Update on Nutrition and Health – August 24, 2020

Joseph Dixon ♦ August 24, 2020 ♦ Leave a comment

We have about a week to our first class!  Last night I emailed everyone the Syllabus and the Schedule of Classes.  On the Syllabus was how I use different ways to track your progress (i.e., grade).  Please take time and look through this  – I will put a clearer version on the Canvas Website, which I am working on this week.

As I mentioned in one of my emails, this Blog site is the core of the Class as I will write messages and update you on things here.  An important part of this blog is writing questions I receive from students and posting the answers.  I will always keep the letters confidential and I won’t post any personal questions.

Here are two I just answered:

QUESTIONs from Students

Question:  Good morning,   Hope all is well. My name is B_____________ and I will be in your Nutrition and Health course this fall. I am excited to take the course and wanted to personally ask you for any tips on how to prepare for your class. Thank you.

ANSWER: Hi,  Thank you for your email.  You asked an important question. I just sent out the syllabus and schedule of classes.  It is very important for you to look at how the points are allocated among the various ways I use to follow your progress.  This semester the course can be followed with the online lectures (or recordings) and you can keep up on the important topics by taking the Lecture quizzes.  Since I started the Lecture quizzes the grades of the class have really improved. Then there are the quizzes for the book “Obesity Explosion.” These are just to work through and complete as you read the book. There are no grades attached to these – you just have to complete a certain amount to get the full points for these.

So really, to do well in the class, you have keep up with the lectures and quizzes, do a good job on the projects, and study for the exams. It is a pretty standard strategy.  Sincerely, Joe Dixon

Question:  Hello Professor Dixon,   I hope you have enjoyed your summer and are enjoying what is left of it. I was reading your email and saw that our class meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2:15-3:35. I was under the impression that since it is by arrangement we would not be meeting through Zoom and would instead have all our work on Canvas to complete on our own time and turn in. I have another class that conflicts with these timings. It is called Creative Writing and meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays as well at 1:40-3:00. Since the lectures are recorded am I still able to take your class (and watch the lecturers) or is attendance mandatory? I just wanted to clarify because I have been looking forward to taking this class since the spring semester because I have heard amazing things about it from people I know and have always had an interest in nutrition. What I am thinking is that if attendance is not mandatory, I will just watch the lectures by myself and complete all the necessary work, take the exams during the class times when I need to and let my professor know for creative writing ahead of time.   Thank you,

ANSWER:   Hi,   Thank you for your email. As I mentioned, I needed to have the live class at some time, and I picked the time that did not interfere with other courses in my department. There will be no required attendance and the syllabus and class schedule I sent out last night shows a class where you can work through the projects and quizzes on Canvas.   The exams are the only thing that needs you to be present at a specific time. I will have multiple times for the exam and there should be a time you should be able to make.

I am glad you are taking creative writing. I have written a novel (unpublished yet) and I am writing another one now.  Let me know if you have other questions!   Joe Dixon