History 102
8-week fully online (Spring 2024)
Dr. Matthew Mooney; text: 805-699-5117
This is a fully online course: no required synchronous (real-time) meetings are scheduled or required.
8-week fully online (Spring 2024)
Dr. Matthew Mooney; text: 805-699-5117
This is a fully online course: no required synchronous (real-time) meetings are scheduled or required.
I'm Dr. Matthew Mooney and I will be your instructor. Like you, I was a community college student (Orange Coast College, 1990-92). I went on to earn a BA in English Literature from UCLA in 1994, an MA in American History from Cal State Long Beach in 2000, and - finally - finished my dissertation and earned my PhD from UC Irvine in 2006. This is my 18th year teaching full-time at Santa Barbara City College and I still love this job! My courses have been Quality Reviewed by the state of California's CVC-OEI Course Design Academy and I am proud to have earned the 2022 SBCC Faculty Excellence Award as well as the 2023 Extended Opportunity Programs and Services (EOPS) "Above and Beyond" Award.
I hope you are as excited about this course as I am (it's okay if you're not). Each of you will contribute something unique: your own special background, your individual story. Your experiences, identity, perspective, and ideas will play a crucial role in the co-creation of knowledge about our shared past, enriching the understanding of United States History that we will collectively develop in this course. I encourage you to watch the brief welcome video and explore advice from former successful students located at the bottom of this page (just scroll down)!
By the way - don't hesitate to contact me if you need assistance.
Text me anytime at 805-699-5117
Text me (email is fine, too). It's hard for me to help you if I’m in the dark about your situation. Don't hesitate to hit me up whenever you need help - weekday, weekend, morning, noon, night…whenever. Seriously, it's what I'm here for: This. Is. My. Job. I want you to succeed. If you're stuck, give me a shout as soon as you can. Also, I am happy to meet with you anytime (even on the weekends!) via Google Meet (a Google app for real-time, face-to-face video meetings). Text me @ 805-699-5117 to set up a meeting. I will reply to your message (text, email, or voicemail) within 24 hours, Monday-Friday.
Please test the audio and video in Google Meet before the meeting begins.
Email: please use the Canvas Conversations feature by clicking the "Inbox" tool in the left-hand global navigation menu.
On-campus student hours in WCC 132 [map]: Tuesdays and Thursdays (11am-noon) and Wednesdays (2-3pm).
Just ask! I get it - we've all got busy and complicated lives with lots of challenging commitments and responsibilities. Stuff happens. If you need more time for an assignment, simply submit an extension request before the assignment due date using the Extension Request form. You can access the form by clicking here or find the link at the bottom of our course Canvas homepage.
Please note the mutual understanding and obligation inherent in the extension request process: I grant you more time if needed, and in return, you take the initiative to request an extension before the assignment due date.
I will score and comment on all weekly work (Answers, Reviews, and Replies) within 24 hours after you submit it (assuming you submit the week it is due). Written feedback (if applicable) from me about your weekly work (Answer, Review, Reply) will appear within the work that you post in the Canvas Discussion Forums. Any additional comments I am unable to leave in the Discussion Forums will appear in your gradebook. Please make it a habit to check both places for comments: the Discussion Forums and your gradebook.
You do not need to respond to my feedback on your weekly work (Answers, Reviews, Replies). My feedback is intended to guide your future work, to help you improve your Answers, Reviews, and Replies.
Please be aware that I only grade an assignment once. Unless I have made an error, I will not re-grade an assignment after it has been scored. In other words, once the assignment has been graded, you cannot revise and resubmit it. (why not?). If you receive a score less than perfect on an assignment, I encourage you to carefully review the feedback provided and focus on improving your performance in the next assignment, rather than dwelling on the few points you may have lost. If I have made an error or, more likely, simply forgotten to grade something, please notify me as soon as possible.
You have one week after an assignment's due date to inform me of any errors or omissions in the grading of your work. I will not make any corrections after one week. Why? It's not fair to me if you don't check your grade until months from now and then expect me to go back and fix things. You need to develop the habit of checking your scores and feedback immediately. This ensures that I have made no mistakes, and it allows you to review any feedback or guidance from me and apply it promptly.
Extra credit is available on every weekly assignment (Answers, Reviews, Replies).You will automatically earn extra credit each time you submit an assignment at least 24 hours before its due date. In other words, it is in your best interest not to procrastinate.
But don't just take my word for it. Listen to advice below from your peers, former students who succeeded in this course!
By the way, you may hear students in the videos below refer to both “History 101” as well as “History 102.” It doesn’t matter which course in which you are enrolled. Both are structured the same way.