HST 101 - Fall 2023 - Student Evaluation of Instruction & Course

I realized half way through the term when studying for the midterm, that it was better to read directly from the textbook than from the linked readings in the application. You miss several timelines and a key terms index from each chapter, it also makes cross referencing a lot easier. For the price of the platform I wished that the assigned reading links linked directly to the textbook.

The Primary source activities at the beginning of each week I find vague and unhelpful. Your chance of a successful 3/3 are a bit higher if you've already read the chapter, but that's due to the textbook generally explaining what's happening. Some of the questions I find to be intentionally misleading, or in some cases, just plain wrong. Its such a small part of the course that it doesn't really affect your grade, but at the same time it doesn't teach anything either, its just luck most of the time.

I was very disappointed that i could not access MindTap through the Moodle mobile application on tablet or phone. when opening your course in the app, it does have the icons for: announcements, syllabus, MindTap, gradebook, and zoom office hours. the computer/desktop has the icons/links to access these, but the actual app for Moodle for mobile devices only goes into each week. this made it so i could not access the readings/ work unless i was at home sitting at my desk. I downloaded the Cengage app that attaches to MindTap to access the reading, and most of the time it would tell me  its loading the page to the text and never actually open no matter how long i let it sit. I pay for some of the highest speed internet in Eugene so i know its not an internet issue.

The information and history covered was interesting, which provided some relief, but otherwise the textbook's language was largely boring and repetitive, making it difficult to keep up with the volume of text which seemed to go on and on, and the textbook held a clear bias toward the Western civilization we covered - not simply in terms of what was covered - with the subject area that was obviously to be expected, but some of the language it used to portray the history was delivered from a clearly positive or at least nonchalant stance towards the actions of Europeans. Certainly seemed like a Eurocentric historical lens.

Up front I think the cost of the course is relatively expensive but after using the course and text book i think its's a pretty good deal. Though i could be mistaken i don't like how i wont have access to the text book after a given amount of time like i would with a physical copy.

I really enjoyed the textbook I thought it was fun to read, the topics we covered were all very interesting. I also really enjoyed how the textbook was written. 

I liked the textbook. The readability was fairly easy (there a few areas where a needed clarification so I did outside research) and I definitely think I would've enjoyed the class more if I did in-person instead of online but it couldn't fit in with my schedule unfortunately. The price for the textbook and it's resources were steep and I don't know if there are other avenues to do the same things with a cheaper price tag but I would look into that. I didn't use the resources heavily as I take physical notes to make sure I fully understand the material but I can see how it would be useful for others, especially those with who need accessible material.

Para mí personalmente fue muy difícil porque el inglés es mi segundo idioma, suelo traducir todas las lecturas y exámenes al español pero con el programa no pude hacerlo, tuve que tomar fotos con mi teléfono para traducirlas y fue muy tedioso y agotador.

I felt that some of the questions were not very clear thus resulting in an incorrect answer.

I did enjoy the MindTap program fairly well, I liked how it was pre broken up into manageable chunks that I could make a goal to and then take a break. I liked the "check your understanding" portion, however there were some that I felt thrown off because the set up context seems either minute enough that I hardly remember what it's referring or that I just I didn't take the note but possibly because I felt like it was just a small carry-on of the whole. Nevertheless, I could have gone for an extra question or two to give me a decent sense of reflection, especially with the variation of lengths of subchapters.
Also, it was not until week 8 that I realized I was suppose to do the image/map analysis AFTER I read the chapter, simply because it was at the top. I assumed it was a "where is your understanding or assumption of a piece as of now prior to learning it" set up. It's no wonder most of my scores on those are flops. 
The price was fine, and as much as I do like the program I didn't give myself the opportunity to play with the features. I am still stuck on written notes so incorporating digital forms as viable hasn't set in yet. That said, 2 years in a row now I have purchased and relied on a text reader app that I've been about to upload my digital textbooks or it can read the current page I'm on. It gives me different voice options and speeds so depending on where I am in my focus level both of those factors play apart it was I will hear and absorb better. It was an unfortunate fact that the two apps in a web browser type interface wouldn't allow me to use it. I am appreciative of the feature being available in MindTap and I did reluctantly use it but I would be lying if it didn't drive me crazy with the only robotic voice and single speed options. (those are probably out of your hands but at least you know)

P.s everything was SO interesting and boggling how much cyclical human behavior is, I learned a lot weather my grade show it or not lol Cheers!

