What To Expect From This Class

This class is delivered entirely online. That means that everything for the class (course content, course discussions, assignments, links, images, PPTS, study guides, pre-tests and exams) will be completed online. Each week is presented in its own learning module.

Course Requirements
Weekly Learning Modules will contain the following items:
Reading Assignments and Lessons: A Chapter or chapters that are connected by period, culture or style of art. Each contains a summary of the chapter, key concepts, a list of images you should be able to identify and a PPT presentation of for each chapter again with images, key concepts, links, questions and important information within the note area. This will change once the lectures can be recorded. You should use these guides to help you focus your reading and note taking. You will be tested on this material as well as from the textbook and any extra videos or reading assignments given for each chapter.
Note that artworks are influenced by the time and place in which they were created. Even though chapters might separate geographical areas, there were connections through travel and trade. There is a definite thread that connects art through time and through cultures.
A Discussion Forum and /or Journal Entry: These will sometimes involve you having to answer questions compare images, watch a video, or visit a web site before completing the discussion or journal entry. For each discussion, you will need to post a response to a question or questions that are noted. A discussion requires students to respond to their classmates in order to create a classroom dialogue. However, in order to get the credit, your posts must be at least three complete sentences in length, and written in proper English. This includes spelling, capitalization and punctuation. Any posts that are not grammatically correct will receive zero points. This includes incorrect capitalization. Do not use abbreviations (including ‘text-speak’ like ‘i’ instead of ‘I’ and ‘u’ instead of ‘you’). Simply saying ‘I agree with you’ or ‘Good point’ will not be enough for you to get credit. I expect you to take the discussions seriously and give your responses some thought. I also expect everyone to be polite and civil in their discussion posts. Please remember that online posts do not convey body language, facial expressions or tone of voice. Since these non-verbal clues are not present, it is very easy to misinterpret what a person writes. Please make a special effort to be very clear about what you mean and to be respectful towards everyone in the class. Posts which are rude, disrespectful, insulting, demeaning, belittling or harassing will not be accepted and will elicit consequences that will affect the student that has posted them.
Discussion Forums: (15 points each) 1st post - due no later than Friday 2nd post - comments on at least two classmate posts - due no later than Sunday: 3rd post commenting or responding to classmates - due no later than Tuesday at 11:59
Journal Entries: (10 points each) In the journals, students will explore how and why works of art can influence human experiences and make connections between art, culture and everyday life. Each must be at least 200 words and articulate clearly the students’ personal opinion.

Assignments: (150 Points)
These will be research papers where the student chooses one or more works of art to write about and/ or compare. They must be at least 500 words. Must include a bibliography with at least 3 or more sources. Must include an explanation of the relevant period of movement that the artwork represents. Must locate the work of art within its historical and/or cultural context. Must include an analysis and interpretation of the work. Must identify the media used in making the work of art. Must use appropriate vocabulary and art terminology. Must be written clearly with good grammar and punctuation. All written assignments are to be copied and pasted within the SafeAssign text area in order to be graded! No exceptions.
Group Assignment: (200 Points)
This will consist of either a TimeLine or ART CARD collection that illustrates Personal Responsibility as illustrated in the History of Art through works of art. Each student will create a hand made image from the chosen work of art. Each student will also include a written component to explain their choice, as they have in the research papers, but will focus on how the artwork represents social responsibility.

All discussions, journal entries and assignments will be graded using a rubric. You may want to look at the rubrics for assignments and discussions before your work, so that you might see exactly what is expected to be included in your submission. Also, once graded, you will be able to see how you were graded on the rubric.

Weekly Chapter Tests and Exams:
There are tests to be taken at the end of each Chapter. These will help you evaluate how much you have learned. There will be a Midterm and a Final Exam. The questions will be drawn from each chapter. Since these exams will be completed on-line, I realize that you might make use of your notes and the textbook. However, you will only have one hour and twenty minutes, as you would in a classroom setting, to complete each test and two hours to complete the Exams. If you have not studied and prepared, you will not be able to finish the tests or exams in that amount of time. In order to be able to pass, you MUST complete all the requirements, including reading the chapters and reviewing the chapter lectures. If you do not prepare and try to answer the questions by looking everything up, you will not be able to complete more than a handful of the questions.
In addition, I have placed several other restrictions. You will need to use Respondus Lock Down Browser to take Midterm and the Final. Respondus does not allow you to run any other programs or open any other windows while you are taking an Exam. I do not want you to be distracted by other internet social media such as Facebook, when you should be focused on your exams. I have included a link to download Respondus Lockdown Browser in the ‘Start Here’ folder. You will only be able to take each exam once and you will have to complete it the first time that you open up that exam, so make sure that you are ready to take it once you open it. Finally, the questions will be delivered to you one at a time. Make sure that you have read the question carefully and that you think before you answer the question. You will be allowed to go back to check your answers, but it is best to read it carefully at first to not lose time. All the tests, Midterm and Final will be automatically graded by BlackBoard. You will be able to see your score, as well as which questions you got right and which you got wrong, as soon as they are graded.
The Midterm and Final exams will be 100 questions drawn from the same question pools as used for the tests. You will have two hours to complete the midterm and final as you would in a regular class.

