Media Based/Distance Learning

ANT 202 Introduction to Social and Cultural Anthropology BUS 110 Personal Finance BUS 221 Business Law
COM 220 Mass Communications
EAS 121 Physical Geography EGL 101 Composition I (not offered summer term) EGL 102 Composition II (not offered summer term) EGL 129 Introduction to Literature (not offered Summer term) FRE 101 Beginning French I FRE 102 Beginning French II
PED 101 First Aid PED 102 Science of Personal Health PHY 115 Descriptive Astronomy   PSC 101 American Government PSY 101 Introduction to Psychology PSY 120 Human Development PSY 211 Child Psychology
SOC 101 Introduction to Sociology SOC 104 Marriage and the Family: Relationships, Intimacy and Commitment   (return to top of page)

Class Descriptions 

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ANT 202 "FACES OF CULTURE"

"FACES OF CULTURE" is a provocative study of the structure and process of culture. The course examines methods of anthropological research and theoretical orientations and incorporates recent ethnographic and anthropological theory, research, and applications.

Course topics include: the nature of culture, how cultures are studied, organizing devices, patterns for transmission of culture, economics, political organization, social control, language and communication, marriage and the family, social stratification, religion and magic, culture change, acculturation and child rearing, the arts, patterns of subsistence, and kinship and descent.

    (3 credit hours) 26/30-minute video lessons

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BUS 110 "Dollars and Sense: Personal Finance for the 21st Century"

Dollars and Sense: Personal Finance for the 21st Century" is a one-semester introductory telecourse in personal finance. This course teaches students the techniques and critical thinking skills they need to manage their money wisely in today's complex financial world and empowers them to make knowledgeable decisions about their financial future. It provides the information that students need to make sound financial choices and to determine the best course of action in gathering financial assets, protecting these assets, and using them wisely. Emphasis is placed on eight key components of financial planning: obtaining, planning, saving, borrowing, spending, managing risk, investing, and retirement and estate planning.  "Dollars and Sense" explores all forms of credit management, types of investments, a variety of estate-planning strategies, wills, a broad range of insurance options, retirement planning, health care, and even career strategies.

    (3 credit hours)    26/30-minute video lessons
 
 

BUS 221 "BUSINESS AND THE LAW"

BUSINESS AND THE LAW" emphasizes contracts and the legal system. By including modules on the law of sales, contracts, commercial paper, agency, and property -- and examining such critical legal topics as governmental regulation, employment practices, and consumer and environmental protection -- students will gain a comprehensive overview of the law in the world of business.

Using videotaped interviews with well-known attorneys and carefully crafted case studies, students are guided through the major principles of business law and challenged by interesting, real life cases that illustrate key points.

    (3 credit hours) 24/30-minute video lessons
 

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COM 220 "MEDIAWAVES: AN INTRODUCTION TO MASS COMMUNICATION"

As our Information Society races toward the Communication Age, it is more important than ever for students of all disciplines to understand how mass media shape their world, their culture and their lives. "MEDIAWAVES" examines the innovations, industries and people that have changed and challenged our world.

This new telecourse presents a rich and fast-paced mixture of interviews, original footage, and hundreds of visuals. In addition, the programs take students into newsrooms, recording studios, satellite radio networks, television stations and a variety of other dynamic media venues - places that they might otherwise only read or hear about.

"MEDIAWAVES" is laden with serious, in-depth explorations that will help students gain perspective on the patterns and interrelationships that form the history of media in human culture.

    (3 credit hours) 26/30-minute video lessons

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EAS 121 "PLANET EARTH"

"PLANET EARTH" is an introductory study of the state of our planet -- its interior, oceans, continents, mountains and volcanoes, energy and mineral resources, climate, sun, atmosphere -- and how these create the world's geography and affect the people living on earth. This interdisciplinary approach to physical geography gives students a detailed update on our "new earth" and on the scientific advances that are helping us to rediscover it.

    (3 credit hours) 7/60-minute video lessons

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EGL 101 "A WRITER'S EXCHANGE"

Although innovative in its approach, "A WRITER'S EXCHANGE" focuses on the content widely taught in first semester college-level freshman writing courses, including traditional rhetoric and the writing process. Each of the 22 half-hour video programs present an aspect of the writing process in the context of real-life writing situations. The case study format provides a graphic illustration of the practical importance of clear and concise writing and helps students improve their writing skills.

