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Welcome to World Agricultural Systems!
We are excited to have you with us as we explore the whole area of the relationships between environment and agriculture, and between agriculture and human civilizations. When I say “we” I mean myself (Cathy Perillo), as well as Alan Busacca who has jointly developed this distance ed version of the course and takes the lead in teaching the on-campus version taught in Pullman, WA. I am taking the lead on teaching this version of the class, though don't be surprised if you hear from Alan every now and then. You will also see him in the videotapes that accompany the class.We are particularly excited to be able to bring this course to you in a distance education format, since it allows those of you who are far from Pullman to participate. We also recognize that the media used to bring the course to you (videotape and WWW resources) provide opportunities that likely would not be available on campus. For example, throughout the course we have been able to include interviews (both short and extended) with various experts and practitioners in our more traditional “lectures” on the videos. These interviews along with the rich set of photographs and other graphic images provide what we think is a particularly visual, in-person, and in-depth look at a wide variety of areas and topics relating to agriculture around the world.
We also recognize that this is both a new course format for us, as well as for many of you. Several of you may never have taken any sort of distance ed course. You may find that the relative freedom from getting to and sitting in a particular classroom to be quite liberating. You can work on the course on your own schedule! However, the lack of a strict classroom schedule, and lack of in-person contact with the instructor (me!) may make it relatively easier for you to postpone your work and therefore fall behind. So take care that this doesn't happen!!
Some of you may have taken distance ed courses in one format or another, but even for you the changes in technology and resources available may present at least some new territory. Hopefully the “newness” will not present difficulties for you. However, if it does, we are going to be providing you with several opportunities during the course to give us feedback. Our goal is for you to connect with the course material and enjoy the learning process! People who study the education process almost universally say that students learn best when they take the responsibility for doing the learning—in other words, one should approach the material with the idea that the next subject is something they are going to learn (in whatever way works best for them), rather than being “just an assignment” that has to be gotten through. The common saying “You get out of it what you put into it” is probably another way of saying the same thing. My point is that as instructors we do expect you to take responsibility for your learning, and believe that it is even more important when it is a distance ed course.
Besides being excited about this new format, we are excited to share our insights into the course material and hope to gain new insights from you too. This subject is broad, and touches on so many facets of our lives that it is difficult to not find things that tie into our own lives. We both find our horizons are constantly being broadened, and that nearly every magazine or newspaper we pick up has something in it that is related to World Agricultural Systems. We hope you find (and enjoy) the same!
Welcome!
Cathy Perillo 1/9/03