Political Science 200 Orientation

Distance Education at Mendocino College

Spring 2009 POL200 – State and Federal Government (3units)

Section 4673 Class Begins January 20

Course Description

Historical and contemporary development of U.S. political institutions at the national, state, and local level. Meets the state requirement in American Institutions and Government for transfer students.

Instructor: P. Warf
Email: pwarf@mendocino.edu
Textbook Information: There is one required textbook for the course. It is Thomas Patterson’s We The People: A Concise Introduction to American Politics, 7th edition, published by McGraw-Hill (2008) ISBN-13: 9780073403861. Approximate Cost $72.00
Estimated Time per Week: Students can expect to spend approximately 6 to 9 hours per week reading, writing, and taking quizzes and participating in online class discussions.
Special Requirements: Email the instructor after you sign up for the class. Log into Etudes the first day of class (8/18). Computer with programs compatible to this course are required as well as an internet connection (dial up not recommended) and an email address.
Assignments & Tests: Each student must complete weekly assignments. These have two parts: (1) contributing to a discussion board on a specific topic and (2) completing either a quiz or essay homework assignment. There are also three tests in the course, including the final exam. In addition, each student must complete a 5-7 page book review. During the first week of the course, there is an ungraded assignment designed to introduce students to the online environment.
Additional Comments: The entire course will be conducted online through the Etudes program. Students are required to have Internet access, an active email account, the ability to use word processing, conduct Internet searches, attach files, send emails, and work independently.
New to Etudes: Here is an Online Orientation (Flash presentation opens in a new window) that will show you the basics of how to use Etudes. Here is a flash tutorial (Flash presentation opens in a new window) that demonstrates the log in protocol. Be sure to check System Requirements before getting started with Etudes. You need to do this on each computer you use while taking a class through Etudes.
Etudes Course: You will log into the Etudes classroom with the log-in information provided below.

Password

First 2 letters of first name +
First 2 letters of last name +
Last 5 digits of Social Security Number

(Type using all lower case letters)

Example:

Jose A. Garcia
SSN: 111-22-3333

Username = joga23333

Month Day of birth in school records

Example:

Birthday is April 11th, 1982
(04/11/82)

Password = 0411

NOTE: If you forget your password, you can Reset Password on the Etudes log-in page

Spring 2009 POL200 – State and Federal Government (3units)

Section 4673 Class Begins January 20

Course Description

Etudes link