Dear All: Remember, this is an accelerated class. If you find, for whatever reasons, you are falling behind, please keep your eyes on the drop date and be sure to drop the class. This is your responsibility. If you drop the class, then, I would appreciate it if you would let me know, and then I will need a couple weeks to take your name off Blackboard's email list. Thanks. Nay

Here is a table of assignments and due dates, with further explanation below. Please note that while the quizzes can be done on your own timetable, your Assigned Discussion Questions MUST be done in the week they are assigned, and class participation comments should be done throughout the term--due each week with the reading. In other words, we have FIVE WEEKS of discussion questions--I will be grading your answers on Sundays and will not, for example, go back and look at the discussion questions for week ONE after we are in week TWO. So--post your participation comments each week. Also note that the discussion questions and comments for the final week are due a week early.

Also, ANY PLAGIARIZED WORK will result in an immediate "F" in the class and a letter in your file. ALL WORK in this class must be your own. I dislike having to emphasize this point so strongly at the outset of class, but it is a growing problem and students have found it acceptable to cut and paste answers from the internet. Plagiarizing--or using the words of others as your own, is a serious offense and, furthermore, does not result in any learning. Reading, thinking about ideas, and evaluating the people and events of the past is detailed and often difficult work. Struggle with this process and you will get faster and better at reading, evaluating, and writing.

Do your own work, spend some time thinking and writing about women's history, and you will sharpen your critical thinking skills along with your knowledge of the subject. While the quizzes are designed to test you on specific information from the reading, the DISCUSSION QUESTIONS and the MIDTERM ESSAYS are a format for your thoughts on what these specifics mean for the historical experiences of women.

1. Participation

You will receive full credit, 140 points, for thoughtful and engaged comments and responses to others on BB DISCUSSION BOARD. I will look for at least 10 comments in discussions throughout the term, and also for the quality and thoughtfulness of your comments. Please note the DUE DATE for all discussion answers and all comments--and please note that Discussion Posts are due a week early in the last week.

You will receive 20 of these participation points for 1) "Checking In" with me and for 2) posting an "Introduction:"

CHECKING-IN: Please email me your intent to take this class, along with your phone number, address, and email that you will be using. I rarely use your phone number or address, but it is helpful to have in the event I need to get hold of you or send you feedback. Mostly, I will be communicating with you via email. Please put "Winter H120" in the subject line of your emails, I appreciate this.

INTRODUCTORY POST: Please post a short introduction on BB's Discussion Board telling us a little about yourself and why you are taking the class.

2. ONE Assigned Discussion Question

From our H120 INDEX PAGE, click "Discussion Assignments & Questions." Please read the instructions fully, and post your answer in the week it is assigned. I will grade this and send you feedback in the following week.

3. ONE extra Credit Practice BB Quiz & 9 BB Reading Quizzes

There will be an extra credit quiz on BB as practice, designed to familiarize you with both BB and my quizzes. You can take the practice quiz as many times as you want until you get full credit. There will be 9 other timed quizzes which you can take only once, and they are each 30 minutes. Please find yourself at a secure and uninterrupted connection while you are doing these, as you can only take these once. I DO NOT RESET QUIZZES, BUT I ONLY COUNT 7 OF THE 9 QUIZZES so if you have technical difficulties, don't worry, 2 will be subtracted from the total.

4. TWO Midterm Essays

I will be posting Midterm Essay Questions in BB, and you will have about a week to send me your answers (see main page for instructions). These essays are designed as "in-class" essays--in other words, study and then sit down to write as if you are taking an exam in class. I do not grade these as formal papers--rather, I grade them for content, for the quality of your argument and for the examples you use to support it.