Syllabus and Grading
Outline for AATM 107 (5755) – The Oceans
This online course
offered completely through Blackboard Learning System.
Official course
description in the undergraduate bulletin.
This course fulfills a Natural
Science General Education requirement.
There are no specific
prerequisites for this online course.
FALL 2016 - Michael Landin e-mail address: mlandin@albany.edu
“Office Hours” via “Ask
a Question” or e-mail; prompt replies guaranteed!
TA: Josh Alland, ES
325, Office Hours: Tue/Thu 10 AM-Noon (e-mail
address: jalland@albany.edu)
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The goals of this course are to provide students with
a broad
overview of the characteristics of the Earth's
Oceans, the
impact of human activity, and how such
activity may lead to
changes in climate.
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You are required to purchase the McGraw-Hill
Connect Plus package ($85),
which contains the Sverdrup
2e Investigating Oceanography eBook, along with
giving you access to the Connect LearnSmart homework
assignments. For an
additional $25, you will have the option of purchasing a looseleaf copy of
the textbook. You
should purchase and register yourself during the two
weeks before classes begin (in the Ice Breaker
module in Blackboard).
As you will see below, the
homework grade will count toward 30%
of your
final grade. Do not wait until the start of classes to
purchase the
Connect Plus package or you
will rapidly fall behind.
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The following textbook
chapters will be covered:
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Exams (50% of final grade; 500 points): There will be
four (4) "Unit Exams", each worth 12.5% (125 points) of your final
grade. The “Unit Exams” are not
cumulative. Each time you take a "Unit Exam" you will be given a set
of randomly selected questions from a larger question pool. The questions themselves will be in various
formats (i.e., multiple choice, true/false, matching, ordering,
etc.). All “Unit Exams” are timed
and you will only be allowed one attempt for each “Unit Exam.”
Be
sure you have a quiet place to work to complete your exams without any
disturbances. Since the exams are timed,
you may not pause or take a break during the exams for any reason (no
exceptions). Furthermore, your work will
be lost if you do not click “submit” on the exam forms.
Homework Assignments (30% of final
grade; 300 points): There will be 12 Connect LearnSmart
homework assignments for the "Modules." Thus, each of the 12 graded homework
assignments is worth 2.5% (25 points) of your final grade.
Discussion Forum (20% of final grade;
200 points): You will be given a grade for your
participation in the Discussion Forum during each "Unit" through a
grading rubric. Each Unit Discussion is worth 5% (50 points) of your final
grade.
Thus,
the course is graded on a base of 1000
points.
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The following Grading
Scale will be used: A 93-100 ; A- 90-92 ;
B+ 87-89 ; B 83-86 ; B- 80-82 ; C+ 77-79 ; C 73-76 ; C- 70-72 ;
D+ 67-69 ; D 63-66 ; D- 60-62 ; E 0-59 ; S 73-100 ; U 0-72.
Grades are not rounded. For example, 89.99% is a B+.
There are no provisions for extra credit or bonus
points, and there will absolutely be no arbitrary grade raises.
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Academic Honesty: Students
are expected to work independently and turn in their original work, whether it
is for their homework or any other assignments in the course, including
exams. Cheating is just plain wrong, yet some students feel that cheating
is "OK" as long as they do not get caught. The “Unit Exams” are open-book, open-notes,
but yet, the temptation to cheat in an online course is very high, since one is
usually unproctored and alone. Using the internet (e.g., Google), working
with another person, or in groups, during “Unit Exams,” or having someone else
take your online “Unit Exams” for you, is considered cheating. This almost goes
without saying, but anyone caught cheating
will be granted an automatic "E"
in this course and subject to prosecution by the University's judicial
system. The course grading system is
such that "bombing" one exam, or missing a few homework assignments,
is not "the end of the world" in terms of obtaining a decent final
grade in this course.
More
information on UAlbany Academic
Integrity Violations can be found here.
Please
note that there are hard deadline
dates posted for when the homework activities and exams are due to be
completed. Late homework is not
accepted, but one can continue to complete the activities and practice before
taking the "Unit Exams." The exams
are timed and will be automatically submitted once time has expired. Exceptions of any kind for homework or “Unit
Exam” deadlines will only be made for emergencies
(i.e., serious health problem, family emergency, legal or employment issue,
etc.) that can be documented and will be treated on a case-by-case basis.
Computer problems will not excuse you from completing homework
assignments or taking "Unit Exams" by the posted deadlines. Make sure that you have a second
computer available in case you experience software (e.g., browser issues) or
hardware failure on your personal computer.
One can usually find public computers in libraries or borrow one from a
friend. If you experience connectivity
issues, there are many places of business (e.g., Starbucks, libraries, etc.)
that have free Wi-Fi.
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Below is the general
syllabus planning calendar for Fall 2016:
Units & Dates Module # Module # Module #
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Ice Breaker Module Aug 15-29
(various pre-semester activities to be completed)
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Unit 1: Oceanography
1:Aug 29-Sep
1 2:Sep
2-15 3:Sep 16-20
The Water Planet Plate Tectonics The Sea Floor
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Unit 1 Exam Due: Sep 23
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Unit 2: Properties of 4:Sep 22-Oct 1 5:Oct 2-7 6:Oct
8-25
Water and
the Water Properties Seawater Chemistry The Atmosphere
Atmosphere and the Oceans
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Unit 2 Exam Due: Oct 28
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Unit 3: Currents, 7:Oct 27-31 8:Nov
1-14 9:Nov 15-18
Waves & Tides Ocean
Circulation The
Waves The Tides
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Unit 3 Exam Due: Nov 22
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Unit 4: Environmental 10:Nov 21-30 15:Dec 1-6 16:Dec 7-12
Issues and Coasts, Beaches Environmental Oceans & Climate
Climate & Estuaries Issues Disruption
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Unit 4 Exam Due: Dec. 18
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