the Microsoft Word program on any of the "open lab" computers at any BC Learning Resource Center or in public libraries.
• Only word processing documents in Microsoft Word format will be accepted. Please virus check documents before sending them. AVG offers a free online virus check.

 Course Materials

Text:Purchase a NEW, not used, Laboratory Exercises in Oceanography - 3rd Ed. (2001). Pipkin, Gorsline, Casey, Dunn, Schellenberg ISBN 0-7167-3742-6 H. Freeman and Company, NY Software: MS Excel and MS Word (REQUIRED) Computer and Internet access at home OR at a Broward College Lab (REQUIRED)

 How to Register for this Course

Students must pay for the course before they will be able to log into the course.  Enrollment may be restricted, refer to students' myBC website  for further information on registering for the course.

Information Contact

Office Phone:	954-201-7578
Department Phone:	954-201-7558
Department Fax:	954-201-7399
Email:	All communication should be through the course email tool. Use my BC email ONLY if you are unable to access the course email: jfarmer1@broward.edu
Office Hours:	Office hours are by appointment only--- Please email me if you need an appointment.
Virtual Office Hours:	By appointment
BC's Emergency Hotline#:	954-201-HELP (4357)

 How to Access this Course once you are Enrolled in this Course

Expectations for Course Communication

• Email: Use the email tool only for private, personal, one-to-one communication with a specific individual or groups of individuals. Please do not send course related emails to the instructor's BC email address. Solicitations will not be tolerated. Assignments sent to the instructor's BC email will notbe accepted.
• Alternate Communication: In the event that the course communication tools are unavailable for more than 24 hours, the instructor will communicate with students (if necessary) via their BC email addresses. Access your BC email account at http://www.outlook.com

• Discussions: Use the class discussion tool to post questions that might be of general interest to all students such as questions about assignments, quizzes, etc. Feel free to respond to other students if you think you can help them. Remember - we are all in this together and we can learn from each other. Remember that the discussion tool is public - everyone will be able to view posts and responses.

• Chat: Chat will allow you to talk with other students in the course in real-time. Students must set up times at which to meet other students in the chat room.

• Netiquette: In all online communication, it is expected that all students will follow rules of online "netiquette". Netiquette is a set of rules for polite online behavior that all members of this class is expected to follow. Read some general netiquette rules here. Basically, these rules say "be respectful and be polite to each other".and "be patient and". No one is perfect and we all have different approaches to life, work, and school.
• Individuals who violate the netiquette policy or engage in disruptive online behaviors such as flaming (posting disrespectful or hostile comments), posting inappropriate comments, or shouting (posting messages using all capitals) may have their course access privileges revoked and/or they may be referred to the Student Dean. Students who continue to engage in unacceptable online behavior even after being warned, may be permanently denied access to the course and/or may receive an F for the course.
• Please don't use email short hand like ROTFLO (rolling on the floor laughing out loud) or BTW (by the way) - not everyone knows what these abbreviations mean.
• Remember that in the real world we can see the facial expressions, gestures, and hear tone of voice. We can't do that online so it's very easy to misinterpret another person's meaning to to be misinterpreted ourselves. Be careful of how you communicate to your instructor and to your peers online. If you want to use emoticons (smileys) to convey feelings, please stick with the basics happy :-) sad :-( or wink ;-) Others are less well known and are subject to different interpretations. The idea is to be clear in your communications.
• If you have a concern about the course, a test or an assignment, please contact the instructor.

• Privacy Notice
• BConline software automatically stores course access records, quiz scores, email postings, discussion postings, and chat room conversations. One more reason to make sure that your communications adhere to the netiquette policy.

