Sunday, October 26, 2003
Finish your test!
Many of you have only partial tests submitted. You need to complete the test and submit it. I have extended the test for two days so that all of you can do this. Thank you. It is very important that you do this test so please take the time...
In your Famous Person assignment some of you are having trouble with your citations. You can choose any person you want but please give me your sources. You can check the library website for their MLA Citation Style handout or, try Bibliographies: MLA Format from the Writers' Workshop at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign for more examples.
Thank you to Lameshia, Anh-Tu, Catia, Diep and Charlie for posting on the Student Homepages. I've added my personal pages under Joy Student. This is just for fun, so don't give me a grade! It is good practice for you, however, so that you can post your presentations this way, if you want to. We will also have other ways to post your presentations.
Once you complete the test, it is time for you to submit your Research Paper topic to me via the Assignment Submissions box. Think about it carefully and let me know what you want to write about. Keep track of your sources because a substantial amount of the grade will be on your bibliography. Include books, magazine articles and websites.
Keep up with the class. If you get behind you will feel overwhelmed and not be able to do well. Some of you are keeping up. Good for you, you will get a good grade. I want to hear from everyone!
In your Famous Person assignment some of you are having trouble with your citations. You can choose any person you want but please give me your sources. You can check the library website for their MLA Citation Style handout or, try Bibliographies: MLA Format from the Writers' Workshop at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign for more examples.
Thank you to Lameshia, Anh-Tu, Catia, Diep and Charlie for posting on the Student Homepages. I've added my personal pages under Joy Student. This is just for fun, so don't give me a grade! It is good practice for you, however, so that you can post your presentations this way, if you want to. We will also have other ways to post your presentations.
Once you complete the test, it is time for you to submit your Research Paper topic to me via the Assignment Submissions box. Think about it carefully and let me know what you want to write about. Keep track of your sources because a substantial amount of the grade will be on your bibliography. Include books, magazine articles and websites.
Keep up with the class. If you get behind you will feel overwhelmed and not be able to do well. Some of you are keeping up. Good for you, you will get a good grade. I want to hear from everyone!
Sunday, October 19, 2003
Don't forget the discussion area...
Thank you to all of you who have posted in the Discussion area on Voting to Recall or Not. Remember this is a public list to the class and be polite, write in a language that everyone understands (unless you reply privately) and do some research before you post. This is not a recreational discussion and participation does count towards your grade.
I have posed a question under Plagiarism so we can discuss that topic. I sent the college policy separately by email because in the discussion area we are simply arguing the pros and cons and discussing the topic, it is still against the college policy to allow cheating and I do not tolerate it in my class. I check all assignments to see if they've been copied off the Internet. If you rewrite what you read in your own words then it is not verbatim copying and it shows you understand the material. Write your own essays--that's the way to get an education!
I have posed a question under Plagiarism so we can discuss that topic. I sent the college policy separately by email because in the discussion area we are simply arguing the pros and cons and discussing the topic, it is still against the college policy to allow cheating and I do not tolerate it in my class. I check all assignments to see if they've been copied off the Internet. If you rewrite what you read in your own words then it is not verbatim copying and it shows you understand the material. Write your own essays--that's the way to get an education!
Important information about the test
Please finish the test and submit it by Friday the 24th. The date on the WebCT calendar is supposedly set in New Jersey or elsewhere because it is not the same as California. Don't trust the deadline to close because it may close before or after. I have set your deadline to submit by Friday night, if you have trouble opening the test at any time please send email to my college email address
Students who have added late, please start catching up on your assignments. Spend some extra time. All 10 assignments must be submitted before you can write your research paper although you can have your topic accepted before you finish the assignments.
Students who have added late, please start catching up on your assignments. Spend some extra time. All 10 assignments must be submitted before you can write your research paper although you can have your topic accepted before you finish the assignments.
Sunday, October 12, 2003
TEST 1 released October 15
IMPORTANT DATES for students. Monday 10/13/03 is the last day to drop a class and NOT receive a W on your Permanent Record Card. Call StaReg 408-223-0300 to drop this class, especially if you have not submitted any homework since the beginning. This does not apply to late adds to the class who were not input into WebCT. Try to put in your assignments by November 25, which is the last day to drop a class with a W. You can also drop a class by going to http://WebReg.sjeccd.org
TEST 1 is available on October 15 until October 24 (10 days). It is an open book test but as I said in the Orientation please don’t keep it open all that time. Check the questions, study, then answer all the questions in one sitting. Two attempts are allowed. You need to take this test during the duration it is open in order to get a grade. Please complete the pre-test before doing TEST 1. I have released the pre-test until October 15 to give you more time. There is no grade for the pre-test, it counts towards participation. There will be a grade given for TEST 1.
