English 1301

How to Do This Class --
Online Orientation

A traditional class is about interacting with people face to face. In an Internet course, the class members conduct this interaction through letters on screen or on paper. The items listed below ultimately save time and effort. They show either how to make this interaction go faster on screen or how to make paper work for you.

Generally, the list below comes from the items that have caused students in this class the most grief in the past. Click on, study, print out and practice the instructions for items with which you are not familiar.

Here's how to do this class:

[ ] 1. When you are ready to start, print out all of the pages of the semester calendar, the essay assignment pages, the Steps page, and any other pages you need to see in hardcopy.

• Grade-related items will not change during the semester.
• If you find a typo, notify me in the Blackboard private email and that will count as 5 points extra credit for the first person to tell me as indicated by the time in the email message. Nobody sees messages sent to me at the Blackboard private email except me.
• I'll fix the typo, but no requirements nor grading criteria will change.
• Post the calendar pages on a wall or upright on a desk or table somewhere where you can see them. Plan to use them as the guide when you wonder, "What do I need to do this week?"
• Check each item off on the printout as you complete each item on the calendar.

[ ] Preparing to learn online

[ ] Becoming comfortable with the Web

[ ] Accessing the electronic classroom in Blackboard

[ ] Becoming familiar with the Elluminate vClassroom

[ ] Selecting, copying, pasting text, especially urls, with a minimum chance for errors

[ ] Bookmarking

[ ] Communicating

[ ] Using hardcopy

[ ] Accessing technical support

[ ] Contacting the instructor

[ ] Using parenthetical references and other MLA conventions

[ ] Entering the class

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Preparing to Learn Online
SAC provides hands-on aids to help students get ready for web classes.

• The Internet Skills Center in MLC 400-B offers modules to increase students' basic computer skills and web-based library research abilities.
• Work in these areas can help students discover how well-prepared they are to take web classes and assist them when they need to shore up weak areas.
• For a description of services and hours, click here and visit the Internet Skills Center site.

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Becoming Comfortable with the Web
SAC librarian John Deosdade's overview provides an excellent place to start for students who need to work a little at getting used to the web.

Basic information is also available at these sites. Bookmark the ones you might consult regularly.

Mary Washington College has an informative guide to web search tools here.

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Accessing The Electronic Classroom In Blackboard
On the PALS login page, the "Need Help Logging In?" cell at left and the "Getting Started" column provide all the needed instructions. Please see the login page here.

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Becoming Familiar with the Elluminate vClassroom

To Copy a Web Address (or Text)
and Avoid Typing Errors

Because your classmates and I need to be able to open the web pages you might list for us, be sure that you send the addresses accurately. To copy an address (or text) from the Web and avoid typing errors, it is necessary to have the capability to have both a word processing file and the site open, with the understanding, of course, that one is behind the other or minimized. Once both are open, go to the site.

1. At the top of the window, place the cursor inside the Address or Location field, and click to select it. (To copy text, use the mouse to select the sentences and/or paragraphs you want to copy and follow the steps below.)
2. In the top row, click on the Copy icon or place the cursor on Edit.
3. From the pull down menu, select Copy and click on it.
   
   If using the mouse does not copy the text: select it again and on the keyboard, press the Ctrl key and the letter C at the same time, and then let them go.
   
4. Go to the word processing file. To minimize the Web if you need to, go to the square in the top right corner that has a line at the bottom and click on it.
5. In the word processing file, place the cursor at the place in the document where you want the address (or text) to appear.
6. Click on the Paste icon or, on the top row, place the cursor on Edit, and then click on Paste.
7. From the pull down menu, select Paste. The address (or text) will appear in the word processing file.
   
   If using the mouse does not paste in the text: on the keyboard, press the Ctrl key and the letter V at the same time, and then let them go. The address should appear.
   
8. Save the word processing file.

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Bookmarking

Bookmarking a site saves time and typing errors. It is especially wise to bookmark the home page for this class. Each browser has its own version of the following. For Explorer, first go to that Web page, and then,

1. Click on the word Favorites the top of the screen
2. Click on Add to Favorites
3. If a dialogue box pops up, answer it as best fits your needs

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Communicating

Blackboard - In addition to the discussion area in Blackboard, members of this class use Blackboard mail to communicate and learn. Most of our exchanges should happen in either Blackboard space. 

Email - After the initial message, we use email outside of Blackboard only to submit and return essays through my external mailbox (Hyperclass [at] Hotmail.com) and for grade reports. These points are important about the email accounts. Be sure that

• you have an antivirus program that downloads updates frequently and scans every attachment
• you do not use a shared email account for this class. Many couples share an email account, but federal law prohibits my discussing grades with you there. Since I send out at least one grade report and because I return graded essays by email, a student must have a private account. If you do not have one by yourself at this time, please learn how to use the one provided by the college in the PALS portal. 
  
  • I'll send your grade report only to the PALS portal email address that the college lists for you. It ends in @mail.accd.edu.
  • Students access it through the PALS portal login page here.
  • The Email User Guide on the PALS portal login page here shows how to use the account.
• whenever you send an message to anyone in this class, be sure to observe the guidelines listed on the polite practices for email page.
• If you are not sure what to send where at any time, please check the communications table.

Using Hardcopy
Electronics have a way of cultivating inertia, so to prevent it from hindering progress in the course, there are checklists for the key activities, writing and revising. Print out these checklists and mark off the steps as the printout satisfies each one.

• The calendar
• Essay options

As a final review of each essay, check it against the

• Steps for Composing an Essay on a Computer.
• Reading in hardcopy reveals problems easily overlooked on screen.
• These procedures show how to use the Search or Find function of the computer to flag the major errors that occur most often in student writing.

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Accessing Technical Support
These two numbers and hours available to students (the times given may vary):

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Contacting the Instructor
The most efficient and reliable ways are

• Blackboard discussion area
• Blackboard private email
• mobile phone -- (210) 219-6589

To send essays, please see the instructions on the writing assignments page.

All of the other points of contact are available here.

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Using Parenthetical References and Other MLA Conventions
Using the current MLA conventions, creating analytical writing, and typing a bibliography page correctly are all essential to passing the course. Work through the readings in the handbook.

After doing the first draft of the first essay, review the information as directed in the Steps checklist.

Post a message in the discussion board about any questions that cause problems.

Enter the Class
If you have not already, go to the calendar and create the introduction message listed in Week 1. Post it in the discussion area of Blackboard. There is no other way to establish your presence in the class.

Updated by Maria Garcia - Hyperclass [at] Hotmail.com | Front Page | Student Services | Top