Lecture 1 – Nutrition and Health – September 1, 2020
What to do to attend the Lecture-
Lecture 1 – Go to Canvas at 2:15 pm and join the on-line lecture by going to Conferences:
Please Note: I have tried to switch this to a Zoom Meeting but my Zoom account is frozen. The class may be too big for Big Blue Button. No matter what – we will try this first.
We will first go over Module 0 (Zero) as shown below:
Then we will start Module 1, which contains Introductory Course Materials:
Please check this Blog site tomorrow (Tuesday) at 1 pm for an Update.
Sunday update for Nutrition and Health 255 – August 30, 2020; Questions from Students
Announcements:
1. The Canvas Site for the class is now established – please try to log on and see the two modules that are now available. Module 0 (Zero) has the Syllabus, Grading Rubric, and the Schedule of Classes.
2. There is a Big Blue Button Lecture planned for Tuesday September 1 at 2:15 pm. Make sure you know how to join this lecture format on the Canvas Site for the class.
Questions from students:
Question: I am a student in your Nutrition and Health Section 1 class (11:709:255), and I am very excited to meet you. Before classes start, I just wanted to email you and tell you a little about myself. I am a Nutrition major and I can’t wait for what it has to offer. I had a few questions I wanted to ask you. How should I prepare for this class? As a first year student at Rutgers, I am a little overwhelmed, so I would like to be prepared for what’s coming. I have seen the syllabus and schedule of classes you sent out.
There was an email you sent out regarding “the Blog.” I am confused about that, will that be your primary way of communication? If so, is there a way I am able to receive notifications on that, because I noticed you answered some questions and I didn’t know until I clicked on the link given in the previously sent email. I would like to thank you for your time.
Answer: Hi _________, Welcome to Rutgers! I can imagine how overwhelming it is to start at Rutgers this way. Quite honestly, everyone is adapting to this new way of learning and attending college. In this class the Blog will be the core or information center of the class. I just set up the Canvas site and it also has interactive features. What I like about the Blog is that you can keep it on your phone and you do not need to sign in to see it.
It is very important that you study the grading Rubric and see how I will grade the class. I think it will be very important to keep up with the lectures and take the lecture quizzes, which are not hard but you need to keep up with them. I hope I have answered some of your questions.
I hope you are healthy and safe and have a great semester at Rutgers!
Joe Dixon
Question: Hi Professor Dixon, I’ve just purchased your Obesity Explosion eBook! However, I’m confused on how to access it on my laptop. Some of the step by step directions given on vitalsource.com were a little unclear for me. May you help guide me? Thanks, ________.
Answer: Hi __________, I believe you can access it with an access code and then keep it open most of the time. I didn’t have any problems getting into the book. The on-line quizzes are not ready yet. Please give it one more try, and get back to me if you continue to have problems. Joe Dixon
Saturday update for Nutrition and Health 255 – August 29, 2020
I have a few notices for the class:
1. This is the Textbook for the course:
Some of you have emailed me asking for confirmation of the Textbook. Students in class are buying this book from many sites, including the Cengage site, where you can get an Ebook version.
2. The other book for the course is now available:
The link for this book is:
https://he.kendallhunt.com/product/obesity-explosion-collision-nutrition-culture-politics-food
The print book should be available in a few days. The reading assignments for this book start on September 15, 2020.
3. The times of the Live lectures are:
Tuesday 2:15 PM – 3:35 PM on the Canvas Site
Thursday 2:15 PM – 3:35 PM on the Canvas Site
Many students have emailed me asking whether the Live lectures are mandatory. The lectures are recorded and you can watch them whenever you wish. However, because of the online Lecture quizzes, you will need to watch the lectures within a week if you wish to do well on the quizzes. The Canvas site will be up and running by Monday at the latest. The only other top concerns are the mid-term exams. As I indicated, there will be several times available to take the two mid-term exams. The final exam needs to be taken at the time set by Rutgers. The official Final exam time is: December 15, 2020 at 12:00 pm
4. On the schedule of classes Excel Spreadsheet I sent out a few days ago, the hours for the class are wrong. It was a mistake. I have corrected it. The hours on the Syllabus and announced on this Blog site are correct.
Update on Nutrition and Health – August 24, 2020
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
Welcome to Nutrition and Health 709:255 for Fall 2020
August 19, 2020
All,
I have received many emails about the time during the week Nutrition and Health 255, section 01, is meeting this fall. As you can imagine, the course has to meet sometime, and it has to overlap with some of your other online classes. I found last semester that the class works better when there are students on line during the class and asking questions through the Chat box. But the lectures are recorded and can be watched at later times. What I do is answer the most pertinent questions on the Blog. The Blog is the center of the course on line. On the blog you can follow the flow of the course and I remind you of quizzes and projects coming up.
