Syllabus

This course is designed to familiarize you with the universe in which we live and with the principles of scientific inquiry that have enabled us to explore and understand that universe.

The textbook is built around 5 themes:

1. We are part of the universe and thus can learn about our origins by studying the universe.
2. The universe is comprehensible through scientific principles that anyone can understand.
3. Science is not a body of facts but rather a process through which we seek to understand the world around us.
4. A course in Astronomy is the beginning of a life-long learning experience.
5. Astronomy affects each of us personally with the new perspectives it offers. 

The first part of the course will concentrate on the history and fundamentals of astronomy, including the night sky as seen from the Earth, the apparent motions of celestial objects, lunar and solar eclipses, phases of the moon, the historical development of astronomy, and the nature of light and matter and how they interact. The rest of the course will be about the formation and evolution of stars and galaxies. This includes a close look at the nearest star - our Sun - the different types and properties of stars, how they are born and how they die. We will also examine the huge collections of stars known as galaxies, including our own galaxy, the Milky Way.

This is a fully online course in which all of the instructional materials and activities are delivered through Blackboard, and/or other internet-based media. Should you have any questions, please contact the professor.

Please review the policies page as it contains essential information regarding guidelines relevant to all courses at FIU and additional information on the standards for acceptable netiquette important for online courses.

One of the greatest barriers to taking an online course is a lack of basic computer literacy. By computer literacy we mean being able to manage and organize computer files efficiently, and learning to use your computer's operating system and software quickly and easily. Keep in mind that this is not a computer literacy course; but students enrolled in online courses are expected to have moderate proficiency using a computer. Please go to the "What's Required" webpage to find out more information on this subject.

This course utilizes the following tools:

1. MasteringAstronomy: You must purchase access to the MasteringAstronomy online homework system. See the Textbook Information below for details. Work done in the MasteringAstronomy website constitutes 50% of your course grade so you can not pass the course without it.

Please visit our Technical Requirements webpage for additional information.

Please visit our ADA Compliance webpage for information about accessibility involving the tools used in this course.

Please visit Blackboard's Commitment Accessibility webpage for more information. 

For additional assistance please contact FIU's Disability Resource Center.

There are no prerequisites for this course.  For information about prerequisites, click here.

This course does not require an on-campus or proctored exam.

This is an online course, meaning that most of the course work will be conducted online. Expectations for performance in an online course are the same as for a traditional course; in fact, online courses require a degree of self-motivation, self-discipline, and technology skills that can make them more demanding for some students.

Students are expected to:

• Review the How to Get Started information located in the course content.
• Introduce yourself to the class during the first week by posting a self introduction in the appropriate discussion forum.
• Take the practice quiz to ensure that your computer is compatible with Blackboard.
• Interact online with instructor/s and peers and keep up with all assignments.
• Review and follow the course calendar.
• Log in to the course at least twice per week.
• Respond to discussion boards twice per week: once between Sunday and Wednesday, once between Thursday and Sunday.
• Submit assignments by the corresponding deadline.
• Take the online exams on the assigned days.

The instructor will:

• Log in to the course a minimum of three times per week.
• Respond to emails within 36 hours of receipt.

Communication in this course will take place via E-mail.

The E-mail feature is external communication that allows users to send emails to users enrolled in the course including the instructor and other students. E-mails are sent to the student's FIU email on record. The E-mail tool is located on the Course Menu, on the left side of the course webpage.

Visit our Writing Resources webpage for more information on professional writing and technical communication skills.

These will be used for class discussions and other postings of general interest that are directly related to the course.  Everyone can read Discussion Forum postings, do not post private information.

The weekly discussions are an important part of the course. The purpose is to promote a dialog between you and your classmates. There will be a topic provided each week related to the week's course material. You (the student) are expected to participate fully in the discussions by posting as many times as you like, but you must make a minimum of two posts each week: one in the first half of the week, and another in the second half. Your Discussion grade each week is based primarily on your participation. Extremely short posts ("I agree!") or extremely long posts, or posts off-topic, will be marked down at the instructor's discretion.

In order to receive full credit, you must:

1. Read the comments left by your peers.
2. Make a post of your own between Monday and Wednesday (midnight).
3. Make a second post, preferably in response to someone else's post, between Thursday and Sunday (midnight).
4. You get 50% for a post made between Monday and Wednesday night (midnight), and 50% for a post made between Thursday and Sunday night (midnight).
5. Your two posts must be separated in time by more than 24 hours for full credit.

Grading of discussion posts: This is a participation grade. You get 50% for the first post if it's made between Monday and Wednesday, and 50% for the second post if it's made between Thursday and Sunday. You get 0% for the first post if it is made after Wednesday (midnight), and 0% for the second if it is made after Sunday (midnight).

Posts made after the week is over do not count for credit. The discussions are "conversations" and after the week, the conversation is over. They cannot be made up.

