Welcome to the world of online learning! If you are new to eLearning classes, take heart in the fact that you are probably not alone and also realize that this first week may be a bit of a challenge as you figure out how everything works. After this week, however, things will get easier as you learn the ins and outs of eLearning. And, really, if you are reading this, you are already making your life easier. I will post announcements nearly every Monday through Friday (excluding holidays) with reminders and clarifications, and I expect that you will read them.

Those who do well in my eLearning classes read the announcements!

Before you get any further in the course, I’d like you to do the following:

Those who do well in my classes read the announcements!

Before you get any further in the course, I’d like you to do the following:

1) Read this document.

2) Be sure to set up your Clark College student email account if you haven't done so already.

3) Read the course syllabus immediately; come back and read it again after a few days.

4) Read the assignment schedule.

5) Ask me questions if you have them by sending me an email in Canvas (more on this below).

6) Set up your CANVAS profile:

The CANVAS profile is information about you that applies to all courses you have access to within Canvas; you don’t have an individual profile per course.
Click on "Account" (on the left-hand side of the screen—that is also where the Inbox link is as well) then click on "Profile" to

Upload an appropriate photograph of yourself that will be displayed with each discussion post you make; it's particularly helpful in discussions to "see" who is typing and to whom you are typing--the eLearning department can assist with this step should you require it, but, unfortunately, they don’t have a green screen. If they did, my profile picture would be of me in a scene from Lost!
Update the preferred first name you use.
Write a short, general bio describing yourself (all students and faculty in all of your Canvas courses will see this).

7) Click on "Account" then "Notifications" to update your desired Notifications:

For each of your communication venues (emails, cell phone, registered services), you may select the frequency of receiving messages, announcements, information about assignments and due dates, and a number of other pieces of information.
Please ensure that you will receive at least Announcements and Conversation Messages on an ASAP basis. This means that you will receive all information from me and not require that you continuously log into Canvas to see if I’ve sent you anything.

8) Note how Announcements will be used in Canvas:

General course announcements will be posted almost every day Monday through Friday to provide information, updates, and pep talks. You can refer back to Announcements at any time throughout the quarter by clicking on Announcements in the menu on the left-hand side of the page.

9) How to use the Inbox (available on the left):

The left side of the Inbox shows conversations with individuals like your teacher or other students as well as with groups of people. Note that this Inbox includes all conversations in every course in which you are enrolled; they are not specific to a particular course.
To initiate a message, click in the To text area of a New Message, click the miniature person head on the right side of that, and select our course name and then Teachers to find my name (Lynne Nolan). Check my name to address a message to me. Type a message, and click the Send button.
Click the checkbox for Group Conversation (you must have addressed the message to more than one person) to send a message that will always be received by everyone in the group.
Return to the Inbox to read messages sent to you. Click the message label on the left to see the conversation on the right.
Reply to messages by viewing the message on the right, then clicking above that in the Message area and Send.
Stay in close communication with me via the Canvas Inbox starting now and continuing throughout the quarter.

10) Be sure to enter our course at the “front page” where you see the ENG101 header each time: Hover over Courses once you log into Canvas and select the ENG101 link there. Then click the Modules link on the left to get to the primary content of the course (which you’ll find to be set up in a very similar way to Moodle if you’ve used that learning management system before). The course is divided into 10 lessons/weeks, and within each lesson you can work your way through it exactly as you would a book--by turning the "pages" and clicking Next in the lower-right hand corner. Be sure to read everything in each lesson.

11) Explore the eLearning website. Refer to the eLearning site for technical questions but not course questions. Send all course questions to me via email (if the question is private) or the “Ask Lynne” forum (if it’s not).

12) Ask me questions if you have them.

13) Understand that there is no yellow brick road, magic wand, or shooting star that will solve all your computer problems. If you are having trouble understanding Canvas, ask me questions by sending me a message in Canvas and/or contact eLearning at 360-662-2654. We are all here to help!

14) Ask questions if you have them.

15) Don’t sit hours upon end in front of your computer without a) eating, b) drinking, or c) breathing. Sometimes the best medicine for computer frustration (a very serious but curable disease) is a change of scenery. Stand up, go outside, and stretch those legs. Your computer and Canvas will be there when you get back.

16) Ask questions if you have them (noticing a pattern, I hope?).

17) Understand that this course (or any eLearning course) is not necessarily the answer for a super busy schedule that involves full-time work, elephant herding in India, diamond exploration in Africa, and/or caring for ten children. Some students mistakenly think that eLearning is the easy way out of a college education. The opposite couldn’t be more true. eLearning can be more demanding, and in a writing course, it is more demanding. Be prepared to work as hard (if not harder than) as you would in a classroom course. Most of our communication will be written. That alone will make you work harder! Of course, you do have the flexibility of not having to be in a class at a specific time with this course, but there are regular deadline dates and times. Please look over the course schedule and syllabus carefully.

18) Last, and certainly not least, go to our first discussion thread in Lesson 1 (Post 1), which will be your introduction. This (and all other content for the course) is accessible by clicking on Modules on the left hand-side of the page. Follow the directions there for more information. But if the instructions don’t quite explain things, ask questions! This post is due by Monday at midnight.

I look forward to getting to know you and your writing!

Lynne

P.S. Go Hawks!