Hi and welcome!
Thank you for considering taking an online class with me.
Before you enroll, please review some of the ground rules that will help us all get on the same page (or web page if you will) with our online together. Please refer to this information throughout the term = this is the HIST 108 online course instruction manual that supplements our class Syllabus.
It’s a lot of information to digest, but it will help make your online semester much more fluid.
Online learning is a great way to spice up the usual school routine, plus it offers some cool options for students. Not to mention it looks like it’s the wave of the future. But there are some Pros and Cons to the experience, which turns out isn’t necessarily for everybody. How do you know if online learning is right for you?
Here are some things students like about online learning:
BUT… keep in mind there are some drawbacks to taking an online class. Many students are initially eager to take their first online class but then either end up dropping or failing because there really IS a learning curve to learning how to learn online (did that make sense?).
Here are some things students dislike about online learning:
True or False? First-time online students sometimes approach an online course thinking it will be easier or take less time than an onsite course. TRUE
True or False? Online courses are easier or take less time than an onsite course. VERY FALSE
Content-wise, online courses should challenge students to the same degree that onsite courses do. But the main difference here is how the information is presented. Taking a timed exam at a desk with a Scantron and #2 pencil might be no sweat for many students, but present the same True/False or Multiple Choice question in a timed online setting and it’s a different story. Also, participation counts for a lot more in the online realm, so this sometimes frustrates students who prefer just to take a test or write a paper to show they know they material, vs. having to repeatedly make online postings to demonstrate their understanding.
Saving time is the main reason many students decide to take an online class. Maybe it’s difficult to get to campus because someone needs to watch the kids, or you’re just too busy with work/life to stop by school to take onsite classes. Although these situations shouldn’t prevent anyone from taking online classes (aren’t these people ideal online candidates, really?), they might also be warning flags that indicate problems to come. Who’s to say you’ll actually be able to set aside time when you’re home with the family to actually get your coursework done? Or if work/life is so hectic, how can you be sure it won’t interrupt your progress in the course?
Students also sometimes think the convenience online learning affords means ease: ease of the class, ease of the workload, ease of time requirements. Please keep in mind that this is not the case, especially with short-term online classes that take only 8- or 4-weeks. To this effect, online classes aren't always the best option during times of major life changes, such as pregnancy, weddings, periods of a dependent's military deployment, planned operations, a separation or divorce, a major move, job change, etc.
On a side note: If you can anticipate an event that will considerably disrupt your online course participation during the semester (pregnancy due date, major operation planned, etc.), let the instructor know at the beginning of the term. Most instructors will be happy to accommodate your needs, appreciate your professionalism, and admire that you are concerned in advance about your performance in the course. Also, if life drastically changes during the semester (major illness, accident, death in the family), let the instructor know immediately. These situations all warrant special consideration, but you need to let me know about these things as they happen, vs. after the fact. Again, instructors are human (even online ones) and understanding, so they will most likely grant you an extension without penalty provided you contact them as soon as possible.
In closing, think hard about what your learning preferences are, especially if you are a first-time online learner. Take this online readiness quiz from Penn State University to see... the school offers a nice little quiz you can take to see if you think you you’re ready for an online course.
If you’re still excited to try an online course, then keep reading. Online learning can be a very rewarding educational experience, but it might take a little extra time to get up to speed and feel comfortable distance education.
Here are Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about starting an online class.
Q: I’ve never taken an online class before. Where do I start?
Q: How do I crash an online course?
Q: Are there any prerequisites for an online course?
Q: What kind of equipment do I need for an online course?
Q: OK, I’m enrolled in the course. Now what do I do?
Q: What is Canvas?
Q: It’s the first day/week of class. What do I do? How do I get started in the course?
Q: I’m having trouble logging in. What’s going on?
Q: The course is missing from the Canvas homepage.
Q: When I try to log-on to Canvas, I get an error: “There was a problem with this login request. Contact the system administrator.”
Q: I have never used Canvas before. I’m kinda nervous/totally lost.