     I am mostly satisfied with the quality of the textbook. I had the online version and wished I had the hard copy because I think it is easier read and absorb information because there are a lot sections in the online version that mess up the fluency of reading. When I used the online version I used the "read it out loud to me" option and it never worked well. I was very choppy and didn't work half the time. Even when I had very fast internet.

The textbook and mindtap activities were a great tool for this class though it was dense. I enjoyed reading this textbook, I found the topics and format engaging but I got overwhelmed sometimes with the length. I had a hard time retaining much of the information because the content was so dense and there weren't many other tools to help study or retain information. The mindtap activities didn't reflect what I read and learned. I did use the "read it out loud" option, it helped when I was in a rush or when I was having a hard time understanding what I reading. Hearing out loud helps a lot. The layout of the course was easy to follow and having the due date on Sunday each week helped me to organize my time. I had to take lots of notes but even when I did, I found it hard to understand and analyze certain topics. That Might have to do with my own abilities to read comprehensively, but I felt like there was just too much at once and not enough resources to help break down what we were learning.

I thought it was the easiest textbook to use out of all my courses this term.

With the online textbook I took full advantage of the read out loud feature. I enjoyed being able to audibly hear what I was reading to better process the text. Although I did not use the note taking part online. Mostly because I process information better writing than typing it out, so I used paper and pen for my notes. I also have yet to use the flashcards, but will defiantly be using it to study for the final.  

I have a fairly set sequence of classes for my major (engineering) and a job, which makes finding time to take my GenEds a bit tricky, this is why I usually take them online and I thought that the layout of the class was excellent. With the understanding checks and chapter test split into sections its easy to pace yourself thought the week, but it doesn't hinder the people like me who only really have time to due it in one or two big chunks. I also feel like the courses material doesn't actually need more time than that; I found that I wasn't rushing and could reliable finish within a few hours.

I enjoyed the flexibility that came with Sunday night deadlines. It provided me the ability to not worry about work during the week, and focus on my other in person classes during the week, then focus on history over the weekend. As someone who procrastinates a lot, I definitely got into the wrong habit of putting off the work until the weekend, however I view this as more of a personal error and area for improvement. I believe in the way the course is set up, I just recognize that if I were to spread the work throughout the week it would feel a lot more manageable and I would likely be able to take more thorough notes without feeling the pressure to cram in notes for the whole chapter. 

I do agree with having mid week deadlines as it incentivizes students to partake in the class work more which would without a doubt lead to more understanding of the course work. Though with heavy work schedules or family life i can see how implementing those deadlines would be a challenge 

I have a very busy schedule I need to be able to do all of the assignments in one day. It was very convenient for me to do all of the assignments on mondey, then finish notes later in the week.

In a perfect world, students would do schoolwork throughout the week instead of focusing on weekends. This isn't a perfect world and unfortunately we are young adults who have lives outside of school (or at least want to) and giving more assignments throughout the week would probably cause many students to drop the class. The only option I would have that would make this viable would be to have half the Chapter "Check Your Understanding" 3 question quizzes due in the middle of the week as they are not time consuming and having the rest and the test due still on Sunday.  

Soy madre de 4 hijos, 2 de mis hijos tienen problemas de aprendizaje como ansiedad y autismo. Trabajo y hago las tareas domésticas y estudio todo lo que puedo por las tardes y trato de hacer todo lo que puedo cuando puedo. Dejarme ciertos días de la semana sería un verdadero dolor de cabeza.

I understand being busy throughout the week and only having the weekends to do course work. That is the reason I am only taking online classes as I don't have time during the week to do a lot of studying or go into a classroom. Just because someone does not have the time during the week does not mean they aren't trying.

For me personally, I know how it felt if I had a couple subchapters lefts still to read by the weekend and some were lengthy (especially when I actually had to read them myself rather than audio), so I couldn't imagine blowing it off until the weekend and I enjoyed the premade breakdowns of the chapter, that allowed me to take the time to complete those pieces throughout the week. 
I can agree to that if it is a trend for students to choose to do this, and maybe because this is my 3rd year of online classes that I found the freedom of the Sunday date not stress inducing but also mainly because a lot of the organizing of the work and the space had be already done.
I also have had more of a flexible schedule, so I can't speak for anyone that has kids or a full time job or commutes often.

