How is the class taught "online"?

This "Geography of Virginia" class is taught via the Internet, and quizzes/final exam are completed using Blackboard. Discussions will occur via e-mail and Blackboard, and there are even some OPTIONAL videos to watch. There are no REQUIRED weekly meetings in a classroom, but I offer a chance to meet almost every week to review the material in person. For Fall 2008, optional classes will be on the Fairfax campus, starting on Thursday, August 28, 4:30-6:00pm in Robinson Hall B, Room 108 (Fairfax Campus).

The distance learning approach eliminates the hassle of commuting to a GMU campus through Northern Virginia traffic, and there's no need to find a parking space on campus. Quizzes and the final exam are taken online as well. If you're a secondary school teacher in Botetourt, Danville, Louisa, etc. and you need credit towards recertification... this just might be the right class for you. You can register as a Non-degree student, or enter a degree program of some sort at GMU.

Each week, you will explore a different facet of Virginia's physical or cultural geography following the schedule in the syllabus. The content of the class will be transmitted via Web pages on the Internet, optional videos will be broadcast on a weekly schedule by GMU-TV and other Northern Virginia cable networks, and through e-mail conversations. Quizzes will be taken online, using Blackboard.

The class website is at www.virginiaplaces.org If you are registered for the class, bookmark it and visit often.

The videos are pre-recorded; copies are available through the GMU libraries for free viewing if you can get to the campus. You can also purchase a set of VHS videotapes at STAR, the student media center for GMU, for roughly $25.

Since there are no REQUIRED classes on campus, you can choose a time each week that's convenient to review the material for that week. Pack the kids off to school or push the parents out the door to work, pour an extra cup of coffee, and dedicate a portion of one day each week to getting smarter about Virginia. You can start your day with a dose of Virginia, "do lunch" at the office with the material, or commit some time one evening each week. If you're 21 or over and not driving, you might even enjoy Geography of Virginia with an adult beverage.

(There's an ongoing debate whether it's best to drink red or white wine when watching the videos. The general consensus from adult students over the years is that one glass of wine per video is appropriate. If you try to watch three videos in a row, with two glasses of wine per video... hey, that geo-stuff on the TV screen starts to look really good.)

You can also commit some of your weekend "free time" to studying for this class, each Saturday or Sunday. However, you can't procrastinate. You can't squeeze the learning into a few all-nighters before the big tests, or compress all the homework assignments into three Federal holidays in October and November. To ensure you don't succumb to temptation, this class has regular quizzes to test your comprehension. ("Regular" means one quiz every week, for 12 weeks. You won't have to worry about what material you understand, and where you need to ask more questions.)

There's a natural temptation to postpone doing the homework in a class without weekly face-to-face visits with fellow students and the instructor. Hey, I snoozed my way through enough 8:00am classes as an undergraduate... but in those days, the only distance learning classes were correspondence courses for driving a diesel truck (and advertised on matchbooks). Thanks to the Internet, this course offers flexibility in the schedule. Take advantage of it, but remember that there's a fixed structure with content to master - and assignments to complete each week.

In the real world, computers go down, the kids get sick, work/family life requires unplanned trips, and the dog really does eat your homework on occasion. The grading system allows you to drop (or miss) two quizzes, but otherwise you have to plan ahead. Craft a personal schedule that allows some flexibility for the things that inevitably go bump in the night, but don't assume that you can postpone the class deadlines just because we don't meet in person each week.

George Mason University has a December deadline for submitting grades. When you registered for GEOG380, you paid tuition and made a commitment to learn. Invest sufficient time to learn the material and earn a good grade. (If you are auditing the class, you are strongly encouraged to take all the quizzes and do all the assignments, just as if you needed the class to graduate on schedule...)

Be sure to review the assigned material online each week. You're encouraged to "read ahead" through the Web pages and "watch ahead" through the videos. However, material will be added throughout the semester to reflect current events, and class discussions via e-mail will also provide new content that may appear on the quizzes/exam.

NOTE: There will be a few "busticated" links on the website; there's no way I can clean, polish, and dust every day... If a link on a class Web page does not work - notify me via e-mail at

low-water bridge, North Fork of the Shenandoah River near Woodstock