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How
much detail do I need to know?
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Do
you have a list of all the terms I need to know in this course?
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Is
it ok to move ahead of the weekly schedule?
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Do
you prefer that a student send work through U.S. mail or through
e-mail? Would you prefer if we sent it both ways just to make
sure you receive the work?
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When
do I need to reserve a space for the campus lab?
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Do
we have to complete labs 4,5, and 6 before we are allowed to take
exam 2?
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I
am concerned that the 16 week time frame to complete the course
may not be enough time for me. What happens if I do not complete
the course by my end of enrollment date?
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How
will I know how I did on an assignment? What is the turn around
time?
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I
need to contact my instructor and am having problems reaching
the instructor. What is the best method?
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I
do not live in the Northern VA area so my exams are proctored.
How do I get the results?
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Is
there anywhere we can check our grades as the course progresses?
Does the instructor notify us in some way as to how many points
we got on each assignment after it is graded?
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Should
I watch the videos and/or are the videos required? How do I view
them?
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I
have read all of the information on the testing centers and exams
for ELI, but I just wanted to triple check -- we do not need to
reserve a time to take the exam, right? We just show up with our
exam pass and they give us the appropriate exam?
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My
friend is also taking the class and we wondered if it is o.k.
to do the labs together as long as we write our own report?
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How
much detail do I need to know?
Most students in
a beginning Biology class wonder how much detail they need to
know. The Biology Study Guide and Lab Manual is the best indicator
of how much you need to know. There is a great deal of terminology
in a beginning bio class. It has been estimated that there are
more new terms in a beginning bio class than in a beginning
language class such as French or Spanish. This vocabulary must
be mastered. I often suggest that you make flash cards for new
terms as you encounter them. In fact, I have a number of suggestions
about mastering the material under Teacher Talk in both weeks
3 and 4. I placed it with the chemistry material because that
is often where students begin to get bogged down. Again, use
the Study Guide objectives as the guide for what you need to
know. Remember, however, that JUST memorizing the terms is only
the first step - you must be sure you understand the terms and
the concepts associated with them. The quizzes should give you
a good idea if you are on the right track. Try to focus on one
week's work at a time. Send me an e-mail or call me during my
office hours when you have a problem; often this will save you
lots of time! You can do it!
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Do
you have a list of all the terms I need to know in this course?
No, I do not have
a list. I don't make one because I don't want you to focus just
on the terms. You need to learn the terms in the context of
the concepts. Thus, if you understand and learn all of the assigned
objectives, you will have mastered all the necessary terms.
I do suggest that as you are studying an objective, you write
new terms down on one side of a note card and explain the term
on the opposite side of the card. Thus, you will be gradually
learning the terms - not in isolation - but as part of the concepts
you are studying.
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Is
it ok to move ahead of the weekly schedule?
Yes, the beauty of
an ELI course is that you can move at your own pace. Most folks
require at least 16 weeks to finish the course. If you can move
more rapidly than that and still master the material, then that
is super. The only hard and fast rule is that you can't move
so slowly that you don't have at least 50% of the work completed
by your end of enrollment. If you meet the 50% mark by the end
of your enrollment, you qualify for an "I". Moving
more rapidly than the weekly schedule is of course great as
long as you are able to absorb the material.
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Do
you prefer that a student send work through U.S. mail or through
e-mail? Would you prefer if we sent it both ways just to make sure
you receive the work?
Please do not send
it both ways. It really doesn't matter which way you send it.
But please send it only one way. Also, if you send your assignments
by regular mail, please include a stamped, self-addressed envelop
with your work. Thanks!
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When
do I need to reserve a space for the campus lab?
Plan your visit
to the campus lab as soon as possible. Be sure to 1) look at
your calendar and decide when you are going to do the campus
lab. 2) e-mail your instructor indicating the date you plan
to attend. A large number of students take the course each semester
so if you wait until a day or so before the campus lab to reserve
a spot, you may be out of luck! 3) a week or so before you plan
to come to the lab, revisit the web page that describes the
details of the campus lab and what you should do to be prepared.
A lot of work is accomplished during the lab and if you aren't
prepared you will likely be frustrated. Students that are prepared
indicate that it is one of the course highlights. So, START
THIS PROCESS TODAY! I look forward to meeting you at the lab!
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Do
we have to complete labs 4,5, and 6 before we are allowed to take
exam 2?
No, you do not need
to do the campus labs before you take exam 2. Although the lab
deals with the material covered in Unit 2, you will not be presented
with any material on the exam that you only encounter in the
lab. It is better to go ahead and take the exam rather than
waiting until you do the campus labs.
