The goals of this course are basically 3-fold. Students should have a broad understanding of the science of ornithology--this goal is assessed through assignments 1 and 2 (below). Students should gain bird identification skills--this is assessed through assignment 3. The final goal of this course is for students to be able to express themselves fluently, with proper English prose and grammar, as assessed by their written work.
1. Explore the Internet and find new pages about birds and
ornithology. Submit a list of at LEAST 20 sites you have visited with a
very BRIEF description of each site. Hot links to Google are
scattered throughout the lectures to facilitate finding these
sites. An easy way to navigate this assignment would be to cut
and paste from the linked word to Google, or to the search engine of
your choice.
2. You are required to complete three essay exams. These assignments have no set time limits. Let me know a week before you are ready to take each test. The table of contents indicates when these exams should be taken.
Test 1: What is a bird and how is it adapted for flight? (closed book).
Test 2: Write a term paper on the behavior of the species of your choice (open book).
Test 3: Write a journal review of any of the major articles in the journal of the American Ornithologists' Union, The Auk.
3. At least twice a week you are to go out and identify the birds you see. Submit to me by E-mail the list of birds you find and tell me how you identified them by giving short descriptions of field marks.
By e-mail, I will give students feedback on all assignments and submissions as soon as possible. On occasions when I am away from internet access, I will respond as soon as I return. The course does contain a bulletin board and a chat application that may be used by students currently enrolled in the course. The course does not use WebCT's e-mail application, therefore all communication is done across the regular net. Exams and assignments should be sent either as Microsoft Word attachments to e-mails or in the body of a regular e-mail. Students should have their own, personal or institutional e-mail accounts.