Oceanography Lab

crn 50690 - Summer 2021

Welcome to Oceanography!  This welcome letter provides information about contacting your instructor, course materials and college policies.  Please read through this letter carefully.  More information will be provided on Canvas and in the syllabus on the first day of classes.

Important note:  This is a compressed summer class with a very rigorous workload. You will be doing the equivalent of 3 weeks of lab for every one week of summer class.  I do not recommend this course for students that are working full-time or planning on vacations this summer. 

Instructor: Feride Schroeder

Contact Information

Email: fschroed@cuesta.edu

Lab hours:  All meetings are asynchronous.  There will be recorded prelab briefings to watch before the labs and I will be available on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday mornings from 9 – 11am and by appointment. 

Office location: Zoom – links will be posted on Canvas

Office hours: Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday 9 – 11am on Zoom and by appointment.  I will also be providing assistance through the online messaging app Pronto.

Phone: I do not have a dedicated office phone.  Email me with any questions or concerns.  Urgent messages can be left with the Division Assistant at x3230.

Prerequisite: Completion of or concurrent enrollment in OCEN 210

Course Description

Laboratory and field investigations of marine environments, including geologic, physical, chemical, and biological aspects of the ocean and coastal area. The course emphasizes changing physical factors and human activities as they affect the oceans. 

 

Student Learning Outcomes and Objectives

Upon successful completion of this course, you should be able to do the following:

1. Interpret bathymetric charts in terms of major physiographic features and relate these to plate tectonics and depositional processes on the seafloor.  
2. Contrast physical and chemical processes that create wind-driven and density-driven current systems.  
3. Describe processes of coastal erosion, wave formation and relationship to rising sea level and long-shore transport. 

 

Canvas and Online Learning Information

The lectures and other required materials for this course will be administered through the Canvas Learning Management System (LMS). The course will be available starting Sunday, June 13^th.  Canvas will be used to administer pre-lab lectures, watch lab videos, take virtual field trips, submit lab assignments, download course data, find web resources, check your grades, attend online office hours, and chat with the instructor and other students on a message board.  If you need assistance logging into Canvas, go to the Cuesta Distance Education website for this quick reference guide: Canvas Quick Reference Guide link.  Your learning environment is best accessed from a desktop or laptop computer, using Firefox or Chrome.  Please review the Canvas basic computer specifications. Additional information will be provided for you on the Canvas site for this course. 

Online learning is not for everyone; some people may not be able to manage a course that does not meet face to face to learn. Online learning requires lots of planning and self-pacing so that you may be successful in my course. Since I will be covering a large amount of material in 6 weeks, I would highly recommend staying on schedule and keeping up with lab assignments and quizzes. Please do not be tempted to skip a week of class work and expect to catch up easily.  Although the class if fully online, there are still going to be daily/weekly deadlines. You may want to consider taking this self-assessment to determine if you are a good candidate for an online course.  Go to the Online Readiness Resources to take this self-assessment. There are many resources that were designed to help you understand the basis for an online class and the skills necessary for success – go to Online Readiness Tutorials for more information (click here for link).

 

Instructor Contact Expectations

Regular and effective instructor contact will be met through office hours, announcements, timely feedback on assignments, email, and Pronto.  I expect to interact with you at least twice a week online.  I will respond to emails sent during the regular work week (M – F) within 24 hours.  All assignments and assessments will be graded and returned to you with feedback within one week.  Grading rubrics will be provided for all laboratory assignments.  (What is a rubric?  Click here to find out more.)

 

Course materials

1. Ocean Environment Lab Manual, 3^rdEdition, by Hardee, Benitez-Nelson and Goldman - available in the bookstore.  This book is not readily available on amazon.com or chegg.com. 
2. Earth Revealed Video Series – available free at https://www.learner.org/series/earth-revealed/.
3. Computer with camera for office hours, and collaboration. Webcams can be purchased with student discount at http://store.collegebuys.org/.  You can also try Best Buy, Walmart, Amazon or other retailers. You can also rent a Chromebook from the Cuesta Library – they are equipped with webcams.

 

Technical support

If you are having difficulty viewing the course or logging in, it may be because you are not using the correct url: https://cuesta.instructure.com/ or you are using your phone or using an unsupported browser.   I do not recommend using the smartphone or tablet app for tasks other than checking due dates and grades due to limited functionality.  Cuesta students are encouraged to direct all Canvas technical support inquiries to support@my.cuesta.edu. If you are having issues with Canvas outside of normal working hours, you can contact the Canvas Support Hotline at (877) 921-7680, or click on the help button on the Canvas Navigation to report a problem.  

 

Accommodations

If you need any special accommodations for a disability, please contact the instructor as soon as possible.  Students are also encouraged to contact Disabled Student Programs and Services (DSPS) in the High Tech Learning Center on the first floor of the 3300 building), by phone at (805) 591-3148 or email at dspsinfo@cuesta.edu as soon as possible to better ensure such accommodations are implemented in a timely fashion.  More information is available on the website at Cuesta College DSPS website link.

 

College and Course policies

The College defines cheating as taking an examination or performing an assigned, evaluated task in a dishonest way, such as by having improper access to answers or submitting work that is not your own (Cuesta College Academic Honesty statement link: https://www.cuesta.edu/about/documents/vpss-docs/StudentConducttrifold-brochure_2017.pdf).  I take this matter very seriously.  Students caught being academically dishonest may receive a failing grade on the assignments in question, be dropped from the class, or be failed in the course. Beyond this, the student may be subject to disciplinary action as determined by the Vice President of Student Services or designee.

Attendance

Although I do not take attendance in this course, your participation will be monitored on Canvas and through work completed.  If you have not logged onto Canvas by the add deadline, you will be dropped from the course.  In addition, if you miss more than 3 laboratory assignments, you may be dropped from the course.  After the withdrawal with a “W” deadline, and you are no longer participating in the course, you must drop the course on your own or you will receive a failing grade.

Waitlist

For those students trying to add the course, please refer to the college waitlist procedure and instructions.  It is important that you are checking your myCuesta email daily, so you do not miss your enrollment opportunity.  See Cuesta’s waitlist procedure and instructions.