Online catalogs, databases, Library of Congress and Dewey Decimal System classifications, directories, virtual libraries.
Explore the OPACs (Online Public Access Catalogs)
SJECCD joint libraries http://library.sjeccd.cc.ca.us
San Jose Public Library http://www.sjpl.lib.ca.us/default.htm
San Jose State University Library http://www.library.sjsu.edu
These are the web pages and web sites and the tutorials we studied earlier, too (see the last blog post).
WEEK 7
Students can share their personal web pages with the class this week. Review the special attributes of good web pages. Send your website to other class members or post it. Questions, ask me. (This link should work!)
Review the Basic Search Strategy as defined in the textbook and its website:
1. Identify the important concepts of your search.
2. Choose the keywords that describe these concepts.
3. Determine whether there are synonyms, related terms, or other variations of the keywords that should be included.
4. Determine which search features may apply, including truncation, proximity operators, Boolean operators, and so forth..
5. Choose a search engine.
6. Read the search instructions on the search engine's home page. Look for sections entitled “Help,” “Advanced Search,” “Frequently Asked Questions,” and so forth.
7. Create a search expression, using syntax, which is appropriate for the search engine.
8. Evaluate the results. How many hits were returned? Were the results relevant to your query?
9. Modify your search if needed. Go back to steps 2-4 and revise your query accordingly.
10. Try the same search in a different search engine, following steps 5-9 above.
Test 1 is on Chapters 1-7 and 9 in Textbook and also on the tutorials and website i.e. the catalogs and library sites.
TEST 1 is available on October 15 until October 24 (10 days). It is an open book test but as I said in the Orientation please don’t keep it open all that time. Check the questions, study, then answer all the questions in one sitting. Two attempts are allowed. You need to take this test during the duration it is open in order to get a grade. Please complete the pre-test before doing TEST 1. I have released the pre-test until October 15 to give you more time. There is no grade for the pre-test, it counts towards participation. There will be a grade given for TEST 1.
Online catalogs, databases, Library of Congress and Dewey Decimal System classifications, directories, virtual libraries.
Explore the OPACs (Online Public Access Catalogs)
SJECCD joint libraries http://library.sjeccd.cc.ca.us
San Jose Public Library http://www.sjpl.lib.ca.us/default.htm
San Jose State University Library http://www.library.sjsu.edu
These are the web pages and web sites and the tutorials we studied earlier, too (see the last blog post).
WEEK 7
Students can share their personal web pages with the class this week. Review the special attributes of good web pages. Send your website to other class members or post it. Questions, ask me. (This link should work!)
Review the Basic Search Strategy as defined in the textbook and its website:
1. Identify the important concepts of your search.
2. Choose the keywords that describe these concepts.
3. Determine whether there are synonyms, related terms, or other variations of the keywords that should be included.
4. Determine which search features may apply, including truncation, proximity operators, Boolean operators, and so forth..
5. Choose a search engine.
6. Read the search instructions on the search engine's home page. Look for sections entitled “Help,” “Advanced Search,” “Frequently Asked Questions,” and so forth.
7. Create a search expression, using syntax, which is appropriate for the search engine.
8. Evaluate the results. How many hits were returned? Were the results relevant to your query?
9. Modify your search if needed. Go back to steps 2-4 and revise your query accordingly.
10. Try the same search in a different search engine, following steps 5-9 above.
Test 1 is on Chapters 1-7 and 9 in Textbook and also on the tutorials and website i.e. the catalogs and library sites.
Sunday, October 05, 2003
Assignment 5 info
Two more students have submitted their WEEK 1 autobiographies through the "submit assignments" page. Please let me know if you are having trouble accessing the WebCT site. Several students have reached WEEK 5 and submitted their assignment. Good for you! Keeping up with the readings, tutorials and homework are the marks of a serious and successful student. Keep up the good work!
Assignment 5 is on Directories. The most commonly used directory is Yahoo! but go to the UC Berkeley tutorial on Finding Information on the Internet and read the descriptions then click into these foremost directories to experience them first hand. The two best directories at present are the Librarians' Index to the Internet and UC's Infomine. Test them the way you learned to do with the Search Engines exercises and draw your own conclusions and use them in your research.
Assignment 5 is on Directories. The most commonly used directory is Yahoo! but go to the UC Berkeley tutorial on Finding Information on the Internet and read the descriptions then click into these foremost directories to experience them first hand. The two best directories at present are the Librarians' Index to the Internet and UC's Infomine. Test them the way you learned to do with the Search Engines exercises and draw your own conclusions and use them in your research.
