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PL 406 / PL 506 - Planning Analysis and Presentations
Credit Hours: 3

SYLLABUS - SPRING 2009 - UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Instructor: Dr. Alan A. Lew (Alan.Lew@nau.edu)
Office Location: SBS West (Bldg 70), Room 230
Office Hours: Mon 12pm-2pm, Wed 10am-12pm, and by appointment
Mailing Address: Dept. of Geography, Planning & Recreation, NAU Box 15016, Flagstaff, AZ 86011-5016
Tel: 928-523-6567 (office); 928-523-2650 (dept.); Fax: 928-523-2275 (attn: Dr Lew); Skype: alanalew

COURSE FORMAT: 100% online using Blackboard-VISTA - The Class Homepage is http://vista.nau.edu
You must log in using your NAU Dana or Jan account. You should bookmark this website.

• Registered students will not be able to access the VISTA version of this class (or any other class) until the First Day of Classes of the Term
  
  
• If you Register for the class AFTER the FIRST ASSIGNMENT is Due - Click Here

AUDIO and VIDEO PODCASTS

Audio and video presentations by the Instructor will be available in Blackboard-Vista (using Elluminate and maybe Wimba).

EMAIL POLICY:

Prior to the first day of classes, and after the last day of classes (of Finals Week), correspondence should be sent to the class Professor (see above) . You can also email the class Instructor at these times, but you will not be guaranteed a timely response.

All Correspondence starting the First Day of Classes must take place through the VISTA website (http://vista.nau.edu).

• Outside of VISTA, please use your DANA or JAN account to send email message. These are the official and only acceptable email servers for all NAU email correspondence. Use of non-Dana or Jan email accounts will not be responded to.
  
  
• To Send an Email from VISTA: Click On MAIL on the left sidebar menu; Click on CREATE MESSAGE; Click on BROWSE FOR RECIPIENTS and then click on either your Instructor's or Professor's name, or on All Instructors. click on SAVE; Compose your message; then SEND it.
  

All Written Assignments must be submitted through Blackboard-VISTA. Any assignment emailed outside of VISTA will be ignored. Contact the NAU Help Desk (see below) if you cannot send an email or an assignment within VISTA.

VISTA HELP: If you are having PROBLEMS WITH Blackboard-VISTA...

FIRST: Contact the NAU Help Desk as soon as you encounter a problem that, if not resolved, will result in a loss of points.

• Write Down the NAME of the person you are speaking with, the TIME that you are talking to them, WHAT THEY SAID to try and resolve the problem, or not.

SECOND: If your assignment will still be late, then contact your instructor as soon as you have finished talking to the Help Desk and let them know what is going on, and so they have a record of when you attempted to submit the assignment.

• Clearly describe what the problem was, when it took place, and what you did to try and fix it.
• Include the NAME of the Help Desk person you spoke with, the TIME and DAY that you called the Help Desk, and What the Help Desk person said.
  

Contact the NAU Academic Computing Help Desk at:
Flagstaff: 523-9294
Toll free: 1-888-520-7215
On the web: http://www4.nau.edu/achd/
Via e-mail: help@dana.ucc.nau.edu

Contact the NAU Academic Computing (Student/Dana) Help Desk for ALL Technical Questions about Blackboard-Vista and your Computer.

• For a comprehensive list of resources available to web students please visit: http://www.distance.nau.edu/guide/student_resources.aspx

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

COURSE OBJECTIVES: Students will...

1. Be able to find demographic and economic data for a community
2. Be able to use a spreadsheet to analyze data on a community
3. Be able to use presentation software to present information in a logical and clear manner
   

ASSUMPTIONS/PREREQUISITES: Students are expected to have:

1. Good familiarity with personal computers, the Internet and World Wide Web, and some prior exposure to Spreadsheets and Word Processing software.
2. Access to a recent version of Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint and Word (i.e., Microsoft Office -- the 2003 or XP versions are preferred). All of the NAU computer labs have these programs on them. You might be able to get a good discount on your own student version, as well.
3. Access to a Video Recorder to record a presentation. VHS and MiniDV tape formats are preferred. If you have other formats, let me know as soon as possible.
4. Access to the WWW from a computer that meets the Blackboard-Vista System Requirements. Note that your computer must be able to play MP3 audio files.
5. Ability to devote an average of 7 to 9 hours a week to this class (this is based on the fact that a full-time load of 15 credit hours is roughly equivalent to 40 to 45 hours of work a week)
   

CLASS WORKLOAD

PL 506 STUDENTS

PL506 students will take the same class as PL406, but will have an additional major assignment. PL 506 Students must CLICK HERE for additional information.

