Welcome to your online experience!  I look forward to meeting you soon in class!  Here is what  you need to do to get ready for our online course:

1. From the Columbia College Home Page www.gocolumbia.edu click on the WebCT icon

on the top left of the page.  On the top right you will see Check Browser.  Click on these words. This will check your                       browser for compatibility with WebCT (the platform that hosts our classrooms).  If any errors are detected follow the instructions provided.

2. Go back to the Columbia College Home Page www.gocolumbia.edu and click on the link on the menu on the right of screen that says "If you plan on being an online student visit this site".  Click on the item that says WebCT 6. Student Help. There are four tutorials here: Navigating in WebCT, Discussions, Assessments, and Assignments. Complete each of these tutorials.

You will not have access to our actual online classroom until just before the course begins.  The first week of the semester January 8^th-12^th will be dedicated to getting everyone online and comfortable in the various areas of our classroom. For those of you who are local I will schedule an optional face to face to orientation here on campus.  Don’t hesitate to call or email me (209) 588-5275 webstera@yosemite.edu if you have questions.

To log in to our classroom (remember you won’t be able to do this until the first day of class or sometimes the night before) go to the Columbia College Home Page www.gocolumbia.edu and click on the

icon on the top left of the page.   You may want to bookmark this page by adding it to your bookmarks or favorites in your browser to save you a little time with future log ins.  The next screen you see will look like this:

Your username is your student ID or “w” number.  You must include the w, for example: w0123456. Your password is your six digit birth date, for example 12/3/06.  You will be prompted to change your password once you log in.  Be sure to choose a password you can remember or make a note of it. 

Once you have logged in successfully you will be in the My WebCT page.  Click on the class you want to enter (if you are only taking one online class there will only be one).  You’re in!  Using the skills you learned in the Navigating WebCT tutorial, explore around the site getting familiar with the different sections that are available and the documents posted on the course content home page (Especially the one that says read this first!).

It is critical that you visit our classroom at least 3 times each week to participate in discussions, getting online early during the week of 4/30-5/4 will help me know that you are in fact in the class.  If you do not log in during the first week you will be dropped to allow students on the waiting list access to the class.