Instructor Information

Name:

Mary G. Puccini

Email:

Use Blackboard email

Biography:

Hi! I am Mary Puccini, your instructor. I have a Master's Degree in Nutrition Science from Case Western Reserve University. I have had various jobs in nutrition throughout the years, but I have come to realize that I like teaching best. So here I am. I have taught many years at HCCS starting as an adjunct and now as a full-time instructor. I have also taught at the University of Houston. I have enjoyed the previous online classes and look forward to another interesting semester. I am always open to suggestions. If you would like to meet with me in person, you can find me in the Biology Department at Central Campus (1300 Holman ) where I teach Full-time. You are always welcome to sit in an any of my BIOL 1322 class taught in-person at Central Campus.

Policies

Before we get started, a few housekeeping details.

My HCCS email is: mary.puccini@hccs.edu� If you need to contact me after the course is finished, this is the email you would use. During the course, use the Blackboard email tool.

I expect ALL students who wish to receive credit for this course to log on and participate by the second week of class or seven days after they have registered. You cannot join us later than that and expect to receive credit.

Since this is an online course, you have the added challenge of being responsible, yourself, for staying on schedule. Realize then that you cannot fall behind. Distance classes are just as time consuming as face-to-face courses, but you do have the advantage of making your own hours rather than conforming to an established schedule. If you are not familiar with Blackboard, the e-learning platform that HCCS uses, then you will need to take time to learn it. If you are not familiar with computers, how to download files and send emails and attach files, and manipulate your internet properties, then you will need to take time to learn that as well. The Distance Education Department has developed a course called "Successful Online Student" at http://distance.hccs.edu/de_sos.html  The user name and login are both guest. Visit this site to become familiar with the WebCT platform.

New DE Student User ID

Your new student login user ID will be your HCC User ID (sometimes referred to as the “W” number).  All HCC students have a unique User ID.  It is the same number you use for class registration.  For students who have taken DE classes in previous semesters, the login will no longer be “firstname.lastname” + the last 2 digit of your SS #.  If you do not know your User ID you can look it up using the following links:

• From the HCC home page, click on “Register Here”
• On the Student Web Services page, click on “Registration (Online)”
• Click on “Retrieve User ID” and follow the instructions.

Or use the direct link:   https://hccsaweb.hccs.edu:8080/servlets/iclientservlet/sauat/?cmd=start

The default student password will still be “distance.”  As always, students will then be prompted to change their password after their first login.

Any student with a documented disability (e.g. physical, learning, psychiatric, vision, hearing, etc) who needs to arrange reasonable accommodations must contact the appropriate HCC Disability Support Service (DSS) Counselor at the beginning of each semester.  Faculty are authorized to provide only the accommodations requested by the
Disability Support Services Office.

Students who are requesting special testing accommodations must first contact the appropriate DSS Counselor for assistance. Please contact the Distance Education Counselors at 713.718.5275, option #4 or at de.counseling@hccs.edu in order to be referred to the appropriate HCC DSS Counselor.

Students who require testing accommodations need to schedule an appointment for testing to ensure that staff will be available for proctoring and to arrange for any adaptive equipment that may be required. Students should contact the distance education instructor's "Instructional Support Specialist" (for this class contact: judy.carson@hccs.edu) the week prior to each exam throughout the semester to confirm that the requested testing accommodations will be met. 

DISTANCE EDUCATION ADVISING AND COUNSELING SERVICES:
Advising can be accomplished by telephone at 713/718-5275 - option # 4, via email at de.counseling@hccs.edu, by visiting the Distance Education Office at the HCC Administration Building, 3100 Main Street, 3rd floor and/or by on-site advising at other HCC locations upon request. Confidential sessions with the distance education counselors will help students understand admissions, registration, entrance testing
requirements, degree planning, transfer issues, and career counseling. Houston Community College counselors also maintain a local referral base in order to provide appropriate referrals to students with personal or family issues that may require long-term solutions.