COURSE SCHEDULE

The Course Schedule is also kept in the CALENDAR link within Blackboard-Vista. You can add your own, private entries into the Blackboard-Vista Calendar, as well. A general outline of the schedule is available here.

TEXTBOOK:

Most of the material for this class will be available on the WWW.

You are encouraged to to purchase an Introduction to MS Office tutorial and reference book for the version of MS Office you are using.

• You do not need to buy this bok if you are already very familiar with both PowerPoint and Excel.

We will be using several online tutorials, at least at the start of the class. Later we will make extensive use of online economic and populatin data sources.

• Click Here to see the evolving list - If you find any sources that you think should be added to this list, please email them to Dr. Lew.

NOTE: We Will NOT be covering the MS Outlook and MS Access portions of MS Office. MS Word will be used, but will not be taught.

ASSIGNMENTS POLICIES

1. ASSIGNMENT SUBMISSION VERIFICATION: You are responsible for verifying that your assignment was properly submitted.

   • For assignments that are posted in VISTA, you must Reload/Refresh your screen to check that the assignment is indeed posted for others to see. (Click on the Refresh or Reload button on your browser.)
   • If there is a problem in the posting of a grade, you must notify your Professor in a timely manner (within 10 days of when the points should be posted). If you wait beyond 10 days, you will receive fewer points. If you wait until the end of the class term, you may receive 0 points.
     • Note that most points will be posted within 1 week after the assignment was due.
       
       
2. WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS
   • ALL WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS, INCLUDING THOSE POSTED IN THE DISCUSSION AREA OF VISTA, WILL BE CONSIDERED LATE IF RECEIVED AFTER 11:59 P.M. ON THEIR DATE DUE.
     • Written Assignments generally include the Region Assignments and the Issue Assignments.
       
       
   • LATE WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT POLICY: 10 points will be deducted for each day that an assignment is late. Late assignments will not be accepted after the points reach 0 (this is 5 days for a 50 point). You are also less likely to receive an immediate response to your assignment if it is late, since the class needs to move on and not as much time can be devoted to late assignments.
   • Submissions outside of VISTA will be ignored.
   • EARLY SUBMISSIONS OF ASSIGNMENTS ARE ENCOURAGED AND ALWAYS ACCEPTED.
   • Please note that Due Dates and Times are all Arizona Standard Time. If you live in a different time zone, you must compensate for the difference.
     
     
3. MAKE UP LATE ASSIGNMENTS
   • Requests for make up assignments, both written assignments and quizzes, will only be allowed for reasons beyond the control of the student. In addition, you must provide:
   1. A clear and complete explanation of the reason the assignment is late, including why the assignment could not have been submitted before the problem arose;
   • Note that waiting until the last few hours before a quiz or an assignment is due and then running into a personal problem will not be considered an acceptable reason for why the assignment is late.
     • Note that NAU Computer Server problems are not your personal problems, and are therefore acceptable reasons for a late assignment. Your personal computer problems are not acceptable.
       • PLEASE BACK UP YOUR PERSONAL COMPUTER'S HARD DRIVE ON A REGULAR BASIS.
   2. Written proof, such as a letter from a doctor, minister or funeral home, or a letter from the NAU Dean of Students (or the Associate Dean of Students), supporting your justification
   • The Instructor Mailing address and Fax number are at the top of this syllabus.
   • You will receive less credit if you could have done the assignment before the problem arose.
   • See the section on Extra Credit (below) if late assignments become a problem for you.
     

• EARLY SUBMISSIONS OF ASSIGNMENTS ARE ENCOURAGED AND ALWAYS ACCEPTED.

COMMON ASSIGNMENT TYPES

• REGULAR WEEKLY ASSIGNMENTS (most are 50 points each): You will work your way through these assignments on a weekly basis. These are due mostly on Thursdays by 11:59pm (before midnight). Please see the Calendar in Blackboard-Vista for any exceptions to the Thursday due dates.
  • Assignment #10 is a videotaped oral presentation that you will submit to the Instructor. You can drop it off at the GPR Department Office, mail it to the Instructor, or upload it and email it to the Instructor through Blackboard-Vista.
    
    
• FINAL REVIEW ASSIGNMENT (50 points each): There are no tests in this class - just final review assignment. This is more reflective in nature, though could also include an applied assignment similar to the the Regular Weekly Assignments. Its purpose is to review material presented in the class.
  • This assignment will not be available (or even visible) until you have points recorded for Assignment #13.
  • This assignment will be submitted through Turnitin (see below).
    
