Week of August 24-29

Please read this post in its entirety (most of my posts will not be this long, I promise). :)

Allow me to extend an official welcome to Comm 105P! I have 'chatted' with most of you at least a little bit. We are waiting for the last few students to contact me before the roster in the class is finalized.

Every Sunday or Monday I will post what is due for the week. The information I will be posting is located on the Schedule and Participation Pages on Blackboard. Please read over everything currently available on Blackboard. Each page has details about the course, and is vital to your success in the class.

Here is what's on the Schedule and Participation Pages for this week:

1). Set up a blogspot (blogger) webpage making sure your Alias Name you have chose matches the Display Name on your blog. The "Getting Started" page has directions on how to check that. Please make sure they match!

2). Contact me at: comm105fall2009@gmail.com by Wednesday at 11:59pm to hold your spot in the class. I have about 20 people on a waiting list to get into the course. If I do not hear from you by Wed. at 11:59pm, I will drop you from the course and allow another student to add in your spot. (It will take a week or so for the University to reflect the drop, but please be assured, you will be dropped from the course even if you still show on the roster).

3). By Friday at 10am, you should email me with the following information:
*Alias Name
*Preferred email address
*Phone number
*Blog address (a link to your blog)

4). Post an introductory post to your blog, preferably at the time you create the blog. Sometimes blogger (blog spot) will flag blogs that have been created, but contain no posts. If you blog is flagged, it will be unusable for a few days and you will have to contact blogger to resolve the issue. Some students create new blogs just avoid waiting for the issue to be resolved. Try not to be one of those people. Post your introductory blog immediately. Your post should cover: "A brief biography and should welcome others to your blog. Also, tell us your "communication story". What experiences in communication studies have you had? What are your goals for this class? What do you hope to get out of the class?" (As stated on the Participation Page located on Blackboard).

5). You should read through the Netiquette Home Page and the Learn the Net: Netiquette Page before getting started in the course. Some of this information will be review, but read it over anyway.

6). Comment on other people's blogs. There is a list of student blogs located at the lower right hand corner of my blog. Click on the links there and start to get to know your classmates. You will come to my blog every week to link to your classmates blogs so you can comment. Get used to commenting early so there is no issue with commenting once the semester starts in full swing next week.

7). Please purchase the TWO books listed on the Syllabus. You should purchase the textbook, AND the writing guide. The writing guide will serve you for other classes in the Communication Department as well. This small pocket guide will help you in your writing throughout the semester.

Reminders:
*I hold office hours on Yahoo Messenger on Tuesday's and Thursday's from 10am to 11am every week unless otherwise noted. Furlough days are listed in red on the Syllabus and Schedule Pages. I am will not be holding office hours on furlough days.

*Furlough Days: As required by the University, I must take 9 furlough days throughout the semester. These days are noted on the Syllabus and Schedule Pages. I signed a contract with the University stating that I will not conduct any University business on those days. This means that I will not blog, will not hold office hours, will not answer emails, will not grade papers......well, you get the point. In short, I will be away from my computer on those days.

*I will post FAQ's later on this week.

*Be sure to check my blog everyday for updates. There is not one specific time I update my blog, so check back often to make sure you haven't missed any important announcements.

*I have not posted the Journal Assignment to Blackboard yet. I am finalizing some things with that assignment, and it should be posted by next week.

*Strike throughs on the Syllabus, Schedule and Participation Pages. You will notice that there are assignments or blogging weeks that have have been 'lined out' of the pages noted. This is due to budget cuts and salary reductions. As many of you know most employees of the University, including ALL faculty have been issued a pay reduction. In turn, we must cut approximately 10% of the workload in our courses. Honestly, some students are probably doing a little happy dance that their course workload has been reduced. However, this situation should outrage each and every one of you because your tuition has increased quite a bit and are getting less education in return. I may offer extra credit during the semester for you to write your representatives about this issue. More on this later...... (I simply wanted to explain why blogging weeks were cancelled and why your first writing assignment no longer exists. Just FYI - this first writing assignment is what establishes you in the course, and would have gotten each student familiar with my grading system. Since furloughs have been required, that assignment no longer exists, which means your first major assignment in this course is worth quite a bit and does not allow you to get used to my grading system). Again, more on this later.....

With all of that being said, I look forward to sharing this semester with each and every one of you. If you EVER have any questions, please email me, chat with me on Yahoo Messenger, or schedule a phone conversation with me. I am ALWAYS here to chat, and help you in any way I can, within reason of course. I strive to be visible to my students on a consistent basis - even more so than 'in-person' classes.