About Textbooks, Quizzes and Grades

Back in the early 1990s, when building websites was something only geeks fooled around with, I used a standard American history textbook, supplemented with a document reader.  The reader was made to order by a publisher who allowed teachers to select from a list of documents and have a tailor-made book put together.  That was a partial solution to getting a reasonably priced reader for students, but there were three problems:

• Not every document I wished to include was on their list.
• Portions of the documents available did not always include the parts I felt were important, nor was I able to add my own introductions.
• Although the price was lower than the “slick” readers, students still had to pay for material that was free, that is, in the public domain.

I was introduced to the Internet before the World Wide Web actually existed. (It was invented in 1993.) But I quickly realized that building a website would be a way to make documents available to students at no cost.  True, they would have to have computer access to the Internet, but our college was an early adopter in providing computer labs for students.  Web creation was a way to save money for students. The results were gratifying from the start. Students now had access to hundreds of documents, from which I could select those which I felt were most relevant.

Although still teaching in the classroom, I began to see the Web as a means of enriching the teaching-learning experience and started adding topic summaries to my website to supplement what was in the textbook.  I found that if there were issues I had not covered in class, students could find them on the web.  That was liberating for me, since it was not necessary to cover everything in the classroom.

Further, since most of my classes met only once a week, online discussions were a way for students to keep in touch with the course and with each other in the intervening times.  It was especially valuable when classes were canceled for snow days or holidays.

After my retirement in 2004, distance learning seemed a good way to keep my hand in teaching. The problem was finding a suitable, accessible text, because many students were in distant places, including on military duty overseas.  I discovered a free online textbook that was acceptable, although it was very brief.  I supplemented that text with the topic summaries that I had been creating for more than 10 years.

There was still one drawback, however.  Students either had to read a great deal of material on the screen, something I find very difficult, or they had to open and print dozens of documents during the course.

The solution seemed to be provided by a company called Lulu. They could convert my web-based text to a print version or a single file that could be downloaded for printing.  In October 2006, after seeing a Lulu demonstration at a conference, I began uploading the text to the Lulu website.  My goal was to have everything done by the start of the spring semester 2007, but I quickly realized that would not be possible.  But I did vow to have everything available at Lulu by the time students needed it for their weekly assignments.

What made the job challenging was the fact that much of the material on my website had to be substantially revised for the print version.  Copying text from the Web into a Word file meant that cleanup was necessary.  Transitions needed to be written, and the whole book needed careful proofreading.

In addition, quizzes and exams needed to be checked to be sure that everything on them was covered or that they were revised to conform to the new text. All this was taking place while an old semester was ending and a new semester was starting up.  It probably would have been wise to postpone the whole business until the summer semester, but the advantage of having a print version available would not have been available this spring.  In any case, once the process was started I decided to carry it through.

Because you are in the class that is experiencing this transition, I am being extra careful to make sure that you are not penalized for the shortcomings resulting from the process. I have engaged a friend who is a professional proofreader to speed up the process, but it still takes time.  Parts 3 for both history 121 and 122 will be available soon, and I will make every effort to have Parts 4 available by the time you need them, hopefully by the time of the midterm exam.

The free version of the entire text will always be available on my website.  I am committed to keeping costs for students within bounds.  I got into this because textbook prices were too high, even for material that was theoretically free.  When this project is completed a full American history text will be available to anyone who wants to use it for about $20.  That includes both halves of American history. (The average price for a full text at Amazon.com is about $170.)

If the quizzes this semester seem to be too hard because they do not match the new text closely enough, I will adjust all those grades.  I am confident that the midterm and final exams include material that is well covered.  Your essay requirements, which constitute 45% of your grade, have not changed from previous semesters.  You can get an additional 10% simply by participating in the forums.  The two quizzes you may take at home count for only 10% of the course.  After any necessary adjustment of grades, I am confident that you will not be penalized.

As always, I encourage you to e-mail me with any questions or problems you may have regarding the text and the quizzes.  And I am forever grateful to the students who have been kind enough to notify me of problems and errors either in the textbook or on the website.

Thank you.  JS

Updated February 12, 2007 | History 121 | History 122