Here are some basics that you need to know about the course -

• Check out the Pathways Website at https://www.dvusd.org/onlinelearning.
• Please communicate with me through the Canvas Inbox and email ONLY.  
• If you ask a question in the Comment box of an assignment, I will not be notified that it is there.  I will only see the comment when I grade the assignment.
• Please look at your assignments early in the week to give yourself time to ask questions and receive a response.
• Ask questions if you do not understand.  If you are struggling, ask for help.
• Be specific.  Tell me what assignment you are having trouble with and where the confusion or difficulty is.
• Questions asked after 3 p.m. on Friday will not be answered until Monday.

General Overview:

The curriculum in this course follows Deer Valley USD and State of Arizona standards. These standards can be viewed on the Arizona Department of Education website.

In Environmental Science, we will apply the Science and Engineering practices while learning about the content in the DVUSD Environmental Science Standards. Our district is in transition between the 2005 and 2018 Arizona Science standards.  A combination of standards are used in this course during the transition.

Environmental Science is an applied science based on experimentation and observation.  It strives to solve environmental problems that relate to resource depletion, pollution, and extinction.  This science takes a global perspective focus on both developed and developing countries.

Course of Study:

Continued, Active Class Participation

• Participation in class is essential to your success.  DVOLP guidelines require you to be active in your classes throughout the WHOLE ONLINE SEMESTER.
• STUDENTS MUST BE ACTIVE EVERY DAY OF THE SEMESTER. Students are  allowed 2 absences. On the 3rd absence, students will be dropped from the course. You can appeal the absences by following the process in this link.
• Being 10 minutes late to a Zoom meetings OR not coming back at the end of the class time counts as an absence.
•  Students who fall far behind will be dropped from the course. According to the student handbook, you must make adequate progress in the course to remain enrolled. 
• Fill out your log daily and submit on Friday.  You must have parent initials to submit your logs. This is an online school requirement requirement.  If you do not complete your logs, you will be dropped from your classes.

Online versus In-Person classes

There are a few ways that online courses are different from the traditional in-person class. 

• To start, you won’t see your teacher every day. This limits my ability to judge how you are doing and if you understand the content.  For the student this means you MUST communicate with me.  If you are struggling with content, assignment directions or navigating Canvas, you must let me know right away.  I can only help you if I know that you need help.  For parents and guardians, this means that you need to be closely involved in your student’s progress.  Ask to see your student’s work, check in with your observer status and see how your student is doing and communicate with me when necessary. 
• Online courses require more organization on the part of the student. Students need to schedule time to complete their coursework.  Don’t fall into the trap of waiting until the last minute to do your work and submit it.  Students will not receive extensions on work when they procrastinate. I understand that emergencies can happen – this is why your assignments are open for an extra week past the due date.  Use the calendar provided on the course home page to schedule your time – then stick to your schedule! 
• Online students have to learn independently. I will always answer your questions, but the bulk of the learning will happen with the materials provided in text and video. 
• Online students must be able to depend on and use their technology. This is a DVOLP requirement.  While I will help however I can, for the most part I can’t teach you how to use your electronic device. You need to be comfortable with what you have and understand how to download, access, work in, save and upload documents with that device. A cell phone is not sufficient to complete the assignments in this course.  You will need to be able to use websites that contain online simulations that do not display well on cell phones.  You will need to have a back-up plan.  What will you do if your device stops working?  Is there another device at home that you can use?  How will you get to the public library or another location to use public computers? 
• All online students have to complete a weekly log.  There is a link to the MyHours log in the navigation bar on the left side of the screen.  
• More information about the Deer Valley Online Learning program is available at https://www.dvusd.org/onlinelearning . 