• Faculty Response Policy
• Course emails and discussion posts will be answered within 48 hours. Emails sent on Saturday or Sunday may not be answered until Monday. It is recommended that you post course related questions in the discussion area. If you need info related to a test or assignment, plan ahead and submit your questions well ahead of the due date. Your instructor is not online 24 hours per day, so please allow time for response.
• Grades for assignments/projects/discussion postings will be within 72 hours of the due date.  Should you have a question regarding an upcoming assignment, exam, etc., please submit your question through BConline within the timeframe that the Instructor is online so that this allows you to complete your assignment by the due date.  I will not accept late assignments because you emailed me a question on a Sunday an hour before the assignment is due and you couldn't complete your assignment.  Should you ask a question on a weekend and/or holiday, perhaps another student may respond to you!  However, AGAIN--I am online Monday through Friday ONLY!!!

Other Policies and Procedures

Please notify the instructor by BConline Email if there is a problem submitting an assignment on time PRIOR TO THE DUE DATE!. Generally, late assignments are not accepted unless you can document your absence (i.e., original doctor's note, original funeral notice, etc..) before an assignment is due.
Special Needs - Students having special needs as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act should:

• Notify the Office of Disability Services as early in the term as possible. It is the student's responsibility to contact the Disability Support Office prior to document disability prior to receiving services.
• Notify the instructor after you have contacted the Office of Disability Services so that the instructor can consult with the Office of Disability Services to discuss what reasonable accommodations would be appropriate for your situation.

Academic Honesty

• Each student's academic work must be the result of his or her own thought, research, or self-expression.
• Cheating includes, but is not limited to: copying the work of another person (plagiarism) or permitting your work to be copied by another person, discussing test answers or questions with people who have not completed the test, distributing assignment materials to other students, poses sing course materials that have not been formally released to students in the course, and collaborating on the completion of assignments not specifically designated in the syllabus as being group projects".
• Cheating will be considered a breach of BC's Code of Conduct Policy and may result in academic penalties (zero points on the assignment/test in question, a failing grade for the course), disciplinary action, and/or a referral to the Dean of Student Affairs. Examples 1) If it appears that two or more students have submitted the same material for any solo assignments, each student involved will receive zero points for that assignment. 2) If it appears that a student has copied an assignment from published material (including Internet sites), the student will receive zero points for that assignment.

Critical Event Procedure

• In the event of a school closing due to weather or other major event that might impact class schedules, the instructor will post an announcement indicating what changes, if any, the event will have on the course schedule and due dates.

Logging Off BConline

• Security Warning: If you don't close your browser or log off, a person using that machine after you will have access to your course materials, could send e-mail to me in your name, and view your confidential student record. Protect your password.

Changes to the Syllabus

• The instructor reserves the right to make changes to this syllabus. In the event that changes become necessary, students will be notified through BConline Email.

Lab Safety

• Students must follow approved safety procedures when completing lab work.

Student Success Tips

In order to be successful in this course, you need to be organized and manage your time well so that you can complete all assignments and assessments on time. You will need to devote at least 6 hours per week to complete the learning activities required in this course. Make sure that you do not allow yourself to procrastinate, and that you communicate with the instructor or your classmates, via BConline email, if you have any questions on any course materials or need assistance completing any assignments.

• Be prepared to read the lab, complete the review questions within BConline, answer "discussion" questions and complete projects/assignments on time. The assignment dropbox will close at the indicated times. Therefore, assignments will not be accepted late. A grade of (0) will be recorded for a late assignment. Taking an online course is a rigid commitment. You must keep up with your assignments.
• If a student stops attending class or stops responding within BConline after the official withdrawal date, the grade will be an (F) at the end of the semester.
• If a student misses two consecutive assignments/projects/discussion (any combination), the student will be denied access from the course. The instructor will assume the student has withdrawn. Please email the instructor if you are having a problem with the course assignments or discussions.
• Participate in the discussions with the instructor and other students. Keep up with the communication.

Online Resources for Students

• Click here to access a wide variety of support resources for students enrolled in online and blended courses, such as library services, advising and counseling, tutorials, tutoring services, disability services and more.