Sociology 
Professor W. Ernie
Guyton on-line exploring the jungles of Ecuador
Sociology-Anthropology
Orientation
--Welcome students to
Introduction to Sociology Online. The purpose of this written
orientation, as opposed to the syllabus below, actually walks you through the
requirements and assignments step by step in more detail, so that you will know
what is necessary to successfully complete this on-line class. The
syllabus will be more clear having read this orientation. I will also make you aware of all the
facilities available to you to proceed through the course.
--Getting Started:
First stop is to get your textbook from the bookstore (Clarkston Campus), or
Online textbook store: http://www.gpc.edu/online/textbooks/dlbooks.htm (or other on-line websites where available)
(see syllabus for book title & author). The course is basically
run out of iCollege (Georgia Perimeter College’s Online Community,
formally called WebCT Vista); so you'll have to get your login & password
on-line from GPC iCollege as you would any Distance Learning class On-line
Campus . There will be several helpful support links in iCollege to
help you with tests and the course material in general. Most of the test
themselves will be given on-line through iCollege. The final exam,
however, is given in person on GPC’s Clarkston Campus. You will have 10 short supplemental articles
assigned to you as well (see iCollege syllabus for list of articles) that will
be required reading. They are on Reserve at our Circulation Desk on our
Clarkston Campus (copier available), and, more convenient for most of you,
these articles can also be retrieved and downloaded on-line. Instructions
for on-line retrieval of articles are in a special link in your iCollege
site. With those tools (textbook, articles, and iCollege login/password)
you will have everything you need for the course. After reading this
orientation, and the syllabus within iCollege, you must take a short mini-quiz
within our iCollege site within the first week to officially sign in to the
class, otherwise I am obligated to drop you from the class.
--Tools for Study: Your
main tool for studying for the exams is the textbook itself. You can
highlight or make notes of major terms or concepts along the way for each
chapter in a notebook. You’ll also find a “Support Materials” link within
iCollege to be very helpful. Student
study notes, power point lecture notes, and study guides are within this
“support materials” link for each upcoming exam. Starting this semester I am adding personal
audio files to help you summarized key terms and topics for each chapter. Most of the supplemental articles will
compliment your textbook reading as well.
Your syllabus is your guide to textbook and article readings.
--Grading for the course
will primarily come from 4 major exams (multiple choice, 3 of which are taken
on-line, the final exam given face-to-face on Clarkston campus; so you’re only
required to come on campus one time at the end of the semester). Specific
chapters for reading and testing on are in the syllabus. Also
given: two (2) quizzes (reading & comprehension quizzes from the assigned
articles on reserve in the Clarkston Library, or on-line; more below).
These quizzes are given on-line through iCollege. Finally, one (1)
sociological survey paper based on interviewing 1 person from a different
subgroup, subculture, gender, or age group than yourself (more on this
below). In summary, the first 3 exams are given on-line through iCollege,
the Final given face-to-face at the Clarkston campus; the 2 article quizzes
will be given on-line through iCollege; and the Survey will be turned in online
through a special “assignments” link within iCollege. All dates,
times and location for testing are in the syllabus and on your iCollege
calendar with both day and nighttime slots for testing.
--Missed Test
Policy: Because of the early advanced warning of testing and
assignment dates, as well as the flexibility of testing times, there will be no
make-up exams or quizzes. A missed article quiz or assignment will
require sufficient documentation that you had no possible access to a
computer on quiz dates due to accident, injury or illness. Only with such
documentation would a make-up quiz or late paper be considered. A missed
exam would only be entertained with the most serious documented cases
(ex. giving birth, major surgery that could not be scheduled around test dates,
documentation of serious accident, etc.). Only then would a make-up exam
be considered. This especially applies to the Final Exam. However, a missed exam, or a poor exam grade
within the first 3 on-line exams, can be replaced by counting the Final exam
twice. Computer malfunctions cannot be
used as an excuse for missing any online exams, quizzes or assignments. You should have an updated reliable computer
for this course, and access to a back-up computer for test dates if your
computer fails.
