Course Preview Page

There are four required on campus meetings to take exams. We will meet at 6:00 pm on the following Thursdays: 2/4/10, 3/4/10, 4/1/10 and 4/29/10. If you miss an exam, you will take the cumulative final exam to replace the missed test. Only one exam can be replaced. You may also choose to take the final exam to replace your lowest test grade if you participated in all exams. You will not be allowed to take the exam if you are 15 miniutes or more late for the test.

Faculty Introduction

Welcome to the course. My name is Dr. Peggy Green, and I have been teaching biology and environmental science at BC for many years. My undergraduate degree is in zoology, and my masters in Community College Teaching, both from the University of Florida. I received my doctorate from FIU. I am an ecologist at heart, and have worked here at BC to instill a culture of environmental stewardship. I believe working for a sustainable future is our hope for overcoming the many environmental challenges we face today. I love gardening, reading, and adventure travel.

Course Description

Our objective for this course is to introduce non-science majors to the world of biology. The contents of the course includes relevant facts and theories on the following topics: ecology, chemistry, cell theory, photosynthesis, respiration, genetics and protein synthesis. Applications of biology to everyday life will be emphasized.

Methods of Instruction

This is a 3 credit hour course. You must participate in the online orientation which closes on January 12 at 11:59 PM to stay in the class. The course is broken down into 10 units. Each unit has a slide show presentation and notes that are integrated with questions and animations. There are quizzes that correspond with each unit or subunit and need to be completed within the allotted time, usually 4 days. Quiz dates attempt to be consistent, but check your syllabus frequently to make sure you do them on time! Students will need to put in a minimum of 3.5 hours per week to cover the online topics in a timely manner.

Students are responsible for regularly reviewing the course schedule and completing all required class assignments in the time frame expected. There are 19 quizzes in this course. Quizzes are given for each unit or subunit if there is more than one subunit to a unit. Quizzes may be multiple choice, matching or diagrams. Quiz length can vary from 2 to 20 questions. Quizzes will become available and will have a "must be completed" date. After that date, the quiz is closed. Each quiz is worth ten points with a total of 190 possible points. All quizzes are online. You are allowed only one attempt for each quiz after the first quiz.

There will be six discussions worth 10 points each for a total of 60 possible points.

There are four exams worth 100 points each for a total of 400 points.

If your earn 89.5 - 100% of the possible 650 points, you will receive an A, 79.5 - 89.4% = B, 69.5% - 79.4% = C, 59.5% - 69.4% = D & 59.4% & below is an F.

Learning Outcomes

1.0 The students should be able to recognize the basic characteristics of life and describe the nature of science.
2.0 The students should be able to explain the structure of atoms, chemical bonding, properties of water, and the groups of organic molecules associated with life.
3.0 The students should be able to describe a theory of the origin of cells, distinguish prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells, list cell organelles and their functions, describe membrane function, and detail the phases of mitosis and their significance.
4.0 The students should be able to explain the energy requirements of cells, the central role of ATP, the generation of ATP during cellular respiration, the production of food by photosynthesis, and the role of enzymes in controlling chemical processes in cells.
5.0 The students should be able to understand the principles of heredity as first worked out by Gregor Mendel and extended by others both in regard to chromosome behavior and to the statistical ratios of traits among offspring.
6.0 The students should be able to understand the chemical and physical structure of the gene and its operation in the synthesis of polypeptides.
7.0 Learning outcomes of selected instructor topics are given in the modules.

Course Requirements

• Participants in this course should be familiar with the following computer skills:
  File Management - You should be familiar with finding and saving files on your computer.
  The Internet - You should be familiar with connecting to the Internet through an Internet Service Provider or Network Connection.
  Web Browser Software - You should be familiar with using web browser software to navigate the Internet and locate information.
  Email - You should be familiar with sending and receiving email messages.
  Discussions - You should be familiar with posting and reading discussion messages in a threaded format.
  Attachments - You should be familiar with sending email messages with attached files.
  Word Processing - You should be familiar with creating, editing, saving, and printing documents using Microsoft Word.
• Additional Software required for this Course (optional) Assignments that require word processing must be submitted in Microsoft Word format. Documents created using Microsoft Works, or files that have ".txt", ".pdf", or ".asci" extensions will not meet course requirements. If you do not have proper software on your computer, you can use the Microsoft Word program on any of the "open lab" computers at any BC Learning Resource Center or in public libraries.
  Only word processing documents in Microsoft Word format will be accepted. Please virus check documents before sending them. Panda Software offers a free online virus check.
• New to e-learning? Take the e-learning orientation before enrolling in any e-learning course.
• Before enrolling in an e-learning course review computer requirements.
• Required Meeting Dates: You must come to class on the following Thursdays at 6:00 pm for exams: 2/4/10, 3/4/10,4/1/10, 4/29/10. Locations will be announced in the syllabus.
• All students must obtain their BC email address. It is used for course login.

Course Materials

Required Text: Biology: Concepts and Connections. Campbell, Reece, Taylor, Simon, Dickey. Pearson/Benjamin Cummings. 6th Edition.

How to Register for this Course

To enroll, go to your myBC website . You must pay for the course before you will be able to log into the course.

Information Contact

For more information, email me at pgreen@broward.edu.

How to Access this Course once you are Enrolled in this Course

There may be a delay of up to 24 hours from the time you register and pay before Blackboard login is activated.

• Obtain BC email user ID and PIN code before attempting to login to Blackboard.
• At BC email address site, click on "ID Lookup", then enter your Student# (or INTL Student ID#) and PIN code (2 digit birth month and 4 digit year). Write down your email ID (not the @mail.broward.edu part), which is your Blackboard User Name.
• Your Blackboard User Name is the same as your BC email ID.
• Your Blackboard password is the same as your BC email PIN code.

Links to help students get connected to Blackboard/e-learning course(s) at BC

• BC Blackboard/e-Learning login page The direct link for Blackboard login is https://elearning.broward.edu.
• Student e-learning Resources
• Publisher access code help page
• Blackboard Helpdesk is available if you need any technical assistance using or logging into Blackboard.