Course Outline

COOLSchool classes in general, and General Biology in particular, may be unlike courses you have encountered in the past. Because Internet-based classes and face-to-face classes differ, I felt it important to give you some idea of what it will be like to take this course.

Your first task, of course, will be to decide whether or not this class is right for you. Look it over. Kick the tires, so to speak. Ask yourself why you want this particular course. If you are looking for a class that will fulfill graduation requirements, you will want to show the class to your counselor. Your counselor may want to take it to your school's curriculum committee for approval. We will give you credit for the course if you successfully complete the work, but we cannot force your school to accept our credit or to apply it to your graduation requirements in a certain way.

If this is what you want, go ahead and register for the course. You should have some idea how you will pay for the class. Perhaps your school will be issuing a Purchase Order, or perhaps you will be entering a credit card number. You might even be planning on sending in a personal check.

After you register, you will get an e-mail message from your instructor welcoming you to the class and providing you with any last-minute information. You will be told to join the Classification Mailing List.

CAREFULLY READ THE PROCEDURES SECTION!

At this point, you can begin doing the lessons. Work whenever and where ever you want or can. We won't be meeting online at the same time unless a special occasion arises. You will be able to work pretty much at your own pace. At some point, you may have to slow down or speed up so that you can interact with other students, but you schedule your work times. Just think, there are no tardies, no absences, and people will judge you by what you write, not by what you wear or by how fast you can respond.

A typical lesson will require you to read certain information about the lesson on the Internet. You may also be asked to listen to a lecture by teacher, and, almost always, be asked to synthesize what you have learned into a writing assignment. You can do the writing on your own word processor and cut and paste your efforts into a World Wide Web page. Or you can type your synthesis directly onto the Web page.

The great power in taking a class over the Internet is your opportunity to interact with classmates from all over the world. You will share your opinions and perceptions with people who may have quite a different world view than yourself. A student from Moscow may have a different idea about biological issues than a student from Brooklyn or Saigon. You will be required, in most lessons, to read and comment on the writing of other students. This will be both exciting and frustrating. Keep in mind that not everyone speaks English as their first language and that a joke, without the ability to see a smile, can be taken as an insult.