 VCCS Litonline
Introduction to Literature
English 112 (English Composition II)
Welcome to VCCS Litonline, a writing-intensive World Wide Web-based English
112 (English Composition II), developed for the Virginia
Community College System (VCCS). This Commonwealth Course can be used as an
introduction to literature or as a composition and research course designed
to develop students' critical thinking. Students in English 112 read, write about, and discuss a
variety of works in a variety of situations to enhance their professional and
personal reading and communication skills and to prepare them for other academic courses.
VCCS Litonline offers each instructor enough resources for a full version of English 112 for
online students or for on-campus or on-site students who can benefit from electronic
instructional materials and discussion forums. Many instructors, however,
have their students use only one or two of the more than 30 webs at Litonline.
Many versions of English 112 in the VCCS include
an introduction to literature. VCCS Litonline offers introductions to
the traditional genre classifications of imaginative
literature--fiction, poetry, and drama--because these categories provide a convenient and
comprehensible structure for an introductory student in a first-year or
second-year course that involves literature.
For their individual classes, professors design a class structure and select works and
activities that demonstrate similarities and differences within each form and that allow
students to interact within a class as well as to interact with students in other classes.
Always check with your professor about the individual requirements for your class.
The Litonline table of contents is here.
To emphasize the universality and diversity of imaginative literature as an expression
of ideas and emotions, readings analyzed in the instructional webs include works from various cultures and from differing
segments of society as well as from a variety of time periods. These works have been
selected both as commonly used examples of literary art and as reflections of individual, cultural, or
critical perspectives. Litonline was originally designed based on an
initial survey of VCCS ENG 112 faculty and common textbooks; the design was
updated a few years later to further diversify the readings treated, to
include nonfiction, to augment instructional webs and forums with literary
criticism, and most recently to support a
Commonwealth Course in ENG 112 with Litonline independent of a textbook
through a structure that specifies competencies and objectives for every
instructional web (module) and page (learning object).
Though designed primarily for use in the Virginia Community College
System, the open webs of Litonline have received contributions to forums and
generated email from students and teachers in Europe, Asia, Central America,
Australia, as well as North America. Notes from users are welcome at
ehibbison@jsr.vccs.edu.
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English 112 has the following objectives, according to the VCCS course
description, as well as the course outline of the host college, J. Sargeant
Reynolds Community College:
- To introduce students to short stories, poems, and plays
- To enhance students' appreciation and understanding of imaginative literature
- To present strategies and activities to strengthen close and critical reading
- To offer opportunities to think and write creatively and expressively
- To offer opportunities to write formal arguments
- To review scholarly research methods and academic writing conventions
Litonline and other computer-assisted English 112 classes
add the following objectives:
- To encourage collaboration and communication
- To strengthen skills in computer communication
As part of the composition sequence transferable to colleges and universities, English
112 builds on writing skills students have mastered in first-semester composition
courses, in particular, the following:
- Clarity and grace of expression
- Development and explanation of support
- Unity
- Coherence
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- Logical organization
- Accurate documentation
- Grammatical accuracy
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Individual class policies and procedures are identified at
class Web sites. See Current Classes for specific details of
each.
top | VCCS Litonline Course
Overview and Objectives http://vccslitonline.cc.va.us/vccourse.htm | developed
by D. Reiss | modified
02/20/05 by
E. Hibbison |
