Instructor: Dr. Kimo Morris
Department of Biology (Math, Science, Health Sci. Division)
My Office:  R-204
Email: morris_kimo@sac.edu
Websites: https://rsccd.instructure.com/
Phone: (714) 564-6620 BUT EMAIL IS BEST

Sections 40248, 47863, 47872
Office Hours: Tue, Thu 11:00 am - 1:00 pm
(and by appointment)

Textbook:  Fowler et al., 2016, "Concepts of Biology". This is an Open Educational Resources (OER) Textbook that is free to download. The contents appear here.
Pre-requisites:  None

WELCOME

Welcome to the wonderful world of Biology! In this course, we will discuss the fundamental principles of biology including concepts of cellular and molecular biology, genetics, reproduction, evolution, biodiversity and ecology. This course is intended for non-majors. Keep in mind that this rigorous 3-unit course is fully UC/CSU transferable, and the fact that it will be conducted entirely online may present an added challenge to some students. You should be fully competent using a computer with an internet connection and you should be somewhat familiar with using Canvas. If you are unsure if you have the skills to take full advantage of the online nature of this course, please email me or visit the SAC Distance Education Office at www.sac.edu/AcademicAffairs/DistanceEdu/Pages/default.aspx or call (714) 564-6725. You may also visit SAC Distance Ed on campus in the Cesar Chavez Building, Room A-101.

NOTE: While most students will enroll in the Bio 109 Lab in the same semester as the lecture, you are not required to do so. However be advised, if you intend to use this class towards transfer credit, you must eventually take the lab although you can do it in a different semester.

This 8-week accelerated course will be fun and VERY challenging. To do well, you should allocate an appropriate amount of time for study and review of the material. Since we will be covering an entire semester's-worth of material in just 8 weeks, you will have to do "double duty" in reading, reviewing, and studying the material. Plan on spending 18 hours per week dedicated to this class. Yes, that is a lot! But then again, you have committed to an entire semester in just 8 weeks. Make sure you write deadline dates on your calendar. I will post multiple weekly online video lectures that will coincide with the reading material. These will be very much like coming to class, except that you will be able to view these videos anytime, day or night, at Starbucks, on the train, or at home in your pajamas. This means you MUST have the self-discipline to keep up with the material. Please note: I have the right to drop you if you miss more than 10% of the course. This means, since we only meet online, you MUST log-in to Canvas at least two times per week (at the minimum!). Not logging in during one whole week throughout the course is grounds for being dropped.

OFFICIAL STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES (SLOs)

1. Students will learn the basics of the technical vocabulary of biology.
2. Students will develop their ability to comprehend readings on biological subjects.
3. Students will develop their critical thinking skills by evaluating scientific evidence to reach valid conclusions.

TENTATIVE LECTURE SCHEDULE:

Here are the details of what you will have learned by the end of this course:

• The basics of the scientific method and how it pertains to the field of biology.
• Basic chemistry and biochemistry that governs the construction and function of biomolecules.
• The organelles of the cell and their function.
• The major features of cellular respiration and metabolism.
• The cell cycle, including mitosis and meiosis.
• DNA structure and the nature of biological inheritance including molecular and Mendelian genetics.
• The history behind the emergence of Neo-Darwinian Evolution as a major foundation of biology.
• Gene frequency changes in populations and speciation.
• The process of photosynthesis, plant diversity and strategies for survival and reproduction.
• Invertebrate and vertebrate diversity, classification, and form & function.
• Population growth, regulation, and resource allocation.
• How organisms are distributed in space and time, and what factors control that distribution.
• How organisms behave and interact with other species.
• Biosphere-level processes and human impacts to the biosphere.
• Consequences to biodiversity loss, habitat destruction, and trophic simplification.
• The basics of sustainability and conservation biology.
• A greater appreciation for the diversity of life on Earth.

