Welcome!

Here are the things you'll be doing on a weekly basis:

1. Each week there will be a topic, with a series of resources, and a set of assignments and/or activities (such as readings, presentation, or group critique). You must keep on top of the weekly activities, assignments and discussions. You are required to look at, and understand all of the resources provided - these form the core of the learning process in this course. These range from handouts to slide lectures to websites to readings. More info will come...

2. You are expected to keep on top of all assignments and ensure they are handed in on time. I do not accept late assignments. Information on all assignments are included under Assignments on the right bar of the main page. All work will be submitted online.

3. You will be graded for participation in large part on the quantity and quality of your forum posts, so please be attentive to this aspect of the course.  You will also be graded on the level of interaction you exhibit in the online environment.  Please keep in mind I can see everything you do online - from the number of times you view a resource, to the times you have logged in, posted to a forum, and so forth. You are expected to post regularly every week to the appropriate Forum (depending on the week's activities). You should address any questions or discussion topics I give you for the week, as well as any other issues, problems, realizations, or topics you wish to discuss with the group. You can always post additional discussions in the Discussion Forum, questions in the Question Forum, artwork/writing/other work in the Gallery Forum (for display or feedback), or announcements in the News Forum.

It is important that you all put aside the time to do the work required for this course, as well as discuss, post and participate. I should also inform you that while I will often let the discussions flow without my intervention, I can always see what each student is doing and what type of activity they have had on the site… it is a little bit "Big Brother", but it is one of the ways I will measure your participation.

4. My office hours are held 'online' on Tuesdays from approximately 10-11 am PST, so if you need to get in touch with me quickly email me or message me through the course site during this time. I am also available for online appointments at other times on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, so email me if you would like to 'meet'. (This may change, so check back here to see when they are currently held.)

5. A note about email and keeping in contact. I am available through this site and by email throughout the week, as well as during office hours, however, I will not respond to emails during weekends and most evenings. You can expect a response during the week within 48 hours of posting a message or emailing me, so please be patient; just because this course is online does not mean that you will be able to reach me at any time. Please be careful to pay both me and your fellow students the courtesy of polite, well composed correspondence and allow for adequate time for a response.