Syllabus
Overview
This course has been based on the World Wide Web since January of 1996, less than three years after the introduction of Mosaic, the first web browser. The combination of lecture notes, maps, interactive quizzes, and pictures pages is now the most comprehensive collection of resources for a world regional geography course available online. The course materials are based on web pages that have been developed by the instructor and students. The assignments are designed to either improve or add to the online material. It can be found on the web by entering "World Regional Geography Peterson" in most search engines. In Google, "Geography Peterson" will lead you to the course.
Objectives
The goal of the course is to provide the student with an understanding of the basic principles of geography and apply those principles to the study of world regions. The course emphasizes the physical and human characteristics that make regions distinctive. The physical environment includes landforms and climate while the human landscape is characterized by language, religion, population characteristics, and economic development. All of these characteristics help define regions of the world. The assignments encourage the student to find, organize, and present information in the form of web pages.
An important aspect of the course is for the student to become a critical consumer of online resources. It is very important to be able to evaluate whether information is correct and unbiased.
Materials
- BOOKSTORE: THE ONLINE METHOD TO WORLD REGIONAL GEOGRAPHY by MICHAEL P PETERSON
ISBN 0-7575-0448-5 / Edition: 01 / Publish Date: 2003 / 194 pages / $44.89. Tear out and bring appropriate outline maps to class for each region. - BOOKSTORE: World Population Data Sheet from the Population Reference Bureau (most recent; Cost: About $5.00). The data sheet is available online at http://www.prb.org/pdf07/07WPDS_Eng.pdf The PRB World Population Data Sheet is the authoritative reference for population and related information. Bring the Data Sheet to class for the Population and World Development lectures. Use data from this sheet for all Notes pages.
- ON RESERVE IN THE LIBRARY: A number of current world regional textbooks are available through the reserve desk in the library under my name. (A current list of reserve materials for this course from the Library web server). Click on Instructor under "Print Reserves by Instructor." Search for Peterson, M; choose GEOG 1000). Use at least three of these textbooks for the Notes assignment.
- Computer media to store your files (USB Flash drive). Make sure to back-up your files on one of these devices. Also use myfolder to back-up your files.
- World News section of the Omaha World Herald or the New York Times. These newspapers are available for free on campus.
- Calculator with an exponent key. The calculator will be used to estimate future populations based on current growth rates. Make sure to bring the calculator with you to the mid-term and final exams.
- Access to a printer. Most assignments are submitted on paper before being put online.
Course Conduct
I ask that you be considerate of others in class. Activities such as talking, whispering, exchanging notes, using a computer, or reading a newspaper in class all disturb the people around you. They may take their college education more seriously than you do. If I see you engaged in these activities, I will ask you to stop. If you continue, I will ask you to leave. If this happens more than once, you can be removed from the course.
Use of the Data Sheet
The data sheet is a major component of the course. Examine the population characteristics of each region as we are talking about them. Particularly examine the population figures, natural increase, infant mortality, percent urban population and per capita GNP (gross national product). Try to group the countries into categories. Compare natural increase figures within a region. Which countries are growing the fastest? Which countries have a high infant mortality rate or a high percent urban population? What are the highest and lowest GNP's in each region? The data sheet is available online at http://www.prb.org/pdf07/07WPDS_Eng.pdf
Use of Reserve Readings
A number of textbooks have been placed on reserve in the library. These resources are to used for your webpage assignments, especially the Notes page, and will be listed in the reference section. You should also spend some time each week reading chapters from these textbooks that are related to the topics that we are discussing. The readings will help you answer the questions in the Notes pages.
Exams
Two exams will be given. The mid-term will have 50 questions and the final will have 100. Most of the questions come from the lectures. Many are from the interactive quizzes while others are from the questions in notes pages.
Practice Quizzes
We will have practice quizzes at least once a week during class. Four of these quizzes will be graded. The others will simply be considered practice quizzes for the exam. The questions will be taken from the lecture notes and the interactive quiz pages. Some of the questions have you identify places that I have pointed out on a map. How well you do on the quizzes is a good reflection of how well you do on the exams. There are no make-ups for these quizzes.
Picture ID
A number of pictures will be shown from a particular location from around the world. One of the pictures will be shown in a following class period for identification.
Regional Map Quizzes
Five regional map quizzes will be given. They will be given in the Geography department testing room during announced one-week periods.
World Map Quiz
To test your knowledge of the location of countries, a world by country map exam will be given in conjunction with the final exam. This is a multiple choice test. You will be given a map of the world and 50 multiple choice questions. You will need find the correct country for each of the 50 countries indicated on the map.
Web Assignments
The web assignments are described in the book: "The Online Method to World Regional Geography." Chapters describe different webpage options. The Web Resources page is an companion web site for the book and provides links to the template files.
Extra Credit Assignment
Extra credit is possible by doing another web assignment. You choose the type of web page that you think you can do the best, but not the same type as one that you have done before. Extra credit is only given for those assignments that are scored with a 90 or higher.
Exams (approximately 1/3 of grade):
Mid-Term Exam (50 questions) 100 Final Exam (100 questions) 200 World Map Exam (50 multiple choice; given with final exam) 50 350
Quizzes (approximately 1/3 of grade):
Africa Map Quiz (given during announced one week period in DSC 294) 50 Asia Map Quiz (given during announced one week period in DSC 294) 44 Europe (given during announced one week period in DSC 294) 37 Latin America (given during announced one week period in DSC 294) 27 US by State (given during announced one week period in DSC 294) 50 4 In-Class Quizzes (unannounced) 40 Picture ID (10 picture sets) 100 348
Assignments (approximately 1/3 of grade)
Bio Webpage (paper) 10 Bio Online
5 Links Webpage (paper) 10 Links Online
30 Image Webpage (paper) 20 Image Online
80 Notes Webpage (paper) 10 Notes Online
90 Final Webpage (paper) -- Final Online
100 355
Late assignments will be given a lower grade.
Cut-offs for letter grades: A: 90%; B: 80%; C: 70%; and D: 60%
A+: 97 and above; A: 93-97; A-: 90-93; B+: 87-90; B: 83-87; B-: 80-83; etc.
Grade Reports
Check Blackboard (http://myuno.unomaha.edu). Be sure to check your grades periodically.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) - Answers to frequently asked questions
TV Interview with the Professor about the course:
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