    
• CHECKINs (5 points each): You are required to Checkin with the Instructor about every three weeks (see the Blackboard-Vista Calendar) by sending an e-mail message in which you indicate:
  (1) What is working especially well for you in the class.
  (2) What is NOT working for you in this class; and
  (3) Any initial suggestions for how we (you and I together) can begin to improve what is not working.
  
  The word "Checkin" MUST appear in the Subject Line
  • The purpose of these Checkins is to prevent small problems from becoming major problems. It is perfectly acceptable to simply tell your Instructor in your e-mail that "everything is OK" and leave it at that -- just so long as you are sending the e-mail. Silence from you is an indicator that something is wrong and you may be headed for trouble in this class.
  • These are DUE on Fridays (No later than 11:59pm) on the dates indicated in the Blackboard-Vista Calendar. You can email this at anytime during the week prior to the due date - you do not need to wait until Friday. Do not email the Checkin more than one week in advance of its due date -- you will not get any points for it. Late Checkins will also not be accepted for credit.
    
    
• FINISHING THE CLASS EARLY
  
  Web-based students often ask about finishing the class early. While you can get well ahead of the class in parts, you cannot complete the entire class because (1) some assignments require feedback from other students, and (2) the Final Review Assignments will not be posted until a week before it is due.
  • If you do manage to complete ALL of the assignments early (except the Final Review Assignment, which cannot be taken early), you will no longer be required to send Checkin emails. You will, however, still receive the 5 points for the remaining Checkins.
    

ELLUMINATE Live!

Elluminate Live! is an online, live conferencing tool that NAU subscribes to and is linked to Blackboard-Vista. I intend to hold weekly Elluminate sessions to review assignments and answer questions. I would like each student to attend one of these sessions every two weeks (you can also attend them every week). I will schedule these based on your availability after the class starts.

To access the Elluminate sessions, there will be a link in the Learning Module when a date and time is set. You can click on that link to confirm when the session will be held.

• It is recommended that you log-in to Elluminate (through the Learning Module link) about 15 minutes prior to the start of the live session.
• During the Elluminate session you will hear me (or possibly someone else) discussing the Elluminate topic and you will see whatever the presenter has on their computer to show you. You can also ask questions either by voice or text message.
• All session will be recorded and, assuming no technical glitches, can be viewed at any time once the recording becomes available by clicking on the Elluminate link in the Learning Module.
• You should take one of the tutorials at http://www.Elluminate.com if you want to learn about how to use Elluminate before the live session.
• You do not need a microphone to participate in an Elluminate Session, though it will work if you have one. You do need speakers or earphones to listen to the audio.

WIMBA

Wimba is an audio presentation and recording tool that was recently made available on the NAU Blackboard-Vista system. I may be using it later this semester.

TurnItIn

Essay assignments will use the Turnitin Service, which NAU has recently purchased to enhance student writing abilities. You will submit the assignment through a Turnitin folder on the main Course Content page. For this class, this probably only applies to the Midterm and Final Review Assignments, though that is subject to revision.

• When you turn your paper in, you will be given an Originality Report (or score - Red is not good), which indicates the degree to which Turn-it-in "thinks" your paper is original and not composed of copied material from other sources or students.
• This is not a perfect evaluation. Block quotes that are fully referenced will be erroneously tagged as plagiarism. These are not really a problem, as the Instructor and TA will manually assess each student's paper and will ignore these when determining your grade.
• However, if you have copied material without properly referencing the original sources, you will not get credit for those parts of your paper. If this is a significant problem, then you will receive 0 points for the assignment.
  

You will be able to view the problem areas and revise your paper at any time prior to the due date and time.

• The ultimate goal, is for you to turn in the best paper possible for the written assignments. Turn-it-in basically helps you to avoid plagiarism -- which has become an increasing problem in our current information economy. By doing so, it forces you to write more personally, creatively and with deeper consideration of the issues.
  

All papers that are turned in through the Turn-it-in folder will be permanently logged into the Turn-it-in website. The paper will be associated with this class and with the names of your Instructor and Professor. The paper will not be viewable by anyone without express permission of the the Professor and Instructor of this class. The paper will be used for originality rankings for other papers that are submitted through Turn-it-in.

• If you are opposed to this policy, then you will need to drop this class and take it from a different professor or at a different university or college.
• Click Here for the NAU Cline Library page on Plagiarism and Academic Integrity.

COMMENTS on Turnitin Assignments

In addition to the Originality Report, the Turnitin tool allows the instructor to grade your papers and place notes on them. These comments can be found by opening your paper in Turnitin, then looking for one or more little blue buttons (or bubbles) somewhere on your paper. Click on a blue button and a window will open with comments from the assignment's grader.