Students typically enroll in an online course the same way they do for onsite courses = via WebAdvisor at Grossmont.
Have you registered for this course yet? If so, good! If not, then please do so. If the course is presently full, you will have to try to crash the course.
Attempt to enroll in the class as normal.
Select to be placed on the class wait list.
Instructors will receive a list of add codes from the Admissions & Records office during the first week of classes, just as they would for an onsite class. Instructors generally assess actual enrollment the first week of class and then distribute add codes accordingly to Waitlisted students, per their status on the course wait list (it is required by law to issue add codes in the Waitlist order). Online instructors will then email add codes out to crashers (provided there are openings = no guarantees), so again, please be sure you have emailed the instructor so s/he has your email address.
No, no special prerequisites are necessary in order to take an online course, though you should make sure you have met the standard prerequisites for the course in general. Check with the Grossmont Catalog and/or your counselor for these.
At the most basic level, regular access to a computer with internet access. However, students planning on successfully completing an online course should typically make sure they have the following in addition to the standard course text:
One last thing – please be sure to disable your Pop-Up Blocker for the course web site.
* Cuyamaca College has a handy one-stop web site to access needed plug-ins.
Each school does things a little differently, so it is a good idea to get familiar with Grossmont’s online learning systems. This is a must read for students who have never taken an online course before.
Go to the Grossmont College home page.
Go to the “Student Services” tab. It’s the 2nd tab listed at the top of the screen. Hover your mouse above the tab to see the various options
Select the "Online Learning” column.
Take some time to explore the third option down, “Online Learning,” which will take you to yet another web page, "Online Success."
In the future, you can reach Grossmont’s Online Success web page (probably a good idea to bookmark this page if you are just getting started in the online environment).
The link is also posted at the bottom of the Bb log-in page.
Canvas is a rapidly growing cloud-based learning management system. Think of it as a kind of a Facebook = it enables teachers all over the world to conduct online courses by giving them a template they can plug into. Unlike Facebook, Canvas has to be leased (paid for) by each school.
All California community colleges are in the process of switching to Canvas. GCCCD will use Canvas as its online learning platform for all classes starting in 2018.
How Canvas works:
The first day of class is Monday, January 29. Please attempt to log-in to Canvas as soon as you can so you can get started on the course and/or we can figure out any log-in problems.
How to log-in to Canvas:
If you are unable to log-in, it maybe for one of the following reasons:
Again, chances are you either enrolled late or did not successfully register for the course.
If you have just added a course, please so the following:
Email me kristin.hargrove@gcccd.edu with your full name, student ID, and contact info (phone/email).
I will enroll you manually and send you an email confirmation.
It can take 1-2 business days for your class to appear (longer at the start of the term rush/over weekends), so please be patient.
Enrolled, it's the first day of class, and you still don't see the course on Canvas? The course needs to be made available to students by the instructor. Each instructor has their own "release" schedule. Ours will be on M 1/29 at 10am.
Be sure that you are entering your User ID and password correctly. Both are case sensitive, which means that you need to pay attention to capitalization.
If you are logging in from off-campus, for whatever reason, you usually need to log on twice (as I mentioned above). It’s normal to have to type in your Canvas username and password, submit, receive an error message, log-in your username and password again, hit submit, and log-in successfully. I’m not sure why, but this is what happens most of the time.
Don’t worry! Canvas is very intuitive, even moreso than Blackboard was. If you feel good about being able to surf the net and looking around web sites, you should be able to learn Canvas in no time. First-time online learners say within 2-4 weeks they feel confident, so just jump in and go with the flow for the first week or so.
You'll find a customized online tour of Canvas in our course once you log in, so it will show you were everything is.
This is not something any of us like to hear, but learn why.
First off, online learning is a different way of learning than the type of experiences we've had in onsite classrooms. This can take some change and adjustment, and not all people like change and adjustment.
Second, online learners have to feel comfortable working on their own, being motivated to stay on top of deadlines, and working to the pace of the course. You won't always get the same kind of instant feedback and communication with others that you get in an onsite classroom. You might run into tech issues with your computer. You may not be able to find a rhythm to help you tackle assignments and activities that need to be done each module or work week.
