LOS ANGELES MISSION College

Family and Consumer Studies

 FCS 21: Nutrition (3 Units)

This course is a study of nutrition as it relates to good health and healthy food choices.  When you sign up for this course you will learn about the foods you eat, how the body processes the nutrients in the foods and how you can make changes for a healthier lifestyle.  The activities of this class are designed to help you look at your current habits and apply the concepts you learn to your life if you choose to do so.

The successful completion of this course satisfies the Natural Science General Education requirements at LAMC  for Plan A and the science requirement for graduation Plan B.  In addition it meets the requirements for certification by the American Culinary Federation.

Text and Technology:  

Text:  Nutrition Concepts and Controversies, 9th Edition, Sizer and Whitney, Wadsworth, 2002.

 Textbook bundled with the Diet Analysis Plus 6.0 software*  available at LAMC Bookstore.

All are also available from Thompson Learning.  The text is required, the Diet Analysis Software* and CD ROM are suggested.  All materials except the text and the software are provided online.  (Do not purchase a handout package that may be available, as this is for the traditional course). 

                 *The Diet Analysis software is available for use in the LAMC  LRC  

            There is a technology charge of $30.10 that is payable to eCollege.com (our technology provider)   
                 within the first two weeks of the semester.  This charge is not covered by financial aid. 

Class Organization and Procedures:

The college policy for time required in the classroom is that for every hour spent in the classroom, two hours of outside work is required.  Since this course meets three hours per week in the traditional classroom, you are expected to spend that plus six hours in study and preparation for a total of nine hours per week.  Since there are no set class hours and this class will not meet in the classroom at any time during the semester,  you are expected to spend the hours you would normally spend in the classroom plus your study hours in working on the assignments for this course in the online classroom.  You will be expected to participate weekly in the discussion by logging into the classroom and participating in the threaded discussions.  You are also expected to ask questions of your classmates and answer any they have asked you.   Attendance and participation  in the virtual classroom is critical for success in an online course. This course is designed to be an interactive course in which students will contribute to the weekly discussion through discussion questions, web searches and projects.  Failure to participate regularly will result affect your final course grade.

The course is divided into 14 units, one unit per week.  A new unit will be posted each week.  The past units will be available for review but new units will not be available until scheduled.  You are expected to participate regularly and there are due dates to help keep you on track.  When you do the work, is up to you.  That is the beauty of an online class any time anywhere, but within the deadlines.

Students can communicate with each other and the instructor by email and chat.  Work groups will be formed early in the semester and students collaborate on the 2 group projects.  One of the benefits of on-line classes is group support and help with the other projects throughout the semester. e-College.com provides an orientation which will be included in the first week of class and there will be a 24-hour help desk provided by e-College.com.

Grading:

The course grade will be based upon 4 exams, an in-depth individual dietary analysis, a variety of individual and group projects, web searches and class discussions.  

Final grades tend to be reflective of participation.  Students who participate regularly in the threaded discussion and turn in the projects usually score higher on the tests and accumulate higher point totals by the end of the semester.

  Required assignments and projects:

Projects	Points
4 Exams @ 70 points	280
Food Guide Pyramid Application	20
Nutrition Facts Food Label Analysis	15
3 Nutrient Application Worksheets @ 10 points	30
Vitamin/Mineral Group Application Project	25
Weight Reduction Diet Application Project	15
Comprehensive Dietary Analysis Project	100
14 Web Searches @ 5 points	60
13 Weekly Threaded Discussions @ 10 points	130

Tentative Course Activity Schedule 

Computer Skills Required:

                It is not necessary to have advanced computer skills to be successful in this class.  You will need an Internet Service Provider (ISP), an email account, and a word processing program.  It is very helpful if you know how to cut and paste, how to search the Internet, and know a little about how to manage your computer files.  As a result of this course, your computer skills and your ability to research on the Internet will be much improved.