GEN 105 Complete Course

Week 1

CheckPoint: Distance Learning I

Due Date: Day 3 [post to the Individual forum]

Post a 100- to 150-word response to the following: What were your initial thoughts on distance learning before you started your program? Why did you choose distance learning over a traditional face-to-face learning environment? In what ways has your view of distance learning changed since you started your classes?

CheckPoint: Distance Learning II

Due Date: Day 4 [post to the Individual forum]

Recall a time when you gave constructive criticism to another student, a friend, or a family member. How would giving feedback to a classmate in a distance learning environment be different from giving face-to-face feedback? Compare and contrast the two processes in a 100- to 150-word response.

Submit a second 100- to 150-word response describing how, in your opinion, the distance element of learning either makes it easier or more difficult to communicate, and why.

Assignment: Elevator Speech

Resources: Appendix C, and Elevator Speech digital story

Due Date: Day 7 [post to the Individual forum]

View the digital story located on aXcess at

Construct your own 350- to 400-word scenario in which you explain distance learning to a friend. Your response should explain how Axia courses work and should correctly use each of the following terms at least once:

o Threaded Discussion

o Forums

o Asynchronous Communication

o Feedback

Week 2

CheckPoint: Communicating in Forums

Resource: Anthonys Dilemma digital story

Due Date: Day 5 [Individual] forum

View the digital story located on aXcess at . In this story an Axia student describes how he offended a classmate by not using the writing principle of inclusive language during discussion in his class forum.

Coach Anthony on why it is important to use inclusive language when communicating in his class forum. Suggest how he could have avoided his mistakes, and offer three pointers for how he can prevent repeating his mistakes in the future. Respond in 200 to 300 words.

Discussion Questions

Tone is very important when communicating online. How will your tone, or writing style, change based on the different types of people you will be communicating with online? Consider family, friends, classmates, and instructors in your response.

How is conducting research online different from conducting research in a traditional library? Based on suggestions presented by the University Library Tutorial and text recommendations concerning Web research strategies, what will be your personal approach to conducting academic Web searches?

Week 3

CheckPoint: Technological Tools

You may have noticed that certain course resources have been made available to you in digital and Web-based formats. For example, you can download some of the audio appendixes to your desktop or to a portable device like an equipped cell phone, MP3 player, or PDA, and listen to them later. You can access an extensive online University library, view digital stories about course activities, and use tutorials about Axia College resources to be academically successful.

Resources: Course audio appendixes, tutorials, and the University Library

Due Date: Day 4 [Individual] forum

Take a moment to explore these technological resources by downloading an audio appendix to your computer or to a portable device, by perusing the library a little more, or by reviewing one of the tutorials. Audio appendixes are located in Week One (Appendix B: Audio) and Week Two (Appendix D: Audio) of your aXcess course page.

Post a 200- to 300-word response to the following:

o Describe your opinion of the technological tools provided by Axia College, including the audio appendixes, the digital stories, and the tutorials. Explain why you feel the way you do.

o Does the option to download appendixes in an audio format improve the quality of your educational experience? Does it make learning more convenient because of its portability? Does it help you to learn in different ways? Or is it something you will not use? Describe your attitude toward this option.

Assignment: University Library Article Search

Resources: Appendix E, University Library

Due Date: Day 7 [Individual] forum

Review Appendix E to recognize article characteristics.

Find two articles in the University Library about any one topic or combination of topics listed below. One of your articles must be a peer-reviewed article, which is an article that has been reviewed by a group of experts in a certain field.

o Distance learning at college

o Ensuring academic honesty

o Effective personal goal setting

o Time management skills for college students

Take time to choose the best database for your chosen topic(s), and use a different database (such as EBSCOhost or Thomson Gale PowerSearch) to find each article. Whenever applicable, practice using the Boolean and wildcard search strategies you learned about in the University Library Interactive Tutorial.

Provide the following information for each article:

o What keyword search did you use to find the article?

o What is the title of the article?

o Who is the author(s)?

o When was the article published?

o Was the article peer-reviewed?

o In what database did you find the article?

Summarize what each article is about in 2 to 3 sentences per article. If there are specific opinions or facts in the articles, be sure to document them.

Week 4

CheckPoint: Detecting Plagiarism

University instructors can enforce consequences for plagiarism such as failing a students plagiarized assignment or failing a student from a class. In serious cases, instructors may choose to report instances of plagiarism to University administration. To detect plagiarism, University faculty use tools like the Plagiarism Checker, a service provided by the Center for Writing Excellence (CWE).

Resources: University Library, Center for Writing Excellence (CWE) Plagiarism Checker

Due Date: Day 5 [Individual] forum

Retrieve the following article from the ProQuest Database found at the University Library: Lab Courses Go Virtual by Thomas F. Edgar. Copy and paste the text of the article into a Microsoft Word document and save it to your desktop.

Imagine you are an instructor who received the Edgar article in an assignment post from a student, and that this student has claimed to have written the article herself. In actuality, she plagiarized the article from the University Library.

Submit the article to the Plagiarism checker from the Center for Writing Excellence. From your student course page:

1. Select the following menus: My Learning Resources, Tools & Tutorials, and Center for Writing Excellence.

2. Select the Submit Paper for Review link.

3. Enter the Paper Title and use the Browse button to find the Word document on your desktop that contains the Edgar article.

4. Click the box marked Plagiarism Checker and wait for the status icon to change from a gold In Progress diamond to a green Ready square.

5. After waiting a moment, click your browsers Refresh button to view results. Click the Ready square once it appears to view results.

