ASTRO 10 - Stars and the Universe

Instructor: Billy Smith

Instructor Website http://www.chabotcollege.edu/faculty/bsmith

Email Instructor bsmith@chabotcollege.edu

Instructor phone: 510-723-7548

Course Description

Exploration of the concept of educational/career planning focusing on personal career development through self-assessment, psychological testing, and individual counseling.  Emphasis on clarification of individual interests, values, needs, and abilities and investigation of occupational opportunities in the world of work.  Designed for those undecided or uncertain about their career and educational plans.

Graduation/Transfer Credit: 3 semester units of physical science that meets GE requirements for Associates Degrees, and transfers to UC, CSU, and most other four-year universities. A 1-unit companion lab, Astro30, may be taken subsequently, in Autumn or Spring semesters, which satisfies science laboratory transfer requirements to UC and CSU.

This class begins August 17th and ends December 19th

Optional On-Campus Orientations

There are no required on-campus meetings for this class. You can attend an OPTIONAL, on-campus Orientation to Online Learning that provides Blackboard log in instructions and help, an overview of the Blackboard course management system, and tips on netiquette, time management, and study skills for the online student.  Attend any one of these sessions:

• Monday, August 17th, 5:30-6:30 p.m., in Room 1602

• Tuesday, August 18th, noon-1:00 p.m., in Room 1602

• Wednesday, August 19th, 4:00-5:00 p.m., in Room 1618

• Thursday, August 20th, noon-1:00 p.m., in Room 1602

• Saturday, August 22nd, 10:00-11:00 a.m., in Room 1602

• Monday, August 24th, 5:30-6:30 p.m., in Room 1602

Learn more about these orientations, which are NOT course-specific.

How This Class Operates

This is not a self-paced class; there are due dates throughout the semester that you are expected to meet, just like in a traditional, face-to-face class.

An introduction to the history and physical principles of astronomy, focusing on our Solar System, including our view of the heavens, historical development of scientific models of the sky, light, telescopes, contents, properties, formation and evolution of the solar system including the sun, planets, moons, asteroids, meteors, and comets, and the possibilities for life in space.

Prerequisites: None. No Mathematics.

Required on-campus meetings: None. The course will be available online 24x7 from the start of the Spring Semester (01/20/09) through the end (05/30/09). You are never required to be online on a certain day or at a certain time.

Participation:  You are required to login and post at least twice each week to one of the discussion forums, but you can choose when you do that, and obviously from where you want to work. You are required to have access to a working, reliable computer with the capability to connect to the internet.

The Online Course System: This entire class is delivered and facilitated through Blackboard, an online course system. You must have an access code for this course that is individual and tied to your name. You may decide to interact completely through the online system, and maintain anonymity through the login ID, but for grading you must provide me with your full name (first and last) and student W-number or Social Security Number.

Most work will be done with Blackboard; you will use it for posting questions and answers via the discussion boards, posting homework assignments, taking some quizzes, accessing online lecture material, and taking exams. Some of the material we'll use, including some outstanding online tutorials, will be delivered via the publisher's MasteringAstronomy website.  Self-study questions in ASTRONOMY ILLUSTRATED must be completed and then typed into Blackboard in the homework section.  Complete instructions are contained in the Read Me section of the ASTRONOMY ILLUSTRATED CD.

Quizzes: There will be one multiple-choice quiz of about 20 questions for each chapter we read.  Each chapter quiz may be taken twice; the second score will be used for grading purposes. Each quiz will be available to take anytime (24x7) within a window to match the reading assignments from our textbook. You should plan on taking approximately one quiz each week. Once a deadline is passed, the quizzes for that unit will not be available again. Missed quizzes cannot be made up.

Homework: Fill in the blank questions in ASTRONOMY ILLUSTRATED must be completed and then the answers to the questions must be typed into the proper homework assignment page in Blackboard.  

Textbook Information

The Essential Cosmic Perspective (4th edition) by Bennett, Donahue, Schneider, & Voit. Pearson (2007).  Also Required: Blackboard/Mastering Astronomy Access PIN code for The Cosmic Perspective, available for free IF you purchase a new book in the Chabot Bookstore, or, available for about $27 online if you purchase a used book or have a different book from a friend, previous class, or other source. The code is also available online bundled with the textbook.

Supplementary Book:  ASTRONOMY ILLUSTRATED (CD) is required and is only available at the Chabot Bookstore.  Be sure to register your copy to insure credit for completing the homework from the CD.  Registration is required to receive credit for homework.

Star Guide: A Star & Planet Locator (or "Planisphere"); numerous options for these are available.
Grading Info: Exams: Two hour exams and one final exam, offered online. Each may be taken once anytime within a one-week "window", depending upon your own schedule and preferences. Exams will consist of multiple-choice questions and fill in the blank questions.   
 

How Students are Graded

 

Homework: 15%

Participation: 15%

Online Quizzes: 20%

Online Tutorials: 10%

First Hour Exam 10%

Second Hour Exam 10%

Final Exam: 20%.

 

You cannot pass this class with a grade of C or higher without regular, substantial participation online through weekly posting.        

Succeeding in an Online Course

Students who succeed in online courses tend to be independent, self-motivated learners with good computer skills. If you are a procrastinator who relies heavily on the instructor for motivation, or can't use a computer too well, you should probably consider enrolling in a face-to-face course instead.   Or, you might consider enrolling in our Introduction to Online Learning course (GNST-4910), which provides an overview of online learning and equips you to succeed in your first online class.

Don't enroll in this class if you believe the myth that learning online requires less effort than learning face-to-face. This course covers the same content and has similar activities as the face-to-face version of the course; only the method of delivery changes.

Blackboard

This course will use the Blackboard course management system as its virtual classroom. To learn how to log in to Blackboard, go to the How to Begin an Online Course page. Once you enroll, you will not be able to log in until the first day of class.  Students are expected to become familiar with the use and operation of Blackboard functions and are encouraged to attend an orientation session provided by the Distance Education program at Chabot College. In addition, the professor provides a general unit on "How to Navigate in Blackboard" for students to understand how to use the major features the professor employs.

Register for this course