Content Mastery

• Always start from the lesson home page.  These can be found on the main page of the course and in the Modules tab.
• Do not skip pages in the course.  The instructional pages contain instructions and content necessary to completing your assignments.  If you skip pages, you will miss important information.
• Assignments are designed to reinforce content and learning goals.  In order to be successful in the course you need to complete all of your assignments.
• You may make corrections to assignments.  When your instructor reviews your assignment, they will make detailed comments regarding areas for improvement.  Assignments will remain open for one week past the posted due date for corrections.  Corrected assignments are not considered late work.
• Read the comments BEFORE contacting your instructor. If the comments do not answer your question, then ask through the inbox.
• Students may make corrections as many times as they wish as long as the assignment is open.
• Final exams - for this term, there will not be a final exam.

Textbook

 HMH Environmental Science. Information about how to access the techbook is available in the Electronic Textbook assignment in the Course Introduction Module.

Grades

Grades will be given at the end of each semester. There is no extra credit in the course. 

• Points are not weighted in online Environmental Science.  Students can calculate their progress at any time in the course. A calendar with point breakdown is available on the course homepage.
• Scale:
• A = 90-100%
• B = 80-89.9%
• C = 70-79.9%
• D = 60-69.9%
• F = 0 -59.9%

To pass the class you must:

1. Earn an average of 60% or better of the total points possible in order to receive credit for this course.

Assignments 

Lessons, assignments, and tests will only be available during specific periods during the length of the course; therefore, you must log in to see when each individual lesson begins and when the assignments and tests are due.  It is also very important that you look in the class Announcements every day for important information OR make sure you have the announcements sent to your phone.  It is OK to work ahead. If you know you will be out of town or busy, plan to complete work ahead of time.  Do not wait until the due date to start your work. Assignments must be submitted through the submission button in the assignment. I do not accept assignments sent by email or the Canvas inbox.

Due Dates and Late Work

• There are two important dates for every assignment: the due date and the closing date.
• The week between the due date and the closing date provides additional time for:
• Students with IEPs or 504s that allow them extra time on assignments. Work can be submitted for FULL CREDIT if submitted by the closing date and time.
• When "life happens" and you are running a little behind. Work can be submitted for FULL CREDIT if submitted by the closing date and time.
• Technology issues happen - you have time to get them resolved. Work can be submitted for FULL CREDIT if submitted by the closing date and time.
• Your score on an assignment was not as high as you would have liked.  You can make corrections and resubmit the work for FULL CREDIT if submitted by the closing date and time.

• Closing date is the final day you can turn in the assignment. I do not extend the closing date on assignments. 

• If you are trying to submit right up to when an assignment closes and you have technology issues, you have NO TIME to fix it!  The assignment stays as a zero.
• If you do not understand the assignment, then you have NO TIME to ask questions!
• If something happens in your life and you run out of time, then you are OUT OF TIME!
• If you do not score as high as you would have liked on the assignment, then you have NO TIME to make corrections!
• So, there is always the temptation to treat the closing date like the due date.  DON'T DO THIS! Here's why:
• The due date is the date the assignment is due.  All due dates are on Fridays at 10pm. You should always plan to submit your work by the due date.
• For all weeks other than Week 4, the closing date is one week (7 calendar days) past the due date.
• Week 4 does give time for late work to be submitted. Therefore, week 4 assignments do not have a closing date, only the due date (Friday at 10pm).

Daily Class Schedule

Students need to log into Zoom virtual class hours daily at 3:15. The link AND password for the Zoom meeting is located in each week's module AND in the important information module on the home page.

Academic Integrity

As stated in the student handbook, it is the expectation that all work is the student's original work.  Students may not work with partners to complete assignments. Students who submit work that is similar to their classmates will receive a zero on the assignment - no exceptions!

Cheating: In cheating, a student is taking the work of another, on any assignment, and claiming it as his/her own.  

 Plagiarism: The act of plagiarism may include direct copying, but it may also be more complex than verbatim repetition.  A student, in preparing a project for a class, will have plagiarized if he/she has taken information from sources without citing the sources that have been used.