• Hofstetter, Fred. Internet Literacy, 2nd ed. New York: McGraw Hill, 2001. The web site to support this book is available at www.udel.edu/interlit2
  
  
• Additional readings are listed with each day's entry and are available on the Web. For many of these, you will need to have downloaded and installed Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Before you dive in, you should try out some of the tools. If you are reading this, your browser is working. The first hurdle cleared!  This course will work fine with either Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer, but you should make sure you have upgraded to version 4 or 5.  Those are both free and you can find links to download these and other tools in the appendix of the Interlit web site.

E-mail 

We'll send a lot of e-mail back and forth.  If you are sharing an e-mail address with someone else, now is the time to get your own!  We all want to know that when we send you a message, it is not being read by your husband, wife or children. You do not need to use your UD e-mail address for class, but you do need your own, private address.

You automatically get a UD e-mail address by being a student in this class.  For more information on how to take advantage of your UD Internet access and e-mail, take a look at UD's IT Help Center.

If you want an e-mail account that will last beyond the time you are taking the class, sign up for a free address at Yahoo or Hotmail or one of the other free providers. 

WebCT

We'll be using an online course management system for you to enter submit assignments and to communicate about grades. The link to WebCT is www.udel.edu/webct. If you are registered for this class, you are registered in WebCT. However, in order to gain access to the site, you will need to enter your UD username and password. If you haven't done so yet, go to www.udel.edu/network. You'll need to use your SSN and UD PIN to set up your account. Make sure to remember both your username and password so you can submit assignments on time throughout the class. (If you set up your e-mail address as directed above, you are all set to enter WebCT.)
(Note: If you are viewing this in WebCT, all of this is irrelevant! ;-)

Adobe Acrobat Reader

Finally, you'll want to make sure that you have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer. You will need to use that when you read the readings that have been placed on electronic reserve. Follow this link to download and install the correct Adobe software to read these on your computer.

Besides one-to-one e-mail we'll use several other formats for communicating with the class.

WebCT Discussion Forum

Instead of submitting assignments to me, you'll be putting them into the appropriate message in the class discussion forum. That means that any other member of the class will see the answer you submit and you should be aware of the audience. Most of the questions for this class will be handled this way as an opportunity to share what you all find and develop.

When you enter your answers, you can use plain text or HTML. Once your answer is submitted you won't be able to edit it, so be sure of what you enter. You may want to build your submission locally first and then cut and paste it into WebCT.

We'll also have a general forum area where you can discuss anything else you want.

Listserv

Another way we'll all communicate is via the listserv.  The address for the list is educ632sp02@yahoogroups.com and you can use that in your regular e-mail as well. Use the box below to register yourself with the group. We'll be using this everyday so sign up with as many e-mail addresses as you like. If you think you've missed a note, there is also an archive where you can view all the messages from this class.

Chatroom

Another tool for communication is the chatroom.  Since we are using yahoogroups.com for the class, we can use the chatroom that is automatically available to us (and only us). If you click on the Chatroom icon to the left, a new web page will open with a Java-based chat client.  You'll be able to log in and chat.  Of course, it takes at least two to chat so you can arrange times with other classmates or we'll set up some general times.

Instant Messaging

Still another way is an instant messaging system. There are several available including AOL Instant Messenger, ICQ and Yahoo Pager.  You can download each of the tools and install them on your own computer for free.  The one I use is AOL Instant Messenger, which is available at www.aol.com/aim/home.html.  This is totally free, but you'll have to register and choose a name. On IM, you can add me to your buddy list as PatSine. Feel free to chat with me whenever you see me on line.  (Don't worry it will make a lot more sense if you just try it.)