Additional information:

I use a lot of video clips and popup windows in my course content module notes. You'll need to do a Browser Tuneup, found under Student Resources Icon and you will need to either download realplayer athttp://real.com  and quicktime at http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/win.html  or update to the latest version of both of these if you wish to view the clips. If you haven't followed the previous directions, please don't email me that you are having trouble viewing the clips. I'll simply repeat these directions.

With our housekeeping details behind us, we can start on the Course Objectives material. You should print out this Course Syllabus and reread it occasionally throughout the semester. There is too much information to digest at once. Besides, many questions from the mandatory introductory quiz will come from it. You can find this file on the course homepage under the Start Here Icon as well.

Textbooks

Required reading:

Personal Nutrition , Marie Boyle and Sara Long, SIXTH Edition. 

If you buy the textbook new at the Central Campus bookstore, it will come bundled with a vitamins/mineral handout that is supplementary to this course and not required. Textbook information and link to bookstore is http://hccs.bkstore.com

Course Objectives

Course goals:

By the end of the semester, I expect you to be able to:

1. Critique a publication for nutritional validity.
2. Be aware of the information contained on food labels and how to use this information in evaluating the product.
3. Be knowledgeable of the different roles of vitamins and minerals and why they are important to overall health.
4. Know how antioxidants and phytochemicals are related and what role they play in nutrition and health.
5. Come to a conclusion about what role, if any, supplements should play in your own food plan.
6. Know how the body reacts under feasting, fasting, and extended fasting situations.
7. Explain the role of nutrition in exercise performance.
8. Explain the role of nutrition in disease promotion and prevention.

Grade Breakdown

:

Chapter Quizzes: 40%

Nutrition Evaluation Answer Sheet: 13%

Participation in Discussion Questions 12%

Final Exam 35%

Your grade is your responsibility. I will NOT withdraw any student at the end of the semester. The Student Withdrawal date is found on the course schedule that I will give you and also on the semester calendar published by HCC.  Any student who starts the class by sending an introductory email or takes the introductory quiz, is officially a student in the class. If you simply stop taking the quizzes and/or fail to complete the project, you will get a grade based on your final average—most likely an F. If you complete the course except for the final exam, you will get a "0" for your final exam grade and most likely a D or F for the course. If you have a documented emergency and make arrangements with me to receive an I in the course, you must complete the I by the end of the next semester. If you don't,  the I will convert to an F. 

If your personal or professional schedule precludes you from taking the final exam on the official final exam weekend, then you should DROP the course NOW.  An I should be an extremely rare occurrence. If you live in another state and plan on using the proctoring service of another institution to take the final exam, you need to inform me NOW. Judy Carson will coordinate this process.

COURSE REPEATER POLICY: Beginning in the Fall 2006, students who repeat a course for a third or more times will face a $50 per credit increase at HCC and other Texas public colleges and universities. Please ask me and/or your counselor about opportunities for tutoring/other assistance prior to considering course withdrawal or if you are not receiving passing grades.

There is an extra credit opportunity in this course, but please don't rely on it to help you pass.

Quizzes

Chapter Quizzes:

Missed Quizzes:

There will be ten randomized multiple-choice quizzes which you will take online and can be accessed through the Content Modules Icon on the homepage. The chapter quiz is the last link under each individual chapter and has the word, QUIZ, next to it. The quizzes are open-book and TIMED. You will have 25 minutes to answer 20 questions. You should prepare for these quizzes the same way you would for closed book, in-class tests. Chapter 1 quiz will cover Chapter 1 of the text and any modules and discussion questions assigned to it; Chapter 2 Quiz likewise. For the first two quizzes only, I will give you two chances to take each quiz. This is to allow you an opportunity to get used to online quizzing. I will take the highest score from your two attempts. After that, you will have only one chance to take each of the subsequent 8 quizzes.  The chapter quizzes have an expiration date in order to discourage you from falling behind. All quizzes will expire on Saturdays at 11:55pm. Do NOT wait until 11:55pm. Follow the Course Schedule to determine when a particular chapter quiz will expire. Your ten scores will be averaged to make up the Quiz component of your grade.

