• click here first • approx schedule • assignments • syllabus • SEs • course policies • grading • assigned readings • online texts • SQs • DQs • lectures • writing

 

How to Get to the Course and Courseware

Information and Tips

Please Read this for all the necessary starting information

 

 

 

• To Download the classroom software
• To Order Books
• For Help
• First Assignment

By now you have probably received your postcard from the Distance Learning Office and that means you are registered in our Choices That Can Kill coordinated studies online course. Please email Tom Kerns or Diane Hostetler or Brian Saunders and let us know you are enrolled and participating.

Downloading your Courseware:
Our courseware for this quarter is going to be FirstClass. FirstClass (FC) is not a browser-based program; instead FC requires you to download a small piece of software onto your own computer. That software will then connect you to the FC classroom where everything in our class will be happening. It will be necessary to download your copy of this software immediately, and then configure it so that you can get into our classroom. This needs to be completed by Wednesday January 7th.

You will “configure” your copy of the software by simply typing in your own User ID and Password (see below).

So here are the steps you’ll need to do immediately:

1. Download the software onto your computer. You do this by going to http://fc.northseattle.edu and clicking on the download link. From there you will choose the Windows or Macintosh option, and follow the instructions from there.
2. Enter your User ID and password as required.
   • Your User ID consists of the first letter of your first name and then your whole last name. For example, Reginald Quark’s User ID is rquark.
   • Your password is the last six digits of your Student ID number (your SID).
3. (Once you have downloaded your FC, you can configure it to automatically connect to our classroom by clicking on the "step 2" link on the page from which you downloaded the software. Once you've clicked that link and filled out what’s required, you should then be able to connect to our classroom by simply double-clicking your FC desktop icon.)
4. You'll then need to immediately learn how to use this FirstClass software that you've downloaded. The best way to do that is to simply open our classroom and start exploring what’s in it, posting a message here or there – perhaps in the student lounge – and replying to other messages.
5. Your first assignment is to post a short biography into the Bio folder in the classroom. This should be completed by Wednesday evening.

 

To Order Your Books: Some of our books are available online and you will be able to access those texts via the internet. These have been marked in the Books section of the Syllabus and on the Readings Link of this site. You will find the passwords necessary for some of these readings on the FirstClass site.Those books which need to be bought are available through the NSCC bookstore which is managed by Barnes and Noble on campus. You may call them for information on how to order them if you are unable to get to campus. They can be reached at 206-527-3637. their hours can be found on the North Seattle site: Bookstore

If you do not have a computer, there are open computer labs on campus:

OPEN COMPUTER LABS There are two open computer labs available to all North students.The labs are located in the Instructional Building (IB) room 3303 (this lab has both PC's and Macs) and in the High Tech Learning Center (HT) room 1845B (all PC's). North's open computer labs have the widest variety of software on the campus and are open for walk-in use. The hours vary each quarter so please check either the campus home page or the doors outside the labs for specific lab hours. Policies and procedures for the labs are posted in the labs and the lab staff will be happy to assist you.

For Help:

The Distance Learning Office at North Seattle is prepared to answer your questions. Call or email for help. Contact the Distance Learning Office at distance@sccd.ctc.edu; or Phone at (206) 527-3738.

. You may want to print out this message if it isn't comfortable to read on your screen. In fact, we find that if something is more than one screen long it is sometimes easier to just print it out and read it away from the computer. You may also want to do this for many of the mini-lectures you'll be reading this quarter. You may also want to do it for the class schedule (though we'll be adding to it each week), just so you have a printed version of when things are due.

Our First Assignment:You'll need to write a short biography about yourself, maybe a page or so long, or as long as you like. You'll post this in our classroom in the folder titled "Bios." Simplest way to do this is to first open up that Bio folder. Under the messages menu, click on "new message." Write your bio however you like. If you can put a photo of yourself in your biography, that would be great. (In fact, maybe what we'll do here is just give 739 extra credit points to every person who puts a photo in their biography sometime in the first week or two of the course.) The photos help make our classroom community a bit more personable, and the more personable the better in these online environments. Send your message to the class. By clicking send, it will place your message (bio) in the Bio folder. Please read the biographies of all of the class members.

Please have your biography information posted by the evening of Wednesday January 7th.