I really like this idea because I personally am a horrible procrastinator and would be very beneficial.  I tried to do this throughout the week but I always found myself cramming it all in on sunday night. 

One opposition would be work and school. I'm still in highschool and go to school in Cottage Grove so it would be hard to finish more work midweek but it is absolutely possible.

I think this is a good idea to encourage students to spread out their work. I understand the concern for those who have prior obligations but for the sake of the class, I think that would be a fine idea.

I loved the way I could break it up on my own to be more flexible with my schedule with my kids and family and school. 

I try my best to do a little of my work for all my classes everyday, but sometimes I have to prioritize other work in or out of school. Some weeks I may have a test in another class that requires more daily focus, or have to pick up another shift at work. Although I agree with the sentiment, I think everyone learns and manages time in different ways. So the multiple deadlines I could see causing more stress for people who manage their time as needed.

I don't typically do extra credit if offered, most of the time I'm happy enough with my grades, the one type of extra credit I do like is a chance at resubmission of an assignment, sometimes life gets in the way and you mess up an assignment which your now stuck with. A chance to fix that is awesome

better to have the option and not need it, than need it and not have the option.

Possible options:

mock layout of a research paper around a subject in a chapter with primary and secondary sources, who what when were why, thesis, etc. (@ lest 3 sentences per section and how they correlate)

video of oral presentation of a chapter broken down, possibly with PowerPoint or just a PowerPoint with audio.

I don't care too much about extra credit. If it's there I'll do it, but I'm someone who always puts 100% effort into everything, so feeling the obligation to also do extra credit can feel unnecessary and just add to my workload. 

I think extra credit is very nice and even if i were to have 100% in a class i would still do it. For me i only have extra credit in 1 extra class and it was a course review such as this one

All of my other classes offered extra credit, mostly only students who already have better grades do the extra credit, and the people who need it don't. I think it is still a good opportunity, and I always do extra credit. 

I have mostly done an activity and then written about it for the extra credit.

most classes I have had have one or maybe 2 extra credit assignments, normal assignments were 10 to 20 points then extra credit was between 5 to 10 points. they would not raise your grade much but it did help.

The only extra credit opportunity was sending a paragraph about myself so the instructor knew a bit about her students before classes got into the swing of things. It was only worth 5 points and I don't think it impacted my grade greatly. I've heard of other classes doing presentations but nothing where it replaced a grade. I think that would be a good idea.

Todos los cursos que he tomado en LCC me han ofrecido trabajo adicional, lo que para mí es fantástico porque en una prueba puedo poner más y poner a prueba mi aprendizaje más que en un examen largo y agotador. He hecho proyectos, ensayos y repeticiones.

No other class that I have taken yet has offered any extra credit work.

My anthropology class offered extra credit in the beginning of the term but I think it was used also as a visual ice breaker for the class as it was the choice of written or video introductions. 
Also they have offered two make up tests 
Dance class offered if we attended a performance and then wrote a reflection paper
First Aid we were to write a paper on a few videos 
I enjoy the option of extra credit, especially because I don't know how I'll actually perform on a given term that the help, helps. But I do understand that it shouldn't be a priority for student to plead for especially if you have seen that it's commonly not taken once its offered. 

My communications (COMM218) class offered two extra credit opportunities and I completed both of them. The first one was an introductory video and test. The second extra credit opportunity was to fill out a survey for the school. Those extra credit assignments gave me 4.44% and 3.33%.

I wish my professors would offer more extra credit as I've only had two professor thought my 2 years at Lane give me the chance for extra credit. When there was extra credit they gave about five assignments and they usually replaced a assignment grade. It could sometimes raise it by 10%.

Well, this is my first class at LCC so I wouldn't have any college experience but from highschool I didn't necissarily need extra credit but when I did I could ask and get extra credit most of the time. 

Something to consider is if students specifically ASK for extra credit it would be beneficial because they are the ones wanting to get their grade up rather than putting it out there and no one doing it. 

