Welcome to Introduction to Psychology
Fall 2010: First 9 Week Session:CRN 72335
Instructor: Katy Neidhardt
kneidhar@cuesta.edu
Phone: 546-3111, ext. 2566
Dear Student,
Welcome to distance education at Cuesta College and the hybrid-online version of introductory psychology. This is considered a hybrid course because you will be expected to take all three of the exams (see dates below) at the SLO Cuesta campus (rm 6306) from 7:00-8 pm. The syllabus will be available on the first day of the class. Information on the required text, course grading and policies can be found there.
Though you may be able to log on to Blackboard before the first day of the course, the site will not be ready until the first day of the term.
You will need to log on to Blackboard during the first day of the course (Read below on how to log in). Read the following documents on the homepage carefully: Syllabus and Getting Started. If you have any questions, make sure that you ask them immediately, either by email (kneidhar@cuesta.edu or use Blackboard email) or post the question to the Q&A folder on the Discussions Board on Blackboard. I will be communicating with you primarily through Blackboard's discussion board and Blackboard email. Make sure you check these on a regular basis. Get started on the course reading (lecture notes and text reading) on the first day of the course. The reading and discussion schedule is on the syllabus and on the Lecture Notes and Practice Quizzes link on the Blackboard homepage.
Please confirm that the information you provided to Cuesta College when you registered is current, and that you have access to your Cuesta email account. If you have any problems logging on to Blackboard, go to: http://library.cuesta.edu/distance/techspt.htm for information on how to get help. If you did a late add and you cannot log on to our site, follow these instructions:
1. Send an email to support@my.cuesta.edu
2. Include your name, class, section number (CRN), instructor's name, and your mycuesta login ID.
3. Tell them you need to be added to Blackboard
Regards,
Katy
CLASS REQUIREMENTS
- A working e-mail account, access to Adobe Acrobat Reader (download for free here), Realplayer, Quicktime and the Internet (and a back-up plan if your internet access or computer go down).
- Textbook: Myers, D. G. (2007). Exploring psychology (7th Ed.). New York: Worth Publishers. This textbook is available in hardcopy at the college bookstore (http://bookstore.cuesta.edu) or in an online version (viewable as a web page linked to practice quizzes, flashcards and capable of letting you highlight passages and write notes on the page) for $36 at (http://ebooks.bfwpub.com/exploring7e) - click on the link to Purchase e-version and ignore the question for Username and Password.
- Basic computer experience
CLASS MEETINGS
We will be meeting on the SLO Cuesta campus (rm 6306) for THREE mandatory Tuesday evening meetings
- Tuesday, Sept. 7th (Exam 1)
- Tuesday, Sept. 28th (Exam 2)
- Tuesday, Oct. 12th (Final Exam)
COMPUTER REQUIREMENTS
Be aware that your computer needs to meet minimum system requirements to run Blackboard and to access lecture material. The requirements are:
- Computer Specs. Pretty fast computer so you won't be stuck waiting for things to happen while online.
- Web Browser. Mozilla Firefox or Safari for Mac (Internet Explorer does NOT always work well when viewing videos, viewing lectures as webpages and taking practice quizzes).
- Adobe Acrobat Reader. Needed to view most course materials, including syllabus, chapter learning objectives and lecture notes. Most recent version of the free Adobe Acrobat Reader can be downloaded from: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html
- Real Player & Quicktime. You will need these to view videos related to lecture material.
OUR BLACKBOARD SITE
Go to the Blackboard site at http://cehosting.blackboard.com (This course will NOT be available until the first day of the semester). Click on Cuesta College and then click on the Log In link. Your college username and password are:
- Username: Use the SAME username you use to enter the my.cuesta.edu portal; firstname_lastname.
Example: If your name was Sally May your username would be: sally_may
- Password: STUDENT (you may change this later). Any change to your password will be effective for ALL Blackboard courses in which you are enrolled at Cuesta.
- Note: If you had a Blackboard account during the previous one or two semesters, your username and password may not have changed and may still be required to login to the current semester. Also, do NOT bookmark the log in page; this can create problems when trying to log in.
Blackboard Support at Cuesta. For site help, email: support@my.cuesta.edu