Additional resources. Each folder contains links to help you if you feel that you need more help in understanding the topic or if you want to explore the topic further on your own. There may also be other resources that are not a required part of the course, but are highly recommended to enhance own curiosity and your learning.

How Much Time Should You Expect To Spend On This Class?
In a traditional class, you would meet twice a week for 1 hours and 20 minutes each class. You will have readings, note taking, assignments, and studying that should take you close to 3 hours of work per credit hour. You should expect to spend the similar amount of time on an on-line class. That means that you should plan to spend at least 9 hours a week on this class (depending on how much time you chose to work on the class over the weekends). The only difference is that you are not required to attend class and can complete the coursework when it works best for your schedule. However, we are covering a great amount of information and you will need to put in the necessary time if you are going to succeed in this class. Do not expect to be able to catch up if you fall too far behind. You will find that week discussions, assignments and exams will close soon after each week is done in order for grading to occur. Due dates are marked on each Learning Module and on the Course Outline.

Getting Started:
After you have read this document, you also need to look over the syllabus and the course outline. These documents include all the policies and deadlines for the class. After you have reviewed these three documents and understand them please take the Syllabus Test. You will also need to complete the Student Information and Agreement form and answer the questions. You will also need to post in the Welcome and Introductions Discussion. Once you have completed both of these, then you may proceed to the Course Lessons and Activities (found on your left hand panel) and start working on the class. The course is divided by week, in Leaning Modules.
You will need to purchase the textbook as soon as possible. The textbook for this class will be Gardner’s Through the Ages A Global History, Vol. II, 14th Edition, Fred S. Kleiner ISBN-13: 978-1111771522 ISBN-10: 1111771529 It is available at the STC bookstore and at Poet’s Corner bookstore on Pecan Blvd. You can also order it online (through Amazon, Barnes & Noble or anywhere else you can find it). The book is also on reserve in the library on the Pecan, Weslaco and Starr campus. It is also available as an eBook and or as a rental. (Should you be planning to take both Art Survey I and Art Survey II you might consider getting the full Hardback version instead of Vol. I and Vol. II – seems to me that may be cheaper in the end). The PPTs, information, videos and resources found within the online course do not simply go over what is in the book, but they are there to expand your knowledge. For an understanding as to how it all connects, you will need to read the book. In Art History there is also a certain amount of memorization needed when it comes to recognizing periods in art, artists and particular art pieces – the book is going to be very helpful in this endeavor. I highly suggest for students to get a deck of 4X6 index cards. These are used to create flashcards on which you should record new vocabulary and information dealing with stylistic issues or historical context. They will provide you a place to begin reviewing for the tests, Midterm and the Final. Also keep any information, notes or essays you have written during the course. The exams will be mainly based on the text but might also include material from the outside resources given to you. I have tried to select a textbook that is relatively easy to read and is interesting. Art through the Ages does not only look at the formal elements of art, but also includes all the different things that influence art and the creative process. Since Art History Survey II begins with Post Renaissance, it is important to know that the images are what tell us a great deal about how Modern Art developed. Make sure that you read the Introduction: What is Art History, in your book, and that you are familiar with the vocabulary of art that allows us to talk about this particular discipline.

Course Schedule: This class is 15 weeks, and you may think that is a long time, but it goes faster than you think! Like any class, it needs planning and scheduling every day and week, to make sure you keep up with the readings and assignments. There is a lot of material to cover and it is important that you put in a significant amount of work on this class every day. Time moves very quickly, consider that each week you should have completed one or more chapters. All of the material for the class will be available to you, allowing you to work on your own pace, within the following limitations. There are due dates for each Learning Module to be finished – that includes any discussion, journal entry, assignment and test.
How you are to post your discussions have due dates. Since every student has to respond to their classmates’ posts, they have to have something to respond to. I recommend that you complete all assignments for each learning module by the date that the discussion is due for that topic. Second, all lessons, discussions, journal entries, assignments and tests must be completed by the Tuesday of the week it is posted so grading can begin. Discussion threads and tests will automatically close each Tuesday by 11:59PM. You should be prepared to take the Midterm on Week 8 – which will close on Friday, March 11 by 11:59PM, since it is the start of Spring Break. The first part of the course will also close. This is more than half way through the semester, so I strongly suggest that you finish these before that date.
The last day of class is Tuesday, May 10th. By Friday, March13 @ 11:59 PM you should have taken your Final Exam. The Course will close automatically on Friday, March13 @ 11:59 PM – That means 1 minute before midnight It is your responsibility to make sure that you complete all assignments for a topic before the deadline. Extensions will only be given in the case of college-wide BlackBoard outages. The BlackBoard clock will be considered the official clock for this class. Make sure that you complete assignments early so that you do not run out of time if your clock is not aligned with the BlackBoard clock. DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE TO COMPLETE YOUR WORK! Course Requirements:
The following are the requirements for this class: -Discussions: | 10 @ 15 points each | 150 points | Journal Entries: | 10 @ 10 points each | 100 points | Assignments | Writing about Art – Choosing Favorites | 150 points | Group Work: | Participation in a Timeline regarding examples that illustrate Personal Responsibility in Art History. Written component, regarding personal choice to add to timeline. | 200 points | Weekly Tests: | 10 at 20 points each | 200 points | Midterm and Final: | Multiple choice and matching question exams @ 100 questions | 200 points | Total Possible Points: | | 1000 points | There are 1000 possible points. If a student completes all of the assignments and all of the discussions, the extra one of each will count as extra credit. Otherwise, there will not be any extra credit available for this class.
Grades will be assigned based on the following scale: Final Letter Grade | 900 - 1000 = A | 800 – 890 = B | 700– 790 = C | 600– 690 = D | 590 and below = F |

