Eng. 1140

                           
FAQs Page
 

THE QUESTIONS

Find your question and click on it for the answer:

1. HOW DO I KNOW WHETHER I’M GETTING CREDIT FOR MY WORK?

2. WHERE IS MY HOMEWORK--DO I GET IT BACK? 

3. I HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT DISCUSSION-BOARD CLASSES. 

4. CAN I CONTACT YOU IN OTHER WAYS THAN BY EMAIL? 

5. IF I HAVEN’T DONE SOMETHING ON TIME, CAN I STILL GET CREDIT FOR IT? 

6. IS HOMEWORK DIFFERENT FROM DISCUSSION-BOARD CLASS? 

7. CAN PRACTICE ACTIVITIES (for Hum 1110 only) BE DONE ON TEXTBOOK READINGS? 

8. IF I HAVEN’T BEEN GETTING WEEKLY EMAILS FROM YOU, SHOULD I BE WORRIED?  

9. HOW SHOULD I PRESENT MY WEEKLY HOMEWORK ON THE READINGS? 

10. HOW DO I GET TO THE HOME PAGE IF "www.RichardJewell.org" IS DOWN?

11. WHAT IS PROPER BEHAVIOR IN COLLEGE?

12. DO I HAVE TO ATTEND THEATER/MUSEUM/CONSULTATION EVENTS?

  
THE ANSWERS

1. HOW DO I KNOW I’M GETTING CREDIT FOR PAPERS AND ATTENDANCE?

Go to the Web site each week or two and check the “Records.”  To do this, go to the course home page, find "FOL Records" (under "Homework" or in one of the the two long, thin brown rectangles), and click on it.  Then simply choose the weekly-papers records or the attendance records.  You should do this every week or two to make sure everything seems right to you.  If something seems to be missing or you seem to have only have half credit, see the questions below labeled "I have questions about virtual bulletin-board classes."  

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Yes.  I always try to return your homework to you with credit marked on it.  

If you’ve emailed the homework, I’ll return it by email.  If you’ve dropped it off and want it back, let me know, and I'll tell you when to pick it up. If you’ve mailed it and want it back by mail, then mail it to me with a self-addressed, stamped envelope, and I’ll return it in the envelope.  Keep all your homework copies until after your grade is in for the semester: if I haven't given you credit for it, you may need to show it to me again to prove that you turned it in on time. 

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3a. MOST DISCUSSION-BOARD QUESTIONS & ANSWERS are  in our class's D2L pages in "FAQs."
     

3b. HOW DO I GET TO THE CLASS DISCUSSION BOARDS AND START? 

Simply go to the web page link in the top navigation bar (or the left-hand navigation bar) that says "D2L."  Click on that link and, when you get the page, read those instructions. 

3c. HOW COME I CAN'T GET INTO THE DISCUSSION BOARDS?

You must know your username and password for getting into IHCC web services. If you have forgotten them, go onto the IHCC website and find the computer services page, and look for info about creating or changing your password.

You must also be registered for our specific course. If you haven't registered yet--or if you have been dropped from the class for 2+ weeks of absence--then you won't be able to get in. 

3d. ARE DISCUSSION BOARDS REQUIRED?

Yes.  They are part of your attendance grade.  To see more details about how discussion-board classes fit into your attendance grade, click in the navigation bar, above, on "Attendance" or "Grading."

3e. HOW CAN I MAKE UP MISSED DISCUSSION BOARDS?

You can still do them.  You can make up missed bulletin boards just as you can anything else--by doing them as extra credit. Add them to the week where the messages are missing; then email me with a copy of the messages in the text of the email, and tell me how much time you spent reading for and writing them.

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Certainly!  You can call me at home 9 am to 9 pm (612-870-7024) or drop by my office at school during my office hours.  You also can drop off homework at my home, if necessary, or even meet me at a coffeehouse in my home area of Minneapolis (Loring Park/Uptown) when I won't be at school for several days.  For fuller information, go to www.RichardJewell.org and click on "Office/Email/Phone."

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Yes and no.  Here's how:

The Photo & Info Sheet: I'd like it as soon as possible, but I'm easy on this one--I'll take it any time and still give you credit.

Class (attendance) misses: Attendance is due on D2L, generally, by Thurs. midnight. You can't do this or other attendances late because your presence is needed to make them work.  However, I do allow, in online classes, a one-week grace period for you to get your work in late with no penalty. After that, you can't do it as regular work anymore, but you may send it to me and ask for extra credit by telling me how much time you spent reading for and writing it. Note: I usually don't look at emailed homework until Fri. noon, often later, and will take whatever I find when I check for it.

Homework: 

Homework is generally due by email by midnight Thursday. However, I do allow, in online classes, a one-week grace period for you to get your homework emailed to me late with no penalty. After that, you can't do it as regular work anymore, but you may send it to me and ask for extra credit by telling me how much time you spent reading for and writing it. (I'll allow even more latitude in the first few weeks if you honestly are confused about what is due and when, if you explain why to me, and if you get it to me as quickly as possible.)  Note: I usually don't look at emailed homework until Fri. noon, often later, and will take whatever I find when I check for it.