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I
am concerned that the 16 week time frame to complete the course
may not be enough time for me. What happens if I do not complete
the course by my end of enrollment date?
The only way to
get additional time to complete the course is by an "Incomplete".
In order to qualify for an "I", you must have a minimum
of 50% of the course completed by your end of enrollment - that
means 3 exams, 6 labs, and one Internet project. If you think
you need more time and have COMPLETED the minimum work prior
to your end of enrollment date, send an e-mail requesting the
"I". As soon as you complete all work, your instructor
will submit a change of grade and your "I" will be
replaced with a grade.
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How
will I know how I did on an assignment? What is the turn around
time?
One student asked
how they would know if I had received a project, lab, exam,
etc. Good question!
1) If you submit something by e-mail, you should get an e-mail
back within a week telling you your grade and how it was arrived
at, i.e., why points were taken off.
2) If you send something in by snail mail, it may take considerably
longer. The mail is sorted at the AN campus and then sent to
ELI. For example, if your instructor comes to ELI on W afternoon
and your paper arrives on R (the worst possible time in terms
of prompt feedback!), it may not get graded until the next week.
So you see, the lag could be up to 2 weeks.
3) In the case of exams, you should wait for your exam to be
graded in the testing center so that you know what you made
on the exam. Your results will not be e-mailed (the assumption
is that you know your score) However, if that is not the case
or you have questions about the exam, please call your instructor
at ELI during their office hours.
If you
do not get feedback on labs and Internet projects within two
weeks (no matter what method you use to submit the material),
please contact your instructor by e-mail.
Be sure to make a copy of everything you send!
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I
need to contact my instructor and am having problems reaching the
instructor. What is the best method?
For answers to your
questions, the following is a good procedure: E-mail your instructor
the question or call the instructor during their office hours
at ELI. If the office hours are not convenient for you, call
the course specialist (703-323-3347) and ask if your instructor
has given permission for students to contact them at their home
phone number. Another method is to e-mail the instructor a time
and number for the instructor to call you. Please give a range
of times.
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I
do not live in the Northern VA area so my exams are proctored. How
do I get the results?
A week after you
take the exam, e-mail your instructor asking for your exam results.
Your instructor will then e-mail you the results. Remember that
it takes a few days (at least!) for exams to get to ELI from
your test site.
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Is
there anywhere we can check our grades as the course progresses?
Does the instructor notify us in some way as to how many points
we got on each assignment after it is graded?
Be sure to print
out the grade sheet on the Bio 101 web site and record your
grades on each assignment - then you will always know how you're
doing in the course.
Your instructor will
give you specific feedback on each lab and Internet assignment
(including how many points you made). You take the exams in
the campus LRC and generally they are graded as you watch. If
you need additional info on how you did on an exam or would
like to review the questions that you missed, call your instructor
at ELI during the instructor's office hours - the exams are
kept on file at ELI. If that time is not possible for you, e-mail
your instructor a time and number where you can be contacted.
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Should
I watch the videos and/or are the videos required? How do I view
them?
This is not a video
course. The videos cover the most difficult material in the
course and are just another to tool to help you master the material.
For example, five of the 14 videos for Bio 101 cover Unit 2,
chemistry. If you haven't had a course in chemistry and/or you
find this material difficult, give the videos a try! The class
schedule indicates when you should watch a given video (that
is, if you choose to watch the videos). Many topics are not
addressed in the videos. In addition, some students don't feel
that they need to watch the videos - the text and Study Guide
are sufficient for mastering the course objectives. Other students
tell me that they find the videos very helpful - especially
those that have difficulty understanding the material.
The ease of access
to the videos may be one factor in your decision. The easiest
situation is if you have access to a cable station that airs
the videos. If so, you can tape them and then you will be able
to view it when you are studying the material covered by the
video. If you aren't able to tape the videos, you can view them
at any of the campus learning centers. You also can rent the
videos (an expensive proposition).
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I
have read all of the information on the testing centers and exams
for ELI, but I just wanted to triple check -- we do not need to
reserve a time to take the exam, right? We just show up with our
exam pass and they give us the appropriate exam?
No, you do not need
to reserve a space. Just be sure that you know the testing center
hours and that you arrive more than one hour before the testing
center closes (otherwise they won't let you take the exam) and
that you have your exam pass with you. Good luck!!
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My
friend is also taking the class and we wondered if it is o.k. to
do the labs together as long as we write our own report?
It is great to do
your labs with someone else. However, you must do the write
ups individually. Thus, do the lab, then go your separate ways
to write up the lab. If two students have identical work - other
than data - neither will get credit for the lab.
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