English I: Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions About Clipper English
What is the Clipper Project?
Clipper is a project through which students who have accepted early admission at Lehigh can take first-year courses online in the Spring semester of their senior year before starting at Lehigh.

Q. How exactly does one take a Clipper course online?
A. Each Clipper course will use the "Blackboard" Web course management system. Clipper students access their course by logging in to Lehigh's Blackboard server at "http://ci.lehigh.edu" using their 4-digit Lehigh ID and password. Orientation to the use of Blackboard is provided during the first week of class.

Q. Our course web site is called "Blackboard"?
A. Yes, and actually there are two course web sites that we will use in Clipper English. One is our course web site on Lehigh's Blackboard server just mentioned. And the second site, called "The Vietnam Wall Controversy," is on the World Wide Web.

Q. What is Clipper English?
A. Clipper English is Lehigh's English 1, the first-year writing course required of all students in the university.

Q. Who teaches Clipper English?
A. The key staff members for Clipper English are Professor Edward J. Gallagher and Grace Chiang of Library and Technology Services.

Q. Is Clipper English the only writing course I am required to take?
A. No, the university requires all students to take two semesters of writing in the first year. After you complete Clipper English (English 1), you can take English 2 on campus in the Fall semester (or wait until the Spring if you prefer).

Q. What about AP credit?
A. All Lehigh students must take English 1 and English 2 unless exempted. A 4 on either of the AP English tests or 700-749 on SAT II Writing exempts Lehigh students from English 1; a 5 on either of the AP English tests or 750-800 on SAT II Writing exempts Lehigh students from both English 1 and English 2.

A Clipper student who completes English 1 online and is later exempted from both English 1 and English 2 will still receive 3 credits toward graduation for that course.

A Clipper student who completes English 1 online and is later exempted from English 1 can apply that exemption to English 2 if he or she receives a B or better in the Clipper course.

Q. Why does the university require two writing courses?
A. Lehigh recognizes that mastery of language is the most fundamental skill you can have for success in school and in whatever career you choose.

Q. What is the goal of Clipper English?
A. The goal of Clipper English is to improve your verbal skills through a lot of guided practice and feedback.

Q. How much writing will I do?
A. You will write in some way for almost every homework assignment (two or three times per week), and you will have four major writing projects of about 1250 words each.

Q. What will I write about?
A. You will write about the way the presentation of history has become a political issue (what we call putting "History on Trial") by focusing on the fierce controversy over building a memorial to the veterans who served in the Vietnam war -- what we all know now as the Vietnam "Wall."

Q. Will there be a text book from which I learn about the Vietnam Wall Controversy?
A. No, since this is an online course, it is appropriate that we access our information online. The Lehigh web site called "The Vietnam Wall Controversy" that we mentioned earlier will provide access to all the materials you need to read. You will not only be practicing your writing in this course, but you will also be practicing the use of the web for educational purposes.

Q. Can you tell me more about how the Vietnam Wall controversy web site will work?
A. Yes, recent advances in computer technology have made it possible to access specific library materials in online databases with a few clicks at most. So, instead of having a text book or going to a library, you will have access to all your resource materials immediately online. Materials not in the online databases will be available in similar immediate fashion in the Course Documents file on our Blackboard course web site. The Vietnam Wall controversy web site will tell you where the material is and take you directly to many of the documents. You can read the materials online and then print them out for further study if you feel more comfortable doing that.

Q. I have not used the web much for school work -- will I find using the Vietnam Wall web site difficult?
A. You should be alright. We'll provide practice during the first week of the course. And there will be a "contact person" for any technical problems you might have.

Q. So it sounds like I need access to a good, fast printer if all the reading material is online?
A. Yes, that would certainly help. Some people still find reading online difficult, and almost all of us like a text to mark up when we are doing serious study.

Q. Are you sure I won't need any texts?
A. Well, we will be using three films, and we will provide information about purchase or rental.

Q. How long is the Clipper English course?
A. Clipper English has 14 instructional weeks (the usual semester length at Lehigh), beginning January 26 and ending May 12. Breaks and holidays will be keyed to the Lehigh school calendar.

