World Regional Geography
GEOG 105
3.0 Credit Hours

Course Information

Course Description:

World Regional Geography (GEOG 105) is a survey of the developed and developing regions of the world. Regional cohesion and differentiation will result from the concepts of space/location, place, human environment interaction, movement/diffusion, and regions.

 

Course Objectives:

The primary educational goal of this course is to provide information that enables the student to understand the various geographical regions of the world, their boundaries, physical characteristics, natural resources, climate, cultural differences, and related problems.  Other goals of this course include increasing the student's awareness of the strategic importance of each region of the world and the political outlook and economic potential of each.

 

Prerequisites and Corequisites:

There are no prerequisites or corequisites for this course, although it would benefit the student to have a general understanding of the world’s realms and their interactive relationships prior to entering the course.

 

Course Topics:

The sequence of topical coverage will be as follows:

 

Introduction: World Regional Geography

Chapter 1: Europe

Chapter 2: Russia (and the Caucasus States)

Chapter 3: North America

Chapter 4: Middle America

Chapter 5: South America

Chapter 6: Sub-Saharan Africa

Chapter 7: North Africa & Southwest Asia

Chapter 8: South Asia

Chapter 9: East Asia

Chapter 10: Southeast Asia

Chapter 11: The Austral Realm

Chapter 12: The Pacific Realm

 

Specific Course Requirements:

Each student should have a working knowledge of Microsoft Office software. A basic understanding of web browsing and web components will be helpful as well. A computer that runs a high-speed connection would be best, but a dial-up connection will still suffice.

 

Textbooks, Supplementary Materials, Hardware and Software Requirements

Required Textbooks:
  • Geography: Realms, Regions, and Concepts  Eleventh Edition - de Blij and Muller   John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2004
  • The New Comparative World Atlas  New Jersey: Hammond Incorporated (Newest Edition)
  • Please visit the Virtual Bookstore to obtain textbook information for this course:
    http://rodp.bkstr.com

 

Supplementary Materials:
  • Geography for Life: National Geography Standards  Geography Education Standards Project Washington D.C. 1994  [For Education Majors Only]

 

Hardware Requirements:

The minimum requirements can be found at http://www.rodp.org/students/hardware_software.htm.

 

Software Requirements:

The minimum requirements can be found at http://www.rodp.org/students/hardware_software.htm. Specific hardware requirements for this course include Real Player (for streaming video), Acrobat Reader (for certain map projects), and Microsoft Office.

 

Instructor Information

Please see the separate page inside the course to find instructor contact information as well as a statement of virtual office hours and other communication information. A preliminary data sheet on this instructor can be found at http://www2.volstate.edu/kbell/Bio.htm.

 

Assessment and Grading

Testing Procedures:

The online testing process will be a timed event.  Exams will cover a predetermined set of material (i.e. chapters) and be delivered in the WebCT format.  The grades for each exam will be returned to the student within a reasonable timeframe.

 

Grading Procedure:

The outcome objectives for this course will be determined by the student’s retention of material:

  • covered in each chapter
  • on map assignments
  • in online discussions
  • through PowerPoint presentations
  • through online articles
  • in streaming video feeds

 

The exams for this course will reflect the pertinent aspects covered in each chapter, as well as material the instructor deems most integral to a sound geographic education.  Proficiency in the course will be determined by the students performance on exams and homework assignments.

 

Grading Scale:

90 - 100%

A

80 - 89.9%

B

70 - 79.9%

C

60 - 69.9%

D

       < 60%

F


There will be three timed exams in this course. Students will have exactly one hour to complete the exam. Exam 1 will cover material associated with Introduction: World Regional Geography, Chapter 1: Europe, Chapter 2: Russia (and the Caucasus States), and Chapter 3: North America.  Exam 2 will cover material associated with Chapter 4: Middle America, Chapter 5: South America, Chapter 6: Sub-Saharan Africa, and Chapter 7: North Africa & Southwest Asia. Exam 3 will cover material associated with Chapter 8: South Asia, Chapter 9: East Asia, Chapter 10: Southeast Asia, Chapter 11: The Austral Realm, and Chapter 12: The Pacific Realm.  Material for these exams will come from the textbook, modules and PowerPoints, and online discussions.

 

The three exams make up 70% of the course grade. The remaining 30% will come from submission of textbook quizzes and mapping projects associated with the atlas or assigned web pages (e.g. streaming video projects or assigned articles).

