Syllabus: Expectations – Syllabus: Grades and Schedule – Syllabus: Campus Resources – Home – D2L – Assignment Files
2023-12-19, 10:36 *All Grades Submitted8
A note on final grades
- I own all the grades so I can change your grade anytime. That is to say, please do not call in the middle of the night fearing a grade will be permanently on your record. Once final grades are submitted I must fill out a digital form to change it, and I can change it 5 minutes, 5 weeks, or 5 years after it’s been submitted.
- Data errors are easy to fix and I welcome your emails.
- Technical errors (google ate my homework) will involve a longer discussion that goes beyond when grades are due.
- Your class citizenship grades are based on your participation, the honesty in your reflections, and respectful behavior towards everyone in this class, including me. Good citizens show up and make their communities better places. If you did that, you will score well.
- I am willing to discuss individual assignments, but not the final course grade. Please consider your communication carefully when asking for regrading.
- Grades are a measure of your performance on a set number of tasks over the course of four months. Grades are not a measure of intelligence, effort, ability, or my afinity for you. Grades reflect what you turned in, and only that.
2023-12-13, 13:23 Now grading
I’ve created a single page for updates on what assignment and class I am grading. I’ll update it daily.
2023-11-29, 10:00 Spring Registration
Continue your historical journey by registering for one of Normandale’s spring history courses! Sharpen your analytical skills and foster a global perspective through different cultures and time periods with a well-rounded historical education that prepares you for success in any field.
Normandale’s history courses are stand-alone and can be taken at any time. This means you can take World Civilization 2 or United States History 2 (HIST 1102; HIST 1112) without first having taken World 1 (1101) or U.S. 1 (1111). You can also take one of our three-credit specialization courses.
Spots available for:
- History of World Civilization 2 – online and in-person
- United States History 1 – online and in-person
- United States History 2 – online and in-person
- Family: Sex/Gender/Power: A Cross-Cultural, Historical Perspective – online
- Black History and Civil Rights in the United States – in-person
2023-11-28, 22:00 Finished with Podcasts through your Numbers Dessert
Some outstanding podcasts, even the ones that weren’t really about MN history, but were still fun and informative to read. Good luck with your census work.
2023-11-16, 16:08 Numerical literacy and readings for next week posted
Please note the Dessert is different and asks you to answer questions based on historical data websites.
2023-11-10, 12:39 Voyant Appetizer and 1st Plate and Podcast Dessert assignments reviewed
I’ve caught up on grades from last week and this. Students struggled with the Voyant analysis, as expected. Possible topics for podcasts are intriguing. Remember that smaller stories are easier to tell in 3 minutes.
Readings and assignments will be up later today. Have a good weekend.
2023-10-13, 18:33 Updates
The entire metadata module has been graded. Many historical fiction assignments were creative and fun to read.
There’s been an uptick in students using ChatGPT. Please don’t. The consequences for plagiarism are significant and your words are more powerful and credit worthy than anything a bot outputs. I’m revising my plagiarism policy to account for ChatGPT and other AI, with attention to finding a policy that is fair (holds people accountable), clear, and humane.
22023-09-26, 16:00 Appetizers and GIS 1st plates are assessed
As I wrote last week, they were graded credit, no credit due to my time crunch from illness.
2023-09-22, 16:42 Not done yet
I haven’t finished your assignments this week (my other three classes came first this time) but I’ll be done by Tuesday when we meet. Thank you.
2023-09-21, 8:22 Away from Normandale again today.
I am having continued side effects from the COVID shot, though nothing concerning and the side effects are lessening.
Thus, I will be not working today.
As I cannot support your Assignments in the usual way, I have decided to treat this week’s work as credit no credit.
I’l grade tomorrow and if you’ve made a good faith effort (all the parts of the assignment are there in the usual college-level writing) you’ll get full credit. If it’s not there, or only partly done, no credit.
Many students have written to express how they are struggling in our class emotionally and intellectually. I will try to respond to these emails today.
2023-09-20, 7:25 Class suspended for 24 hours
My family is a bit tired recovering from our COVID shots yetsterday (yay!), so I’m suspending class today.
I’ll resume regular communication tomorrow.
2023-09-18, 10:56 Academic warning email
If you currently have an F in our class, I’ve submitted your names to our Counseling and Advising department for additional support.
For some of you, you had early difficulties and are now producing regular, credit-worth work. For others, there are continued struggles. I am committed to helping you succeed and passing this class, and inviting your advisor into conversation is part of the commitment.
2023-09-07, 15:39 Appetizers read and assessed
A fascinating offering of oral history, newspaper articles, and professional history articles relating to our readings.
2023-08-31, 20:59 1st Plate for Week 3 posted
NOTE: Your Appetizer assignment is still due Tuesday night. I’ll be finishing this week’s grades tomorrow.
2023-08-25, 13:22 FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
- What about tests, like a midterm or final?
- A. There are no tests. I designed this class around 32 assignments that worth 2-3% of your total grade. That means each week you learn a little and earn a little (grade). There are no tests. You do have a final project, and it follows the same steps (apptetizer, 1st plate, 2nd plate, dessert) that our regular weeks do and should be just 10% more work than a regular 2 week group of assignments.
- Is there something due every week?
- A. Yes. Every Tuesday and Thursday, unless otherwise noted in the syllabus, there is something due.
- My family scheduled a vacation, my sports team is travelling to Florida, my sister is getting married: can I have an extension?
- A. No. There is no late work. I drop two weeks worth of grades with a 12% grade. The exceptions are for deployment and hospitalization. If hopitalized, please wait until you are better to contact me, no need for bedside chats- history is full of dead people, they can wait until you’re home.
- Why are the assignments called "Appetizer," "1st Plate," "2nd Plate," and "Dessert."
- A. We’re using food (and flood) as a theme, so using food metaphors made sense to me. Also, calling the assignments pre-work, 1st project, 2nd project, and reflection bored me.
2023-08-23 Appetizer 1
Thanks to all who have done the Appetizer Get-to-know-you form under Syllabus: Schedule and Grades. This form is how I start the class for you, so if you haven’t filled it out, please do so as soon as possible. Thank you. Looking forward to a great class with you.