Q. What if my high school break and/or family vacation does not coincide with Lehigh's breaks?
A. Not to worry. We will make accommodations for reasonable conflicts with the Lehigh schedule.

Q. 14 weeks -- since there are four major writing projects, that means one major writing project about very three weeks?
A. Correct.

Q. How much time will I be expected to spend on Clipper English?
A. Lehigh expects that on-campus students taking a 3-credit course like Clipper English put in about 9-12 hours per week. The same holds true for you. Since you are working full-time on your high school studies, then, you need to have a reasonable amount of extra time to devote to Clipper. Our experience with past Clipper courses indicates that students report working on weekends, for instance.

Q. How will I be graded in the course?
A. 80% of your final grade will be based on the four major writing projects and 20% on class participation.

Q. Class participation? I thought online classes were mainly self-paced.
A. Yes, it might be true that many online classes are solitary experiences in which students work at their own pace within periodic deadlines. But Clipper English will be, as much as possible, a collaborative course like what you would have in a traditional classroom environment. Simply stated, practice in communication needs a community in and on which to practice.

Q. How exactly does "participation" occur in an online course?
A. Our Blackboard course site has a discussion board, a chat room, and email, so students and teachers do have the means to interact, and, in fact, these elements will be important parts of the course. In addition, we will use Instant Messenger and a program called Centra for audio chat.

Q. So, I will get to know other students in the course?
A. Exactly. Students will be pooling knowledge, "talking" to each other on discussion boards and chats, and reading and commenting on each other's formal written work.

Q. Will I need to be online at a specified time?
A. Your assignments will be given one week at a time. There will be two or three assignments each week, due, for instance, like on Wednesday and Saturday or like on Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday. Thus, you will have some flexibility about completing these assignments before the deadlines. There will be some lectures online that you can access at any time. And we will also do some full class and small group written and audio chats, but we will arrange those times to fit your schedules. In the past we have found that 9 or 10 pm Monday through Thursday to be open for most students and Sunday nights as an especially good time to meet together. But, again, we will arrange meeting times to fit your schedules.

Q. How am I going to submit my major essays?
A. Blackboard has a function called the "Digital Drop Box" (it's under Tools on the Blackboard menu). You will do your essay in Microsoft Word and send it through the drop box. We will use the Comment function in Microsoft Word to make comments and send the file back to you through the drop box. When you open your file, you will see highlightings or brackets (depending on your version of Word) where the comments are. Place your cursor on the highlightings or brackets, and the comments will appear in a separate box. If you want to print your essay and read the comments that way, you can also do that. You'll practice using the drop box and the comment function during the first week of class.

Q. Do I have to use Microsoft Word?
A. Yes, the comment function is essential in the evaluation process, and it does not transfer to other word processing programs, so you must use Microsoft Word.

Q. How will I get individual help if I need it?
A. There will be regular "office hours" in the Blackboard chat room and in Centra's audio chat, as well as Instant Messenger and email. In a pinch there is always the phone too.

Q. Audio contact?
A. Yes, you will need a headset and a microphone for Centra. There will be orientation on the various technologies during the first week.

Q. Audio chat through Centra sounds very interesting, but will the program run on my computer?
A. We have found that most Clipper students already have computers powerful enough to run Centra, but you will receive the specifications necessary in your packet from Clipper headquarters, and we'll do a test with you at the beginning of the course.

Q. The first week sounds very important, true?
A. Yes. We will use the first week to familiarize ourselves with all the technology (tools) that will be employed to facilitate and enhance our time together. Have your headset and microphone set up and ready to go beforehand. Plan access to a good printer if you don't have one.What have you found is the biggest problem Clipper English students face?

We'd say that the biggest problem is time management. Clipper students tend to be very busy already with high school work and activities. Clipper English is a regular college course, so the work is both challenging and steady for 14 weeks. You must be prepared for the extra time you will need to devote to this course.

Q.What if I have further questions about Clipper English?
A. Contact Prof Gallagher: ejg1@lehigh.edu, 610-758-3322, AOL Instant Messenger: ProfessorClipper