Course Description/Syllabus

Summer 2016
GLY 1000.01Z Introduction to Physical Geology-Online/Canvas LMS Course
Start Date: 16 May 2016
End Date: 4 August 2016
Final Exam 28 July 4 August 2015
Important, READ NOW: You must check into class/read EFSC Code of Conduct by
Wednesday, 18 May--if you do not check in you may withdrawn from class owing
to non-attendance; send Canvas email to professor
Duedall: [email protected], or go to the course home page, click on
Sign In now by 18 May or earlier and state that you have read the Student Bill
of Rights and Academic Dishonesty: , leave a short message that you are
attending and have read EFSC Code of Conduct.
How to get to Canvas
Go to Eastern Florida State College webpage, www.easternflorida.edu
Click on myEFSC button, enter our B number and password, click on Canvas icon. Links to
your Canvas courses will appear. If you have problems logging in call: 321-433-7600.
Instructor
Professor Iver W. Duedall,
E-mail: [email protected]
cell 321 615.0590
Professor Duedall is Adjunct Professor at EFSC (Virtual Campus) and Professor Emeritus
(retired) of Oceanography and Environmental Science at Florida Institute of Technology,
Melbourne; he has over 45 years experience in oceanography, environmental science and
earth science. Professor Duedall enjoys working with students and conducting/developing
online teaching. If you need to meet with Professor Duedall on a one-on-one basis please
contact him at
[email protected]
or at his Canvas emailsee his name and click.
Department Head
Professor Joe Wakim is the Science Department Head for the EFSC Virtual Campus. His email is: [email protected] and office tel is 321-433-5667. Please feel free to
contact Professor Wakim on any issue related to GLY1000. Professor Wakim can also be
reached at his office on the Melbourne EFSC Campus.
Course Description
GLY 1000 is a study of: (1) the earth, its systems and materials, land, ocean and interior
features, and (2) the processes that formed and changed earth and its oceans over

geologic time. With the discovery of continental drift and the development of the theory of
plate tectonics over the last 40 years, the field of geology has undergone fundamental and
revolutionary changes in our understanding of earth processes including biological
systems. Geology is a fascinating field of science because it is an integration of physical
and biological processes and geological resources such as coal, oil, gas, metals/non-metals
and minerals, which provide the bases for industrial development and our modern society.
Who Should Take This Course
1.

Students interested in geology and earth systems science and who need a science

elective.
2.
Teachers (at any level, K-12, college, university) desiring to supplement their
classroom content with geology-related material including earth systems science.
3.
Environmental planners or managers who want/need a basic understanding of
geology and of earth systems science to be in a position to make better and more
informed decisions.
4. Members of the public who wish to expand their basic knowledge and vision of
geology and earth systems science; for example knowledge of geology is important in
choosing location to build a house or other structure.
While professional geologists use a broad range of tools and scientific principles in
biology, chemistry, computer science, mathematics, and physics, the materials
presented in this course is designed to be understood by anyone who has taken high
school science.
Course Format and Platform-Canvas
The course is a 11-week distance-learning course with content taken/integrated from the
textbook (Earth, 11 Ed, by Tarbuck and Lutgens) and the Internet with content selectively
placed on the
Angel course website. Course content is supplemented with the video series Earth
Revealed that can be viewed at any time on the web at no charge: go to:
http://www.learner.org/resources/browse.html?
discipline=0&grade=0&imageField2.x=14&imageField2.y=15

The course platform is Canvas which is a user friendly learning management system. If you
need help with Canvas contact the help desk: 321-433-7600; note: if you have not yet
completed the Canvas Orientation you will be classified as Observer in class and will not
be able to complete the assignments.
Textbook
Title: Earth, 11ed
Author: Tarbuck and Lutgens
Publisher: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 11th Edition:

ISBN: 13: 978-0-321-81406-7

ISBN-10: 03-321-81406-1
Earth is available at the EFSC bookstore and online sources.
Earth Revealed Online Videos
Visualizations of geologic processes are best observed from video; accordingly we include
as part of the course content: Earth Revealed: You can view any one or all of the Earth
Revealed video episodes at any time on the web at no charge; to register (there is no
charge) for Earth Revealed go to www.learner.org and click on "Video on Demand". You will
see a long list of courses, find Earth Revealed; you will be prompted to register as a first
time user.
Email
Canvas has its own email, which I call CanvasMail. All class announcements are sent to
you on CanvasMail and in some instances also posted on the Announcement Page of your
Canvas.
Do not use your commercial email domain, such as gmail, aol.com, hotmail,
yahoo.com, or even your EFSCImail to communicate with me. Why? Because I send
all class announcements and student messages using CanvasMail: you could easily miss
a class message if you use a commercial mail service instead of using CanvasMail.
Technology Requirements
Announcements, Course Documents, Discussion Board, your exam and discussion board
grades (all on Canvas) and email are essential electronic communication tools used this
course. Thus, you will need to own your computer/modem or have access to a
computer/modem using broadband service. Dial-up speed runs too slow to download most
of the content used in this course. Thus you will need broadband service available from
Cable or DSL.
You will also need MS Office Word and MS Office PowerPoint, version 1997-2003 or version
2007, and Adobe Acrobat Reader which is available as a free download on the Adobe
website.
Discussion Board Assignment-Main
Communication in this Course
One Discussion Board assignment per week is assigned up to through week 10. Each
discussion [answer] must be comprehensive in content and scholarly written and with
references/citations; I have zero tolerance for misspelled words: 1 misspelled word will
yield a grade of 25 (out of 100), however correction can made up to the due date of the
assigned discussions. Students are encouraged to comment or debate another student's
submission. Discussion Board accounts for 25% (2.5% points per discussion) of the
students overall grade. Typically, after you complete your Discussion Board assignment, I