I think each class should have extra credit because if something happened either medically (like me) or family incidents, and it refrains you from doing your best whether it be on a mid-term or homework.

I am not really familiar with how extra credit works. I have had it before and it was maybe a 1-10 point difference on a test. One of my classes has weekly check-ins that will count for 1% each on the final.

This is the only class I’ve been offered extra credit. 

This is my first term at LCC, and so this course is the first time I have been given the opportunity for extra credit. 

While a "once weekly" use of Zoom would be nice, I don't think that I would show up enough to be beneficial. If it were offered already, I might go to the ones before and after a test, however.

Having zoom meeting times is very valuable to people for many different reason. firstly, thought them there is no student conversations to develop or work on understandings of the work, without this it just feels like watching YouTube videos and reading a book with no interaction. second,  these interactions allow people to ask questions directly as they come up, or bring up things like why were both study guides incomplete? requiring them as part of the grade is understandable if giving a lecture on the book, but if these available times are not graded and for open discussion to work out understandings and brings the students to understand, would be more beneficial than anything. students will not write other students they dont know to study or work things out. if there is no zoom there is no communication and growth.

Honestly I prefer the totally asynchronous method because it's less obligation, but I feel like an in person meeting once a week would help me stay focused on the course and have a better idea of where to be/how to be engaging. 

For me it didn't really work. I do like the idea of interreacting with the class from home but since i didn't have a webcam (in my opinion i shouldn't need one as long as I'm participating in class discussion as i was) my attendance was docked to a 44% even though i was actively answering questions 

I have used zoom maybe 3 times in my life. I do not like it. 

I haven't used zoom for any online classes but I think having the classes schedules to lecture a bit for deeper understanding I know I at least learn better from deep diving and audible explanations.

Solo he tenido dos cursos que ofrecen zoom y han sido útiles.

I haven't needed to use zoom for any classes yet.

I feel like I've never had a real learning environment via zoom and the students are too coy to participate and that effects me as well so it gets awkward when I would rather break through all that and be in person or not have to deal with that at all 

I enjoyed the way this course used Zoom. I prefer it to be optional, but still available in case students need extra support. 

I think having zoom class as an option is good when as when students feel like they need extra help with a chapter they can stop by and engage in the lecture but making it required with attendance point doesn't seem to help. 

I did not use Zoom once this year which I am regretting because now I can see how helpful it could have been with where I am at right now.

I prefer to bury myself in a textbook and take notes and I don’t typically enjoy having zoom meetings. 

I personally don't like large zoom meetings, but am not opposed to them. I do appreciate the option to meet with you over zoom though, due to me not living in Eugene and having to make a drive. 

I thought that the textbook was excellent and I didn't need any other resource.

Make MindTap accessible from Moodle app so we can access reading on phones and tablets!!

Honestly not at all. Those are the only other forms I've seen. I wish I could be of More help

No, i do not use social media and i cant think of a service that would help. I was happy with the format that was used.

Nothing comes to mind

No

Nope.

N/A

There isn't another type of smartphone app or web- based tool or service that I know of that would have been useful for this class. 

Maybe an extra credit review that can review for the mid term/final but with Kahoot!  

Making flashcards on any app would be useful

Most of my classes are very similar, I do feel mindtap is my favorite way to complete work.

Not that I have yet encountered. 

I have used OER in my other classes with varying success. I've found that the more STEM focused classes have very straight forward interfaces and are great, and the more Arts focused OERs to be a bit all over the place. I would say that unless there is an already good set of resources available, textbooks (digital or otherwise) are the best bet. I liked the Mindtap platform for this class, and hated having a hundred chrome tabs open for an OER based art history course.

ide love it if i could just access the reading from the mobile device other than a computer, online reading is fine especially if its cheaper/free. i prefer multiple sources over 1 textbook. the mindtap testing and course material was helpful, again i just wish it was accessible through the mobile moodle app, as it is currently not.

I'm willing to do either. I'd prefer not to pay money but can. 

Personally if it was necessary for me to print out the work or go to different websites it wouldn't bother me. Though i do like having everything online and designated to access whether its free or not 

Most classes I've taken free textbooks/resources and I always appreciated that sympathy from instructors. Outside resources that we had to pay for didn't really start the student-instructor respect on the right foot but there wasn't much we could do so that was that. I was never particularly begrudging but free resources always were appreciated and prefaces that this method could run into problems makes students aware. If they don't check for updates, they lose out, making that clear goes a long way.

