Desire2Learn. You will find this course listed at Desire2Learn (learn.ou.edu) with your other courses. If you are having trouble logging on to Desire2Learn, call 325-HELP for assistance. If you are able to log on to Desire2Learn, but do not see this course listed with your other classes, contact me right away. You will be using Desire2Learn to take all your Quizzes for this class, and you can also check your current grade in the Desire2Learn Gradebook. In addition, you will be making Gradebook Declarations in Desire2Learn as you complete the class assignments; you will learn more about tha tin Part Two of this assignment.

Course Website. All the information about assignments and requirements can be found at the course website. For each week, there is a webpage at the course website which lists all the assignments for that week. I strongly suggest that you print the list of assignments each week and use that as a checklist to make sure you get each assignment completed on time. You should bookmark the course website as a "favorite" in your browser - but you can access the course website address from any computer just by logging in to Desire2Learn; you will see a link to the course website there (there's also a link to the course website from inside the Ning).

Course Ning. In addition to the course website, we will also be using a Ning website for blogging and class discussion. One of your first assignments this week is to set up your account at the Ning website. There is one Ning website (OUMyth.ning.com) for all three of the courses that I teach - Myth-Folklore, Indian Epics and World Literature - so, if you happen to know someone who is enrolled in one of those other courses, you might see them there at the Ning. You should bookmark the course Ning site as a "favorite" in your browser - but you can also access the Ning website address from any computer by logging in to Desire2Learn; the link to the Ning is listed there, right next to the link to the course website.

Kaleidoscope Website. In addition to the course website, you will also be using materials at the Kaleidoscope website - which is where you are now, in fact! I created the Kaleidoscope website for materials that are used by all three of my online courses. So, many of the general guidelines and recommendations for the class will be found here, in addition to the course-specific materials at the course website.

OnlineCourseLady at del.icio.us. In order to keep track of all the useful online resources you can use for this class - online books, online student projects, etc. - I use the del.icio.us bookmarking website, where my username is OnlineCourseLady. Many of the assignments in the first few weeks of class will contain links to this site, because that is where you will browse through materials to use in creating your Storybook project for the class this semester.

Your website. As a semester-long project in this class, you will be creating your own website. This website will be a "Storybook" where you will choose four different stories and tell those stories in your own words, adding illustrations, etc. One of your assignments this week will be to look at some of the Storybook websites students have created in the past, so that you can get some ideas for what you might want to do with your Storybook. No previous web publishing experience is required; you will learn all you need to know about publishing a website using a free software in your weekly Internet assignments for this class.

Firefox browser. Although it is not required, I am going to strongly recommend that you use the Firefox browser for the work you do in this class. Firefox is available for both Windows and for Macintosh computers, which means I can make recommendations about Firefox tricks and add-ons that can be helpful to everybody in class (I'm a Mac user myself, and there's always a mix of Windows and Mac users in every class). So, if you don't have Firefox on your computer already, I'd recommend that you install it - plus, you can get extra credit for that: Firefox Technology Tip.

Extra-credit Technology Tips. Throughout the semester, I will be offering tips about different online technology applications that I think could be helpful for you in completing the work for this class (and in your other classes, too, I hope!). For some of these tips, I offer extra credit as an incentive to get you to give them a try. If you are curious, you can see a list of the extra credit Technology Tips that are available this semester. If you are interested in learning how to use these online tools, you can actually do all the tips you want now, at the beginning of the semester, and then take credit for one each week as the semester proceeds. Some excellent tips for the beginning of the semester including installing Firefox so that you can use the Firefox WordCounter, and also setting up a Google (Gmail) account so that you can use GoogleDocuments for your writing assignments in this class.

You will have quizzes every week that you take using Desire2Learn, plus you will also have a special kind of quiz called a Gradebook Declaration. A Gradebook Declaration is not a quiz to test your knowledge. Instead, a Gradebook Declaration is a simple true-false declaration of the work you have completed for class. When you answer "true" to a Declaration, that means you are telling me that you have finished an assignment, and the points for that assignment will be recorded for you in the Gradebook.

Make sure you READ THE DECLARATION CAREFULLY.

I strongly recommend that you read the Gradebook Declaration out loud (really, I mean OUT LOUD) before you answer "true" to the statements. When you answer "true," you are taking personal responsibility for your statement. If you have made a false statement - even by accident - the consequences are serious. To make sure your answer is accurate, you should read the Declaration out loud, paying attention to each word.

If you realize after reading the Declaration that you have not completed the assignment, do NOT make the Declaration. You can simply shut the browser window, and come back and do the Declaration later, after you have finished the assignment.

You must COMPLETELY FINISH the assignment BEFORE doing the Declaration.

Do NOT complete the Declaration until after you have completely finished the assignment. If you have a question, problem or doubt about the Declaration, send me an email explaining the situation. It is much better to check with me first and, if necessary, I will record the points for you manually.

There are no circumstances of any kind that justify completing a Declaration before you are done with the assignment. So, I repeat: DO NOT submit a Declaration unless you are sure your assignment is complete and correct.

If you have not given yourself enough time to complete the assignment before the deadline, that is not the end of the world. Each week there are extra credit assignments you can do to make up for something you missed. So, give yourself plenty of time to finish the work and do the Declaration before the deadline - but if for some reason you don't get the Declaration done in time, use the available extra credit to make up for it.

Honor Code. Making a false Declaration is a violation of the Honor Code for this class, with severe penalties for your grade. I randomly audit the Gradebook Declarations to make sure that your Declarations are accurate. If you make a false Declaration, the consequences can be extremely serious. So, please be careful. The integrity of this class depends on your making sure that each Declaration you make of your work is accurate and honest.

PLEASE READ CAREFULLY:

I have read the information about the different kinds of online technology that will be used in this class.

I have read the information about how Gradebook Declarations work.

I understand that it is a violation of the Honor Code for this class to make a false Gradebook Declaration.