WSU DISCLAIMER | WSU COPYRIGHT | WSU HOME PAGE
REVISED: 02/10/00
This page has been accessed
times since August 4,1998.
This page has been accessed
times
since August 4,1998.
2/10/2000: MICRO 102
STUDENTS
Registration for this course will be CLOSED as of March 1, 2000. All students who register before that date must conclude the course by May 1, 2000.
Keep Posted
:
VISIT THE FREQUENCY ASKED QUESTIONS SITE BEFORE
PROCEEDING
Micro 102 was designed as a 3 credit, distant learning, Internet-based (virtual) course that fulfills the lecture portion for a WSU Biology General Educational Requirement, as well as the requirements for the WSU Nursing, Human Nutrition General Dietetics, Physical Therapy and the Plant Pathology Degrees; it is also meets the lecture requirement for most certified health-related programs such as Physician's Assistant. Under modified conditions, on-campus WSU students may also take Micro 102.
Micro 102 consists of the material in the NetText101 chapters, and in the indicated URLs. Some required readings may be required. If you are planning on using Micro 102 as credit towards a degree, check with the institution/department from which you expect to obtain the degree before registering to insure that you will receive credit for this course towards your degree.
Micro 102 is being given under two formats (only through the spring of 2000): an off-campus version and an on-campus, semester based version. The differences are described below.
Off-campus students operate outside the semester constraints in that they take their exams when they are ready for them and thus have few limits on course completion. See the limitations above.
On-campus students however, are required to take the exams during the same week that the Micro 101 students take theirs. This is required in order to keep on-campus students on the semester-tract, thereby avoiding confusion in administrating degree programs, scholarship/financial programs and the many other systems that are tightly linked to a semester-based system.
A 1 hour microbiology laboratory is required for many degree/certification programs that require a Microbiology course. At present no single laboratory is associated with Micro 102, however options do exist for fulfilling this requirement. Many Community Colleges teach an Introductory Microbiology laboratory course, which students may be able to take. Check with nearby Community Colleges to see if this is an option. A one credit laboratory, Micro 105L, that is the same as the Micro 101 lab, is available for on-campus WSU students.
Extended Degree Programs Students desiring to take Micro 102 for credit should contact the Washington State University Extended Degree Programs (EDP) office to register. Please visit the EDP Home Page on the Internet and familiarize yourself with the information therein. The tuition costs are; $163/credit, WA resident and $245/credit, nonresident students. Following registration contact Dr. R. E. Hurlbert by phone or E-mail and make arrangements for taking the course:
Extended Degree Programs
Van Doren Hall 202/204
PO Box 645220
Pullman, WA 99164-5220
Phone: 509-335-3557 (Toll-free: 800-222-4978; you will be transferred to my phone)
Fax: 509-335-4850
E-mail: EDP@wsu.edu
EDP Home Page: http://www.eus.wsu.edu/edp
To register: http://www.eus.wsu.edu/edp/genpro/regform.htm
(include your E-mail address)
To arrange for someone to proctor your exams visit: http://www.eus.wsu.edu/edp/resources/exams.htm
The founding fathers of our country recognized that the wealth of a nation ultimately derives from the intellectual resources of its citizens. An ignorant (uneducated) people, surrounded by plentiful natural resources, will squander their wealth if they lack the knowledge to defend it and to use it wisely. Our nation's first citizens recognized that only a people well-versed in a breadth of knowledge would be capable of making the necessary difficult choices that arise throughout the life of a nation and thus insure the continuation of our experiment in Democracy. This led them to advance the concept of a liberal arts education to ensure that those who partook of higher education would be instructed, not only in their chosen profession, but also in the larger sea of knowledge that surrounds and sustains them. Americans are well known, envied and respected for their brash "can do" attitude. Our success at doing "the impossible" has been the result of being able to call upon a population of educated citizens capable of drawing on vast reserves of diverse knowledge to solve problems in an ever-changing world.