Program topics include rhetoric and writing goals, the composing process, expressive writing, narration, description, collaborative writing, invention, arrangement, referential writing, explanation, application of explanatory writing, style, applications of style, impromptu writing, analysis, persuasion, evaluation, development of thesis, and problem-solving in persuasive writing.

    (3 credit hours) 22/30-minute video lessons

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EGL 102 "READ, WRITE AND RESEARCH"

"READ, WRITE AND RESEARCH" is a second semester composition telecourse for college-level English students. This course presents strategies for developing critical skills, audience awareness and style, and introduces the student to the elements of research -- from library techniques to the final paper -- for both the academic environment and career fields.

The course also provides instruction in writing arguments, reviews and other forms of compositions often expected of college students. It is designed for any student who has completed EGL 101 successfully.

    (3 credit hours) 24/30-minute video lessons

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EGL 129 "LITERARY VISIONS"

"LITERARY VISIONS" brings literature to life with dramatizations of individual works and readings of literary passages. This introduction to literature incorporates both contemporary and traditional works. Organized around three major genres of literature -- short fiction, poetry, and drama -- the television programs examine literary elements such as plot and structure, character, setting, style, symbolism and myth, and theme.

Commentary from noted literary critics contributes the multiple perspectives that would be found in class discussion. Contemporary authors discuss their inspiration and the craft of creative writing.

Assignments, which cover both formal literary criticism and imaginative writing, enhance the development of students' critical thinking and composition skills.

    (3 credit hours) 26/30-minute video lessons

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FRE 101 "FRENCH IN ACTION I"

"FRENCH IN ACTION" is an innovative and highly effective method of teaching French that comprises video, audio and print materials to provide a "planned" immersion course in French language and culture. This multi-media presentation plunges the student into the French-speaking world, providing thoroughly authentic and idiomatic French.

The lessons are organized around topics that reflect the preoccupations of everyday life in contemporary French culture: kinship, encounters, occupations, food and drink, habitat, getting and spending, geography and tourism, to name a few. The approach is functional: commentaries focus on the communicative purpose of each exercise as well as on the manipulation of grammar.

    (4 credit hours) 13/30-minute video lessons
 

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FRE 102 "FRENCH IN ACTION II"

"FRENCH IN ACTION II" is a second semester telecourse which continues the method of teaching French language and culture presented in "FRENCH IN ACTION I." It is designed for any student who has completed FRE 101 successfully.

(4 credit hours) 13/30-minute video lessons

    (See FRE 101 description)
 

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PED 101 "FIRST AID"

This course investigates accident prevention and procedures to be followed in cases of accident or sudden illness. Content includes accident scenes in the home, school and community. Standard American Red Cross Certificate awarded upon successful completion of course.  Note: Videos for this course must be viewed on campus.  There are no other alternatives

    (2 credit hours) 26/30-minute video lessons

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PED 102 "LIVING WITH HEALTH"

"LIVING WITH HEALTH," is a fascinating "user-friendly" guide to healthy living. This introductory health course encourages students to take a proactive stance toward maintaining health, with focus on the lifestyle choices that encourage wellness. The series encompasses all areas of health: physical, emotional, social, intellectual, and spiritual.

"LIVING WITH HEALTH" uses documentary case studies interwoven with commentaries by health and medical experts from around the country which provide critical analyses of health issues.

Seven episodes focus on individual issues of health and fitness, including exercise and diet. Other episodes explore healthy relationships and the impact of relationships on health, threats to health posed by illness, injuries, and substance abuse and offer illness prevention alternatives. "LIVING WITH HEALTH" also examines current health issues such as AIDS, pollution, and other current threats to public health.

    (2 credit hours) 26/30-minute video lessons

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PHY 115 "UNIVERSE: THE INFINITE FRONTIER"

"UNIVERSE: THE INFINITE FRONTIER," an introductory astronomy telecourse, brings the latest astronomical discoveries and astrophysical theories to students. It involves them in some of humankind's greatest intellectual and technological achievements. Incorporating incredible footage from leading international observatories, NASA, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and original three-dimensional animation, the course covers four major areas: Exploring the Sky; The Stars; The Universe of Galaxies; Planets in Perspective.

