Course Summary

Why is this course important?

The main goal of this course is not to transform you into a perfect writer or reader but rather to help you develop effective writing, reading, and research skills. Developing such skills will better prepare you for college success and for your future career.  By strengthening and sharpening your writing, reading, and research skills, you will be able to communicate your thoughts and ideas more clearly and effectively. 

How does this course work?

• This fully online course meets over 6 weeks (summer).

• This course does not meet via Zoom. Your learning will be primarily conducted asynchronously (which means "not live") in Canvas.

• The driving theme of this course is Change: change in our minds and habits, change in our communities, change in our lives.  In exploring this theme, we will focus on three major units: mind change, name change, and social change. Each unit, excluding the orientation, will last about two weeks (summer).

• You will learn in a community with your peers. This course is not self-paced. You will interact with your peers throughout each of our weekly modules.

• This course is organized into one-week modules that open each Sunday morning. Each module contains readings, interactive videos, peer review/discussion post, a quiz, and collaborative activities, including voice discussions and image-curation assignments in Flipgrid and PlayPosit videos. Expect to complete 1-2 modules per week

• You will be expected to complete and submit your assignments typically on Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday nights by 11:59 p.m. Expect to spend 9 to 15 hours per week (summer) completing assignments and activities for this course.

What will help you succeed in this course?

Please read my top five tips for online success for students, which are located in my teaching corner. While you do not need to have any prior knowledge or expertise, you will need to be able to draw upon your habits of mind and strategies for habits of mind while being aware of the ways in which your environment may influence your learning.

What will you be doing in this course?

To meet the objectives of this course, you will

• conduct and evaluate library and appropriate Internet-based research;

• read, evaluate, and discuss texts (readings and videos);

• complete an assortment of weekly activities, including discussion posts, peer responses, sentence exercises,  and quizzes;

• apply sentence, editing, and grammar strategies and tools;

• write three thesis-driven, research-based essays; and

• complete lab assignments (more details in the course syllabus)

How will you know you’re learning in this course?

• You will see improvement in the quality and quantity of your writing and reading skills.

• You will feel more confident in your ability to apply writing, reading, and research skills.

• You will see more clarity, development, and precision in your writing.

• You will be able to apply the writing, reading, and research skills you have developed in other disciplines and classes.

Important Dates

Some important class and school dates to remember:

• Instruction Class Begins: Jun 10

• Last Day to Drop with refund: Jun 12

• Last Day to Add: Jun 14

• Last Day to Drop without a W symbol: Jun 14

• Census Day: Jun 17

• Last Day to Request P/NP option: Not available

• Holiday (Juneteenth): Jun 19

• Last Day to Drop with a W or apply for leave of absence: Jul 10

• Holiday (Independence Day): Jul 4

• Online CCSF Library Workshops Close: mid- to late-Jul at 7:00 p.m.

• Instruction Ends: Jul 21

• Grades Due in WEB 4: Aug 3

• Final Grades Available on MyRam: Aug 7

Add Policy

After the first day of instruction, if you would like to add the class, you will need to go to MyRam and submit a Class Add Request. I drop students who have not completed required assignments after the three days of instruction. During the first week of instruction, I will check Canvas daily to determine if I have space and will notify students, via their CCSF Google email, when I have approved their add requests.

Please note that I add students from the Class Add Request lists in the order that I receive them, as space becomes available.

Drop Policy

To ensure that your seat is not given to another student if you are enrolled in the course, you must complete the first module activities (Orientation Module) by the end of the week. Please log into Canvas and click on Start Here button located in the heading. Students who do not complete the first week activities will be dropped from the course.