All discussions, journal entries, assignments, tests and exams are required. There will be no extra credit for this class. You are expected to do the work when it is assigned. If you do the discussions, assignment, and exams, you should do fine in this class. If you do not do the required work, you are unlikely to pass the class.

Final grades will be determined as follows:
A 900 – 1000 points
B 800 – 899 points
C 700 – 799 points
D 600 – 699 points
F 0 – 599 points.

You can always check your status in the class by clicking on the ‘My grades’ tool in BlackBoard. This will show your grades for all assignments. If you click on your grade for an assignment, it will show you the rubric for that assignment and how your submission was graded. You also will be able to see any comments that I made regarding your assignment. Also, at the top, it will show you the total number of points that you have and the current maximum number of points that are possible (based on the assignments that you have completed). You can determine how you are doing by dividing the points that you have by the number of possible points on the assignments already completed. This will give you a percentage. If you multiply this by 1000, you will see what grade you would have if the class was over. (For example, if you have 275 out of 350 points, 275 divided by 350 is .7587. Multiply this by 1000 gives you 759 (rounded). That means that you currently have a ‘C.’)

Cheating and Plagiarism
Is a serious offence. I expect each student to behave honestly in this class. That means doing your own work and not trying to cheat. I realize that most of you are honest and want to do your best work. However, the fact that some people are not honest means that I need to take precautions against cheating. The exams are developed from question pools that have more questions than are actually included on the exam. This means that no two students will see exactly the same exam. Also, the questions will be delivered in random order. On the assignments, I expect you to turn in your own work. College policy states that if one student copies work from another student, both students are considered to have cheated. All assignments must be turned in through SafeAssign, or they will not be graded!
Plagiarism is a form of cheating. Plagiarism means using someone else’s ideas without telling where you got the information from. Essentially, plagiarism is using someone else’s ideas but claiming them as your own. The assignments for this class are constructed in such a way that plagiarism should not be an issue. You must put the information in your own words. If you copy information from the book, class content or web page that I direct you to in your assignment, you will receive a ‘zero.’ I suggest that when an assignment asks for you to tell me what you found out at a web site you write or type out (in your own words) what you find. For any information that you include in you assignment that comes from the course material, you can simply say “According to the textbook (lecture, name of web site the assignment directs you to).” If you do feel that it is necessary to include information from another source, you must tell me where you got the information. This means providing a full bibliographic citation for any other book or web page that you use at the end of your assignment. If you copy directly from a web site, it is very easy for me to type a phrase that you use into a search engine and find the web site that you took it from, Safe Assign tells us both.

Getting Help with This Class:
If you have difficulties with BlackBoard, please call the Distance Education Help Desk at 872-2598.

If you have questions about course material or assignments, you can contact me (see below).

If you need help with understanding course materials or completing course assignments, I am here to help you and I want you to succeed. Please email me through Blackboard, if you are having problems in the class. I will try to respond within 24 hours (it may take longer on the on the weekend). If you call me, you may use my office phone: 872-3551 or you may call my cell phone number which is 655-5543.
If you call me on my cell phone, please do not call between 10:00 PM and 8:00 AM. If you get my voicemail, leave a clear and detailed message that includes your name, phone number, class you are taking and why you are calling me.

The times for my office hours are listed on the syllabus. During those times, I will be available via Blackboard chat. There will be a link that says ‘Chat Hour’ on the top of the Course Lessons and Activities for easier access. If you click on that and then click on the ‘Office Hours’ link on the next page, a chat window will open up. This tool will only be available during my actual office hours.

I am more than happy to look over any of your assignments before you submit them and give you feedback if you need to make changes before submitting the assignment. Feel free to email me your assignment if you want me to give you suggestions. However, make sure that you send it to me far enough ahead of the time that the assignment is due so that I have a reasonable amount of time to look at your assignment and get back to you with my suggestions. (About a week before is a good time.) Do not expect me to look over your assignment and get back to you if you send it to me the day that it is due or late the day before it is due.

Finally, please also let me know immediately if you find any links that don’t work in the class or if you think that any answers on an exam may have been keyed incorrectly.

I hope that you enjoy this journey into the History of Art.