The accelerating pace of technological growth insures that persons, and societies, who remain scientifically illiterate will likely doom themselves and their children to a marginal existence. It is important that the lawyer, the businessperson, the farmer, the house and office manager and the legislator etc. all understand the universal concepts of science, along with the scientist, so that they can jointly and intelligently participate in the decision-making processes that face us. Scientific literacy is an absolute requirement for effective citizenship, since to be a responsible citizen one must be an educated, scientifically literate, citizen. Scientific literacy is required if non-scientists are to play a role in guiding the discoveries of science in moral and productive directions. Sadly, the citizens of the United States today rank poorly in scientific literacy when compared with citizens of other developed countries. In an increasingly technological world inferior scientific illiteracy is a threat to our nation's economic and military position in the world and it is a personal threat to the health and safety of every citizen. For example, the failure to understand the importance of childhood vaccination in preventing individual diseases and epidemics is tragic for all concerned as recent, preventable, outbreaks of whopping cough in Idaho and Washington have shown. Further, a failure to vaccinate our citizens leaves our country vulnerable to the growing threat of biology terrorism.
The Fundamentals of Microbiology has been taught at Washington State University since the establishment of a Biology/Botany department over a 100 years ago. Its purpose has always been to enlighten non-science students to the wonders of the unseen microbial world that flourishes in and around us. I would like to dedicate this work to the many extraordinary teachers who, over the years, have accepted the challenge of presenting this material to a diverse population of students, some of whom have greeted this opportunity with less than total enthusiasm. This course has always been designed with the following goals in mind. First, to instruct students as to the nature and importance of the scientific method. Secondly, to guide students to an understanding of the universal principles of biology that govern all life on this planet. Thirdly, to educate the students of each new generation to the wonderment of the mostly unseen microbial world by showing them the importance of microbes to their own lives. The final goal is to provide the tools and knowledge to those who partake of this course to be fully participating citizens in their own lives and in that of the society at large. It is my responsibility to continue this tradition, using modern tools as teaching aids whenever they are suitable. Therefore, I, and a growing number of hardy pioneers are moving our efforts onto the Internet where we hope to bring the gift of knowledge and astonishment of the microbial world to a wider audience.
There are several reasons for putting the Fundamentals of Microbiology (MICRO 102) on the Internet.
- First, it is an attempt to broaden educational opportunity by making it possible for individuals anywhere in the the world, to obtain quality education that can be used either for personal satisfaction or to obtain a higher degree.
- Secondly, I believe that the Internet can improve the communication between instructor and students. Students who are reluctant to communicate face-to-face with an instructor, or are unable to find the time to do so, often find communication over the Internet less intimidating and more convenient. While e-mail is currently the main means of Internet communication, new developments in audio and video communication technology insure that we will soon be talking face-to-face over the Internet.
- The third objective is to improve students' educational opportunities by utilizing the expanding resources of the Internet.
- Fourth, as the Internet rapidly changes the way the world transmits information, it is important that students learn to utilize this tool efficiently.
- Fifth, the availability of the Micro NetText102 material on the Web provides an alternative to the purchase of a textbook and will help slow the growing cost of a college education.
- Finally, the instructor is able to offer the student a much richer, flexible and topical educational experience (see Biological Weapons) than has been previously possible in a static classroom environment shackled to textbooks that are outdated by rapidly moving events long before they are published.
Please be aware that I'm not a computer whiz and you should look at this effort as "a work in progress". I appreciate any constructive advice and comments as to how to improve this material and the MICRO 102 course in general. Now let's have some fun learning about the microbial world, computers, the Internet and ourselves. Numerous students have already helped in making this course better by pointing out factual and English errors.
Although this course was prepared using Internet Explorer as my browser because (1) I am writing this material using Front Page98 software which is designed to work best with IE 5.0 and (2) since IE is free, it is available to anyone connected to the Internet.
Most of the pages in the course contain a lot of information. Therefore, for best results, you may find it useful to make the available viewing area as large as possible by:
Navigation: A number of links, icons and text are present at the top and bottom of the pages that can be used to navigate around in the course!
beside a link means that that link
has material in it from which exam questions can be taken.
beside a link means that that link has material in it that will likely be of considerable
help to the student in understanding the material. Often these sites contain pictures or
animations that explain a topic.
beside a link means that there is sound
associated with the site.
beside a link means that there is a
movie associated with the site. Both will require a helper application, usually Quicktime.
If your computer doesn't have enough memory it may crash loading large movies.Copyright © Dr. R. E. Hurlbert, 1999.
This material may be used for educational purposes only and may not be duplicated for
commercial purposes.
PHONE: 509-332-1840
FAX: 509-335-1907
E-mail addresses: HOME