PAPER FORMATTING in Turnitin

When you submit your paper to Turnitin, some of the formatting is lost. In fact, all of the formatting is lost for the Originality Report. For grading purposes, however, most of the formatting is will remain in tact. In general, however, it is safer to keep your formatting simple rather than complex.

GRADING for PL406 - [PL506 Students CLICK HERE]

• Assignment #1 (50 points)
• Assignments #2-16 (14 x 50 points each = 700 points)
  • These include the Final Project and Final Review Assignments
• 2 Checkins (5 points each = 10 points)

The total points possible are: 760

• To Receive an 'A' = 90% - Minimum 684 points
• To Receive a 'B' = 80% - Minimum 672 points
• To Receive a 'C' = 70% - Minimum 589 points
• To Receive a 'D' = 60% - Minimum 504 points
• Below <60% - 504 points = ‘F’
  
  The 'A' grade is intended for students who consistently submit work that is both on time and superior to the majority of the rest of the class. You need to demonstrate mastery of the subject matter through the quality and thoughtfulness of your answers. Between 10% and 20% of the class will likely receive and 'A'. (It could be more or less than this, depending on the makeup of the class.)

WARNING: Keep a copy of all of the work that you receive points for in this (and all of your classes)! Keep a copy of all emails that you received in this class -- whether they are general announcements or individual emails. .

Grade Points will be posted online in the Blackboard-Vista Gradebook.

OTHER POLICIES

FINISHING THE CLASS EARLY

Web-based students often ask about finishing the class early. Because not all assignments will be posted early, this is generally not possible. In addition, the Final Review Assignment will not be posted until the last week of classes. It may be possible (in some semesters) to finish all assignments, except the Final Review Assignment, a few weeks before the end of the semester. At the most only one student ever actually does this in any semester.

INCOMPLETES

Incompletes will not be given without written recommendation by the Dean of Students.

• Please note that the university policy for an incomplete is that it is only granted to students who have completed most of the work for the class and are only tardy on a couple of assignments that would enable them to pass the class. In addition, the reason for not completing the tardy assignments must be beyond the student's control. Finally, the policy states that "After a grade is submitted to the Registrar, the grade may not be changed as the result of the addition of extra credit work not available to all students in the course and/or work not outlined in the syllabus or an addendum which was distributed during the semester."
• You must have completed at least 75% of the class to be considered to qualify for an Incomplete in this class.
• Incompletes must be requested and approved by the class Professor. You will work with the class Professor to finish the Incomplete.
• Note that many faculty at NAU have found that only 20% of students who take an Incomplete actually finish their classes successfully.

Retaking the Class to Raise Your Grade

If you are not receiving the grade that you prefer toward the end of the semester, then the recommended action is to retake the class in another semester and apply for a Grade Replacement using this form: MS Word, .PDF - the form must be submitted at the time that you register for the class the second time. Note that the assignments will probably be different the second time that you take the class.

• Tips for Success in this Class
  
  

ACADEMIC DISHONESTY is a form of misconduct that is subject to disciplinary action under the Student Code of Conduct and includes the following (please check the appropriate block).

• Plagiarism: any attempt to knowingly or deliberately pass off other's work as your own.
• Cheating: any attempt to gain an unfair advantage over one's fellow students.
• Fabrication: any attempt to present information that is not true when the author knows the information presented is false.
• Fraud: any attempt to deceive an instructor or administrative officer of the university.
• Facilitating Academic Dishonesty: any attempt to assist an act of academic dishonesty by another individual.

You are expected to do all of the work yourself, and to properly reference any material that you use from other sources using standard referencing systems used in the social and physical sciences. If you need help with this, click here.

DO NOT COPY ANOTHER STUDENT’S WORK, even in part. DO NOT GIVE YOUR PAPER TO ANOTHER STUDENT TO TURN IN AS THEIR WORK.

• If you do either of these, at a minimum you will receive zero (0) points for the assignment AND a number of points equal to that of the assignment will be further deducted from your total. For example, for a 100 point assignment, you will get 0 for the assignment, and 100 points will be further deducted from your total.
• In addition, and you may be dismissed entirely from this class.
  

DO NOT COPY SOMETHING FROM ANY OTHER SOURCE WITHOUT A COMPLETE REFERENCE TO ITS ORIGINAL AUTHOR (Author, Title, Year, Publisher, Page numbers, and Access date and URL for Web material). Points will be deducted from assignments if you do not properly reference your sources. Using quotations from other sources should be kept to a minimum and only used where relevant..

• The following WWW site on doing research and avoiding electronic plagiarism is recommended reading for anyone doing research on the WWW: http://www.sofweb.vic.edu.au/internet/research.htm