Professor’s
Ocean 101 Welcome Message
Hello everyone and welcome to MiraCosta College’s OCEA 101
Introductory Oceanography purely online course!
My name is Ray Rector, your oceanography online instructor for
this course.
Congratulations for signing up for this online introductory
oceanography course here at
This course covers most physical
and biological aspects of the ocean and is especially suited for students who
want to complete their physical science GE with an emphasis on the ocean, and
is required if you want to take the oceanography lab. Additionally, this course is
for anyone who wants to learn all the important aspects of our truly amazing
ocean. You will learn many things
about the ocean: its origin and chemical make-up, plate tectonic theory,
seafloors and marine sediments, currents and waves, wind and storms, beaches,
sea life, and how the ocean is literally the life blood of the planet. Finally, this course is also about
ocean awareness, and how our ocean is under siege by pollutants, overfishing,
habitat destruction and undesirable climate change.
Here’s how this fully
asynchronous online course works:
1) Course Online Access: You access this course through Canvas at the following
URL: https://okta.miracosta.edu/
2)
Professor’s Role: The instructor (that’s
me!) is the course content presenter and facilitator, discussion leader, and
learning outcome assessor. I am
here to make sure that you can access all the course content, that you
understand how to successfully complete all the course activities, help you
with any learning issues you might experience, and finally, grade your
assignments and tests. You and I primarily communicate via
discussion board, Zoom, and email me using the “Inbox” link found
on the main Dashboard Canvas page. You can also reach me at my personal
website email address at oceanprof@seascisurf.com
3) Course
Learning Assessments: The student (that is you!) uses this online classroom platform
(Canvas) to learn introductory oceanography and successfully (hopefully) get
college credit for doing it. To successfully complete this course, you
must successfully complete a couple of writing assignments, post on discussion
board forums, take several quizzes and exams, and go on a virtual fieldtrip.
4) Course
Study Materials: The information (course content) you need to learn in this course
comes from FOUR primary
sources: a) your textbook, b) instructor lectures and PowerPoint slides, c)
Endless Voyage oceanography video documentary series, and d) a series of short YouTube-based,
ocean topic tutorial videos.
5) Ocean
101 Canvas Course Layout: Navigating through our Canvas
course site is somewhat simple. When you log into our Canvas course, you’ll notice that there is a menu on the left side of
the course page, where all components of the course are listed. This menu
has several linked categories that include the following: “Home”; "Announcements”;
"Assignments"; “Discussion"; "Quizzes; and
“Grades”.
Here are some
details for each Canvas menu item:
a) The
“Home” link is where you will find all the various course
components listed/expanded to view.
The “Home” page also has important logistical documents and
information, such as my instructor welcome message and video links, and the
course syllabus and schedule. Other
useful items are also there and include assignment and test-taking tips,
plagiarism info, a link to my personal educational website, and Canvas help
links.
b) The “Announcement” is
where you find my weekly update message concerning current course activities
and due dates.
c) Means of communication between
course participants is done from the "Discussion" link. Note that "Email" messaging is
done outside the course page, but within the general Canvas Dashboard site
under the “Inbox” Icon.
d) Assessment components (graded
class activities) of this course are found under the "Assignments",
“Discussion”, and “Quizzes”
sections.
e) The majority of the course geology
science curriculum is found at my personal student website at www.seascisurf.com, and includes textbook support, professor’s lecture
materials (lecture notes and PowerPoints), Oceanography streaming learning
videos, and Internet geosciences education links.
f) Required research/writing
assignments are found in the “Assignments” and “Discussion
Board” links. You access writing assignment instructions and
submit your assignment response from the “Assignments” or “Discussion”
portal, depending on the assignment.
g) Quizzes and Exams are taken via
the “Quizzes” link. You get three untimed attempts on
taking quizzes. You get one timed
attempt taking an exam.
h) You have access to your grades in
the course through the “Grades” link.
i) The
“Discussion” link includes several different forums, including two
graded forums. This where students
can hold public or private discussions concerning course work – primarily
students helping students – and for raising any sorts of questions,
comments and concerns about this course or anything in general.
