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Welcome to Composition I! I hope you are ready for a great semester. To help you orientate yourself to the course and Canvas, we will begin with introductions and common questions about this class.

First:

Need to contact your instructor? Call me in my office at 940-231-2939. Or message me via the Inbox. Or, email me at lsmart@nctc.edu. Below is a picture of myself, as well as my office which I miss terribly. I have not been able to go back to it since the Thursday before Spring Break! I thought I would share this, as I know there are probably many things you all are missing as well.

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Office

How much time should you expect to spend on this course? You should plan to spend at least 4-5 hours each week preparing for class in addition to the 3 hours of classroom time. This of course is different in an online class. You will also spend more time in summer classes or mini-mesters.

How much writing should you expect to produce in this course? Keep in mind that this is a writing course; therefore, your grade in the course will be primarily based on your writing (i.e., major writing assignments, rough drafts). You can expect to write approximately 1-2 pages each week (this could be more during summer). Sometimes, you might write a bit more; occasionally, a bit less. I also provide student models for many of the assignments. These models are merely examples of how other students successfully approached the assignment. They are not perfect, and they are not the only way to complete the assignment.

How much computer knowledge should I have? You do not need to be a computer expert for this course. However, you will need to use Microsoft Word or Google Docs--and some of the less common commands--for your assignments.

But, what if I don't know how to do something in Word or Google Docs (i.e., text wrap images or remove all formatting)? At a minimum for this course, you should understand how to navigate Canvas (which you should've gotten in your Canvas Orientation), how to find your way around word processing and presentation software like Word and PowerPoint, and how to attach a document. If you don't know how to do something (such as double-spacing the entire document or adding hanging indents), you can teach yourself. There will be times when you are uncomfortable in this course and don't know how to do something. F1 and Google will be your friend.

What kind of feedback can you expect from me in the course? Your success in this course is my ultimate goal; therefore, I will give you feedback on most of your writing assignments. Sometimes writing comments on each student's assignment can take a couple of days, so please be patient. (There are 25 of you and 1 of me.) I aim to evaluate and provide feedback on your assignments within two weeks, and I will post an announcement when all assignments are evaluated. In return, I expect you to read, reflect upon, and apply my comments to your future writing assignments. I also promise to respond to your emails promptly (within 24 hours, at the latest).

What Time are the Assignments Due? You will have weekly assignments that will be due on Monday / Wednesday / Fridays night at 11:59 p.m. There could be some variation for summer classes.

Announcements / Canvas Notifications / Email: It is imperative that you check your Canvas notifications, email, and the announcements on a regular basis. I will often communicate important information in this manner.

How should we respond to each other and the instructor? You are expected to communicate with your classmates and me with civility and respect when communicating via email or in discussion postings. Posts and emails that are rude, culturally insensitive, or hostile will be deleted, and students may be reported to administration. (In other words, just be nice to each other. We're all learning here.)

What constitutes attendance in an online class? Simply logging into an online course does not constitute attendance. The U.S. Department of Education calculates the last date of attendance by the last time a student participated in an online discussion or made contact (interacted) with a faculty member, and this standard is applied to online courses. The following activities count towards your attendance records (one or more): Assignment Submissions, Discussion Board Posts, Taking Quizzes, Webex meetings, viewing a Webex meeting afterwards - All of these count as factors towards attendance. For example, if you have done one of these items during the week, you are counted as attending. Again, simply logging in does NOT constitute attendance.

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PLEASE READ - IMPORTANCE OF MODULES:

The purpose of a module is to group all related resources, activities, quizzes, discussions together in a single place so that you do not have to click through various navigation tabs to find what needs to be completed within the given time frame or unit of study. They also serve the purpose of organizing reading and introductory material before each activity.

Module requirements are like checking items off of a “to do” list for students.

You are meant to read through all the module pages BEFORE you do the exercises. Just going to your "To Do" list is not acceptable. More than 70% of the questions I receive are because someone did not bother to read the modules. I am more than happy to help however I can, but you will be 100% more successful if you take the time to read your modules. They are the building blocks that teach you everything needed to successfully complete the assignments. Not reading your modules is the equivalent of playing in a sporting event and not attending any practices, not knowing any of the plays, and you just run out asking everyone, "what do we do? what are the plays? how do I run the play?" - You would never do this in a game, so why would you do this with your courses? Also, your team members would not appreciate the lack of preparation and would be quite upset. Just something to think about!

Next:

How do you get started? While the course might seem overwhelming at first, it is helpful to use the Modules tab on the left and proceed through the course using the "Next" button at the bottom of the page. (Be sure you read the syllabus as well - you can access this from the left hand side of your screen - click on "Syllabus") or you can click on this link to take you to the first required module page:

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