Please use, as best you can, complete sentences, and proper grammar. If you use material from another source (anything that didn't come from your own brain!), please include a reference to the source. You are encouraged to use your own words and thoughts, however.

These discussions should be conducted in a respectful, considerate manner.

The homework will be done using the online tutorial/homework on the MasteringAstronomy website. You must register for this course on the website (instructions are below). Onc you have registered, you must read my MasteringAstronomy instructions page.

To register on the website:

• Obtain an access code by one of the following:
  • Purchase a new text package at the bookstore OR
  • Purchase a student access kit only at the bookstore - you can then buy the ebook online OR
  • Purchase an access code online: go to www.masteringastronomy.com and click on “Students" under the "Register" box on the left. Follow the instructions for purchasing an access code online. Click on Cosmic Perspective 7e (on the left) if you want to buy the ebook, then hit "continue" at the bottom. (You do NOT have to purchase the ebook, but you must have the textbook in some form.) The access for just MasteringAstronomy costs $61; access PLUS the ebook costs $91.30 (last time I checked). You will need a valid credit card.
• Once you have an access code for the 7th edition:
  • If you are accessing the site for the first time: click on “New Students" under the "Register" box on the upper left and follow the instructions. You will need to either enter the access code that came with your text or purchase an access code online. If you purchased the text or the access code kit, your code is a six-"word" printed code supplied beneath the pull-tab inside your MasteringAstronomy Student Access Kit. It is valid for registering one student, and is good for 18 months.
  • If the tab in this kit has been pulled back, the code may no longer be valid. If you buy a secondhand textbook or the 6th edition of the text, any code supplied with it is probably not valid. In either case, you can purchase a Student Access Code (for the 7th edition) online using a credit card.
  • You will need to create a Pearson Education account if you have not used one of their products before. You may use any login name you like and can remember, but where it says to enter your personal information, enter your first name and last name as they appear in Panthersoft. This allows us to correlate your work in masteringastronomy with your work in Blackboard. You may choose anything you like as your login id.
• When you register, make sure you enter your email address correctly. If you forget your password, this is the email address that your password information will be sent to.

• Your Student ID is your Panther ID.

• Once you are registered, your code is valid for 18 months. You won't need to buy another student access code. If you already have a valid 7th edition registration for MasteringAstronomy (if, for example, you've taken a course using it before), then you do not need to re-register. You do, however, have to add this semester's course using the Course ID, below.

• Accessing this semester's course: You must add this course to have full access to the assignments. To do this:
  • The Course ID for this course is SC15AST2004RVC. It is case sensitive. I suggest you cut and paste it. You cannot edit this field after you record it, so please pay very careful attention to the code as shown here.
  • If you register but don't enter the course ID, you will not have access to the entire MasteringAstronomy website, including our specific assignments.

Online help for the MasteringAstronomy website: Online help is available under the Help tab on the website, and FAQs are available at www.masteringhelp.com. It includes the information about how to register. You must also read my MasteringAstronomy instructions page.

Due dates: All work for each week's unit must be completed no later than 11:55pm on the following Sunday.

Late work: You will lose 5% each day an assignment is late. On MasteringAstronomy, this means that after 20 days, you will get zero credit.

The Practice Quizzes at MasteringAstronomy will be worth 10% of your grade. After you have completed the homework for the week, you need to complete the practice quiz assignment. There are three parts: Reading, Conceptual and Visual. They are multiple choice, and conducted in a tutorial fashion: you are prompted to try another answer if you get one wrong. There is a small deduction for each wrong answer. Hints are available; there is a bonus for each unopened hint however.

To improve your score on the Practice Quizzes: Read my MasteringAstronomy instructions page.

Late Quizzes: As with homework assignments, you will lose 5% each day after the due date; so after 20 days, you will get zero credit for the quiz.

In order to mitigate any issues with your computer and online assessments, it is very important that you take the "Practice Quiz" from each computer you will be using to take your graded quizzes and exams. It is your responsibility to make sure your computer meets the minimum hardware requirements.

Assessments in this course are not compatible with mobile devices and should not be taken through a mobile phone or a tablet. If you need further assistance please contact FIU Online Support Services.

There will be four multiple choice online exams available here in Blackboard. Each exam will be available from 7:00am to 11:55pm on the day assigned. Once you begin an exam, you have a set amount of time to complete it. It is your responsibility to notice when the timer runs out. See the Course Content Exams folder for dates and durations.

The exams are closed book; no notes.

If you have a conflict and cannot take an exam on the scheduled day, let me know ahead of time and we can arrange an alternative test date.

MISSED EXAM: At the instructor's discretion, you are allowed to make up one missed exam within one week of the scheduled exam date.

Because there are so many graded components to this course, I'm sorry, but there is NO extra credit available. I do not make exceptions to this policy.

For due dates, check the weekly assignment folders in the course.