In short, don't miss the quiz deadline; you will not be given a chance to make it up. Each quiz counts for 4% of your grade. I get messages from the DE department telling me when the DE server has been down. If you tried to take the quiz during this time, let me know and I will reset it for you. I have built in plenty of time to take the quizzes after the material has been discussed in the Discussion Questions. If you choose to wait until the last minute to take the quiz and encounter a problem at your home or office, technical or otherwise, do not expect me to reset the quiz for you.

There is a Mandatory Introductory Quiz. This quiz will be over the information contained in this syllabus and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) found under the Start Here Icon and also under the Student Resources Icon. Although this quiz does not count toward your grade, you must score at least a 12 out of 15 in order for the other icons on the homepage to open for you. You will have as many chances as you need to attain the score that will allow you into the Content Modules Icon.

Personal emergencies always come up. If you choose to wait until the last minute and then have to leave town to help your ailing grandmother, I will refer you to this passage of the syllabus. Many students tell me of the meritorious deeds they have performed which have, unfortunately, caused them to miss the quiz deadlines. It is possible to be both compassionate and responsible. The quizzes expire at 11:55pm on Saturdays. 

Mandatory Introductory Quiz

:

When the semester starts, you will be able to enter the course homepage. You may be wondering why you see only two icons Start Here and Student Resources. All the other icons will be revealed to you once you have read and fully understood this orientation material, which includes this syllabus and also the information under the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). I will know that you fully understood the material because you will take the Mandatory Introductory Quiz and earn at least 12 out of 15. I have this quiz because I get questions all the time that I answered in the syllabus that students haven't bothered to read. If you are having problems mastering the Mandatory Introductory Quiz information, despite devoting time and effort in attempting to navigate this course, your chances of being successful in this online course are slim. This course isn't like a cell phone that you can pick up and play with until you figure it out. If I notice that you continually ignore the course guidelines throughout the semester, I will refer you to the distance education counselors, Angela and Carmen, who will then provide you with the guidance I am unable to give you. Note: It will take extra time on your part to meet with them.

Project

Nutrition Evaluation Project:

The individual project is called The Nutrition Evaluation Project and can be found under Chapter 9 on the Content Module Icon. You need the adobe acrobat reader in order to open it. (You may need to update your adobe reader to read all pages.) Make a printout of this packet and fill in the blanks as directed. I will NOT be collecting this packet. I will ask you to download a separate file called Answer Sheet for Nutrition Evaluation Project found under the link for the packet. You will fill in the blanks and send this completed sheet to me as an email attachment using Blackboard (NOT MY hccs.edu) email as long as it is in WORD (.doc) or web page (.html) format. No other format is acceptable, especially .wps and .docx. I have more detailed written instructions under the FAQs link under Student Resources. I have also made a video clip explaining this project. Find it under the Videos icon on the homepage. The information covered in this packet is presented in Chapter 9, one of the last chapters that we will cover. You can also e-mail me questions about it whenever you like, just make sure you have watched the video clip first. Don't wait until the last minute to submit this project. Some students have a hard time with the computer skill of downloading this file and then sending it to me as an e-mail attachment. I have spent a lot of time developing the video clip that will answer any question you may have about this project. If you ask me a question about this project that I have already answered in the clip, I will simply refer you to the video.

Discussion Questions (DQ)

Participation in Discussion Forum:

You will be making four (4), and only four, postings to Discussions. You will post your own response to a Discussion Question (DQ) twice=two postings, and you will comment on your classmates’ responses to a DQ twice=two posting2. (2 + 2 = 4 postings)  

You are expected to make a substantive response to the question asked. When commenting on a fellow classmate's response, simply saying "I agree, she made some good points" is not considered a substantive response. Students must support their position, begin a new issue or add somehow to the discussion when posting. I generally close and lock a Discussion Question after four or five students have answered it.

Read all the posted responses FIRST before adding yours to make sure I have not closed the question and that you are NOT repeating what a classmate has already posted.

Please capitalize words only to highlight a point, otherwise it is generally viewed as SHOUTING.