EQ is emotional intelligence. Like the term "IQ", it's a person's "emotional quotient" and means how you rate as far as your capacity to understand your emotions within yourself and with regard to others.
In the workplace and at school, EQ is important in how we interact with others and learn to distinguish what is appropriate behavior in light of the kinds of experiences we have in these settings, which are different than when we are at home or hanging out with friends. The EQ that worked in our previous school experiences, say, our high schools, or if we attended schools in another country with a different set of cultural values, might need to be upgraded for the college experience or slightly adjusted to the culture of the United States.
Multiple studies show that it's EQ - as well as maybe even more than IQ - that plays a key role in doing well in the workplace and at college, especially for beginning college students. How? EQ relates to qualities and behaviors in ourselves like:
(Kanoy 2010)
These kinds of characteristics might translate into:
(adapted from Sannes & Seabourg 2015)
Netiquette is "internet" + "etiquette", or the protocol we use when interacting with others via the web.
Similarly to how we all learn manners and how to act with others at the playground as little kids, when we start attending school with a teacher and classmates, and begin to socialize with peers in either a friend and/or date capacity, there are certain polite ways to interact when using the web.
___________________________________________________________________
(Touro College, Online Education Department)
___________________________________________________________________
This means when you're online, please think about how you interact and respond to people. Would you say what you want to say online to someone if you were in person, face-to-face, in public, on a college campus? Would you act the equivalent way in tone and in manner if you were in person, face-to-face, in public, on a college campus?
If not, then it's probably best to take a different approach with your online communication.
General Guidelines
Email
Discussion Boards
(adapted from University of Florida, Assistance for Teaching)
In online classes, there are several things that have to be done a certain way. For example, the type of file you save your work in or how you name that file might prevent an instructor from accessing it, so he or she can't read it to give you a grade. Other times, you might feel frustrated because your technology isn't working and you don't know how to fix the problem. Or, maybe you're not sure why you aren't earning full points for your work, but you can't just ask the teacher after class like in an onsite course on campus.
This is where taking the time to understand how our confusion and frustration with online learning affects us, because it might impact how we do our work (or if we do it at all), and how we try to get help with our problems.
In our class together, please:
The college experience is meant to help cultivate lifelong skills, and EQ + Netiquette both play an important part in today's web-enhanced environment.
It is expected that students will log-in to the class every week and responding to all discussion board prompts. Unlike onsite classes, there are no absences for this class. For example, with onsite classes, students are allowed 3 absences per class before they’re dropped from the class, per the Grossmont Catalog.
Things are a little different with an online class, since we are working in a different format. Again, it is expected that you will be logging in every week and responding to all Discussion prompts. If a week goes by without you responding to any discussion postings, I will send an email checking in with you. If you write me back to tell me you are still with the course, that’s fine but you will not receive credit for the missed week. If you miss two consecutive course weeks and I do not receive a response, you will automatically be dropped from the course. The main thing to remember is you have paid tuition, enrolled in the class, bought the book, and are earning college credit by doing college-level work. So please perform at a college-level and be "in” class every week.
If you decide to drop HIST 108, it would be appreciated if you emailed me to let me know. In any case, please be sure to formally drop the class through WebAdvisor.
On a side note: If you have a pre-planned event that will considerably disrupt your participation during the semester (pregnancy due date, major operation planned, etc.), please let me know immediately so we can work out accommodation. I am more than happy to give students leeway in these matters, but I won’t know about these things unless you tell me. Also, if a similar long-term emergency-type-situation arises during the semester (car accident causes you to be incapacitated, death in the family calls you out of town for an extended period of time, etc.), please take a moment to email me or call the school to leave a message for me. These situations all warrant special consideration, but you need to let me know about these things as they happen, vs. after the fact.
Participation plays a major part in how students are graded in an online class, especially since everyone is removed from the onsite classroom environment. Accordingly, online learning necessitates and displays a different style of interaction. It is not enough just to do the readings, view the lectures, watch educational films and video clips, and do course work such as discussion, exams, the paper, and the presentation.
