Pre-semester topics
Exams and quizzes
Other assignments
Communication with instructor and other students
ALL class work is done online except for the skywatch assignment (see
Q/A #20). You need to be able to view web pages and
send/receive email. So you need
a
computer
with
some
sort
of
graphical
interface like
Windows, Macintosh, OS/2, Solaris, X-windows, etc. That computer must be
hooked to the internet in some way: cell, modem, T1/100 line, wifi, etc. All assignments and the discussion will
be done over the web, so you'll need to have a reliable web
connection.
YOU
will need to find a stable/robust/reliable internet connection,
especially for the quizzes and exams on Thursdays. Students outside the Bakersfield
area: see the special note at the end of Q/A #13.
All of the information is presented via web pages and lecture videos. The lecture videos and slides cover the highlights of the reading assignment but not everything in the reading, so the lecture slides/videos complement, not replace the reading. I will put links to the lecture slides/videos on the class Canvas. The material is presented in full form in the textbook. The textbook, Astronomy Notes, is available online for free and in regular paper form with a cost. See the "Opt-Req" link before purchasing the hardcopy. You may find other astronomy textbooks that are good supplements to the course but you will be required to know and apply the concepts presented in the required textbook, Astronomy Notes.
All of the parts of the Student Guide are posted on the class Canvas.
You can expect to need at least 9 hours per week devoted to the astronomy class: reading information online or in the paper version of the text, studying away from the computer, working on homework assignments and quizzes, emailing, etc. If you read the text and lectures exclusively online, then you'll spend several hours per week online, but you can also limit your time online by getting the paper version of the text, so actual online time can be just an hour or two per week. However, total study and reading time will be at least 9 hours per week (note that means 9 hours per week is a minimum to get a satisfactory grade---most people will need more than 9 hours per week!). Title 5 California Education Code Section 55002.5 says BC's 3-unit courses must be 47 hours in-class time including Final exam + at least 97 hours outside of class = at least 144 hours total for the semester. (Link to Code of Federal Regulations, Title 34, Part 600.2 for federal definition of credit hour.) YOU will need to find a stable/robust/reliable internet connection.
"Attending" or "Participating in" any online course means logging in regularly to the course website and doing whatever assignments are required for the week, including any discussion assignments. If you don't attend your online course for a certain length of time set by the college, you can be dropped from the college. For Bakersfield College, the course website is on Canvas and the non-participation time limit is two weeks worth and that block of time does not have to be contiguous. Bakersfield College also has a "drop on first day" policy for students who miss the first day of class which for an online class means the first week of class assignments. The attendance policies at Bakersfield College (whether it is online, face-to-face, or hybrid) are stated in the Bakersfield College Catalog in the "Attendance Policies" part of "General Information" section of the Catalog. At the end of the Distance Learning Attendance and Non-Participation Policy in the Catalog is the statement:
It should be noted that simply logging into the course does not constitute participation. Students must demonstrate that they are actively participating in the course by submitting required assignments, contributing to discussion forums, etc. as outlined above.
For the astronomy internet course, ``self-paced'' means that you choose the time during the day (or night) that you want to read the text and lectures, work on your homework and discussion assignments, and send/receive email. However, there are absolute due dates for the assignments, so you canNOT cram a bunch of assignments in at one time (like maybe you could do in high school). Work that is submitted as a packet every few weeks is never college-level quality and students who do that, are not interacting with other students, so the class is just a correspondence course. This course is an online course, not a correspondence course. You need to interact with other students in the course. Also, this course is not a memorization/regurgitation of content, so cramming stuff in every few weeks will not work. Based on over 30 years teaching experience, I can state with extreme confidence that NO student is able to miss two or more weeks of instruction and then successfully "catch up".
The assignment due dates are designed to keep you on track, so you can be successful in the course. A weekly module's assignments are done in two chunks rather than all at one time---the homework assignments are due on Mondays and Thursdays. Discussion postings will have an initial post due on Wednesday and the reply to other posts due on Friday.
Homework, quizzes, and exams will be due at 11:59 pm on the due day. The deadline is 11:59 PM and all of the homework, worksheets, and reading assignments for the entire semester are posted at the beginning of the semester and students can complete them any time between the start of the semester and the deadline on the due date. Quizzes and exams have more limited availability and are posted by 4 AM on the due date.
Modern astronomy deals with some very mind-expanding stuff requiring sophisticated abstract and logical thinking so you will need to give your brain TIME to mull over and digest the concepts. Finding sufficient TIME to study the concepts and think and synthesize the concepts is the greatest stumbling block to students. Students who try to cram their studying in the day before an assignment is due get D's and F's.
The textbook is Astronomy Notes by Nick Strobel available at the campus bookstore. The textbook is NOT the Student Guide! See the "Opt-Req" link before purchasing the hardcopy of the textbook and see question#8 below for what is in the Student Guide.
