Basics of this online course
Every online course is different, both in presentation of content and method of assessment. In Our Changing World: An Introduction to Physical Geography, you will be combining information from three different resources to complete the required course material and learn about the geography of the world around you. These resources are:
In this course, you will be expected to work on your own to complete the required reading, assignments, and exams. There are eight course modules, and one is to be completed every two weeks of the 16-week course (see the schedule here). There are no scheduled, in-person meetings for this course, although you are welcome to contact the instructor via office hours or by email for questions and assistance.
To Get Started, it is recommended that you:
- The textbook: McKnight's Physical Geography: a Landscape Appreciation by Darrel Hess (11th edition). You can purchase this as a hardback book in the UI bookstore or online from a reseller, or as an eText through BBLearn. We recommend the eText, it is the cheapest option by far.
- BBLearn: Blackboard Learn (or BBLearn for short) is the UI content and grading platform used by nearly all courses at UI. See a tutorial for BBLearn at UI here, and more about how it is used in this course here.
- Mastering Geography: Mastering Geography is the support system and resources for the textbook, available within BBLearn, and integrated into the course as assignments, quizzes, and exams. There is more information about how Mastering Geography works inside of BBLearn here.
In this course, you will be expected to work on your own to complete the required reading, assignments, and exams. There are eight course modules, and one is to be completed every two weeks of the 16-week course (see the schedule here). There are no scheduled, in-person meetings for this course, although you are welcome to contact the instructor via office hours or by email for questions and assistance.
To Get Started, it is recommended that you:
- Read through all the pages in this 'Getting Started' section
- Log on to BBLearn for this course and either purchase or register your access code for Mastering Geography
Registering "Mastering Geography" in bblearn | |
File Size: | 299 kb |
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Instructions for Registering "Mastering Geography" | |
File Size: | 134 kb |
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- Become familiar with the BBLearn format that you will be using to complete assignments, quizzes, and exams for this course
- Read any announcements about the course made by the instructor on BBLearn
- COMPLETE ASSIGNMENT 1: 'Introduction to Mastering Geography': once you have logged into BBLearn and registered or purchased the access code for Mastering Geography, click on Module 1 to access