Level of engagement: Discussions require students to post their own comments, read other students’ posts, and respond to postings multiple times a week so we can generate quality scholastic dialogue. Think PRR: after you enter Canvas, you should Post your response to the Discussion prompt, then Read what your classmates have to sat, and lastly, Respond to at least two other postings. PRR is a good rule of thumb to use on how to make Discussion posts. It is not enough to simply make 1 post at the beginning of the week and feel you are done participating.
More about PRR…
1. POST: Post to the Discussion prompt first thing. Meaning there might be 46 students who have already posted ahead of you. Don’t read their postings, just make your own so we can hear what you have to say. After reading 46 postings, you’ll have some many ideas swimming around that it might be difficult to focus your thoughts. And I'm not looking to see that everyone is in agreement = I'm looking to see a variety of interpretations about our course material.
2. READ: Now go back and read the other postings. This way, you have already posted your original analysis and where you stand on the question. You took care of you. You might go back and read that 20 other students have written the same thing as you, but what counts is that you made your own, original response and this is what instructors are looking for. Sometimes, students read other postings first, then go to post but they feel they have nothing new to say so they get frustrated and make a sub-standard post. Other times, a student might have wanted to say one thing, goes and reads other posts that all say something else, so then they start second-guessing themselves and change their answer. Remember that I am looking for your thoughts.
3. RESPOND: Lastly, respond to at least two other postings – but more if you feel like it! Again, PRR is a good order to work in because you have already posted where you stand on the question. As you read other postings, you might find a response that makes you re-evaluate your original posting. So someone in the class has helped you learn by helping you see the material in a new way. Now you can add a new response, saying you would like to update your point of view. Or you might want to counter someone else’s opinion, so make a new post about it.
I will ask open-ended questions about the lesson materials from the week at hand. In turn, this is where you show me that you read the book, viewed the lecture, and watched the video. Your postings should closely analyze the course material vs. just be generalized answers.
For example, I might post a prompt like “What were some of the benefits of Columbus' sailings to the New World? What were some of the problems his interaction in North America created? Think both short and long term.”
Here are a variety of answers, some to emulate and some to avoid:
Avoid merely copy+pasting cited info in. Instead, provide an equal balance of course information from each source type and your own informed critical analysis, or how the info makes sense to you in response to the prompt being asked.
Again, it might seem redundant to make postings, especially since you might feel like you’re going to say the same thing as a lot of other people in the course. But don’t worry about that. You are here to show me what you know. And you’ll probably be surprised at how people can have many different interpretations about the same topic. In the end, you’re the only person who earns the points for your grade – nobody else can do that for you or have an impact on your performance.
This is learning at it’s best = being exposed to a variety of ideas and perspectives helps you better understand the material so you can create a more sophisticated and informed personal historical thesis, per our Grossmont history department goals.
Some instructors require students to log-in every single day. Others ask for a certain number of posts a week. There is no set number of log-in days/postings you need to make for HIST 109. If you are PRRing on a weekly basis, you should have no problem with your participation grade. If you can sustain your Db participation, making quality responses to all Db prompts throughout the entire term by the end of the course week, you should be in good shape for your final participation grade.
Some instructors require that postings meet a specific word count or are x-number of lines long. There is no set length for postings in HIST 109; you just need to discuss ALL sources of course info each week to earn full points. This includes:
Work to provide a nice flow through your interpretation of the weekly material. Again, avoid merely copy+pasting info from the sources into your post. Instead, use course material to accent or accessorize your understanding of the material in your own words.
Your participation grade is directly related to your Discussion performance = 40 of your 100 total course points! So remember to log-in and post to all Discussion prompts by the end of course week in order to earn full points.
Each Db posting is worth 4 points:
What does "great", "okay", and "not-so-good" mean point-wise?
|
4 points> |
|
|
3.5 - 1.75 points |
|
|
1.5 points & below |
|
|
0 points |
|
Again, if you log-in, make quality postings to all postings by the week’s end, and PRR, you should do fine.
