Syllabus Course Title Geology of Oregon and the Pacific Northwest Course Number GEOLOGY 308 Instructor Contact Information Gregory Miles Ph D E mail gmiles uoregon edu Office hours virtual via e mail New Registrations If you have recently registered for this class or would like to be registered for this class and have questions or are in need of assistance please e mail the Program Assistant at disted uoregon edu After you register you will receive information via e mail on how to access the course website Introduction This online version of Geology 308 is designed for students with limited science backgrounds Because much of the important material in the book is in graphic form or in block diagrams students should pay close attention to both the text narrative and the many illustrations and diagrams to fully understand the ideas and concepts Students should also take note of the illustrated glossary near the end of the textbook for definitions of geologic features and processes There are no prerequisites for this course Instructor approval is not required to register for this course Wait listing is available for online courses except for summer term If a course is full students can add themselves to the wait list via DuckWeb Wait listing FAQ http registrar uoregon edu help waitlisting faq Students are required to use their uoregon edu e mail address to correspond with the instructor This course requires independent study with help available from the instructor There are no class meetings or field trips Students must complete three exams and a course project on or before their respective deadlines There is no final exam in this course Online Course Information Distance education courses like this one work best for experienced students who are really comfortable with studying and learning on their own If you are the type of learner who likes the structure of a classroom and who wants direct contact with an instructor a live class on campus would probably work better for you Although Geology 308 is designed for students with limited science backgrounds we expect students to work hard and learn a lot in this course Enrolled students will have access to the entire online course through our Blackboard course site At a minimum the work for this class involves studying the Geology Short Course then carefully reading the contents of each assigned chapter and working with the study guide questions in our Blackboard course site These questions are the bases for the exam questions in our course Testing and proctoring for this online geology course is administered through the Social Science Instructional Laboratory SSIL Visit their website at http distanceeducation uoregon edu for more information Students living in the Eugene area take their exams at the SSIL facility on the UO campus The SSIL staff proctors these exams Off campus students need to follow the instructions in the SSIL website to arrange for a SSIL approved proctor for their exams Exams in this course are taken by computer and consist of multiple choice and short answer questions Course Description The Pacific Northwest is home to a variety of geologic regions each with its own distinctive geologic history and geologic features coastal and interior mountains volcanoes broad valleys lava plains deep canyons glacial areas and much more The variable landscape of the Pacific Northwest is due in large part to prominent events in its geologic history and to geologic activity at the Earth s surface Geology 308 begins with a short but intensive study of basic geology using an online short course available in our Blackboard course site This short course will enable students to understand many of the terms and concepts used in the textbook Next assigned readings from the textbook give students an overview of the geology of each of the major geologic regions of the Pacific Northwest Studies focus on the geologic history features and events that make each region distinct In addition to three proctored exams this course requires a project in the form of an illustrated term paper a web page or a PowerPoint file Each student chooses a project topic that deals with some aspect of Pacific Northwest Geology See the short description below Details of project completion are given in our Blackboard course site Course Objectives The principal objective of this course is to learn about the geologic features of the various regions of the Pacific Northwest and the processes by which they formed To help in this endeavor students will use the online Geology Short Course and the textbook to learn basic geologic concepts and terms that they can apply to their studies of the Pacific Northwest The objectives of this course also include learning about a large scale movements of the outer shell of the earth that are responsible for the origin and spatial distribution of mountain ranges chains of volcanoes and other large features we refer to these movements and their consequences such as mountain building as plate tectonics b processes that form the igneous sedimentary and metamorphic rocks that make up the Pacific Northwest region and the basic classifications and the characteristics of the most common rock types in each category c ways that rock masses respond to forces within the earth by either bending folding or breaking faulting d changes in the configuration of the earth s surface caused by the weathering and erosion of rock e reconstructing the geologic history of an area by using geologic concepts to interpret past events and using the geologic time scale to establish the chronological sequence of these events Textbook Orr Elizabeth and Orr William Geology of the Pacific Northwest 2nd ed Waveland Press Long Grove Illinois 2006 re issue ISBN 1 57766 480 9 Ordering Textbooks Course textbooks can be purchased at the UO bookstore in Eugene either in person or by placing an order for mail delivery Questions or problems can be directed to the course books manager Bruce Lundy at either 541 346 4331 or blundy uoregon edu You will need to make your purchase with a credit card when requesting mail delivery Course Structure This course uses the Blackboard course management system Access information will be e mailed to students once they have registered for the course Course information and tools including detailed Study Guides are located in our Blackboard course website For access related questions or help relating to the course website contact the Academic