English Composition 1 Online
Welcome to English Composition 1 Online!
Hello! According to the class roster, you are enrolled in the spring 2010 session of ENG 1001-100, an online section of English Composition 1 at Illinois Valley Community College. We do not have class meetings for this online course. Instead, our class is conducted via the Internet.
My name is Randy Rambo, and I am the instructor of English Composition 1 Online. I would like to welcome you to the class, and I look forward to working with you this semester.
You can find the course home page at http://www.ivcc.edu/eng1001. The home page includes a link to Blackboard, which we use for our interaction. You can also access the home page of English Composition 1 Online from my home page, at http://www.ivcc.edu/rambo. It may take you a little while to become familiar with the technology and with the setup of the course, but most students catch on quickly. You just need an Internet connection, a Web browser, and any word processor.
The course begins Thursday, January 14, 2010, and the first assignments are due shortly after this time. Please wait until Thursday, January 14, before logging in to the class Blackboard (as explained below). The course will not be updated for us until this date.
If you have questions or concerns about the course, please do not hesitate to e-mail me or to call me. My e-mail address is randy_rambo@ivcc.edu, and my phone number is (815) 224-0338. You could also stop by my office if you have questions (Room A-313). My office hours are posted on my home page and on the course home page.
Getting Started with Blackboard
We use the online course system called Blackboard. It is quite popular, so you might have used it before. Even if you have never used Blackboard, you should find it easy to get started with it.
There are links to Blackboard at the home page for ENG 1001 Online (at http://www.ivcc.edu/eng1001) and at the home page of Illinois Valley Community College (at http://www.ivcc.edu). After you click the link to Blackboard, you will see a "User Login" button. Clicking the "User Login" button will take you to a screen where you enter your username and password.
Blackboard Username and Password
Your Blackboard username is the first three letters of your last name and the last
four digits of your Social Security Number, and your password is
your seven-digit IVCC student ID number.
Your student ID number appears on your class schedule and on your college ID card. Your student ID is made up of seven numbers. If you see a 14-digit number that begins with 24611 and ends in 01, then the seven numbers between 24611 and 01 make up your student ID number. You can see an example of how the ID number appears on a student ID card at the college's Blackboard User Guides page.
Blackboard Login
Username: First three letters of last name and last
four digits of Social Security Number
Password: Seven-digit IVCC student ID number
Getting Started with Blackboard
To enter our course Blackboard, simply log in to Blackboard at
http://ivcc.blackboard.com. Then, under "My Courses" on the right side of
the screen, click ENG-1001-100-10SP-Rambo.
That's it! After you complete the steps above, you will be able to join our class in Blackboard. But remember that you should wait until Thursday, January 14, before entering our course Blackboard.
(Please contact the instructor right away if you have any problem logging in to Blackboard or if you can log in to Blackboard but do not see ENG-1001-100-10SP-Rambo listed under "My Courses.")
Prerequisites
Placement
To take English Composition 1 at IVCC, students must be placed in
ENG 1001 based on IVCC’s English Placement Exam, or must have an ACT
English score of at least 22 with proper documentation submitted to
the college, or must successfully complete ENG 0900. In addition,
student are required to have a certain minimum score on IVCC's
Reading Placement Exam to enroll in the course. Shortly after the
semester begins, I will receive notification of students who have
not met the requirements for enrolling in the course. Just contact
the instructor if you have questions about the requirements.
Required Orientation
In addition, students must complete IVCC's
Distance Learning Orientation before beginning their first online course at IVCC. You can read about
the orientation at the Web page at
http://www.ivcc.edu/dl.aspx?id=2326. The orientation is required for IVCC
students,
but it can be completed online.
To Begin the Course
To begin the course, simply log in to Blackboard on Thursday, January 14. Then click "Course Information" and "Assignments" on the left side of the Blackboard screen to read about the class and to see our first set of assignments. Again, the class begins Thursday, January 14, 2010. We follow the same semester timeline as courses on campus, so it is important that you join us as soon as the class starts.
Welcome to the class, and I look forward to an enjoyable semester with you!
Sincerely,
Randy Rambo
Illinois Valley Community College
815 N. Orlando Smith Ave.
Oglesby, IL 61348
Office: A-313
Telephone: 815-224-0338
E-mail: randy_rambo@ivcc.edu