E-Mail

Students must use their FGCU Student (Eagle) email account for all e-mail correspondence in this class.

If you have not activated your account, please do so now:CLICK HERE. You can access your student email on the web at http://eagle.fgcu.edu,Ê Log in using your username and password. If you do not remember your password, you can look it up:CLICK HERE In addition to receiving e-mail, students must use the Eagle Mail (http://eagle.fgcu.edu)Ê to send all e-mail correspondence in this class. For questions regarding your student e-mail, PIN number, or password, please call 239-590-7878.

(If you must use another email account, please make sure to specify to me what that email address is).

The letter below has been sent to your student email address (January 8th). In case you did not read it there, it has been copied to this page. Please read to find important information to begin this course.

Dear Student,

Welcome to Florida Gulf Coast University's "Colloquium: A Sustainable Future", IDS 3920 CRN 10940! My name is Carol Newcomb-Jones and I am your instructor for this Spring 2006 term. I' am looking forward to these next few months getting to know you and working with you via the computer.

To get you started: This Distance Learning Colloquium class begins , Monday, January 9, 2006. Each session will be carried out on a Monday to Monday schedule. All assignment due dates will be on Mondays, unless otherwise posted. No on-campus meeting times are planned except one time in March or April where we will go on a whole class field trip.

The classroom based Colloquium (where students meet on campus) runs for 3 hours, once a week. Please note that the assignments in this Internet course have been appropriately developed to replace in-class time. A helpful hint, as far as time-management goes, is to set aside a 3 hour block of time that will be the same each week to complete assignments. Above and beyond "virtual classtime" you will need time to read. Field trips will also take time. Plan for a minimum of a half-day to a full day to complete a trip, reflect on it and write your observations (more on that later).

Website: Become familiar with the the Colloquium website this first week. Visit and read the pages so you can get a good feel about my style of teaching and what is required in this course. The website address is:

http://ruby.fgcu.edu/courses/cnewcomb/DLColloquium.html

Make sure you bookmark this address for future easy access to this site. The website will be your primary source for completing the coursework and will remain largely unchanged throughout the semester.

Email: The email address I prefer to use is not my FGCU faculty address. I prefer to use my AOL account to send and receive email at DLColloq@aol.com . My FGCU faculty address is: cnewcomb@fgcu.edu Please use the AOL address to send assignment attachments to. I have had trouble in the past opening attachments sent to my faculty address. ALWAYS SEND DOCUMENTS AS A MICROSOFT WORD DOCUMENT (.doc).

WebBoard: We will use the WebBoard for weekly discussions and information exchange. This can be accessed by clicking on the Colloquium WebBoard link on the opening page of the website. The WebBoard address is: http://onyx.fgcu.edu/~152.
You are expected to make at least two entries per week on the WebBoard. Participating in WebBoard discussions will account for 10% OF YOUR FINAL GRADE. When you log onto the WebBoard, click on the "first session" for further instructions for this first week.

Books: Please order your books from the FGCU bookstore right away. Your first reading will be in John Dewey's, "Experience and Education". You can order online at : http://www.fgcu.bkstr.com (there is a booklist on the website).

I hope this helps get this course up and running for you. Remember that class officially begins January 9th and a first assignment will be due next Monday, January 16th. On our website you will see the word "schedule" in the table on the opening page. Click on "schedule" and then click on the button (a seastar) next to "Session One" to read your first week's assignment.

I look forward to meeting you in the "virtual classroom"! Please contact me with any questions or comments you have about this course and also to let me know you received this first email, so I know I have reached you.

Welcome!

Carol Newcomb-Jones