One final note: I cannot stress enough how crucial the Discussions are to your course performance. It sounds like a lot to remember and you might feel overwhelmed, but you’ll be fine once we get into a rhythm after the first few weeks of class. Then it will be like second nature. We’ll take the first week or so to work the kinks out = you can get used to logging in and posting, I’ll make recommendations and let you know if you are on track or off course, and we’ll go from there
Most students who do not do well in online courses and/or have disappointing grades end up that way because they never get engaged with Discussions. It might feel like a ball and chain to some of you = you might realize you despise online learning because of the Discussions. But remember, it is only one course. So either stick with it and chalk up the online class as a learning experience or make sure you drop the class by the appropriate drop date to avoid receiving an F for the course on your college transcript.
Weekly Schedule
Per the Syllabus, our course operates on a Thursday through Wednesday time frame, meaning the start of each HIST 108 scholastic week is Thursday and all work is due on Wednesdays. This might sound a little strange or different than other courses you may have taken, but this schedule seems to work out well in light of 3-day holiday weekends, server and Bb shut-downs at Grossmont, and student schedules. The Thursday-Wednesday option still offers students the chance to get work done at various times of the calendar week, both before and after the weekend.
New weekly lessons will be released on Thursdays by 10am, unless there is some major fiasco, at which point I will post about the delay on Bb. I will always make an announcement on Canvas, letting everyone know the new weekly lesson has been posted.
Some instructors allow students to work ahead, meaning the entire course is posted on the first day of the semester and students can work ahead, technically starting and finishing the course within a few weeks if they really want to do so. We will not being doing this. You will need to be committed to the course for all 16 weeks of the semester, checking in and participating on a weekly basis.
All work is due by Wednesday nights at 11:59pm. Your work and postings are all time-stamped so I can see exactly when they were sent/made. Please turn your work in on time. I do not accept late work.
How to Turn Things in For Grading
Discussion postings and your final "virtual presentation" are all submitted/made directly online through Canvas.
Exams and your Paper will be submitted through Vericite on Canvas (an anti-plagiarism tool).
I will not be able to grade work unless it is properly formatted.
Questions about the Class
Have a general question about HIST 108? Making a post? Don't understand the lecture? etc? Not sure when something is due? Confused about where to find something on Canvas? The video link isn't working?
ALL general course questions need to be posted on the Q&A forum on Canvas. This way, all students are privy to the same info.
Students who email with general course questions will get the following auto-response:
Remember to please post general course questions/comments in Q&A so all HIST 108 students can benefit from this information. I will be happy to help you there.
* You might want to read Announcements and/or email to see if this info has been discussed, and/or check the Q&A forum to see if your question has been asked by a fellow student.
Please be timely if you have a question about grading, meaning if you have a question about your Week 2 discussion grade, you should ask as soon as you receive your score and not wait until the end of the semester.
Getting Help
Some students jump into and online class and things work fine for them = few technical problems, they understand what’s expected of them in the course, they know how to navigate around Canvas, readings make perfect sense to them, etc. But this is very rare; it's normal to have Canvas and IT issues spring up during the term.
Most students at one time or another will run into some sort of problem, whether it is technical, with the way the course operates, or with the content they are learning. If you are a first time student, things might seem particularly daunting: not only are you having to learn the course content, you are also “learning how to learn” again = getting familiar with Bb, trying to understand computer technology, and understanding the rhythm of an online course. The “fear factor” might be particularly high and you might feel lost, frustrated, and overloaded, but rest assured this is all normal and things usually settle down after the first few weeks.
If there are ever any problems, please make sure to address them right away. Waiting only makes things worse! One of the downsides of online learning is that no one will know what you might be experiencing unless you make sure to speak up about it, so please be sure to speak up!
If you have a technical problem with Canvas:
Please try to do some preliminary troubleshooting, as listed below under Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).