 

Assignments and Participation

Assignments and Projects:

Exercise 1: Utilizing an Atlas – Latitude, Longitude & Time (20 pts.)

Exercise 2: Introduction through Chapter 3 Quiz (68 pts.)

Exercise 3: Chapter 4 through 7 Quiz (67 pts.)

Exercise 4: Chapter 8 – 12 Quiz (65 pts.)

 

There will also be an undeterminable amount of points from assigned articles and video segments that occur throughout the semester. The student will be informed of these assignments in a VERY timely manner. Again, all of this material will become 30% of the student’s total score.

 

Class Participation:

Students MUST participate in all interactive aspects of the course if interaction is part of the course design. For example, students must communicate with the instructor and other students via e-mail if a discussion is slated for that day’s topic (which may include reading an online article or watching a streaming video).

 

Students must check the course bulletin board frequently for announcements.

 

The instructor will send weekly E-Lectures to the class. The student is expected to check e-mail often and communicate any problems with the instructor.  At appointed times the instructor will enter the Chat Room and receive queries from the class. The student is expected to make every effort to meet with the instructor during these predetermined “office hours.”

 

Punctuality:

The syllabus for this course contains a working calendar of assignment due dates. Moreover, the online calendar will reflect the due dates for assignments ahead of time (i.e. a note that an assignment is due will be posted two days prior to the due date). The student is expected to plan ahead and be available to submit work at the appointed time.

 

Course Ground Rules

The onus resides on the student to complete all work at the appointed time.  To do this it is presumed that the student has learned how to navigate in WebCT (or has sought assistance from RODP technicians to this end).  Participation by the student is required for certain aspects of this course, and the student is expected to communicate with other students to develop ideas concerning material.  The student is also expected to check in regularly to see course updates.  Students will observe course etiquette at all times in this course. 

 

Guidelines for Communications

E-mail:
  • Always include a subject line.
  • Remember without facial expressions some comments may be taken the wrong way. Be careful in wording your e-mails. Use of emoticons might be helpful in some cases. J
  • Use standard fonts.
  • Do not send large attachments without permission.
  • Special formatting such as centering, audio messages, tables, html, etc. should be avoided unless necessary to complete an assignment or other communication.
  • Respect the privacy of other class members

Discussion Groups:
  • Review the discussion threads thoroughly before entering the discussion. Be a lurker, then a discussant.
  • Try to maintain threads by using the "Reply" button rather starting a new topic.
  • Do not make insulting or inflammatory statements to other members of the discussion group. Be respectful of other’s ideas.
  • Be patient and read the comments of other group members thoroughly before entering your remarks.
  • Be cooperative with group leaders in completing assigned tasks.
  • Be positive and constructive in group discussions.
  • Respond in a thoughtful and timely manner.

Chat:
  • Introduce yourself to the other learners in the chat session.
  • Be polite. Choose your words carefully. Do not use derogatory statements.
  • Be concise in responding to others in the chat session.
  • Be prepared to open the chat session at the scheduled time.
  • Be constructive in your comments and suggestion

Web Resources:

Library

The Tennessee Virtual Library is available to all students enrolled in the Regents Degree Program. Links to library materials (such as electronic journals, databases, interlibrary loans, digital reserves, dictionaries, encyclopedias, maps, and librarian support) and Internet resources needed by learners to complete online assignments and as background reading must be included in all courses.

 

Students With Disabilities

Qualified students with disabilities will be provided reasonable and necessary academic accommodations if determined eligible by the appropriate disability services staff at their home institution. Prior to granting disability accommodations in this course, the instructor must receive written verification of a student's eligibility for specific accommodations from the disability services staff at the home institution. It is the student's responsibility to initiate contact with their home institution's disability services staff and to follow the established procedures for having the accommodation notice sent to the instructor.

 

Syllabus Changes

The instructor reserves the right to make changes as necessary to this syllabus. If changes are necessitated during the term of the course, the instructor will immediately notify students of such changes both by individual e-mail communication and posting both notification and nature of change(s) on the course bulletin board.

 

Technical Support

Telephone Support:

If you are having problems logging into your course, timing out of your course, using your course web site tools, or other technical problems, please contact the AskRODP Help Desk by calling

1-866-550-7637 (toll free)

or go to the AskRODP website at:

http://help.rodp.org