It is strongly advised not to wait until the very end of the
available testing time to take exams or quizzes as personal or computer
problems may arise, or your testing time will expire before you are
finished. Also,
several students every semester drop a letter grade or two, and sometimes fail
the class, simply because they do not take one or more of the tests and/or do
the survey – don’t be one of those students!
Grades are too important to lose do to simple neglect or forgetfulness.
--Supplemental Articles &
Quizzes: Again, the supplemental articles that we are to read are on
Reserve in the Clarkston library (Circulation Desk), and are also available
on-line at the following web address Library
Reserves . Instructions and password for on-line retrieval of
articles are in a link in iCollege. These 10 articles are listed in the
iCollege syllabus. Reading
--Written Assignment:
You will perform a Sociology Survey where you ask a series of survey questions
to someone of a different ethnicity, race, sex, sexual orientation, or
age generation than yourself. You just pick one category and one set of questions to present to your interviewee, not every set.
Again, these sets of questions are given to you in iCollege and on this
Homepage site below. In your paper you should restate the questions
followed by your interviewee's responses. Add 1 or 2 of your own questions
for “brownie points”. At the end of your questions and answers conclude
with one long summary paragraph with your personal remarks on how you thought
the interview went (nonverbal communication; did you agree with the answers;
were you surprised by them; etc.). Your survey should also not exceed 3
pages. The Survey paper will be sent to me within a special iCollege
“Assignments” link by the deadline date and time in the iCollege
syllabus.
--Review: In total
you'll have 4 multiple-choice exams (3 via iCollege; 1 face-to-face), 2
article questionnaire quizzes (via iCollege), and 1 short survey paper
(turned in via iCollege). Test & Quiz dates, testing location, and
survey due date are all given in the iCollege detailed syllabus and on the
iCollege calendar. All grades will be posted on iCollege in your "My
Grades" link.
--Web Tools: We are
using 2 Web sources in this class. You are into one right now. This is called
my "homepage" where you have found my generic syllabus and
orientation; links to Survey questions and iCollege assistance are here as
well. Second, our primary web source is our iCollege site. Through
iCollege I will offer updated “Instructor Announcements” on the main page
(important to check these announcements at least 2 or 3 times a week); links back
to this homepage; a detailed syllabus
for this particular semester; our own
internal email (I require you to email me through iCollege than my regular
email account); power point chapter summaries; glossary of terms; Students’
Study Notes; Study Guides; new Audio Chapter Summaries (by yours truly); and a
calendar to remind you of important dates on the syllabus. Students’ Study Notes & Study Guides will
be posted 1 week prior to each exam.
Lastly, several discussion chat rooms will be available in iCollege
where you can jump in with questions, seeking assistance from fellow students
in the class, or help them out with their questions. You can help each other in exam preparation,
discussing one of the articles; comparing notes; etc.. I’ll be listening
in as well to offer assistance if needed.
--After the first chapter you
will have a pretty good feel for Sociology's approach to studying humanity, and
more specifically, American society. If you're having trouble getting a handle
on what Sociology's really all about, tap into the discussion room and start a
dialogue, or read what's been said there and keep the dialogue going. You can also find me on iCollege e-mail for
direct questions. Good luck …. and be
disciplined. Distance Learning requires you to be self-organized
and self-disciplined. Mr. Guyton (aka Mr. G)
Important! To complete your
Orientation to the class, students must take the “Opening mini-quiz” within
iCollege in the first week of the semester in order to officially sign into the
class, otherwise I’m required to drop you from the class. Thanks, Mr.
Guyton
Survey Questions
iCollege
Assistance
"Introduction to Sociology" - SOCI 1101
OnLine Class -
generic Syllabus
(this syllabus is updated, but with no specific details for the
current or coming semester)
(see
syllabus inside iCollege for current details)
Professor: W. Ernie
Guyton Office: CA-1101 (Clarkston Campus)
E-Mail: wguyton@gpc.edu (email
professor through iCollege while attending class)
Phone: 678-891-3367 Fax:
678-891-3084
Web page : http://facstaff.gpc.edu/~wguyton/homepage.html (generic syllabus & orientation &
links)
iCollege: http://www.gpc.edu/webct/
(email, announcements, exams, support material, discussions)
Library & Articles: http://gil.gpc.edu
(for articles on Reserve)
Textbook: Society: The Basics, 9th
or 10th Editions, author:
John J. Macionis
Sociology is the study of human interaction and
relationships within American society. The science focuses on patterns or
trends to
our thinking and behavior as a society, or as subgroups within the society. You
will look at the uniqueness of these patterns in the
behavior exist, but look at alternative human strategies around the world. You
will soon discover that Sociology is a strategy itself in
understanding who we are at a deeper level, and inevitably who you are,
as a member of American society.