All of the parts of the Student Guide are posted on the class Canvas.
See the "Opt-Req" page before purchasing the hardcopy.
The Student Guide is available from the campus bookstore as a hardcopy and PDFs of sections of the Student Guide are posted on the class Canvas.
The Student Guide has:
Get on the waitlist for the class. Usually the enrollment in the class fluctuates up to the first day of the semester as students drop and add classes to fit their schedules and the waitlist process will automatically roll you into the class when an opening occurs. So check the online system (BannerWeb) frequently to see if you have been rolled into "registered status". During the first week of class I do take a few overloads.
No. You will need to take the course another semester or find another course to enroll in late.
The Exams are online on the class Canvas and are in multiple-choice format. Exams are closed book and no notes. (However, I supply a list of concepts at the bottom of every exam and formulae at the top of every exam, so I actually give you a great set of notes!) You select your answers within the 85 minute time-period by clicking on the appropriate option button and click on the "Submit" button at the bottom when you're done. Quizzes are also multiple-choice and on the class Canvas but they are open-book, open-notes and you will be able to work with a partner. You select your answers within the 30 minute time-period by clicking on the appropriate option button and click on the "Submit" button. The links to the Quizzes and Exams will be active in the early morning of the due date and will be deactivated at 11:59 PM (Pacific Timezone). You will have until 11:59 PM (Pacific Timezone) to submit your answers.
I suggest you try an internet connection at school (only if the campus is open), the public library, a DSL/cable modem connection, or any other "always on" connection. Free wifi zones (e.g., in coffee shots) are notoriously flaky and will often drop people at crucial times and they are NOT secure---other people will be able to record your school/Canvas access codes.
11:59 PM (Pacific Timezone) deadline: Note that you have to click the ``submit" button by the 11:59 PM (Pacific Timezone) deadline. It does NOT mean that you can start the quiz or exam at any time before 11:59 PM. Start the exam or quiz by enough time BEFORE 11:59 pm to get your answers submitted BY the 11:59 pm due time or you will get a zero (a costly mistake in the case of an exam).
Students outside the Bakersfield area: see the special note at the end of the next question/answer!
Computer network connections are fragile so check the stability of your internet connection in plenty of time to recover from the crash using the following steps. First try to find an alternate internet connection at your school or library. Most libraries (city and school) now have web connections. Or see if a friend's or relative's computer-internet link is available. If you cannot find an alternate internet connection, then you need to let me know before the due time of 11:59 pm.
Before the due time (11:59 pm Pacific Timezone), you must call my office number, (661) 395-4526, and leave a message on my voice mail saying that your computer-network connection is down. Leave a phone number where I can reach you and arrange a time to take the exam. You will need to come to my office or a site near the Panorama Drive campus and take the exam on paper within a week's time during an office hour or other mutually-agreed upon time that is BEFORE 2 PM (yes, 2 PM, not 11:59 PM).
Special note for those outside the Bakersfield area:
Those of you who live outside the Bakersfield area will especially want
to make sure you have access to a STABLE internet connection on exam
day. I
recommend that you take the exam well before the deadline time of 11:59
PM (Pacific Timezone) in case you have to locate another internet accessible computer to complete the
exam by the 11:59 PM (Pacific Timezone) deadline. If you fail to find a working internet connection
to take the exam, you will need to come to my office on the Bakersfield
College campus on Panorama Drive or a site near the Panorama campus and take the exam on paper within a week's time
even if you are outside the Bakersfield area. It will be taken
during an office hour or other mutually-agreed
upon time that is BEFORE 2 PM.
Yes but only with advance arrangement.
The assignments are given on the class Canvas. Select the link in the previous sentence to bring it up and place it in your bookmark or favorites database for quicker access next time. The class Canvas has links to ALL the assignments, including the homework. The link to the quiz or exam for that week will become active on Thursday morning. All homework, quizzes, and exams are due at 11:59 pm in the Pacific timezone of the USA. Make appropriate adjustments for your timezone, so that they reach me on time.
There are three ways to find out the reading assignments. 1) The class Canvas is broken up into weekly modules each with a page called "Wk # Reading" at the top of the module that gives you the reading assignment for that week. 2) The weekend before a week's lectures, I post an "Astronomy Weekly News Bulletin" in the Announcements section of the class Canvas that also gives the reading assignment (I just include a copy of the "Wk # Reading" page). 3) The Student Guide has the reading assignments listed at the top of every lecture outline (along with vocabulary terms and definitions).
The reading assignments posted on the class Canvas will give links to the START of the chapter or section on the Astronomy Notes textbook website. Within each chapter there are several or many webpages. A chapter section in Astronomy Notes might also be made of several webpages. At the top of each webpage in a chapter in Astronomy Notes is a chapter index. You can use it to find the particular place on a webpage in the chapter that has the information you need. At the bottom of each webpage in a chapter in Astronomy Notes is a "Next" and/or "Previous" button that you can use to navigate through the webpages in a chapter on Astronomy Notes (like turning paper pages in a hardcopy book).
