Task: `q001. You have completed the Introductory QA. Please explain the question-answer-self critique process as you understand it at this point. Your response: Each question is first answered to the best of the student’s ability and then the student rates his or her confidence level in his or her answer. Next, the student compares his or her answer to the given solution and addresses any discrepancies between his or her answer and the correct solution in the self critique section. Task: `q002. Go to the page http://vhmthphy.vhcc.edu/ and click on your course. Bookmark this page (i.e., add it to Favorites on your Internet browser). Describe what you see at this page. Your response: The page has eleven tabs at the top titled: Info, Assts, Overviews, Prob Sets, Expts, Lectures, Simulations, Q&A, Tests, Links, Home. Each section is then bulleted with information relevant to each category. Task: `q003. You might not have many questions at this point, but in general any question you pose in your responses should be preceded and followed by a series of at least three question marks. This is so the instructor can quickly identify your questions, and also so the instructor doesn't inadvertently overlook your question. If you have a question about anything you see in the Orientation, please mark in the indicated manner and include it in your response. Please describe how you should annotate questions in your responses, and why it is important to do so: Your response: Questions should be followed by at least three question marks in order to make sure that the instructor does not skip over the question and that he can quickly identify the questions in the document. Task: `q004. If at any point of the Orientation you have trouble following instructions, let your instructor know the specifics: • Submit a copy of every instruction related to your question. • Describe what you do at each step, and what happens as a result. Include a copy of the Address box of your Internet browser, as it appears at every step. If you are going astray in the process, this will give your instructor the information necessary to quickly get you back on track You should send this information using the Submit Question Form (this is the best form to use because it helps you structure your question and prompts you to provide important information), or the Submit Work Form. Having submitted the form it's also acceptable to send an additional note using email. Please describe what to do if you have trouble following any of the instructions: Your response: You should submit your question using the submit question form. In this submission, you should include every relevant instruction to your question as well as what is done at each step, the result of each step, and the address box of your internet browser at each step. Task: `q005. On the webpage for your course, click on Assts or Assignments (in some courses (e.g., Liberal Arts Mathematics I and II) the assignments are simply given by a table and there is no Assts link), then on Due Dates (in courses which use a table for assignments, the Due Dates link is provided a few lines above the table), and describe what you see there. Note due dates are updated by the first day of classes; until this update the Due Dates will be for the preceding semester. Please respond with a statement detailing your understanding of the Due Dates page: Your response: On the due dates page, the dates for the completion of assignments are organized by weeks starting with week 1. The due dates page also includes the time ranges for the completion of tests. Task: `q006. Return to Assts, take a quick look down the page, and describe what you see. It is recommended that you bookmark this page in your browser (e.g., add it to Favorites) so you can access it easily and quickly. There are probably things you don't understand right now about the Assignments page. You will get more specific and detailed information in subsequent Orientation assignments. Briefly describe what you do and do not understand about this page. Your response: I feel that I have a good understanding of this page. The page gives the topics for the groups of assignments as well as the problem sets and experiments to be done for each assignment. Task: `q007. Click on Info and locate the syllabus or course of study for your course (Liberal Arts Mathematics students click on Course of Study, near the top of your page). Read it and acknowledge below that you have been able to find the syllabus and know how to locate it: Note that you should re-read the syllabus or course of study on or shortly after the first day of class, to be sure you have read the document that will apply to the term in which you are taking the course. Your response: I have found and read the syllabus. Task: `q008. Return to the http://vhmthphy.vhcc.edu page and once more click on the page for your course. Add this page to your bookmarks (e.g., in Internet Explorer, add to Favorites), and acknowledge in your response that you have done so. Your response: I have bookmarked the course website on my web browser. Task: `q009. On the http://vhmthphy.vhcc.edu page, click on Blackboard, and sign in using the same username and password you use to access the registration system. When the Blackboard screen comes up you should find a 'course' entitled 'Supervised Study Current Semester'. Click on this 'course' and give a brief description of what you see. You need not read all the information that appears, just take a quick look and give a line or two of description. (It is possible that you will be doing the Orientation prior to the beginning of the term, and if so this Blackboard 'course' might not yet be available. You might also be doing this before your Blackboard enrollment is run. If either is the case, be sure to make a note to yourself to do check this page out on the first actual day of classes. You won't need it before then.). Note that enrollment in Blackboard and enrollment in your course at VHCC are two separate things. Blackboard is 'unofficial' and always needs to be regarded as such. Please respond with a statement detailing your understanding of the Blackboard Supervised Study 'course', and the unofficial nature of Blackboard. Your response: The page simply contains a few paragraphs of text and a link to the initial information page for the course. As stated above, Blackboard is unofficial and separate from enrollment at VHCC. Task: `q010. We might use various features of this Blackboard page, but the course is not delivered using Blackboard. Blackboard has a number of very good features, but it is of necessity a 'closed' system and not sufficiently flexible or efficient to be the primary vehicle. The one feature we are sure to be using is the Grade Center, where you can check your grades on tests and my comments. Locate the tab for the Grade Center (it might be listed under 'My Grades') and click on it. Describe what you see. Your response: The page contains a list of items 1 through 16 with columns for item name, details, due date, submission date, grade, points possible, and comments. Task: `q011. You need not look at any more of the Blackboard page, but you are welcome to do so if you choose, and you may ask any questions you wish in your response. If you have no questions, or do not feel the need to further explore this page, just respond with 'ok' or something of that nature. Your response: OK