Cite all quotes, references and sources. If quoting from the text, simply say: (from text, p.##) Plagiarism will be punished by a 0 grade, a warning from me and a report to the department chair. Go to www.indiana.edu/%7Ewts/pamphlets/plagiarism.shtml and read through the information on plagarism thoroughly. (It will be on the mandatory introductory quiz.) While I do take satisfaction in catching someone who copied, I do not take pleasure in it. None of the DQs requires any information outside of the textbook or my module notes to answer. I challenge you to come up with the answers on your own first. If you would like to consult what sources on the internet have to offer later, feel free to do so. Remember to cite all quotes, references and sources.

Discussion Questions (DQ):

I like to respond to everyone's first posting so each student knows what my expectations are and how well he/she met them. The first four discussion questions you post will be graded. You will not be given a SECOND chance to submit discussion questions should you not like the grade you received on it. I'll say this again. If you post a DQ, it will be graded, regardless of a misunderstanding on your part.

Each of the ten chapters is has module (lecture) notes available. Each chapter will have several Discussion Questions related to it. These questions are found under each chapter's link on the Content Modules icon. You may choose to either skip the questions to that chapter, or answer one of them. We cover about one chapter a week so you have many questions to choose from to answer. Whatever your choice, realize that by the end of the semester, you are expected to answer only 4 total in order to earn the maximum 12 percentage points for your Discussion grade. If you finished answering your four DQs, say DQ3, DQ9, DQ12, and DQ23, and you are not satisfied with your DQ points, you CANNOT raise it by answering more DQs. That is why you need to choose your DQs wisely and do the best job possible the first time around.

I will Lock DQs that have been answered sufficiently. You will see a little icon of a lock next to that Discussion Question and you will get a popup message should you try to post to that DQ link. If you disregard both of these warnings, then your posting will default to the Main link and you will get no credit for your work (and no chance to make it up.)

You can determine if you received credit for your posting by checking the Check My Grade Icon under the Student Resources Icon on the course homepage. I grade discussion questions daily so it's possible to see your grade for that question the next day or day after posting.  Occasionally I make a mistake and record a student's grade in the wrong row. Believe me, it's easy to do. Simply email me with as many details as possible and let me know that you think I have made an error. I will be happy to check my records against yours and find the mistake. I check my email once daily, but not always at the same time of day and usually either Saturday OR Sunday. 

Final Exam

:

The Final Exam is closed book and comprehensive. It will include multiple-choice and essay questions. Everyone takes the final in person at any one of the three testing centers on Final Exam Weekend according to the dates on the testing schedule. Look at the Course Schedule and also the FAQs for more information. DO NOT miss this exam. You will get a "0" for the final exam if you miss it simply because you got your dates confused.

How to Navigate this Course

Course Format:

 I suggest that you print out the Course Schedule and syllabus and keep them handy. The Course Schedule will have the Chapter and module readings assigned for that week, plus quiz and project due dates.

Remember: Quizzes have expiration dates; the project has a deadline. I do this to prevent procrastination. Each time you logon to the course homepage, read the header announcement which will come from the course schedule for that week.

Course Content:

Each of the ten chapters is split into learning Content Modules. Read the chapter first and then the module notes that correspond to that chapter. Module notes are the equivalent of the class lecture you would have heard in a face-to-face class. Read any discussion postings pertaining to that chapter. Post an answer or comment on a classmate's answer to a discussion question that corresponds to that material if you wish. Most modules have several discussion questions that correspond to them. Choose the question you want to answer.  After reading the chapter, reading the Content Modules for the chapter, answering and reviewing that chapter's discussion questions, viewing the Power Point presentations and chapter handouts, if any, and answering that chapter's review questions found under the Review Questions link for that chapter, you are ready to take the online Chapter Quiz. (Some students have commented that they were expecting more commentary on the power points. I made these presentations to use during my inclass lecture, so the commentary is scare. I added them to the website simply because they were already prepared and had some slides in them that were not available in the text. They may or may not be helpful.)  After that, repeat the process for the next chapter.

Final Words

:

After reading all this information, I hope you come away with the idea that getting behind is the downfall of distance classes. Distance ed students have to be adult learners--self-motivated and self-starters. I also hope you realize that the discussion forum is where we can share our experiences with the material and make it relevant to our lives. Please take some time to produce quality responses.