This document provides information about a Business Communications for Technicians course taking place in Spring 2011. It includes details about the instructor, Carolyn Johnson, as well as information about accessing the Moodle online course site such as login instructions, profile setup, and contact information for getting assistance. Students are asked to access the Moodle site before the first class on January 25th to familiarize themselves with the online platform and complete any profile configuration.

1. Welcome To Business 208/L Spring 2011 Business Communications for Technicians Instructor: Carolyn Johnson

2. Welcome! I am looking forward to meeting you on Tuesday, January 25, 2011 in Building A, Room A 225. Class starts promptly at 3:00 pm.

3. Pre-Class Preparation Please log onto the Moodle site for this class. There is no required book for this class. (I will explain why during the Orientation)

4. Moodle: www.eperalta.org/spring2011 Moodle is a Course Management System (CMS), also known as a Learning Management System (LMS) or a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). It is a Free web application that educators can use to create effective online learning sites. Moodle will be your central location for information on this course including the course syllabus, blog, news, contact and other activities.

5. Moodle: www.eperalta.org/spring2011 Eperalta.org is the Moodle site for all colleges in the Peralta Community College District, including the College of Alameda. For Spring 2011, the Moodle URL is: www.eperalta.org/spring2011 Students will be able to access this site after January 14, 2011 .

6. Moodle Login Instructions The Login Box is located in the upper right area of the Moodle homepage. In the Username box enter your PASSPORT User ID. In the Password box enter your 8-digit Student ID#. You can find your Student ID# either on your fee payment receipt or by going to your PASSPORT Student Center at http://passport.peralta.edu and clicking on the Demographic Data link in the Personal Information section near the bottom of the Student Center page. For example, for a user named Homer Simpson with a Student ID# of 12345678, the example login username will be hosi5678 and the example login password will be 12345678. After entering your Username and Password on the Moodle homepage, click on the Login button or press Enter.

7. Moodle Login Instructions Links to your courses will be located under "My courses" in the upper right area of the website homepage. Click on the Business 54 Online course link to access your course. The first time you access a Moodle course you will be see the Site Policy. You will be asked to read and accept the Site Policy. To accept the Site Policy please click on the "Yes" button near the bottom of the frame. Student records are uploaded once a day. If you just enrolled in a course in the last day, please try logging in later. Contact online@peralta.edu for login issues.

8. Moodle Login Instructions Each student must have a current, unique email address to use this website - after logging in please go to your Profile Page and update your email address. Click on your name in the upper right corner of the Moodle homepage after logging in. Then click on the "Edit profile" tab located above the text area. To change other profile settings, click on the "Show Advanced" button in the center right area of the edit page. Be sure to save your changes by clicking on the "Update" button at the bottom of the page.

9. Moodle Login Instructions Email Notes: Moodle does not reply to auto-generated email messages, such as to add to BOXBE address books. You may want to check your SPAM filter settings if you do not receive emails from your course site (and you know your instructor has sent these out). You may also consider creating a new free email account just for correspondence in your online class (e.g., gmail, yahoo), or you may use your Peralta Student Email Account (see info at http://peralta.edu/studentemail ).

10. Moodle Login Instructions You can also change your Password from your main Profile Page. Under the text area, please click on the "Change Password" button. You will be taken to a screen that has three boxes. Enter your current password in the top box, then enter your new password in the next two boxes, and click the "Save" button.

11. Moodle Login Instructions For assistance with Login or your Profile Page settings, send an email to online@peralta.edu. Please include your full name and your username.

12. That’s All Folks! See you in class on Tuesday, January 25, 2011. Building A, Room A225 Promptly at 3:00 pm.

13. So… if you really need something to do before class starts… here you go.. Check out these sites which we will use extensively in this course: Docs.google.com Dropbox.com Writeboard.Com Slideshare.net These are just a few to get you started! You can also: Upload your picture to the Moodle site. Obtain a professional gmail account, i.e. [email_address] This is optional prior to class start.. However… you will be better prepared for class!

14. Instructor Contact Information ( You Can Never Say That You Could Not Reach Me  ) Email(s): [email_address] [email_address] Tel.: (510) 200-8081; Fax: (510) 629-6757 Skype: carolyn.e.johnson2010 Twitter: @cejohnson2010 Kik: cejohnson2010 Other Sites: www.carolynejohnson.com beyondbreakeven.blogspot.com carolynjohnson.businesscard2.com