Post a 200- to 300-word response describing the results from the Plagiarism Checker. Still imagining yourself as a faculty member, include what you think your course of action would be toward the student who submitted the assignment. Describe to the student why plagiarism is dishonest, and what other types of behavior constitute academic dishonesty.

Discussion Questions

Axia College takes academic honesty seriously. Think for a moment about an author whose original work has been plagiarized by a student. Why would that author consider plagiarism to be such a grave offense?

What are other ways in which you can make use of the wealth of Web-based information and still guard against plagiarism?

Week 5

CheckPoint: Setting Goals

Due Date: Day 4 [Individual] forum

Follow the steps listed below:

1. Identify two of your long-term education or career goals. Your goals may be careeroriented, academic, or personal in nature. (I will become the head of my companys graphics department is an example of a long-term goal.)

2. Break these two long-term goals into several short-term goals that you hope to accomplish within a relatively short time. (I will learn how to use my companys new graphics software is one short-term goal that would need to be accomplished before someone could become the head of a graphics department.)

3. For each of your short-term goals, list a specific deadline you wish to accomplish the goal by (for example, I will accomplish this goal by the end of next month). Describe how you will accomplish the goal (for example, I will enroll in a professional development course).

4. Prioritize all goals in order of importance.

5. Describe how each goal is specific, is moderately difficult but not impossible to achieve, and aligns to your values.

Post your completed list to the Individual forum.

Assignment: Mastering a Skill

There are some skills that virtually all people use every day. There are some skills that only a few people have, but all people should master.

Due Date: Day 7 [Individual] forum

Think about a skill that most people do not have but could benefit from mastering. Why would people benefit from having this skill? What are the consequences of not having this skill?

Write an essay to persuade your instructor that all people should master this certain skill.

Post your completed 750-word essay as an attachment.

Week 6

CheckPoint: Time Management Activity

Time-management skills are critical to your academic and personal success. Conducting an informal observation and evaluation of your own time management skills can provide insight into how and when you most effectively use your time. When you have identified your priorities, you can use this knowledge to make appropriate changes to be a more effective time manager.

Resource: Appendix F

Due Date: Day 5 [Individual] forum

Complete a time-management log of one of your typical days activities using Appendix F. When the table is complete, answer the wrap-up questions.

Post your completed Appendix F as an attachment.

Discussion Questions

How do you spend most of your time? Do you think that your time is managed effectively? Explain your reasons.

How do you decide which items on your schedule to prioritize on a daily and weekly basis? Which goal from the Setting Goals CheckPoint could you map to daily and weekly deliverables, and what timeframes would you assign to ensure you meet the goal deadline?

Week 7

CheckPoint: Reading and Comprehension

Resources: Ch. 4 of Keys to College Studying, 8 Secrets to a Knockout Business Presentation

Due Date: Day 4 [Individual] forum

Use the reading 8 Secrets to a Knockout Business Presentation to carefully time yourself as you read the article. When finished, calculate your words-per-minute reading rate using the instructions from p. 140 of the text.

Summarize main points from the reading into a short, bulleted list. Then provide your answers to the following questions in a 200-to 300-word response:

o What was your approach to reading the selection?

o What was your reading setting?

o How did you minimize distractions?

o Did you become emotionally involved?

o Which of the four reading purposes did you employ? You can list more than one.

o List new vocabulary terms, and provide their definitions.

Assignment: Reading and Retention

Resources: pp. 155-167 & 175-182 of Keys to College Studying: Becoming an Active Thinker, and Appendix G

Due Date: Day 7 [Individual] forum

Select a chapter reading from the previous week.

Apply the SQ3R reading technique to your selected reading.

Use Appendix G to describe the actions you took during each step of the process and to answer the wrap-up question.

Post your completed Appendix G as an attachment.

Week 8

CheckPoint: Multiple Intelligences

Due Date: Day 3 [Individual] forum

Conduct research online regarding the strongest of your multiple intelligences. Find three Web sites which accurately describe that intelligence. If you identified more than one dominant intelligence, choose only one for your research. Note that your classmates will be reviewing your responses in Discussion Question 2, so make sure that your answers are complete.

Post the following information:

o Links to the three Web sites that describe the intelligence

o A 50-word description, written by you, of your strongest intelligence

o A 50-word summary describing how each site either reinforced or contradicted something about yourself

Discussion Questions

How can you use the study techniques recommended for your personality type and strongest intelligence(s) to function best in a distance learning environment? Which techniques can you use to improve less developed personality areas or intelligences?

What learning similarities and differences are apparent in the different CheckPoint responses? What is the importance of knowing your personal learning strengths in addition to those of your classmates? How can this knowledge be beneficial to collaborative work completed in an online learning environment?

Week 9

Capstone CheckPoint

Resource: Chapter 12 of Keys to College Studying: Becoming an Active Thinker

Due Date: Day 4 [Individual] forum

Complete the Make Responsible Choices activity on p. 447 of the text. Choose two of the three questions about which to write a summary response of 200 to 300 words.

Final Project: Student Survival Guide

Resources: Appendix A

Due Date: Day 7 [Individual] forum

Compile a 1,000- to 1,250-word survival guide that will serve as a resource for you throughout your program. Using what you have learned in class, develop personal action plans for the following topics:

o Using Axias Educational Resources

o Upholding Academic Honesty

o Setting and Achieving Goals

o Managing Time Wisely

o Fostering Reading Comprehension and Retention

o Applying Personality and Learning Styles

Recall that if you need to submit any written or visual work other than your own, be sure to provide the name of the original author along with the related content and the title of the work. When referring to an electronic source, provide the Web link.

Post your Student Survival Guide as an attachment.