GRADING:

INTERNET ACCESS AND EMAIL

In this course, we will be using Canvas exclusively. This is where you will take your quizzes, exams, and where you will upload assignments. If you do not have internet access at home, don't worry – you will always have access to the course website on Canvas from any campus computer lab, or anywhere that you have a strong internet connection, but see the section on taking quizzes and exams below. You will also receive daily emails from me, so you should be checking your email and logging in to Canvas regularly. You can access Canvas through the Santa Ana College main website ( http://www.sac.edu/ ), or you can also access the site directly here – https://rsccd.instructure.com/. Your username and password are the same as what you use to log into WebAdvisor - to determine your WebAdvisor login information, click this link. Otherwise, contact Distance Education.

The email address I have for you is the same one you submitted when you registered at Santa Ana College. If you are not receiving my emails, then you must go into WebAdvisor and check to make sure your email address is correct. When sending emails to me please make sure you include "Bio 109" in the subject line and be sure to use both your first and last name so I know who you are. When emailing me, please keep your written communication formal and to the point. Do not formulate your email in "text-speak". Your language should be professional. Here is an example of an email that is NOT appropriate:  “i 4got wen hmwk wuz due LOL, can u tell me pleeeez prof”.  Please address me as Dr. Morris or Professor Morris.

EXAMS AND QUIZZES:

All exams and quizzes will be conducted on Canvas – please note: DO NOT USE INTERNET EXPLORER FOR ANY EXAMS or QUIZZES!!! Internet Explorer does NOT work well with Canvas – if you accidentally use Internet Explorer, it will automatically timeout your exam and will submit a zero score. Again, DON’T USE INTERNET EXPLORER. Instead, please use Firefox, Safari, or Google Chrome – all of these seem to work well with Canvas. Make sure that you regularly update your web browser to the most recent version, ideally BEFORE taking any exam or quiz.

Exams will cover the material from the sections that precede it. The final exam is semi-cumulative and will cover material and concepts from throughout the entire course, although it will emphasize the latter information. There are no makeup exams. You are given two days to complete them online – the exam window for midterms will open at 7:00 am on Monday and will close at 11:59 pm on Tuesday of that same week, and the final exam window will open at 7:00 am on Wednesday and close at 11:59 pm on Thursday (total of 41 hours in which to complete the exams). Once you start an exam, you will have 1 hour and 15 minutes (1:15:00) for midterms, and 1 hour and 45 minutes (1:45:00) for the final exam. The exams must be completed by 11:59 pm on the closing window date. That means if you start taking the exam at 11:30 pm on the last day of the exam window, you will only have 29 minutes to finish the entire exam. No extensions or grace periods will be granted (except in the case of DSPS students who provide me with the appropriate paperwork well ahead of time). If you miss an exam, you will receive a zero. The dates for all the exams are given to you well ahead of time, so you should have plenty of time to plan to take the exams. If your employer schedules you for a 48-hour shift during the exam window, make it clear to them that college is your first priority.

Tips for Taking the Exams:

1. All quizzes and exams are timed. They are designed such that taking the exam or quiz will take up all of the time on the clock. Therefore, you must be prepared and have studied BEFORE you attempt them. Make sure you have eliminated all distractions before taking a quiz or exam. Distractions will cut into your precious time. Trying to look up answers during the exam will cause you to run out of time.
2. Also, when you take a quiz or an exam, your computer and the Canvas server are in constant two-way contact with each other. If for any reason the connection gets dropped, even temporarily, the Canvas server may automatically assume you want to submit your exam or quiz, even if you don't. Therefore, MAKE SURE you have a strong dedicated internet connection when taking quizzes or exams. For example, DO NOT attempt a quiz or exam while you are riding a bus that claims to have wifi. As the bus roams for a new signal, your connection will be temporarily dropped from the Canvas server, and your exam will automatically be submitted. Again, stick to ONE non-roaming location that has a strong and fast wifi signal, or better yet – complete your exam or quiz on a desktop computer that is hardwired to the internet (e.g. cable modem).
3. Whenever possible, take your exam or quiz on an actual computer. While it is possible to use the most current version of the Canvas App on a smart phone, it is NOT recommended for quizzes or exam. The multiple choice parts of the exam appear to work well, but other sections of the exam (matching, short answers and essays) can have problems on phone software.
4. If your computer is scheduled to perform an automatic update, please either turn that feature off, or don't start your exam or quiz until after your computer has completed its update.