Textbook &
Textbook Study Guide
--Testing material is limited to specific chapters in the textbook as listed
below.
Exam #1 (given On-Line)
Textbook Chapters: 1; 2; 3
Corresponding Textbook Study Notes in iCollege follow the same chapter numbers
Exam #2 (given On-Line)
Textbook Chapters: 4;
5; 6
Corresponding Textbook Study Notes in iCollege follow the same chapter numbers
Exam #3 (given On-Line)
Textbook Chapters: 8; 10; 11; 12
Corresponding Textbook Study Notes in iCollege follow the same chapter numbers
Exam #4 (This exam
is given face-to-face on Clarkston Campus – Bring photo I.D. to exam)
Textbook Chapters:
13; 15; 16; Plus
some review questions from earlier chapters (Comprehensive Final)
Corresponding Textbook Study Notes in iCollege follow the same chapter numbers
--Note - additional Study Guides will be provided on iCollege 1 week in advance of each exam.
Sociological Survey
I’ll provide you with a set of survey questions (in Professor’s Homepage &
iCollege along with more detailed assistance) to ask someone
who is of a different race, ethnicity, sex, sexual orientation, or age
generation than yourself. You are free to add a couple of your own
questions as well. You’ll write the interviewee's responses to just one
set of questions ending up with your own personal input or
summary on how the interview went (2 to 3 pages - max, double-spaced 12 point
type). You will send this paper to me via within a
special “Activities” link within iCollege.
Articles on Reserve in the Clarkston
Library and Online
These are short, but very interesting, articles that can be retrieved from
Clarkston Library, or also available On-line and can be printed out
from our Library website (top of the syllabus). Instructions and password
on downloading the articles are given in a link within iCollege.
Read each article carefully, highlighting or making notes in margins, or read
twice. You will be quizzed on-line on your reading and comprehension of these
articles.
Summary of
Course Requirements
1) Textbook readings from the assigned
chapters above.
2) Read assigned supplemental articles
3) Make use of supplemental materials (study
notes, power-point slides, study guides, audio summaries, glossary)
on-line through iCollege.
4) There will be 4 major exams – 3 online in
iCollege, and 1 face to face Final exam given on
Clarkston Campus (multiple choice / approx. 30 questions /
approximately 1 hour long;
Final has 65 questions, 1 ˝
hours). Both day & nighttime testing will be
available for all
exams; exact dates given in current
iCollege syllabus and calendar.
* Important- Study Guides
& Study Notes for all exams will be posted in iCollege one week prior to
each exam.
5) There will be 2 Article Questionnaires or Quizzes (quizzing 5
articles each, true/false
and multiple-choice type questions,
takes 15-20 minutes). It’s a reading and comprehension quiz.
You will
take the quiz on-line through iCollege; day and nighttime testing available;
exact dates given
in current iCollege syllabus and
calendar.
6) Sociology Survey - Due Date: on current semester’s iCollege syllabus and calendar.
7) Discussion links – will be available to
discuss both the supplemental articles and the
information surround the exams. Talk to each other as students, or to me in
this space.
Grading:
on a 10 (%) point scale - 4 Exams @ 50 pts each; 2 Quizzes @ 30
pts each;
1 Survey paper @ 40 pts; total = 300 (270-300=A; 240-269=B; 210-239=C;
etc.)
*All
grades posted on iCollege as soon as they are graded by instructor
All Students must sign in with the instructor through iCollege by
taking the “opening mini-quiz” in the first week of the semester after reading
the orientation (above) and syllabus within iCollege, otherwise you will be
dropped from the class!
Statement of
Non-Discrimination: