Black River Technical College – Online Spring 2013
GEOG 2613-01 and 03: Introduction to Geography/ 3 credits (3 lec.)
Dr. D.A. Clements
Office: AD153
Office Hours: See the Extra Data section in Moodle
Telephone: (870) 248-4000 – 4145
Email: Derek.Clements@blackrivertech.edu

Course Description

This is a survey course which exams the geography of the existing world to give students a broad background in the world’s peoples, nations, and cultures. The use of maps is emphasized and special points of views in political, economic, and urban geography are presented.

Prerequisite

Students must meet the criteria under either (a) or (b) as follows: (a) Combined reading and writing ACT score of 34 or above or Combined reading and writing COMPASS score of 135 or above (b) Completion of ENG 0004 English Essentials with a grade of “C” or higher.

Required Text

Bergman, Edward F. and William H. Renwick. Introduction to Geography: People, Places, and Environment. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson-Prentice Hall, 2008.

Student Learning Outcomes

During this course, the student will:

1) Identify and discuss the meaning of geography and the many subfields that makeup the discipline today through online discussions, reading quizzes, and weekly assignments.
2) Explore the basic facets and history of physical and cultural geography through online discussions, reading quizzes, and weekly assignments.
3) Articulate an awareness of the importance of studying and understanding history, the overall development of societies, and corresponding cultures through class discussion.
4) Improve their effectiveness as consumers of information and improve their ability to analyze information via written interaction with the instructor through online discussions and weekly assignments.
5) Synthesize information and produce essays on geography topics while using the textbook, Internet resources, and word processing programs.

Expectation of Students/Rigors of the Course

Contrary to popular belief, social science courses are not just about memorization of dates, places, and people. You will be required to read the book, ponder the data discussed, produce writing samples on weekly projects, and take reading quizzes. If you are a slow reader, or have problems with writing/typing quickly, be aware of the timelines and adjust your schedules accordingly. If you have these problems, maybe online classes are not the best courses for you. Interaction with an instructor in a traditional class might be more helpful to you. If you can master the large amounts of reading and writing, then stay in the course. I should also note that I have had students complain about the correction of various grammatical mistakes in their work, specifically the deduction of points when these errors became habitual. Someone even boldly wrote on my evaluation that “this is not an English class!” Be aware that historians and heritage studies professionals produce academic writings. I do not expect you to write on that level, but I will expect you to be able to write on a freshman/sophomore level. If you cannot, you will hear about it quickly! Remember, the student must master time management, content knowledge, and writing in this course. This is a requirement! In fact, you should expect to spend the same amount of time working on this class that a traditional student would spend in class and doing the corresponding homework. I will make every effort to help you, but you must also make the effort to help yourself. If you need help, please ask immediately before the project due dates. I will not help anyone that waits until the last minute!

Distance Education Page

Everything you need to know about our Distance Education program can be found at the Distance Education page: http://www.blackrivertech.org/distance-education.
Student Orientation

Information regarding online student orientation can be found in the Complete and