©
  University of Idaho
  All rights reserved.
  Psychology Dept.
  University of Idaho
  Design - P&D

You will find that there is a wide variety of addictions that are discussed in the literature of which chemical addictions is one of those. However, there are other types of addictions as well. Some include things such as gambling addiction or sex addiction, etc. We will not discuss those aspects; instead, we are going to focus on the chemical addictions aspects that we most commonly see. To do this, we will need a good course that provides a strong overview of all the different aspects of chemical addictions. And, that is what this course is about.

So, to do this, let's walk through the information a little bit to see what you have to do. You will see on the homepage that there is a syllabus button. Click on the syllabus button and find out a little bit about it. As you can see, the instructors name is listed here. The instructors may vary depending upon the particular year, etc. But their office hours, who they are, their phone numbers, etc. are all listed here for your information.

The course description and course objectives are also provided as well. As you can see here, we are going to provide an overall view of what chemical addictions are. We're going to talk about the different theories, some basic pharmacology, and assessment techniques we use, and of course, some interventions and treatment and even some models of prevention which are also used in our field.

In addition to the course description, there is also a variety of course objectives we want you to accomplish. Many of these objectives have been developed and elaborated upon by the IDEAS! consortium (which is a group of Idaho educators in the addictions field). Here, we want you to first have an overview of all the different aspects that were discussed in the course description. However, we also want you to think. We want you to make sure that you understand there are strengths and weaknesses with a variety of different modals. We also want you to understand a little bit about each of the major drug categories and how they work. However, this is not a course in pharmacology of psychoactive drugs, so we provide another course that covers each of these areas in depth. A lot of the KSA's (which is Knowledge, Skills, and Attitudes) are also listed at the end of the course syllabus. These will provide you with some specific requirements and objectives that we want you to accomplish.

So, let's go a little bit further and talk about the books you will need to get. As you can see the required textbooks are listed here. These can be obtained from the University of Idaho Bookstore or they may also be obtained from other sources as well (such as Amazon, etc). Regardless of where you get the books, make sure you get the most correct edition. If you do not, you will have problems accomplishing the tasks that are associated with the class.

You will also observe that there are a variety of optional texts as well. Each of these texts can be used to help you learn things, to help you in research projects, or assorted other things. So, these are a little bit of some things you can use. If you need to purchase these books from the University of Idaho Bookstore, they can be contacted by the information listed here.

Let's talk a little bit about grading. As you can see, there is a variety of different things we want you to accomplish and complete in this class. Some of these have a little bit of overlap. The first of these are web exercises. Some of these exercises are located within your text and some are located within the scheduled sections that you will be seeing shortly.

We also want you to complete a series of reaction papers. These are basically brief papers on some type of topic within the class. They are basically personal reactions to a topic, and as you can see here, we want you to have an integrated type of experience. All must be typed or computer printed, etc. Each of these papers will be submitted through a web processing text program which will scan them for plagiarism and for copying off the web. Do not cut and paste materials from the web. If you do, YOU WILL RECEIVE AN “F" FOR THE COURSE and will not be allowed back into the course. No exceptions. DO NOT CUT AND PASTE FROM THE WEB!

Second point, do not cut and paste or copy other people’s materials. This program will pick up that information and we are currently downloading a lot of other papers that we have already received in the past. So, again, make this work your own or you will be in trouble real fast.

Next major topic, Exams. There are three exams and each was developed to examine your knowledge of the material. Each is open book, open note, and open person. However, do not think that is an easy requirement. You have to be staying on top of the material or you will be in trouble very quickly. Each of the exams will be done through Blackboard. In Blackboard, which we will talk about in a little bit, there are multiple versions of the exam. The version you get for yourself will be different than the one you will get from your neighbor. So, do not try to cut and paste someone else’s or you are going to be in trouble.

Term Papers. You will be required to complete one research paper on a topic of which you have a strong interest. You need to discuss that with your instructor. Basically, a brief one or two sentence description is all that is required. You will need to conduct a literature review, citing a minimum of ten sources which need to be from journal articles or books. Popular press materials such as Times, Scientific American, or newspapers do not count towards your total. You can also use up to four references from a website. But again, as I talked about earlier, you cannot cut and paste material from the web. If you do, again you will receive an "F" grade; and with the new technologies we are using, we will catch you! Do not even think about it!