Personalmente creo que para los cursos de historia o de lectura, comprar libros es algo que me ayuda mucho. Estoy aprendiendo inglés como mi segundo idioma, por lo que tener un libro es una experiencia de aprendizaje más común para mí.

I would much rather just purchase or rent a textbook. I didn't even like doing mindtap online as I would need to download the text in order to work offline. I much prefer an actual book.

I was fine with buying it I just wasn't ready seeing how my aid hadn't came in for a bit longer

At Oregon State University, I took a sociology class that required an online textbook, but the professor gave us a link to access it for free. Other than this rare circumstance, I have not taken a class used only free, online materials. Although a lot of my professors try to keep the cost as low as possible. I think for this specific class on the History of Wester Civilization, keeping the class completely free would be difficult and hard to organize for both the student and professor. I'm willing to buy textbooks to make my learning easier, but I am also willing to surf different websites and read online to help make the class more accessible and money efficient for students. 

I think it would be a great idea! My calculus 1 and 2 classes was all online free materials and they worked perfectly for me if there is a way to get the text book for this class free I'd go for that effort to make it free. I would 100% access everything needed for this class if it used multiple links and free text book pages. 

I am willing to buy textbooks because taking these classes are a necessity to graduate highschool (in my position) so whatever it takes to graduate I'm willing to do anything (to a certain extent)

If I had the choice I would not buy a textbook just so I could save money but I do not know of any free resources. I do think more interesting YouTube video recommendations would be a good start. Personally, I thought the chapter review videos were boring; helpful sometimes, but boring.

I feel like the set up functions perfectly, it was the smoothest class I had. My writing class was very all over the place and hard to keep up with due dates. 

I personally like having a textbook where I can get all my information out of one source. I think multiple websites and such would lead to me feeling like I am searching for the information I need, not learning it. I think having the option for both though may be a good resource, so students who may not have the resources for the textbooks could still access the information needed.

Some of the weeks course work had an additional primary source activity right in the middle, which doubled the time it took to do those weeks homework. I wish that those weeks were better demarcated, or maybe a heads up for in an email for that week(?); the first time you encounter it its a bit stressful. That's really the only complaint I have, I expected to have more by the time I finished the course but everything that didn't initially make sense panned out over the course of the term, but I think that's just starting the term with a document full of regulations, its a bit jarring to see for the first time.

Please make MindTap accessible through the Moodle app, make optional zoom discussion days to broaden peoples understanding and create a creative environment for students to communicate and work together over distances, (let the students discuss/teach each other and interject when needed about the weeks reading). also with how dense of knowledge we are memorizing: dates, names, empires, laws, and religions, etc.. maybe have 2 midterms and a final, especially because we are not allowed a single note card for these heavy readings. I am currently taking 4 history classes this term 2 online through lcc, and your testing by far requires more dense memorization than any other I've ever taken, which is now 5 history classes. this course was much harder than my HIST 202 and 290 combined. As for online classes, I had online classes all through covid, this course is still the hardest online class I've had besides a math class. overall i enjoyed reading and learning through the textbook, i just wish the applications would work on the mobile devices.

Different textbook. Organization of the course was good, I just found the textbook to be written in a rather boring way, and more annoyingly, the checks for understanding and image analysis and such didn't seem to clearly match the text we read.

Honestly i believe that the course is set up perfectly. Everything is organized well and  there were zero hiccups when it came to doing assignments and reading the course work

I thought it was great, I would not change anything. 

Nothing

Sea un poco más flexible con las opciones de toma de exámenes que determinan la calificación o el puntaje final. Ningún alumno quiere suspender una asignatura pero a veces la falta de flexibilidad nos impide aprobar las asignaturas.

Nothing.

It was awesome thank you

I would reccommend maybe implementing some sort of student study group for this online course. We could meet in zoom or on campus. This could help make connections to other students in class, ask our peers questions about the course, and study efficiently. 

I would suggest a review practice quiz of what to expect for the final/midterm that would really help students out for sure. 

No recommendations, again I feel this class is smooth compared to my other courses at Lane.

I have no further comments at the moment