The video lectures complement the reading sections described above. You must view the video lectures since I will regularly introduce complementary material and other information that does NOT appear in your textbook. Take notes on the video lecture just as you would in a brick and mortar classroom – it will help you in studying for the exams. This information will appear on the midterms and final, which gives a clear advantage to those who view the video lectures AND read the textbook. Since many of you will opt to use the PDF version of the textbook, I strongly suggest taking some sort of written notes while you read.

It will help if you read the textbook chapters BEFORE watching the accompanying video lecture. Each week you will be responsible for completing multiple online quizzes. These quizzes are automatically graded. Once you start taking a quiz, you will have 20 minutes to complete it – this will be plenty of time if you read the chapter beforehand and watched the video lecture! You will also have two attempts to get the best score possible. Yes, this is an open book quiz, but if you try to hunt for every answer in the chapter or in the video lecture, you will run out of time and get a worse score than if you had just prepared beforehand.

QUIZ DUE DATE SCHEDULE:

There are four due dates for the quizzes. Quizzes 1–4 must be completed before Sunday, 11/5/17 by 11:59 pm (notice this is the night before the first midterm begins). Likewise, quizzes 5–8 must be completed before Sunday, 11/19/17 by 11:59 pm (the night before midterm #2 begins). Quizzes 9–12 must be completed before Sunday, 12/3/17 by 11:59 pm (the night before midterm #3 begins). And quizzes 13–15 must be completed by Tuesday, 12/12/17 by 11:59 pm (the night before the final exam begins). Do yourself a favor, and try to complete the quizzes early. It will not help you to wait until the last hour to complete the quizzes. If you fail to complete any quizzes, you will receive a zero for all un-attempted quizzes. Additionally, a portion of your participation grade will be determined by whether or not you have completed all the quizzes at the end of the course.

Grading:  Each quiz is worth 15 points for a total of 225 possible points.

ALL QUIZZES MUST BE COMPLETED NO LATER THAN 11:59 PM ON THE LAST DUE DATE. NOTE, AT MIDNIGHT THE QUIZZES DISAPPEAR COMPLETELY FROM BLACKBOARD, AND THEY WILL NOT RE-APPEAR.  THERE ARE NO EXCEPTIONS – IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO COMPLETE QUIZZES LATE, AND THERE WILL BE NO OPTIONS FOR MAKING THEM UP.

ASSIGNMENTS:

There are only TWO assignments in this class. One is a blog entry assignment, and the other is a documentary assignment. Here are the details for each.

Assignment turned in after the due date will be accepted up to one week late, but will be worth 50% credit – if you click the submit button at 11:59 pm, but it doesn't finish uploading until 12:00 am, then your assignment will still be considered late and will be worth only 50% credit. A word of advice: DON'T WAIT until 11:59 pm to submit your assignment. Assignments will not be accepted more than one week late.

EXTRA CREDIT ASSIGNMENT:

There are multiple extra credit opportunities that will become available to you throughout the semester. These usually include attending guest presentations on or off campus, or participating in specific sanctioned activities on campus. As these opportunities arise, I will post information on Canvas under the "Announcements" and "Extra Credit" menu tabs.

Two extra credit opportunities are currently up on Canvas. The first assignment is a self-guided tour of the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, which can be conducted on your own time. The aquarium closes at 5:00 pm, Tuesday through Sunday, and is closed on Monday, so please plan accordingly. You should be able to complete the assignment in less than 2 ½ hours. If you choose to do the extra credit assignment, you must hand in an original printed copy that you wrote on no later than Friday following the final exam (12/15/17). It will be worth 20 points. In order for your extra credit assignment to be accepted, it MUST be stamped by an employee at the front desk. There are no exceptions to this rule. If you fail to get it stamped, you must return to the aquarium to get it stamped. I will not accept a pamphlet, other handout, or parking stub as evidence of your visit to the aquarium. I will also not accept a digital or scanned copy of the assignment – you must turn in a hard copy to me on campus. The assignment can be handed in anytime during the course up to the due date above. I will not accept it after the final deadline. In order to receive credit, do one of the following:

