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Welcome to Distance Education PLP 3002C - Fundamentals of Plant Pathology

This course is patterned after that given annually by F. William Zettler between 1994 and 2002 at the University of Florida in Gainesville.

This twelve-week based Distance Education packet includes:

1. Seven DVDs representing the concepts of plant pathology, and following the guidelines of the text (Fifth Edition of Plant Pathology by George N. Agrios).
   
2. Nine DVDs describing specified groups of diseases. Each of these tapes includes a lecture followed by a series of colored illustrations showing symptoms and/or signs associated with each of these diseases.
   
3. Six laboratory packets, defined as "Missions" and each containing a self-explanatory CD and materials for carrying out certain experiments at home. These packets are being provided because some students taking this distance education course will have no access to laboratory facilities with autoclaves for making media, microscopes, or other such items.

A Distance Education students' website is also available to each student.
This website is comprised of:

1. Instructor Information: A short biography of the people involved in developing and presenting this course.
2. Course Information: The PLP 3002 syllabus.
3. Video Case Studies: There are nine case history videos to supplement the laboratory exercises.
4. Resources: Useful homepages for students seeking additional information.
5. Course and Laboratory Schedules: They give a list of assignments for each week of class. They include the a) pages to read in the Agrios text, b) the "course lecture" and the "laboratory lecture" outlines, c) colored illustrations, and d) study guides for the lectures and laboratories.

Using a Facilitator

Distance Education PLP 3002 is designed to accommodate people who are either working with a facilitator or without one. Those falling in the latter category should read the syllabus and adhere to the recommended weekly schedule.

Although the Distance Education PLP 3002 is designed as a self-contained unit, the facilitator should feel free to supplement this material with his/her own experiences and/or laboratory exercises according to the local situation. The facilitator should also feel free to reorganize the laboratories to accommodate the local situation. If such changes are made, however, the facilitator should be careful to inform the class and to guide them through the appropriate review material.

Examinations

There are three 50-point exams based on both the lecture and laboratory DVD presentations, and these should be taken as directed. Prior to taking each of these three exams, the students should refer to appropriate key word lists and the review questions. There is also one 50-point symptoms/signs recognition exam based on the colored illustrations presented at the end of each laboratory DVD. Prior to taking this exam, the student should review the illustrations available on the syllabus/class schedule website. The instructor in Gainsville wil be responsible for submitting and grading all examinations.