Astronomy Class Orientation
This is the video orientation for my astronomy classes. The usual first day activity was a very detailed orientation to the mechanics of the course where we went through the syllabus very thoroughly and I introduced the class Canvas. This video set is that detailed orientation. Students in the online asynchronous (Flexible schedule) class should also go through the Online Class FAQ carefully (especially, the part about taking the exams online).
While I don't expect an Emmy or Oscar award for the videos, this video orientation does cover the entire orientation very well and answers just about any question you'll have about the class. The videos will appear in a new tab.
The short videos are collected into a YouTube playlist, so they should play one right after the other if you go to the Astronomy Class Orientation playlist. The videos will appear in a new tab.
Here are what each video is about (select the video link to go to that particular video in the series):
- Video 1: My contact information and office hours
- Video 2: First required material to purchase: the Student Guide course pack. As of Spring 2024: the hardcopy Student Guide is now available for free from Professor Strobel but there is no funding to ship it, so you must come to my office to get the free hardcopy.
- Video 3: Second required material to purchase: The "optional-required" material: the Astronomy Notes textbook and what "optional-required" means.
- Video 4: College-level reading prerequisite, the class website (Canvas), and what the course covers (what we know and HOW we know) plus cost comparisons with CSU, UC and other states' community colleges.
- Video 5: Education Pays! and the course Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs). The Education Pays! website I put together shows the earnings + employment stats for the different education levels from the BLS plus links to reports on the value of a college degree, including the CCCCO's SalarySurfer website.
- Video 6: Grading scale and how points are divided up between the various types of assignments (e.g., exams, homework, skywatch, in-class projects, etc.). Detailed explanation of why I do the homework in the "flipped classroom" approach and warnings about how to do the homework. Discussion about weekly quizzes and monthly exams, including the policy on late or missed assignments. Online asynchronous class: See the Online Class FAQ about how to do the exams! Also, online asynchronous class has homework due on Mondays and THURSDAYS (not Wednesdays) at 11:59 PM and quizzes/exams are done on THURSDAYS.
- Video 7: Skywatch project. Choose ONE from five possible options. Online asynchronous class: data record due on Thursday of week 11.
- Video 8: Teaching and Learning Pact---My role and what you can expect of me and your role and my expectations of you. (For college, the responsibility for keeping up with the class and learning the material rests with YOU, not the instructor.) Title 5 and federal financial aid requirements for rigor of college-level classes. Attendance policy.
- Video 9: Late assignments policy and cheating policy
- Video 10: Details about the class Canvas website—how to get to it, what's on it, how to navigate it, etc.
- Video 11: How to do the Canvas homework, which ones have extra credit, and tying exam concepts on exam review sheets to homework questions--great way to study for the exams!
- Video 12: Details about the optional ACDV 70 series of mini-courses. This video is from the original 2017 recordings.
- Video 13: Short video of advice from my daughter Sarah in 2017 about how to succeed in college based on her first two terms at Oregon State University.
last updated:
January 7, 2024
Content author: Nick Strobel