IMPORTANT DATES

Please pay close attention to key dates (quiz deadlines, midterms, final exam, assignments, etc.) as well as important dates set by Santa Ana College, for example the final day to add or drop this class.  Course dates appear below in the tentative lecture schedule.  Important SAC dates appear on the first page of the Fall 2015 Schedule of Classes and at the following link:

www.sac.edu/StudentServices/AdmissionsRecords/Pages/Instructional-Calendar.aspx

You will be interacting with me through Canvas throughout this semester, which means we will not be meeting in a physical classroom. However, participation is NOT optional… it is MANDATORY. Every few days, I will check to make sure that you have logged into Canvas – this is how I will take attendance. I will also be using the attendance logging features in Canvas. This is a good indicator of effort and will be used to determine borderline grades. A portion of your participation grade will come from the attendance record. It is the policy of Santa Ana College that "A student may be dropped for excessive absences when the total hours of absences exceed 10% of the total scheduled hours of the class". In this course, 10% is equivalent to failing to log in for one week. This means, if you fail to log in to Canvas for one week, you may be dropped. If the drop deadline has passed, you may receive a failing grade (F).

POLICY ON PLAGIARISM AND CHEATING:

The Santa Ana College policy on plagiarism and cheating is strictly enforced in this course.  Please refer to the Student Support Services section of the Santa Ana College website and familiarize yourself with the section on Student Rights & Conduct:

www.sac.edu/StudentServices/StudentLife/Pages/Rights-and-Conduct.aspx

In this class, cheating is the act of obtaining or attempting to obtain credit for academic work through the use of any dishonest, deceptive, or fraudulent means. Plagiarism and cheating are defined as follows: Plagiarism is the presentation of information as one's own when in reality some or all of the information was derived (or copied) from some other source (including work of other members of the class). Cutting and pasting from an internet source IS PLAGIARISM. This pertains to any assignment, including the extra credit assignment. Cheating consists of any un-permitted use of notes, texts, or other sources (including taking answers from an internet source or answers completed by others) so as to give an unfair advantage to a student in completing a class assignment or an examination. Intentionally aiding another student in cheating is also considered cheating. For your information, I possess the means to determine if an internet source is being consulted while an exam or quiz is in progress. If you cheat, you will receive a ZERO on the assignment in question. This could ultimately result in a failing grade (F) in the class. You will also be reported to the Dean of Student Development in the Office of Student Life, which in certain cases can lead to suspension or expulsion from the college. Please, just don't do it! For the sake of your future, it's not worth it to cheat. For information on the full procedure for cheating and plagiarism violations, please see the Guidelines For Student Conduct section on PAGE 27 of the 2017-2018 Santa Ana College Catalog.

DISCUSSION BOARD AND ONLINE ETIQUETTE:

A discussion board will be available to you on Canvas. A discussion board is an excellent place to chat with fellow students on any issue in biology. You can set up study groups, and you can post news or magazine articles that you find on the internet, as long as they pertain to some aspect of biology or science. Your participation grade will also be partly determined based on your regular utilization of the discussion board. All students are expected to either post or respond to someone else's post a minimum of five times during the course (although more would be better). PLEASE make sure your post is of a professional nature. We are all adults, and some of the content may be of an adult nature (e.g. sexuality), but remember to please keep your language within the context of the course. Using unnecessary or inappropriate language will get you barred from the discussion board. Threatening other students and/or being disrespectful to other students will also get you barred. If you are barred, there will be no way for you to make up those participation points. So, let's all be good citizens and have fun with it..

DISABLED STUDENTS PROGRAMS SERVICES

Any student who may need an accommodation based on the potential impact of a disability should contact the DSPS office at 714-564-6295 (TTY 714-564-6284) in the Village (VL-203), to establish eligibility and to coordinate reasonable accommodations. For additional information please refer to:

www.sac.edu/StudentServices/DSPS/Pages/default.aspx