1. Computer
resources as recommended by
ECU distance education programs at http://www.ecu.edu/cs-acad/options/technology.cfm
On this page, you'll find information about what
you need to know and do before you begin your first and second
semester/ summer session taking ECU technical & professional
communication web-based courses. All should read and work through the
activities on this page, even if you have experience
with web-based
course delivery in a Blackboard environment or another
environment at another school.
The plan is that you work through these start up activities two times (first time you are enrolled and the second time that you are enrolled).
You'll find several activities. Just slowly work through them.
Throughout, ask if you run into problems; you can email the adviser for graduate-level tpc students (Sherry Southard @ southards@ecu.edu). When you have finished, you are finished. You do not need to email anyone.
Bookmark (called "favorites" in Internet Explorer ) this page, so you can return to it easily. One other matter: Links (and url's) are fragile and sometimes transient items. If you have difficulties accessing the url for a link, let Sherry Southard know in a professional manner.
One almost last word
-- Our courses focus on content to improve your communication
abilities, no matter what your intended career path, not teaching you
technology per se. However, as you complete courses, try to strengthen
your computer and technology abilities, especially in terms of
technologies for communicating and creating "documents" as appropriate
for your interests and intended career goals.
One last,
but very important word -- if you do encounter difficulties as
you are completing technical and professional communication courses,
contact your instructor, the tpc adviser, or the tpc lead faculty. Do
not just "drop
out." We can help you figure out what is the best approach for your
particular situation.
1. Computer
resources as recommended by
ECU distance education programs at http://www.ecu.edu/cs-acad/options/technology.cfm
2. Any web
browser, such as Internet Explorer, SeaMonkey, Firefox, Chrome, Safari, or one from
your Internet Service Provider. Many use the most recent version of Internet
Explorer; however, some are turning to SeaMonkey (http://www.seamonkey-project.org/)
or Firefox (see http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/ie-yl.html
)
3. Email access
via that provided by ECU Microsoft Exchange,
through your internet provider, or a variety of
"free" web-based email services. [You should always check your ECU
email regularly or have that mail forwarded to the email program that
you do use.]
4. A common word
processing program, preferably Microsoft Word, although faculty
can use "readers" to convert programs such as Word
Perfect. ECU offers an excellent
student purchase
rate for the Microsoft Office Suite, which can be mailed to you. See
above for link that sends you to information about purchasing that
software suite.
I urge you to purchase this Suite if at all possible.
1. Understand
how learning in web-based
environments differs from that in traditional classrooms and what you
should
expect of yourself. -- click here
2. Acquire some additional information about
your learning style by completing a test given in a class about
learning styles (ECU Instructional Technology staff).
Important asides: one student commented on the fact that she could not find information about the program developers, their credentials. One student indicated that he questioned the test's accuracy; after taking the test four times and answering different questions each time, he received substantially different results each time! [Excellent questioning and research on the part of those students -- you must not accept passively what you are given, but question all.]
To access the test referred to, use the link near the end of this paragraph. When you click on that link, you will have the option of saving a file named "brain.exe." Save the file; be sure to remember where you saved the file. After saving the file, find it and double click on it. The program will begin. Follow directions. To access the file, click here [An aside -- "exe" for execute is an extension that indicates you have a file that will execute or start a program.]
NOTE: some students find that this file causes them difficulties. It doesn't open correct and/or shows only numbers and letters. Just move on. Don't worry. The courses that you will complete will not contain such files.
3. Review tips for success in terms of what you already know about your
learning style and have learned from completing the brain test. -- click here
4. As with any technology, Blackboard and other
Internet-based course delivery
systems have the potential for technical problems; therefore, you need
a
contingency plan, which involves anticipating and planning for an
alternate delivery of course material and communication when
interruptions occur. Most faculty include this information on their
course syllabi. Th information presented is based on that distributed
by ECU.
Contingency Plan
|
1. Acquire two
email addresses, one that you check very frequently and one that you
check once a week in case a message is deleted from your
frequently-checked email account. It doesn't matter what two accounts
you choose to use. You do need two accounts that are fairly reliable
AND that support attachments.
One disclaimer: if your ECU
account is not one of the two email accounts that you use, you need to
forward your ECU mail to your most frequently used email account.
Sometimes important information is sent through the ECU account by
persons who have no other email address for you.
Be sure that you check your ECU email account, especially at the beginning of summer sessions and semesters for which you are enrolled.
2. As you complete
courses, obtain communication software needed.
3. You'll be submitting
your projects electronically, either by sending them to your instructor
as email attachments and/or by submitting in Blackboard's digital dropbox. Be
sure
to follow the directions given by your instructor about creating,
naming, saving,
and sending projects or documents. You should also follow directions given
by your instructor
for submitting
projects.