    (3 credit hours) 26/30-minute video lessons
 

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PSC 101 "VOICES IN DEMOCRACY"

Our democratic government may seem chaotic and confusing because we are living in a rapidly changing society. How do we solve our problems of crime and pollution, keep our food safe, our planes flying, and our economy secure? Do our actions in the political arena make a difference? Do our representatives listen to us? How can we become more effective analysts and citizens? How does what we do affect the rest of the world and, beyond our daily lives, how does our government affect the rest of the world? Are we really living in a global village?

"VOICES IN DEMOCRACY," an introductory telecourse, will explore these and other questions relating to our United States government institutions, politics, and policy. "VOICES IN DEMOCRACY" explores contemporary issues as examples of our government in action.

    (3 credit hours) 26/30-minute video lessons

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PSY 101 "PSYCHOLOGY: THE STUDY OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR"

"PSYCHOLOGY: THE STUDY OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR" not only provides students the basic content of the field of psychology -- the research, theories and terminology -- but enables them to apply this knowledge to everyday life. The course describes major theoretical approaches to the subject. Topics are analyzed from various perspectives: behavioral, biological, cognitive, and social-psychological points of view to give students an understanding of the diversity of psychological approaches for explaining human behavior.

    (3 credit hours) 26/30-minute video lessons

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PSY 120 "TRANSITIONS THROUGHOUT THE LIFESPAN"

This telecourse series in Developmental Psychology replaces Seasons of Life as of Fall, 2003. It accompanies the text, The Developing Person Through the Life Span (Worth Publishers). The series embraces academic theory, scientific discoveries and practical applications as it presents developmental processes in three distinct categories—biosocial, cognitive, and psychosocial. The video lessons provide students with a chance to observe people during all stages of life and hear from leading human development experts and medical professionals. Relates stories of challenge, relationships, investigation, hope, and inspiration using original footage of real-life case studies, providing insights into key concepts and principles of lifespan development. See titles for descriptions. Printed material available through the Instructional Media Services offices at both campuses. (Coast Learning Systems)

    (3 credit hours) 26/30-minute video lessons

NOTE: Credit toward graduation from Oakton may NOT be earned in both PSY 120 and PSY 211.

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PSY 211 "CHILD DEVELOPMENT: STEPPING STONES"

This telecourse series in Child Psychology replaces Time to Grow as of Fall, 2003. It accompanies the textbook The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence (Worth Publishers). The series embraces academic theory, scientific discoveries, and practical applications as it presents developmental processes in three distinct categories—biosocial, cognitive, and psychosocial. The video lessons provide students with a chance to observe children and hear from child development experts and medical professionals. Relates stories of challenge, relationships, investigation, hope, and inspiration using original footage of real-life case studies, providing insights into key concepts and principles of child development. See titles for descriptions. Printed material available through the Instructional Media Services offices at both campuses. (Coast Learning Systems)

    (3 credit hours) 26/30-minute video lessons

NOTE: Credit toward graduation from Oakton may NOT be earned in both PSY 120 and PSY 211.

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SOC 101 "THE SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION"

Understanding sociological phenomena is fundamental to each of us as we cope with the relationships in our lives and the complexity of life itself. The many layers that make up our social life are the focus of this telecourse, "THE SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION." This course is designed to give an in-depth look at groups, communities, institutions, and social situations that illustrate major sociological concepts.

Each of the television programs in "THE SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION" is structured as a documentary, featuring interviews with people in their family settings, at work, school, church, and play. These documentaries are thought-provoking illustrations of issues such as socialization, social control, sex and gender, aging, education, collective behavior, and social change.

    (3 credit hours) 26/30-minute video lessons
 

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SOC 104 "PORTRAIT OF A FAMILY"

"PORTRAIT OF A FAMILY" takes a close look at marriage, family, and alternative life styles in the closing decade of the twentieth century. Documentary footage, combined with expert commentary, brings into focus the fascinating mosaic of the family forms that exist today: traditional families, single-parent families, stepfamilies, families without children, dual-worker marriages, cohabiting couples.

Throughout the course, several interrelated themes are developed. The first is the tension between the individual and the societal environment, and the existence of cultural values. Another major theme is the shift in focus that is taking place from viewing marriage as an institution to viewing it as a relationship in which one expects to find companionship and intimacy. Increasing flexibility forces individuals to make a greater number of choices, and these, in turn, help focus peoples' attention not only on family values, but also on individual values.

    (3 credit hours) 26/30-minute video lessons

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