first, be sure you are reading all announcements on our canvas site; one actually explains what to do on the first day of class
You will go to and complete Module 1 there (our only Module on Canvas) and follow some links that will take you to information on how the class works and where everything is located. I imagine that is how you got to this page.
For example, you will learn that most of our class is here on the solarlottery site, not on Canvas. Be sure to follow all of the links to get to our Syllabus, the Class Schedule (which is the page you will refer to nearly every day, information on Writing Assignment requirements, information on how to earn maximum points on the Discussions, and so on.
Important note: if you are registered for the class, then read and follow the instructions on the pages carefully. After looking over the class, you will be required to do a simple (after you've done the reading) Orientation Quiz on Canvas, due no later than Wednesday of Week 1. If you do not complete the assignment then you may be dropped from the class as a no-show.
ok, let's get started
An online class is much the same as a live class. The readings are the same; you'll be writing the same sorts of essays. Still, there are some distinctive differences.
"Yeah, yeah. I know this stuff. I'm just gonna skim to the end. I don't wanna read all this..."
*sigh* not a good start
It is so tempting not to read the information on the course, but if you don't, you will have a very hard time. You will wonder, "Why didn't I get 20/20 on my discussions?" and "How come he isn't accepting my essay? I worked hard on it!" and "Where in heck are the articles we are supposed to read?"
And this is a short course; you do not have time to NOT KNOW any of that. This is also a Reading & Composition course, so please read on. When you get to the Orientation Tour page, follow the links; read those pages; bookmark them; take notes; stick those on your fridge door with a Dr. Who magnet; come back and follow the next link; read again. It will make this a whole lot easier.
a brief aside ("be ready to read")
Some of you will have looked me up on Rate My Professor. C'mon, I know you have. I sure would. What's the first tag that shows up (the one that students post most)? "BE READY TO READ."
Now, to be fair (maybe I'm just being defensive?), I DO NOT have students read more than (or maybe even as much as) other English teachers. I do, however, care how you read. You will see more of this in the opening lectures, but reading in college/university is RARELY about word recognition, getting the general plot/story, picking out bits to memorize. At least in your Critical Thinking (fancy talk for "thinking") courses, the focus will be on you being able to recognize, synthesize, and articulate your understanding of key issues and ideas, often abstract, challenging ideas. We read The Hunger Games for plot and action; we read college texts to grow, expand our understanding of life, the universe, and everything.
you need to read closely to fully understand complex issues and ideas in what you read in college/university; after all much of this actually is new to you
you need to read to find the examples necessary to support your own thinking when you express it
you need to read carefully and completely so that you can demonstrate you know how to follow directions (things like what is expected on a test and what format a paper must be submitted in)
and there are different kinds of things you need to read closely/carefully
Here are a few of the kinds of things you will read for this class:
the "readings" of course (mainly articles located in weekly folders in the Files section on Canvas
reference works you will use for your papers (for example the files on how to properly do MLA 8 and 9 formatting, which you may think you already know, but many of my students do not, and MLA has changed quite a lot over time
sample papers to show you models of the kinds of papers you will be writing
all of the information here on our solarlottery site
the writing prompts and discussion prompts which you get to from our Class Schedule on this site
all Announcements and my Discussion Responses (not just the ones responding to your discussion Posts) on Canvas because that is where a lot of the teaching takes place
does that seem like a lot?
It's really not all that much, but this is a fairly quickly-paced class (with some breaks), so you do have to attend to it several times a week.
At this point, be sure you go back to our Canvas site and complete Module 1 and take the short quiz due Wednesday of week 1