4. You will learn about asynchronous website discussions in courses
that have online discussion. Your
instructor
will
help you learn about discussion as needed. [By the way -- Our
courses normally do not include synchronous chat room discussions,
because a
majority of the tpc students find it difficult to participate
in discussions that occur at a specific time.]
5. ECU provides students some free software
downloads through OneStop. Check OneStop.
Review your
ECU One Stop that provides many interactions. It is important to learn
about this resources. You can access a tutorial from http://www.ecu.edu/cs-acad/options/tutorials.cfm
[Scroll down to find the tutorial.]
Read on to learn about what
basic software you should have ...
Delete any email from a source you don't recognize; do NOT open it, especially any attachment it contains. Occasionally, you may receive an email from an address that you recognize, but once opened, you observe a "strange" attachment. Delete the email. Some viruses get into email address books and automatically generate email to everyone on that list, email that contains an attachment with a virus.
Important: ECU has a site license for Symantec Antivirus that is free for every Windows or Macintosh computer on campus and on your home computer. This download is now available for PC & Mac users via OneStop. On OneStop, access "Tools" using the tab at the top of the screen. In the "personal" category, select "software Downloads" and then "Virus/Security Software.
You might also want to try Foxit, which often downloads pdfs much faster than does Adobe Acrobat Reader. See http://www.foxitsoftware.com/pdf/reader/ See the left-hand column for "More PDF Tolls" -- tools such as a Foxit pdf creator.
1. Obtain
contact information for your instructor(s). You can check your syllabus
if you know the url for the
course, the
instructor's index page accessed from English Department faculty page
(click here ), or
ECU directory page at http://www.ecu.edu/ecu/dir.cfm.
2. Begin building
community with your instructor and later with class members by sharing
some information about yourself
as directed by your instructor.
1. For many of your courses, you will use Joyner Library's excellent
virtual resources. Very important:
see http://media.lib.ecu.edu/DE/DE_Home.html
[This link was available until recently; I'm leaving it with hopes it
will heal itself.]
Not only can you access secondary literature from professional
journals, but you can "talk" with librarians who will help you complete
projects. In Engl 7701: Research Methods in Technical &
Professional Communication, you'll learn more about "researching"
topics.
Chat with a librarian: http://www.ecu.edu/cs-dhs/laupuslibrary/chatlibrarian.cfm
Ask a librarian: http://www.ecu.edu/cs-lib/reference/ask_a_librarian.cfm
2. Review your
ECU One Stop that provides many interactions. It is important to learn
about this resources. You can access a tutorial from http://www.ecu.edu/cs-acad/options/tutorials.cfm
[Scroll down to find the tutorial.]
For those of you beginning one
of our programs, you must be enrolled to
be able to use this website, and you may not be able to use it until
the
semester or summer session begins. To access your One Stop page, click here
3. Review the variety of support
resources provided by Distance
Education (Continuing Studies) at http://www.ecu.edu/cs-acad/options/firsttimestudents.cfm
Some resources duplicate what you have already read about by going
through the information on this page.
You should also check out what you can access from http://www.ecu.edu/cs-acad/options/currentstudents.cfm
These
resources can be very helpful.
4. Review technology resources available from
ITCS (Information Technology & Computer Services) at http://www.ecu.edu/itcs/ and http://www.ecu.edu/itcs/students.cfm
5. For ECU tech support, go to http://www.ecu.edu/9866/
This web page provides new information as well as links to some of the
resources already referred to or accessed as you've worked through this
page.
6. If your instructor uses Blackboard, you
can access a tutorial from http://www.ecu.edu/cs-acad/options/tutorials.cfm
[Scroll down to find the tutorial.]
7. Review, if you wish, but bookmark for
sure, the website for the technical and professional communication
programs. It provides answers to many questions that you
might have about the Certificate or MA program. Currently, a lot of
valuable
information is available.To become familiar with what the tpc website
provides, "click"
through the resources available.
Finally, to access current tpc site, click here .
However, do note that the site is being revised and downsized because
a lot of the information is available on the English Department website
recently revised: http://www.ecu.edu/english/
1. Build
computer abilities appropriate for your career plans. For now, you may
want to just go
to
these resources, determine what they contain, and bookmark them. ECU
and the tpc program provide resources for increasing your
computer/technology abilities.
2. Learn about
portable Apps, which can be placed on a flash or thumb drive ... very,
very useful. See http://portableapps.com/
and http://portableapps.com/apps
3. You can find a
searchable archive for the newspaper columnist Bill Husted who talks
about computer stuff at http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/technobuddy/entries/columns/
The side bar also contains a list of categories for searching. This
information does not constitute an endorsement for that resources, just
fyi ....
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