Class Discussions. There will be a variety of class discussions that will be posted through Blackboard and in Blackboard you will be able to print in information and talk to other members of your class.

Cheating or Plagiarism. The policy in this class is very clear. If you cheat or plagiarize somebody else’s material in this class and we catch you, you receive an "F" for the class. Period! And again, cutting and pasting material from the web, in the exams, or in other materials is considered cheating.

Possible Points. As you can see here, there's a variety of point levels for each material you turn in, for the exams you have, and for the term paper. Ultimately, all the materials are put into a big formula. If you get greater than 90 percent, you get an "A", minimum 80 percent you get a "B", etc. However, we also look at the curve for the class scores, and whichever is the better of the two is what you will receive. However, you need to note that the curve usually falls right on the same line and the same level as the regular, ninety, eighty, seventy, sixty cut off level.

Finally, as you can see here on the bottom of the syllabus page, there are a variety of different lessons in what is called the Schedule. There is also a button on the homepage for the schedule. Let's take a look at one of these right now. So, let's click on lesson one: An Overview of Substance Abuse.

As you can see this is the first lesson you will be doing. There will be an introduction aspect to the lesson. There will be some specific outcomes we expect you to understand. There will be some objectives and important terms that will be listed. However, at the right hand side, at the top you will see a "To do" list. In the "To do" list, you will have some readings you will have to accomplish. There will also be study questions and a variety of readings and resources you will need or can use or use for you own information.

Finally, if you go down below you see that on the first page there are three different major topics: Research Methods, Epidemiology, and an Overview of Substance Abuse. If you click on the slides that will open up a Power Point Presentation for you. So, let's go ahead and click on that. Then what I want you to do is shrink it down so you can see it. Then I want you to click on the audio file that goes along with that PowerPoint. The audio file is basically what you are listening to right here. It is a voice description that walks you through the Power Point Slides. In essence, it is a lecture that accompanies the Power Points that you are seeing. The only difference between the presentations you receive is that I will not be standing there in front of you.

So, let's go ahead and close both of those. As you can see here, back at the main Introduction to Chemical Addictions: An Overview of Substance Abuse, lesson one page. As you can see there are three of these topics. There are also transcripts that will be located for each of these as well. Some of the transcripts will not be transcribed in the fall semester but we hope to have everything up and running by the spring 2006. So, for this fall, if you're listening to this material those will not be available for you.

Let's go back now and click on the Schedule button up in the left hand corner. As you can see, the Schedule button is exactly the same schedule you saw from the Substance Abuse syllabus. As you can see they are all listed there, you can just click on one of those and you can see that if you click on number three the Biology, Physiology, and Pharmacology of Psycho Active Drugs. Again, you will see the introduction, the overview, goals, study questions, etc. However, as you can also see, there are many more topics than you saw in lesson one.

Okay, let's go back to the schedule page again and click on exam one. As you can see here, the exam will consist of multiple choice questions. And it only covers the material for the particular section. That is, it is not comprehensive and you have approximately sixty to seventy minutes to do the exam. You will take the exam by logging on to the exam. For University of Idaho students, you will log in through Blackboard. For other students you will log in on the exams hyperlink that is located within the Benchmark website. You will then go to the exam, take the exam, the exam will then score it for you, and then you will be on your way.

Alright, let's go now to "Contacts". The "Contact" button gives you the instructor’s name, a little bit of information about themselves, etc. Information regarding me, the presenter, is also listed here for you. Finally, there is a "Help" button. The "Help" button provides all sorts of different information, how to get Real Player, Adobe Acrobat and assorted other things. And of course there's the University of Idaho Helpdesk that you can contact. If you are taking this class through Benchmark you can contact Benchmark, as well.

Okay, well, that concludes our review and overview of this class. Before you finally finish, make sure that you go back to the Homepage, click on the "New Student Start Here" button to make sure you do the little survey we would like you to complete. Also you can click on the "Register" button to register there as well.

I hope you find the course enjoyable. Have yourself a good day. We will be looking forward to talking with you as we start our "Overview of Substance Abuse."

Back