Below are some answers to frequently asked questions about my online courses: 

 

 

 

 Does this course require me to visit a testing center? 

  • Yes.  You will have to visit a proctored testing center 3-4 times during the session for exams and/or in-class writings.  My on-campus students also have proctored assignments, and requiring visits to a testing center is my way of verifying that the work being turned in is being completed by that student.
    • Students within the college district must take the exams or write the essays at one of the LSC testing centers.
    • Students taking this class from far outside the college district must, within the first week of class, provide me with the name, phone number, e-mail address, and mailing address of a contact person at a testing center at a nearby college.  (Students not enrolled at that college may be charged a fee for taking exams there.)  In addition, you probably will have to take the exams on paper and will not be able to see your exams after you take them.  I can tell you your grades and give you some feedback, but you will not be able to see the exam again as students who take the test online can.  (The problem is that other testing centers are not set up with the lockdown browser that LSC uses.)
  • In my sophomore literature classes, exams consist of a combination of essay questions and objective (multiple-choice and sometimes matching) questions as well as the occasional questions asking for passage identification with a short explanation.  The final exam is not cumulative. 
  • In ENGL 1302, the first exam is all objective, and the final exam contains objective questions and requires writing an essay. 
  • In ENGL 1301, most of the assignments are essays, but there is one multiple-choice exam. 
  • Also, students should be aware that the Lone Star College System subscribes to Turnitin.com, an online collaborative learning tool for faculty that supports faculty in their quest to uphold academic integrity. Student coursework may be submitted to the scrutiny of the Turnitin software. Please note that these submissions of assignments to Turnitin do not necessarily constitute an accusation or suspicion of plagiarism on the student’s part. 

For whom is this online course appropriate? 

  • Students who do not have strong reading and writing skills are unlikely to do well because an online class requires even more reading than a face-to-face course because of how the information is delivered:  through lecture notes, discussion postings, exercises and quizzes, e-mail messages, and the occasional chat session.  If you received a C or below in your previous English class, you would probably be better served by taking a face-to-face course.   Also, students who are pressed for time or who are not good about disciplining themselves to keep up with the work should not take this class. 

Does this class take less time than an on-campus class? 

  • No.  Students who are signing up for an online class because they think that taking an online course is easier or takes less time are likely to be disappointed.  This online course is equivalent to an on-campus course.  On top of the time required for preparing for the class (e.g. reading the textbook, studying, writing essays), online students should expect to spend about an additional 3 hours each week during a long semester and 8 hours each week during a summer session reading lecture notes, completing exercises, and posting to the discussion board; this time is equivalent to what students taking the course on campus spend in the classroom.  If one follows the rule of thumb that says that a student should expect to spend two hours outside of class for each hour in class, then a student should expect to spend 9 hours a week during a long semester and 24 hours a week during a summer session on a class.  Therefore, someone who is trying to shoehorn a course into his or her busy schedule is not likely to have enough time to complete the work.   
  • Also, the class is not self-paced: due dates occur at least a couple of times each week during a long semester and several times a week during a summer session.  However, there is a window of time (a few days or more, depending on whether it is a summer session or long semester) in which to complete the assignments.  If you’re taking an online course because “I don’t have time to take one on campus,” then your logic is flawed.  

Is there a required orientation? 

  • Yes, but it is all online.     
    • Part I:  LSC-Online requires a general orientation for new online students.  You can find out more information about this orientation by going to 

      http://www.lonestar.edu/lsc-online/13815.

       Part II:  You must complete the second part of the online orientation, which you will access from inside the class, during the first week of class.  This orientation will familiarize you with the activities that the course requires.  If you would like an in-person orientation during the first week of classes, you are welcome to come by my office during my office hours or make an appointment.  

What textbooks are required? 

  • For ENGL 2328:  Lauter, Paul, ed.  Heath Anthology of American Literature.  6th ed. Volumes C, D, and E.  2010.  Below are the ISBN numbers of the three volumes and images of the covers:

    • Volume C:  ISBN# 0547201664
    • Volume D:  ISBN# 054720194X
    • Volume E:  ISBN# 054720180X   

               Volume C              Volume D         heathe_6th

 

  • LSC-Tomball’s bookstore (telephone number:  281-351-3398) should have physical copies of the textbook I’m using; the other colleges’ bookstores probably will not although you may ask those bookstores to send the book over (for which there may be a small charge).  Do not assume that every college bookstore and online bookstore carries the correct textbook or that the employees will give you the correct textbook; different teachers at different colleges use different textbooks, and the bookstore employees do not always get it right, especially if one is taking a course at a different campus, so be responsible for verifying that you have chosen the correct book before you buy it.  The company that owns the bookstores on the LSC campuses is Follett.  The home page for Follett is http://www.efollett.com.  Of course, there are other online sources of the textbook as well.  The most precise way to order a book is with the ISBN#, which I’ve listed above.
  •  BE VERY CAREFUL TO CHECK THAT THE VOLUMES THAT YOU BUY MATCH THE TITLES AND IMAGES ABOVE.
  • If you’ve waited until the beginning of the semester to order the books online, PAY EXTRA FOR OVERNIGHT OR EXPEDITED SHIPPING so that you are without a book for as little time as possible. 

Will I have trouble if I’ve never taken an online class before? 

  • The students who have trouble with my online classes are those who either do not have the time or discipline to keep up with the work or who have weak reading and writing skills to begin with and who would be better served in a face-to-face class.  Otherwise, you shouldn’t have trouble.  My online orientation will give you practice using LSC-Online Angel program, the course-delivery software developed by a company called Blackboard that LSC uses.  

When and how do I access the class? 

  • You will be able to access the class on the day that the semester begins. On that day, go to the LSC home page at LoneStar.edu, click on the myLoneStarlink, log in, and click on the “View My Online Classes” link.  On the first day of the semester, you should see a link to the class.   

last updated 1/24/12 by dsb