Most important are the exams – there are three exams including the final exam. I imagine the final exam will be at a set time set by Rutgers. I will work to make sure everyone can take the 2 mid-term exams. Obviously, there will have to be multiple times to take the mid-term exams.
Of course, you have to decide whether you wish to listen to recorded lectures if you happen to have another class scheduled at the same time.
Please go to the Blog to see this message. Using the blog you can keep up with the ebb and flow of the class.
Best,
Joe Dixon
Announcement: The Syllabus and the schedule of classes with topics will be emailed to you on Friday. The Canvas site for the class should be up by mid-week next week!
Class 28 – Nutrition and Health – Spring 2020 – May 1st – Last Class of the Semester – Go Over the Review Sheet for the Final Exam
Update on the Class and Comments on April 30th 2020:
I hope you got to see Marijke’s class on Tuesday. It was fabulous! She has such amazing experience – having been involved in International organizations and having lived in many countries! Yay Marijke! Thank you so much for being a great TA!
Again, I was absolutely amazed at the Diet Assignments. They were the best ever! Some students submitted only a PowerPoint or a word document, and we are trying to get that straightened out.
We are almost done grading the Exercise assignments. They are also very good! Please see my comments on total energy expenditure in the lecture I gave last Friday. I am still amazed that some of you still think you only do 3 to 5 hours of NEAT a week! You should wash your house’s floors more often, or wash the dishes every day for your parents! I have been washing lots of dishes as our dishwasher is broken. It kills my back! I am getting criticism from my Editor about the term NEAT. She doesn’t like it and wants me to come up with another term. I wish Jim Levine didn’t throw the term thermogenesis in there. I think just non-exercise activity (NEA) is better. Right now I am thinking about just Daily Activity (DA). I dunno though.
I have also looked at some USDA graphing /table assignments. They are also amazing! I hope that you will get ideas about how to use this database in future projects. Look at my advice concerning this assignment on the blog a week ago or so.
Tomorrow is Class 28 of the semester—the last class! It will be mainly going over the Review Sheet – so if you can – Print your review sheet and go over it tonight!
Don’t forget the Mineral quizzes on TopHat. Just a hint – many of you could do well just taking them without seeing the lectures. But to do very well, you need to review the lectures.
Stay safe out there!
Class 27 – Nutrition and Health – Spring 2020 – April 28th – Chapter 14 – Life Cycle Nutrition – Women & Nutrition by Marijke Rittmann, RD
Announcements on April 28th, 11 am:
Please watch this very important lecture today, April 28th, by Marijke Rittmann, RD. Marijke is a very good lecturer and really knows her material. This is the last Lecture for the course. Friday’s class (May 1) will be a Review session concerning the Review Sheet. You can also ask other questions, of course.
The Review Sheet for the Final was put on Sakai Monday, April 27th.
The Major and Trace Mineral Quizzes are still open on TopHat. If you are doing very well in the course point wise, you may not need to take these. The Major and Trace Minerals will only be on the Final in relation to what was discussed about the Diet Assignment in the Lecture this past Friday, April 24th.
The only assignments still open are the Exercise Assignment, which was due on April 14th, and the USDA Graphing/Table Assignment, which is technically due on April 30th.
The Final Exam will be available on TopHat from Monday, May 4, until 10 pm on May 7th, which is the official date for the Final.
Saturday Blog during the Pandemic – April 25th – Nutrition and Health – Spring 2020
Diet Assignment Grades were uploaded to Sakai this Morning!
On the whole the diet reports were the best ever! Most students received a grade of 60/60. Marijke or I read every single one. If you received a bad grade, it was most likely due to the fact that you did not upload one of the parts of the assignment.
During yesterday’s Lecture (Lecture 26, Friday, April 24th) I went over the diet assignment in detail. This material will be on the final exam, so if you missed the lecture, please see the PowerPoint and the recorded lecture on Sakai.
On Tuesday, April 28th, Marijke will give a lecture on nutrition in Pregnancy etc. This will be the last lecture for the semester.
I hope you are all safe and healthy!
Class 26 – Nutrition and Health – Spring 2020 – April 24th – The Diet Assignment and Eating Disorders
What is left for the class? Marijke and I are very busy grading and discussing the assignments. On the whole they are excellent! For most of the students in class – you are able to keep up – so I want you to finish the regular curriculum for the class now:
I want you to watch the lectures or study the PowerPoints for:
Chapter 10 – Water Soluble Vitamins
Chapter 11 – Fat Soluble Vitamins
Chapter 12 – Major Minerals
Chapter 13 – Trace Minerals
Take the 4 Quizzes now available as Homework on TopHat:
Water Soluble Vitamins Quiz – 10 items – 5 points – Due 4-23
Fat Soluble Vitamins Quiz – 10 items – 5 points – Due 4-24
Major Minerals Quiz – 10 items – 5 points – Due 4-27
Trace Minerals Quiz – 10 items – 5 points – Due 4-28
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