Welcome to English 131! You should find the online version of freshman composition to be challenging but convenient in that you can complete most of your assignments in the comfort of your own home. To learn more about my teaching philosophy and background, click on the following link: http://adm.hfcc.edu/~cbriggs/cbriggs.htm
But first a word of caution: If you are not a solid writer, please reconsider an online version of composition. YOU WILL ACTUALLY HAVE MORE RESPONSIBILITIES THAN YOU WOULD IN A FACE-TO-FACE CLASS. You need to read all postings and be aware of due dates, reading assignments, essays and examinations. To be certain that you are ready for the commitment of an online course, complete the self-test on the HFCC UCompass login page http://henryford.ucompass.com. Click the Student Resources link and then click "Is online for you?" to learn if your learning style is suited for online learning.
One advantage of this course is that you do have the opportunity to meet with the instructor during the semester. In fact, you will meet me face-to-face at the outset of the course. This meeting is required. At this meeting, you will show me a photo id, sign promise and permission slips, and provide me with a writing sample. You will meet in Room C of the Learning Lab on the HFCC Evergreen Campus. Here are the times for the meeting. Simply show up for one of these two nights.
TIME:
Tuesday, May 6 6:30-8:25 Learning Lab, Learning Resource Center
Wednesday, May 7 6:30-8:25 Learning Lab, Learning Resource Center
If you live more than three hours away from campus and cannot make this one required meeting, please e-mail me at Cbriggs@hfcc.edu.
During this introductory meeting, we will log into the college’s online class management website and be introduced to links for important class information like "Announcements," "Examinations," "Discussion Board" and "Assignments" that can be found on the left-hand taskbar of the UCompass Website. I will also do a holistic assessment of your writing sample at that session.
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The web address for our English 132 online course is: http://henryford.ucompass.com.
You will not have access to your online course until the first day of regular classes for the semester. Log into UCompass using your WebAdvisor username and the four-digit mmdd of your birth as your password (if your birthday is July 4, your password would be 0704). If you do not know your WebAdvisor username find it through the HFCC website, http://www.hfcc.edu. Click the blue WebAdvisor box, then click the link for Students and follow the prompts to display your username.
Please review How to Use UCompass at the following website to insure you understand how to properly submit assignments: http://adm.hfcc.edu/~pkearly/HowtoUseUCompass.htm. One common mistake is forgetting to check the box at the bottom of an assignment screen that indicates you would like the assignment "submitted for a grade." You must check that box, so I know that you have submitted an assignment.
You may submit assignments using Microsoft Word or "rich text format" attachments through the "submit" option under each assignment on this website or through the course email. If you do not have a word processing program on your computer, you can download a free Microsoft Word compatible program at the following website: http://download.openoffice.org/2.3.0/index.html
As recommended by the college IT department, once the semester begins, please
only use the course email (username@henryford.ucompass.com) to communicate with
the instructor and not any free email accounts like Hotmail or AOL as these are
filtered by the UCompass software and I will not be able to receive email from
them in order to protect the system from spam or viruses.
Should you need Technical
Support with your UCompass course click the Tech Support link on the UCompass
login page. Call the support numbers listed or submit your issue via e-mail and
you will receive a timely response.
Type of Assignments:
All the English 131 assignments relate to the following: personal development and college writing. My class combines informal writing with formal essays. In a typical English 131 class, you might:
Complete the Myers-Briggs personality test, the gold standard used by employers to screen job candidate.
Discover the cheapest way to reach your dream travel destination.
Learn more about your future career.
Write an analytical summary (required by the Nursing and Social Science divisions)
Compose an effective comparison/contrast theme (assigned frequently in history, biology, and telecommunications)
Use online library search tools such as FirstSearch.
The textbook for the course is, Longman Writer: Rhetoric, Reader, Handbook, 6th ed.
Feel free to purchase the textbook, The Longman Writer (sixth edition), to get a head start on assignments. Only one textbook is required (to reduce the cost to you). A new text costs $78.25, but a used copy (approximately $58.70) is perfectly acceptable.
If you would like to get a head start on the class, begin reading the first six chapters (1-94). These chapters review the writing process from prewriting to revision and introduce you to patterns of development used in composition. Prior to discussion questions and essay assignments, you will often be assigned chapters in the class; online quizzes and in-class discussion boards will be used to assess your understanding of the reading assignments