Sometimes the Grossmont server will be down. I will let you know if I hear anything about this ASAP so you can plan accordingly. Conversely, please email me to let me know the server has been down for an extended period of time. In any case, this is something that is out of our hands so please be patient – I’m in the same boat as you are.
On that note, it is not a good idea to wait until Wednesday to get started with coursework in the event there is a Canvas or server problem.
The Canvas Help Desk is open 24/7 and can usually address Canvas problems on the spot: 844-600-4953
If all else fails, email me and we’ll go from there.
This is particularly important in the first few weeks of class. Other students might be waitlisted, waiting for add codes, plus you do not want to fall behind, especially if you are new to online learning.
If you have HIST 108 course problem:
If you are not exactly sure what is being asked of you or you are not sure how to do something, double-check the course policy as stated on the course Syllabus or our Orientation folder, check Announcements and emails, re-read the book, watch the video again, re-view the lecture. Many times this will help!
Head to Discussions and see if you can figure things out after reading Discussion-related postings.
If you still do not understand the material you are reading or the video etc. or need clarification, then please post to “Q &A”.
Often times, multiple students email with the same question. By posting on the “Q & A”, everyone can get the info. What’s great here is that students often take the initiative to help other students, so many times you’ll get the answer you need a lot quicker than waiting for me to email you back. Again, everyone can help each other out. Stating your question in the "Subject Line" helps everyone easily read your question and quickly scan through the list to see if their question has already been asked by someone else.
If you are still not sure things, then go ahead and email me.
Please remember that privately emailing an instructor in an online class setting is similar to physically stopping by an instructor’s office in an onsite setting. Online students sometimes don’t think twice about casually and/or repeatedly emailing their instructor, but how many times as a student have you actually stopped by your instructor’s office? Once, maybe twice during a semester, if that? So please use private email sparingly.
For long term or more in-depth help, keep in mind that Grossmont has a Learning Center that offers all sorts of tutoring help. Check the syllabus for more info. Also, it might be a good idea to partner up with a “study buddy”, or someone in the class who you check in with every so often if you have questions etc. Kind of like your class mentor.
If you have questions about your transcript, adding/dropping courses, if the course transfers to another school, etc.:
Please be sure to contact the appropriate Grossmont support personnel:
|
Office |
Phone Number |
|
Accessibility Resource Center |
(619) 644-7112 |
|
Admissions |
(619) 644-7186 |
|
Cashier's Office |
(619) 644-7974 |
|
Counseling |
(619) 644-7208 |
|
Financial Aid |
(619) 644-7129 |
|
Student Health Services |
(619) 644-7192 |
|
Transfer Center |
(619) 644-7215 |
|
Veteran Services |
(619) 644-7165 / 7166 |
If there’s anything else that needs to be addressed, please let me know. Thanks!
Grossmont periodically sends instructors “Clean-Up Rosters” every couple weeks during the semester so instructors can formally update class rosters and the college can maintain up-to-date student enrollment records. WebAdvisor also allows instructors access to enroll/drop students directly. Students who fail to respond to “last call” emails from me and/or skip two consecutive weeks of class will most likely be dropped. Please note: Students wishing to drop HIST 108 must do so by the date indicated on the Syllabus to receive a 'W' on their transcript. Students who are enrolled in the course but have stopped participating in Discussions after the date indicated will receive an F for the course.
However, remember that if you stop “attending” class without formally dropping, you might end up with an F for your final grade on your college. Please take the appropriate steps and formally withdraw from the course through Admissions & Records if you decide not to continue as a precaution.
Per the syllabus, our course operates on a Thursday through Wednesday time frame, meaning the start of each week is Wednesday.
New weekly lessons will be released on Thursdays by 10am, unless there is some major fiasco, at which point I will post about the delay on Canvas. I will always make an announcement on Canvas, letting everyone know the new weekly lesson is good to go.
Grading
I will grade all course content from the previous course week (Discussion postings, quizzes, assignments , etc.) starting on Fridays. I will do “passbacks”, posting input and grades (where applicable) starting on Fridays as well.
