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Art 1A: Art History - Online


Welcome to Online Instruction at West Valley College:

This distance learning course is conducted completely via e-mail, the Internet, through the U.S. Mail, and by telephone communication. The primary mode of instruction is through e-mail and Internet connection. You are expected to communicate with your instructor and other classmates through specific assignments. Most of your work, however, is done on your own through reading assignments and accompanying lecture materials.

In order to successfully complete this course, you should plan your schedule very carefully and try to stick to it. A campus course that meets two times a week will take an average of four hours of preparation per week. Since you are not meeting a traditional class, you can expect to spend an average of six to seven hours per week on your course work. Look carefully at your work schedule, school schedule, and family obligations and allow plenty of time for each.

When taking a distance education course you must take the initiative to ask your instructor questions if you do not understand the material. You may have to communicate with your instructor with an e-mail message or post a question on the class bulletin board, or you may have to call the instructor and leave a message on an answering machine. Either way, the response from the instructor might not be instantaneous. You must learn to move on to other material and wait for your instructor to respond.


Content Overview

Studying art history online is a new and exciting way to consider art. In this course you will be introduced to the general styles and concepts in Western Art from the Prehistory through the Middle Ages in Europe. You will learn about the life and times of many well known cultures. Some of the works that may be familiar to you are: The Egyptian pyramids, The Parthenon in Greece, The Coliseum in Rome, and the mediaeval cathedrals in Western Europe. Within the course materials on WebCT, you will find links to important locations to Western art; enjoy!

This course is unlike other college courses you may have taken. Survey of Western Art 1A Online consists of a physical book you are required to buy, plus the WebCT site and all the materials on it. You participate by reading the required text, checking your email on WebCT for messages from me, completing the weekly assignment and taking a weekly quiz.

Read a lot; complete the weekly assignments; learn a lot. It's worth stating again that there's no real-time component, no time of day when you have to be on-line. But you cannot drop out for a week or weeks at a time, either. If you miss a week of participation, you can't make it up--that's just time and points lost. Being in this class is every bit as time-consuming as any other class; it's just that you get to decide which hours you'll spend. 

Survey of Western Art 1A Online has no on campus meetings. All instruction takes place online. Click on the Syllabus link for specific information .


Computer Competency

To successfully navigate this course you should be computer competent in the following:


What Do I Do First?

Click here to view the online course syllabus here. Read the syllabus very carefully so that you understand your responsibilities and the conditions that govern this course.

To determine if distance learning courses are right for you, click here.

Take the distance learning skills survey by clicking here.

To learn how to succeed in an online course, click here.

Grove Dictionary of Art Online


Beginning the Course

1. If you are not already enrolled in this course, scroll down to the enrollment area of this web page and follow directions for registration and enrollment.

2. If you are already enrolled in this course, contact me via e-mail: cinapoli@aol.com

click here to email the instructor

Please send me the following information:

 

3. This course uses an online course application called WebCT. Please access the WebCT orientation page before the course begins and become familiar with how WebCT works by using the the following link:

http://webct.cvc.edu/orientations.asp

 

4. WebCT requires that you have a log in name and password. If you just registered, this may take a few days to set up and process before your log in name is active. Click on the link below to learn how to determine your log in name and password:

Click here to learn how to log in to WebCT

 

5. On the first day of the semester, go to the WebCT log in page (California Virtual Campus web site) and get started:

http://webct.cvc.edu/

 

6. Be sure and click on the current semester log in button.

7. Note: You will not be able to access the course before the official start date as listed in the schedule of classes.


Logging in to WebCT - Review

You will need a log in name and password to access WebCT.

Your login username consists of following:

Your password is the word STUDENT (in all caps)

If you can't find any paperwork with your student ID number on it or you never received any paperwork in the first place, please contact:

The college Admissions and Records office at 408-741-2001

or

Contact the instructor of your course via email:

jim_henderson@westvalley.edu and tell him you need to know your ID number

 


Enrolling in the Course

1. If you are not a continuing West Valley College Student, you must first apply for admission to the college and register for the course. You may access the college admissions web site by clicking the following link:

Click here to apply for admission to West Valley College

2. After you are enrolled as a West Valley College Student:

or

or

 

3. If you feel you may need some additional student services, feel free to access the college's Student Services Online Resources web page. Here you will find links to a variety of college resources like counseling services, financial aide, the library, career programs etc.

 

4. Click here to access the Online Counseling web page


Required Text:

Click here for help finding your required textbook.

To access the West Valley College bookstore web site in order to purchase your book, click here


Links

Click on the West Valley College web page below to access other college resources:

http://www.westvalley.edu/