6) Weekly
Work Schedule: Your typical work agenda for each week will include
the following: a) read several chapters in your e-textbook; b) view/study the
professor's Power Point presentations and lecture notes; c) watch/study several
ocean tutorial videos, d) watch the “Endless Voyage” streaming
video series; e) post on discussion board; f) work on a writing assignment; and
g) take a couple of learning self-assessment quizzes.
7)
Grading: I personally grade your written assignments and forum
posts, whereas the homework quizzes and exams are automatically graded.
Therefore, you get homework and test results back rather fast, whereas your
submitted written assignments will take longer for me to grade and get back to
you. Please give me a little patience with getting back your graded
written assignments.
Important Resources and Must-Read Documents
1) Syllabus and Schedule: The course Syllabus - an
Important Must-Read Document
- is basically the official course contract
between me (the instructor) and you (the student). This is where all the
course information and logistics are found. Things like textbook information, enrollment,
attendance, and grading policies,
are all found in
the
syllabus.
The syllabus also includes
the
course Schedule which is important for keeping your studies on a timely track – things like
homework, assignment, and tests due
dates are all there.
2) Canvas Navigation: Download
this document for help with using Canvas and Zooming: Resources_for_Navigating_Canvas_and_Zoom.pdf
3) Professor’s Ocean
Website: You will also be using an additional educational website that is
designed and maintained by the instructor (my personal website) exclusively
created for maximizing your learning outcomes. This website is found at:
www.seascisurf.com Once there, click on the
button to access our classroom web page.
Here you will find a plethora of helpful information,
including course syllabus, schedule, lecture
notes, PowerPoints, test and fieldtrip information, and
numerous resource
links.
4) Course Textbook: This course requires an oceanography
textbook that is ABSOLUTELY
FREE - an eText titled MiraCosta Oceanography 101
- Author: MiraCosta College Earth Science
Faculty
Digital Copy URL: https://www.oercommons.org/courses/oceanography-101-miracosta/view
Textbook Option #2: You can substitute and/or supplement the MiraCosta
e-textbook with another oceanography e-textbook for this course that is also ABSOLUTELY
FREE – is titled “Introduction to Ocean Sciences”
- 4th
Edition and Authored by Segar
A free
digital copy of this text is found here:
https://www.reefimages.com/oceans/SegarOcean4Book.pdf
Textbook Option #3: Yet another optional/supplemental textbook (highly recommended) that requires payment is
below:
This text is titled “Essentials of
Oceanography”, 13th Edition;
Authored by Trujillo & Thurman
and Publisher: Prentice Hall
13th Edition:
Print ISBN: 9780321814050, 0321814053
eText ISBN: 9780133558890, 0133558894
The e-text version of the Essentials of
Oceanography is inexpensive and handy with electronic devices. Directions for access to Pearson
e-text for Essentials of
Oceanography, 13 edition are found below.
This eTextbook is simple to use on computers or iOS
and Android mobile devices (even offline). You can take notes and highlights
within the e-text; they are added to your virtual notebook, where you can
organize them for the way you study.
1) Go to:
https://www.pearson.com/en-us/subject-catalog/p/essentials-of-oceanography/P200000006984?view=educator
2) Pick your format option
3) Purchase instant access online or redeem
your access code (temporary access is also available).
Note here that you are given options on your
choice of course textbook so that you find one that is best suited to your
reading and study style. Please make the most of
these very
valuable learning
resources.
7) Contacting me: Don't be shy when it comes to communicating with
me
or your fellow students.
Contact me by either email,
or on the discussion
board. As a general rule, I can be quickly contacted by email through
the Canvas “Inbox” link, or via my personal
email at oceanprof@seascisurf.com (I check for messages at least once
a day,
typically several times).
I really
believe that you will enjoy this
course this
Spring 2024 semester, and that
you
will learn a lot about
our ocean. And it is my hope that
you
make the most of it! Look
forward
to meeting everyone online during our first week of class.
Also, if you have not done so yet, please check
out my video class welcome on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgeToPGDIWw&feature=youtu.be
Aloha! 
Ray Rector