Note: This syllabus is currently under construction, but you are welcome to use it and/or adapt it to your needs. - Dr. Bill
Syllabus “American Sign Language 1”
[Self-Study / Homeschool / Proctored]
Student name:
Proctor:
Course description:
An introduction to American Sign Language. Topics include:
basic vocabulary, grammar, history, fingerspelling, numbers, terminology,
and Deaf culture. Special note: This course will require 45 to 60 online
contact-hours.
Materials:
The course makes extensive use of lessons 1-15 at the website:
http://www.lifeprint.com.
Optional materials:
You may wish to order
the "superdisk."
Process:
Students
should go through the lessons
sequentially starting with lesson one. Go to the website
www.lifeprint.com and find the "Lessons" link and click on it. Then open up
lesson 1. Read through lesson one and click on the links to the
vocabulary. For each vocabulary link you should read the whole page and
do the sign until you have it memorized. Then sign all of the practice
sentences and read any of the other material in the lesson. After you have
studied the vocabulary and sentences for the lesson, find the "quiz" link
and take the quiz for that lesson.
Grading:
Total points possible: 1400. Scale: 100-95%=A, 90 = A-, 87=B+, 83=B,
80=B-, 77=C+,73=C, 70=C-, 67=D+, 63=D, 60=D-, 59=E.
|
Assignments |
Points |
|
Research Paper |
100 |
|
15 Quizzes |
300 |
|
Total: |
400 |
Make ups:
This class is self-paced and you can submit your assignments to
your proctor via email. That means there is really no reason for missing
an assignment. If you turn in your quizzes or research paper late your
proctor may decide to give you zero. If your computer is prone to crashing, save your work often
and submit it early.
Instructions for how to write a paper that gets you an "F" for the course:
1. Browse the internet and cut and
paste until you have 500 words worth of plagiarized information.
2. Change a word here and there. Rearrange the information.
3. Format it really nice.
4. Put your name on it and send it in.
Instructions on how to write a "D" paper:
1. Pick an ASL topic that looks easy.
2. Get a few transient references from the net.
3. Write 500 words the night before it is due.
Instructions on how to write an "A" paper:
Checklist:
Is the topic an ASL
topic? (Don't hand in a paper on "cochlear implants curing
deafness.")
Is my report 500 words or
more?
Did I do a research paper
rather than a “book report?” (Book reports are fine if that is the
assignment you are supposed to be doing. This checklist is for "research
papers" --not book reports.)
Did I document where I got
my information? Did I cite at
least 3 enduring, traceable sources of information in my references?
Even if I have changed
"every word" in the sentence-- if I've borrowed someone else's
idea--did I provide a reference?
Did I use parenthetical
expressions (citations) at the end of ideas that I've gotten from other
people? Do these citations
correspond to full references
at the end of the paper? Citations in the body of my paper use an opening parenthesis, author's last
name, comma, year of publication and a closing parenthesis. For
example (Vicars, 2001).
At the end of my document I
have provided a list of references that include the author's last name and
first initial, the publication date, the name of the article, book,
or journal, the publisher and the place of
publication. [Dr. Bill recommends "APA style"
references.]
I have avoided quoting
directly out of books or articles, but when it was absolutely necessary to
do so I have made sure to cite the exact page number in my reference entry at the
end of my research paper.
Any time I used an
author’s ideas word for word; did I put those words in quote marks?
Did I limit the number of
direct quotes in my paper? Did I limit the length of the quotes? (No
paragraph-long quotes.)
I have used online
references only if I've been able to ascertain the actual
author's name, date of publication, title of the document, and name of the
publisher. Even so, I’ve still provided at least three other references
that are more permanent in nature.
If I’ve needed to write
less than 500 words I secured permission from the instructor.
I
have grammar checked my document.
Does my paper contain fewer
than three misspellings? (Preferably none.)
I know the deadline for when
this paper is due.
I have submitted my report in electronic format prior
to the due date.
I
know that this paper might be published by Lifeprint and I give them
permission.
Acceptable references at ASL University:
In the body of your document just use the last name of the author and the year, for example, (Vicars, 2001). Then at the end of your document you put the word "references" followed by a list of the books and articles which influenced your writing.
If reference is a book:
Author's last name, first initial. (year). Title of book-- underline it.
Place of publication: Name of publisher.
Example:
Vicars, W. (1998). Sign Me Up! Salt Lake City, Utah: Lifeprint
Institute.
If reference is a Journal:
Author's last name, first name. (year). Title of journal article only capitalize the
first letter. Name of journal underline it. Volume number, starting page number-ending page
number.
Example:
Vicars, William. (1999). Teaching ASL online. Journal of ASL. 7, 139-156.
If you find an online source that specifies the actual author's name, date of publication, title of the document, and name of the publisher--(good luck)--I'll accept the reference. Note, this must be from an original source document on the web, do not quote someone else's research paper.
If reference is a web page:
Author's last name, first name. (Year, Mo. day). Title of the article or web page
goes here, underline it and only capitalize the first letter and words that
are always capitalized. Title of the journal, general website, or book goes here
. Name of the publisher or the sponsoring organization goes here. Retrieved day Mo. Year:
<full web address>.
Example:
Vicars, William. (2001, Jan. 4). Nonlinguistic communication. ASL
University Library. Lifeprint Institute. Retrieved 12, Feb. 2001:
<http://www.lifeprint.com/asl101/nonlinguisticcommunication.htm>.
Schedule
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Lesson |
Quiz |
Date Due |
Points |
Your |
| 20 |
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| 20 |
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| 20 |
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| 20 |
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| 20 |
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| 20 |
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| 20 |
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| 20 |
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| 20 |
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| 20 |
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| 20 |
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| 20 |
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| 20 |
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| 20 |
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| 20 |
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Paper |
100 |
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Total |
400 |
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