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You bet.  Here's how:  

You write homework assignments for me and send them by email directly to me. (Or you may write them by hand and drop them off at my office.) Homework assignments are listed in "Wkly. Asgnmnts." in the navigation bar above, week by week. Check these homework assignments each week.

You attend class through D2L discussion boards, where you engage in discussions with your classmates on D2L.  D2L attendance is shown on in the class D2L "Discussions" main page, where you can see each week whether one or two discussions are required.

Other attendance sometimes involves attendance that is  online alone, or in person with the class (your choice). These involve a first-week introduction to the class, visits to online or physical plays and/or museums, and an online or physical individual consultation at the end of the semester. For some, you may be required to write about them.

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(This answer is only for those taking Humanities 110.) Almost always, "Practice Activities" should be done using sources outside/beyond your weekly textbook readings.  (On the other hand, if you’re reading Lamm, for example, for your regular textbook reading, you could, additionally, read something in Fiero or Witt for a "Practice Activity."  If you do this, just be sure to tell me that one is for "Comments" and the other for a "Practice Activity.")  Simply put, you can never kill two birds with one stone by doing both your textbook reading and your "Practice Activity" on the same chapter.

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Yes--you should be worried!  I usually send out at least one email a week, sometimes more.  I use the email address that you listed with the college. If you need me to use a different one--or even two emailed addresses--be sure to let me know! Be sure you check your email address for this class every week, especially early in the week, to see the weekly email from me to the entire class. 

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Please use Underlined Subtitles as described in the "How To Do Wkly. Pprs." page of our website in the navigation bar, above. Be sure to write enough—and in a specific enough way—on each so that I can tell you did read the materials. In your email subject line, be sure to put the name of the class: e.g., "Eng 1140" or "Hum 1110."  Why? I use a search-and-find method of gathering all of your homework emails into one folder, which I examine at the end of the week. If you don't have the name and number of the class in the subject line, I may not find your homework, and you won't get credit.

Also, in the subject line, please add the week number and the particular assignment you are sending. Do NOT send several assignments in one email--send separate emails. In addition, send your homework in the text of the email--NOT as a separate attachment (unless absolutely necessary).

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It is safer to go directly to the course Web site without using www.RichardJewell.org.  You can do this most easily by bookmarking.  If you have your own computer, you can click on "Bookmarks" (sometimes called "Favorites") when you are at the course Web site, then add the site.

However, if you use school computers, they won't keep bookmarks.  So, instead, you can simply write the course home page Web address down and stick it in your billfold for emergencies.  The easy way to get the Web address is to go to the course home page.  Then look for the Web address (it should say "umn.edu" at the end) in one of the little top windows, and write it down; or, you can copy and paste it onto an MS Word blank sheet and print out the sheet.

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Please click on and read "Talking as an Academic Community."  "Proper behavior" differs slightly from teacher to teacher.  What is common for all college classrooms is that you should be respectful of the instructor and each other, demonstrate a willingness to learn and to listen to competing viewpoints, and consider college an adult environment requiring adult behavior. 

In addition, in my classes, I like people to be helpful, kind, creative, and caring toward each other (and to me) because we work together quite a bit.  I also want people to feel they have the right to disagree respectfully with each other: this is a basic, important part of college life.  The right to disagree respectfully--and to speak our opinions in an atmosphere where we know others will respectfully listen to us--is of utmost importance for learning from each other and discovering a variety of viewpoints.  This is what college is about, and what being a citizen of the nation and the world: agreeing to respectfully disagree at times, so that we might learn and grow.  I ask that you do so in a kind, caring, creative, and supportive way with others in our class.

All of this means, too, that anger, whining, hurtfulness, spitefulness, and other negative emotions and acts are no more appropriate in college than in a professional workplace; acting on or using such negative behavior in or out of class to instructors, staff, or other students is very inappropriate and prevents a good atmosphere for good intellectual, personal, and academic growth.

Partying is a whole other issue.  There is nothing wrong at all with having a good time, and people in the first year or two of college in particular tend to work hard at having a good time.  This is fine, but in general, it is better to keep partying to the weekends and vacations.  Fifteen credits per semester of college, if you are working hard to do well, is the equivalent of a full-time, 40-50 hrs./wk. professional job, one in which you are expected to act as responsibly as would any manager or business owner.  It requires alertness, intelligence, and focus.   Excessive tiredness, hangovers, and others aftereffects of partying therefore are inappropriate, as well, which is why it helps to keep partying a weekend- and vacation-only event.  If you need to party, work hard during the week and reward yourself with partying after the weekly grind is over--and start grinding again Sunday afternoon.

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There are two ways you may attend these: online or in person. Either way is acceptable. Those who can attend in person, though, often have a stronger experience of the activities.  Whether you attend online or in person, you must write 200+ w. per hour about the experience. If you use the online (or a physical reading) option, you must also be sure to explain what you saw (or read) and where you found it. 

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