BIO240 Online
To download Problem Sets and paper versions of slideshows, you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader. You may access a free downloadable version by following either of these links.
Semester Schedule
Spring 2012
BIO 240 Online Spring 2012 Syllabus is available HERE and within the course itself in WebCT/Blackboard.
BIO 240 Online Student Agreement for Spring 2012 is available HERE
BIO240 Online
General Genetics is, itself, a very demanding course. Students should not underestimate the amount of time they must commit to learning and practicing the material. Before considering BIO240 at all, each student should have assessed their personal goals and their specific reasons for learning genetics. Before taking BIO240 Online, each student will need to be technologically prepared. The technology and skills required are addressed below. As a first step, all students should have an active MCC e-mail account.
Online students will rely almost entirely on the text “iGenetics: A Molecular Approach" 2nd Ed. OR 3rd Ed. by Peter Russell [ISBN 0-8053-4665-1 (Second) OR 0-321-56976-8 (Third)]. There is also a softcover, International second (and maybe third) edition which is fine. For online students, this presents both an advantage and a cost. On the advantage side, students will not need to attend four (4) hours of formal lecture each week which allows for four (4) hours (plus travel time) of dedicated study. At the same time, formal lectures are designed to present new subject matter in an accessible way, in part because the professor is present. Online students will not have the advantage of the lecture experience. Because of this fact, I have "screencast" a number of lecture topics and solutions to genetics problems. These are available from the BIO240 section of this website under "Lecture Materials" and "Problem Solutions". These sections of the website are password protected. YOU WILL NEED AN MCC USERNAME AND PASSWORD TO ACCESS THEM.
Online students will require access to specific technologies and will have certain obligations that a student in the traditional classroom will not. For general requirements of online students, please visit the MCC Online webpage and particularly the Orientation.
In addition to technology and skills cited there, each student will need access to a document scanner. Problem Sets will be available to students in “pdf” format. Students will print each problem set off, complete them, scan the complete Problem Sets into a pdf format, and then attach them to e-mail within the WebCT course. Also, once you have registered for the course, you will want to go online, get into the course and initiate the “Check Browser” within the MCC Online Course Management System. You need to be sure your browser is configured compatibly.
BIO240 Online students will be required to come to the Southern and Dobson Campus of MCC to take two (2) two-hour midterm exams and a two-hour final exam. The dates of these exams will be determined before the course begins each semester. Students will need to show up to these exams with official photo identification. Frankly, these precautions prevent students from having other people take the course ‘for them’. IF YOU ARE FROM OUT OF TOWN (OUT OF STATE), this requirement can usually be fulfilled through a testing center at a local educational facility. Contact me well ahead of the beginning of the course so that we can work out how you can fulfill the exam requirements.
Should you have questions regarding any of these materials, feel free to e-mail me at: hocutt@mesacc.edu.