Homework assignments are done in the class Canvas. The homework links on the class Canvas will also tell you which particular concepts on the exam review sheets go with a given homework assignment. Note that all of the homework assignments for the entire semester are available at the start of the semester, so you can work ahead to ensure assignments are turned in no later than the time posted in the syllabus.
Links to the lectures are given on the class Canvas. The links for the week's lecture will become active by Sunday evening (usually sooner). Use the lecture outlines in the Student Guide to help you determine what are the key things I want you to know. If you cannot fill in the blanks in a lecture's outline, ask me for help!
You don't! The available projects are described in chapters 4 and 5 of the Student Guide. The skywatch project of tracking the motion of the Sun is worth 60 points required credit plus an additional 40 points possible for extra credit. The others are worth just the 60 points required credit. You will record your skywatch observations, write up your results, and turn in the electronic copy via the appropriate link on the class Canvas website. See also video #7 of the video orientation for the class for a thorough discussion of the skywatch project.
Nick Strobel's email address is nstrobel at bakersfieldcollege.edu. Contact links are given at the bottom of each textbook web page, and each assignment web page has an email link. The email link looks like the one at the bottom of this web page. Select the link to bring up your email software with my email address already entered in the ``To'' space. Allow for up to 24 hours response time during the school week.
I can also be reached by phone at (661) 395-4526. I do have voice mail. You can also leave messages at (661) 395-4224. You can see me in person at my office (Math-Science 101 at the Bakersfield College campus) during my office hours given on the syllabus or some other time by appointment. Note that during winter break and summer break I will NOT respond right away, since I will be away from an internet connection at times (or I may be catching up on the sleep I missed during the semester).
You can post messages to the class Canvas's Discussions area. I hope you'll use this method to ask questions about the material or other aspects of the class. Also, students can text, tweet, snapchat, IM to send messages back and forth. Each week you'll be assigned a small group to interact with in Canvas Groups. Use your small group to work on any tutorial, homework, or weekly quiz for that week. See this link for how to use Discussions within your weekly group to discuss things with your weekly small group. Link for more about Canvas Groups.
How do you grade the discussion assignments?
The five required discussion postings for the semester are graded such that the original post is worth more than the two reply posts: for a five-point discussion assignment, the original post is 3 points, the reply posts are 2 points; for a three-point discussion assignment, the original post is 2 points and the reply post is 1 point. All posts must be college-level and substantive (significantly more than "I agree"), use complete sentences, are grammatically correct, opinions are backed up with evidence, and are respectful and clean. The five required discussion postings are designed to be more on the open-ended, reflective side of discussions with no definite right/wrong answers but make sure the logic of your explanation or opinion is sound and articulated explicitly.
Note that the required discussion postings are due by 5 PM (not 11:59 PM).
The things you post in your weekly group's Discussion section will not be graded. I hope you'll have enough internal motivation and maturity to use the group discussions feature to reach out to your classmates without having to be forced to do so because of a grade.
Usually I respond right away but it may take up to 24 hours during the weekday in some cases. Hopefully, other students will respond before I do. There may be times when I did not see your posting to the
Discussions area,
so emailing me is a good way
to point it out to me.
There is a "Student2Student" discussion forum that is for students to help students with college, whether it's with this class or other classes at BC. The Student2Student discussion forum is for students talking to students, so I won't monitor what's said in there. If you want to talk with me, use the Inbox or we can set up a Zoom meeting using the "Zoom office hours for Strobel" on the left side of the class Canvas.
The Learning Center on the Bakersfield College campus (second floor of the Student Services Building) has peer tutoring free for students with a student body card. If you have difficulty with the mathematics, ask for a MATH tutor. If you have difficulty with a physics concept, ask for a PHYSICS tutor. The Learning Center also has a Basic Skills Computer Lab to help you with your math and grammar. Use the tutors for getting the concepts. Use the computer lab for getting the practice.
BC also contracts with NetTutor for 24/7 tutoring in EMLS, English and Writing, Humanities, and Mathematics with a degreed person (i.e., the tutor has at least a bachelors in the discipline). Other subjects for NetTutor are available during scheduled times. There is a link to NetTutor on the class Canvas on the left side near the bottom of the list of navigation links that begin with "Home, Syllabus, Assignments, etc." See the "Online Tutoring" tab of the Tutoring Center website for more details about NetTutor.
I am too often lonely during my office hours and I would be very happy to help you understand the concepts one-on-one. Those times are set aside especially for you to get the help you need. If you cannot come in during an office hour, then contact me to arrange another time to meet at a time before 2 PM (and not when I am teaching or doing a planetarium show).
Yes, but you must notify me ahead of time. There are other astronomy classes taught by other professors and you must get permission from them to sit in on their class.
last updated: July 12, 2023