The exception to Friday grading and passback will be when I grade your Paper and Presentation, in which case, grading will take longer. If a personal emergency arises, I’ll be sure to keep you updated via an announcement on Canvas.
Canvas' online grading function called “Grades" allows students to see their specific grades as we move through the course. I will also comprehensively record student progress offline. Updated weekly participation scores and customized grading feedback will be posted on Canvas each week.
I recommend that students keep track of their course points using the grade grid document posted with the Syllabus.
Here is how/where you will receive your grades for various course components:
Discussion
Per the Discussion grading rubric above, weekly discussion posts will receive between 0 - 4 points. I will provide customized grading feedback next to your score in Canvas' Grades area before the start of next week's class, offering constructive feedback. It is suggested that students work to incorporate grading comments into their future posts, thus improving to earn max points as the term goes on.
Exams
Check Grades on Canvas to view these scores/customized feedback after the Announcement has been made that scores are ready for viewing.
Paper/Presentation
Your customized paper and presentation scorecards will be posted online, in random order by the last 4-digits of your Grossmont ID#, for students to view at the end of the semester. These grades will also be posted in Grades on Canvas.
Communication
Remember, communication is key in the online class, especially since our interaction is a little more disjointed than an onsite class.
As the course facilitator, I will:
Some things to remember:
A Note about “24/7” Online Communication…
There is a difference in the way course facilitators and students view the “24/7 accessibility” aspect of online learning, so I just want to take a second to talk about this.
Although online students can access their course, email, and post 24/7, this does not mean that the instructor is online or accessible 24/7. Sometimes students get upset when instructors do not immediately respond to a posting made at 3AM, or a question posted a few minutes after the instructor, who actually just signed off to head to class, had made a posting. Sometimes students forget the person leading the course is also human and has a life outside the classroom (I think we’ve all been surprised when we actually see a teacher outside of the classroom, like at the mall, at work, a Padre game, or out to eat).
So although online learning offers tremendous flexibility for students, please remember that online instructors need to create accessibility boundaries so they aren’t expected to be up at 3am in their pajamas in front of the computer.
If a problem arises , take a second or two to reevaluate. If the problem persists and you can't figure it out from the info here or on the Grossmont site, email me.
Here are some common answers to some common problems students face with online learning.
Q: What is my Grossmont e-mail address?
Q: What is my Canvas log-in?
Q: Why can't I login?
Q: My Class is missing from the Grossmont Canvas homepage.
Q: When I try to log-on to Canvas, I get an error: “There was a problem with this login request. Contact the system administrator.”
Q: When I click on a link to some course materials or try and start a quiz nothing happens or my browser crashes.
Type your first name and last name all lower case no spaces in the Log On box. You will then be prompted for your user name and password and you will type in:
Your e-mail address looks like this: firstname.lastname@students.gcccd.net
If you have trouble accessing your email account, follow these instructions:
If you are unable to log-in, it maybe for one of the following reasons:
1. You are using the wrong username and password. (IMPORTANT: remember both your username and password are case sensitive)
2. You may not be enrolled in the course. This usually happens is you registered the week before class started or crashed the course.
Again, chances are you either enrolled late or did not successfully register for the course.
If you have just added a course, please so the following:
Email me kristin.hargrove@gcccd.edu with your full name, student ID, and contact info (phone/email).
I will enroll you manually and send you an email confirmation.
It can take 1-2 business days for your class to appear, so please be patient!
For whatever reason, you usually need to log on twice if using a computer off-campus. It’s normal to have to type in your username and password, submit, receive an error message, log-in your username and password again, hit submit, and log-in successfully.
Be sure that you are entering your User ID and password correctly. Both are case sensitive, which means that you need to pay attention to capitalization.
If you find that your computer is not displaying new information or links then your computer may be keeping a "cached" copy of the page in its memory in an attempt to decrease download time. It is important, with the constant changes being made to Bb pages, that your browser always display the most recent version of the page.
Here are some things to keep in mind as you navigate through the class:
8800 Grossmont College Drive
El Cajon, California 92020
619-644-7000
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