will read your presentation and make comments and then grade your work; you will see
your grade in the Canvas gradebook. In some instances I may require you to do more work
on your discussion and thus I expect you to move quickly to revise your presentation.
Also, your discussion is to be in your own words. A student who is found plagiarizing
another persons work (either student or author or agency or organization) will be both
reported to the registrar and also given an F for the course grade. Finally, Discussion
Board late policy: 1 day late, 20% penalty, 2 days late 40% penalty, 3 days late
50% penalty, DB are not read if later than 3 days.
Practice Tests and the Practice Test Drop Box
Weekly practice tests are provided in each weekly folder on Angel; these tests are taken
every week, and the student is to self grade the tests. After you take the weekly practice
tests you report the results (number of questions missed) to the Practice Test Digital Drop
Box. Dr. Duedall will insert a 100 in the gradebook to denote that the student has
completed the weekly practice test
assignment.
It is most important to keep current with these practice tests because they form the basis
of the regular mid-term examinations. A sustained effort in taking the practice tests will
also help the student if he or she earns a borderline numerical grade at the end of the
semester. For example, should a student at the end of the course end up with 79 total
weighted course points, the course letter grade would be a C grade. However, the 79
grade is on the borderline (almost a B). If the students gradebook shows a sustained
record of practice test reporting at regular intervals the final course grade would be
changed from C to B. Most previous students (over the last 10 y) have done very well in
this course
Examinations
Two mid-term exams (each counting 25% course points, for a total 50%) and a
final exam (counts 25% course points) are given; the final exam will be considered as a
third mid-term, in other words it is not a cumulative exam. Exams are taken at the EFSC
Labs or you can use ProctorU (for instructions on ProctorU see Canvas (this course), or
ProctorU.com).
Specific dates for each exam posted on the weekly schedule (see schedule below).
Questions in the three exams are based mainly on the practiced tests and textbook
content; however some questions are derived from other content items, such as
PowerPoint, the Earth Revealed video series posted and on material presented on the
Canvas Discussion Board.
The three exams are password protected. A student takes the exam on Canvas at any one
of the EFSC Learning Laboratories; you need to make an appointment to take the exam.
Students living outside of Brevard County will also take proctored examinations; these

students must select an outside proctor; the criteria for a proctor is one of the following:
college or
university testing center representative, or a professor or instructor from the student's
college or university. The student must submit the name/position/email of the proctor to
Professor Duedall who will approve the proctor as well as enter the proctor information on
the myEFSC proctor exam link..
There are no makeup exams; thus the exams must be taken during the exam window
which usually includes one Saturday. The examinations are not returned to students.
Each exam has 3 parts: part 1, objective, worth 75 points; part 2, discussion, worth 25
points; part 3, bonus question, up to 5 points are added to your total part 1 and part 2
score. Note: the part 3 bonus question always involves a calculation and is an optional
question for extra credit on the exam.
All exams are closed book, closed internet, closed notes, closed thumb drive; no cell
phone, and dont bring a calculator (you dont need a calculator) or cell phone/smart
phone to your exam. Students who cheat during the exam are given an F for the course
grade.
Attendance
Weekly attendance is required. Active participation on Discussion Board/Practice Tests are
evidence that you are attending class every week. If a student does not complete the
weekly Discussion Board assignment/Practice Test on time, he or she is considered absent
or "skipping class" (missing two consecutive weeks of class) and will be withdrawn from
the course.
Grade Weighting Factors
Your final course grade in GLY 1000 will be based on your performance on the three
examinations (25% for each exam, total 75%) and on Canvas Discussion Board (25%). If
you complete an acceptable course bonus project (see below) your final weighted score
would include the points earned in the bonus project.
Grading Scale for Discussion Board and Examinations
90 - 100 = A
80 - 89 = B
70 - 79 = C
60 - 69 = D
<59 = F
If at the end the course after you have taken the final exam your final weighted course
points falls 1 points (or less) from the next higher grade, for example 79 (grade C). I will go

to your practice test submissions. If you have completed all practice tests by the due date
your 79 will be bumped up to 80 giving you a B for the course grade.
Bonus Course Project (Optional-this can be considered extra credit)
You can earn up to an extra 5 percentage points toward your final grade by visiting a
Brevard County environmental organization/agency or the Marine Resources Council of
East Central Florida or the Water Management District to learn and report on programs
that deal with the geology of Florida. To receive the 5-point credit you will need to
complete a short report; format for the report is posted on Canvas. There are strict
deadlines for the course project; see Canvas Bonus Project. It is suggested that you begin
your bonus project very early in the course.
If you are not a local EFSC student you can complete a similar project by contacting
environmental organizations or water management districts or the geological survey in
your area either directly or by the Internet.
The bonus points work as follows: Assume that at the end of the course your cumulative
total weighted course points = 87, which would be a B for the course. However, if you
submitted a bonus project and earned 4 out of 5 points, your final adjusted cumulative
weighted points would be 87+4=91, which would be an A for the course. The format for
the bonus project report and example reports (from previous students) are posted on
Angel; the bonus project must be completed 3 weeks before (or earlier) the course ends.
Course Schedule, week by week activities/assignments, examinations are posted on
Canvas,OCE1001 Home see Week 1, 2, ...., Review the weekly course schedules (in
Canvas) at least once a week