Overview
Expectations
Objectives
Materials
Grading
Exams
ELI Policies and Procedures
Contacting the Instructor
Beginning the Course
 
 
 

Overview
	This course is based on a text and study mate. You are required to read and study 15 Chapters of the text and the Study Mate. You are required to complete 15 chapter quizzes (online), participate in three discussion forums, one topographic map exercise, submit online two current event articles, and complete one project/research paper. You are also required to take four exams.  Geography at the college level moves beyond the study of state capitals or mountain ranges that you may have encountered in grade school. Then you probably learned a catalog of facts about the world, but little about how the facts fit together. Yet a description of the earth is only the beginning of the study of geography. Geographers want to know where things are and why they are there. Geographers try to understand the relationships among elements of the physical and cultural environment and how the elements vary spatially. They use certain questions, certain methods of investigating problems, and a variety of intellectual tools to explain the location of thins. The most familiar tool is the map, but today's geographers also use intricate statistical models.  In a way, we are all geographers. From the time we could crawl, we began exploring the space around us. By the time we became adults, we had acquired a considerable amount of data about the world. Now, the discipline of geography offers you a more particular way of looking at the world. This course tries to convey the geographic viewpoint. The goal of this course is to help you discover the field of physical geography and to help you remember facts and understand concepts that can be applied to your own experience.  Top
Expectations
	You are expected to begin this course promptly.  After you register, the ELI office will mail you a Quick-Start Syllabus with important information on critical dates pertaining to your enrollment and how to gain access to this Blackboard course.  Included in your critical dates is your Last Date to Withdraw.  This is a very important date.  IF YOU DO NOT COMPLETE AT LEAST ONE ASSIGNMENT, OTHER THAN THE INTRODUCTORY SURVEY, BY THIS DATE (Last Date to Withdraw) YOU WILL BE ADMINISTRATIVELY WITHDRAWN FROM THIS COURSE.  Of course if you do meet that criteria, you will remain in the course until your End of Enrollment date.  If you do not complete the course, or do not withdraw yourself, by your Last Date to Withdraw, you will be graded out based on what you have completed at the end of your enrollment. Top
Objectives
	If you complete this course successfully:   You will know what physical geography is and what it entails. You will understand gravity, earth rotation and revolution, and the geographic grid, and be able to demonstrate the advantages, disadvantages and concepts for various map projections.  You will understand the earth's radiation balance, cycle of atmospheric moisture and cloud formation.  You will demonstrate an appreciation for the earth's water resources.  You will be able to name and define the three major rock classes.  You will understand the composition of the earth's interior and be able to discuss the theory of plate tectonics.  You will be able to differentiate between physical and chemical weathering and their effects on the earth's surface and identify landforms made by running water, wind, and ice.  Top
Materials
	You may purchase the textbooks for this course at any of the five NVCC bookstores. See ELI Policies and Procedures for locations and phone numbers. You may also purchase your textbooks by mail by calling (888) 744-7839. Purchasing textbooks by mail takes longer, so order your books early.  Required Textbooks: Essentials of Physical Geography. 7th ed.  Gabler, Petersen, and Trepasso, Belmont, California: Brooks Cole - Thomson Learning, 2004.  Study Mate to Accompany Essentials of Physical Geography. 7th ed.  Gabler, Petersen, and Trepasso, . Belmont, California: Brooks Cole - Thomson Learning, 2004.    Top
Grading
	Assignment Possible Points Percent of Final Grade Background Survey 100 1 Chapter Quizzes 1500 15 Climate Classification 200 2 Discussion Forums 1000 10 Current Events 600 6 Map Exercise 600 6 Project 2000 20 4 Exams 4000 40   Grading Scale A 9000-10,000 points 90-100 percent B 8000-8999 points 80-89 percent C 7000-7999 points 70-79 percent D 6000-6999 points 60-69 percent F Fewer than 6000 points Less than 60 percent Top
Exams
	Since ELI courses are self-paced, you take exams when you are ready. You must take the on-campus exams at one of the five NVCC campus Testing Centers. See ELI Policies and Procedures for locations and phone numbers and information about proctors for students who live outside the Northern Virginia area. Call the Testing Center before you go to make sure they will be open and will stay open long enough for you to complete the exams. Take along a photo ID and the appropriate Exam Pass.  There are four proctored exams in this course.  Top
ELI Policies and Procedures
	This is an Extended Learning Institute (ELI) course. ELI courses differ from campus courses in several important ways, including enrollment dates, communication with faculty, assignment completion requirements, and exams. You must follow ELI's policies and procedures if you take this course. Read (or review) ELI's Policies and Procedures before you begin the course.  Top
Contacting the Instructor
	Since I am a part-time instructor, I have no campus office and I ask you to mail any assignments to my home.  I can be in the ELI office periodically, if you want to schedule an appointment with me.  If you need to get in touch with me call me at home (my number is listed on the course site) or e-mail me at the college: bfye@nvcc.edu Top
Beginning the Course
	1. Use your web browser to connect to www. nvcc.edu/bbstart. Follow the directions to determine your email, Blackboard and VIVA account user names and passwords. 2. Log on to your email account and make sure you know how to use it; you will be required to use this account for all course-related email. 3. Log on to your Blackboard account. 4. Click on this course under "My Courses." Review the entire course to make sure you understand what will be required of you. Then start completing the assignments. Please note that account generation takes approximately one week from the time of your paid registration. If you cannot log on after one week, contact the IT Help Desk. Top