Step 12: Log in to etudes!
Now you're ready to log into your online class. I advise getting logged into Etudes (the online classroom) before your class starts. Go to "my etudes.org", and on the left of the screen click "Login & Other Help". That will take you to the FAQ page where you can find "institution's login formula...". You should click that and then scroll to the bottom of the page and find Mendocino College. When you click "Mendocino College Login Info", it will take you to a page that says how to login and stuff. Basically, you use the first two letters of your first and last name, then the last 5 numbers of your student ID number. Then for the password, your month and day of birth are used. After you enter the password, you can create a different, stronger password.
Step 13: Using etudes: the online classroom
Now that you're logged in successfully, you can see your class is either open or closed. If it is before the open date, you may not enter the classroom, but if you're logging in on the first day of class like you should, the class should be open.
Symbols:
Students: How many classmates are online. This just lets you know that other students are on too, you can message them. It's like Facebook chat that says when the teacher or your friends are on. As you can see, no one is on right now.
Envelope: This is for private messages. The teacher may send you messages saying the new assignments, or any problems. Sometimes, you might recieve messages from other students asking you a question about the assignments for the week. Above, you can see there are no private messages at the time. You can send some to the teacher however, if you have questions!
Speech bubble with pencil: This is the discussion board. It will tell you when other people have posted on the week's discussion board, where you answer prompts from the teacher and respond to other. As you see, 5 students have posted on the discussion board.
Paper with a check: The paper with a check mark indicates items that have been graded. There are no items currently graded, but when there are, you can see your score for assignments, quizzes, and tests, and comments from the teacher!
Click anywhere inside the rectangle of your class to begin.
Symbols:
Students: How many classmates are online. This just lets you know that other students are on too, you can message them. It's like Facebook chat that says when the teacher or your friends are on. As you can see, no one is on right now.
Envelope: This is for private messages. The teacher may send you messages saying the new assignments, or any problems. Sometimes, you might recieve messages from other students asking you a question about the assignments for the week. Above, you can see there are no private messages at the time. You can send some to the teacher however, if you have questions!
Speech bubble with pencil: This is the discussion board. It will tell you when other people have posted on the week's discussion board, where you answer prompts from the teacher and respond to other. As you see, 5 students have posted on the discussion board.
Paper with a check: The paper with a check mark indicates items that have been graded. There are no items currently graded, but when there are, you can see your score for assignments, quizzes, and tests, and comments from the teacher!
Click anywhere inside the rectangle of your class to begin.
Once you're in, a screen like this should appear, with your own personal class. At first it can be very confusing, but you'll soon understand how the buttons and the systems work. First the home button will take you to the page we are on. You can see if anyone is on, if you have any messages and if any assignments have been graded. Below that, the newest announcement from the teacher will be shown. Next, Coursemap takes you to assignments that need to be completed. After that, make sure to read the syllabus very carefully. Also, take a look at the modules to see your notes/reading/links for the week. You have to click each one for the week or it will be marked late! As soon as you've looked at everything for the week, a green check mark should appear. This check also appears in your Assignments, Tests and Surveys, telling you that you have completed them. In discussion boards, you are required to post a certain number of times, which you should do before a certain time, even before the due date. If you wait for the last second to post on the discussion board, your grade will be taken down. Lastly, in Gradebook, check on your grades. Remember, teachers make mistakes too, so if you see anything that doesn't match up, don't be afraid to message the college professor! Just remember to be polite about it! You want to maintain a good relationship with the teacher and show them that you're a high school student mature enough to take college courses!
Step 14: CourseMap
In your menu bar, click "Coursemap". As the title suggests, this maps out your course! Organized by due date, this shows all your assignments, completed and not completed.
The little green check appears after you have turned in an assignment, or after you have posted the appropriate number of times in a discussion. The little paper with a blue thing lists the instructions for each assignment. In terms of the symbols, the little booklet means you have a quiz. On quizzes, there are usually 15-20 questions, but all classes are different. Some quizzes are timed (hour, half hour, etc. ) and some aren't, and you can go back and complete the rest later, just make sure to do it before the due date! The speech bubble represents a discussion assignment, where you need to post a thread (an initial post; a response to the instructor's prompt) before a certain date (before the due date even) and then post replies to other's responses before the due date. The little open book mean you have some notes to look at, and perhaps print out. The little A is an Assignment, which you can work on, and save for later too. In terms of dates, some assignments don't open until a certain date, meaning you can't work on them until a certain time. Make sure to pay special attention to the due dates, and submit BEFORE the dates, in case you make a mistake and the teacher lets you resubmit for a higher grade. Some things, like modules are Not Applicable, which means you don't get a score for them. After grading, you can always review an assignment, and before grading you cans see how many sections or posts there are.
The little green check appears after you have turned in an assignment, or after you have posted the appropriate number of times in a discussion. The little paper with a blue thing lists the instructions for each assignment. In terms of the symbols, the little booklet means you have a quiz. On quizzes, there are usually 15-20 questions, but all classes are different. Some quizzes are timed (hour, half hour, etc. ) and some aren't, and you can go back and complete the rest later, just make sure to do it before the due date! The speech bubble represents a discussion assignment, where you need to post a thread (an initial post; a response to the instructor's prompt) before a certain date (before the due date even) and then post replies to other's responses before the due date. The little open book mean you have some notes to look at, and perhaps print out. The little A is an Assignment, which you can work on, and save for later too. In terms of dates, some assignments don't open until a certain date, meaning you can't work on them until a certain time. Make sure to pay special attention to the due dates, and submit BEFORE the dates, in case you make a mistake and the teacher lets you resubmit for a higher grade. Some things, like modules are Not Applicable, which means you don't get a score for them. After grading, you can always review an assignment, and before grading you cans see how many sections or posts there are.
STep 15: discussions
Since Announcements, Syllabus and Modules are pretty self explanatory, we move on to Discussion and Private Messages. Here, you will find your class discussions, and you should go to week one, or whichever week you are on. Most professors have you start out simple and introduce yourself, but you need to sound professional. Do not use any text slang, and remember that this is a college course. Just because you are online does not mean you can type "yeah i like pizza 2, but i don't like carrots even tho theyre good 4 ur eyez." This is an online college classroom, and you want to impress the professor with academic language with NO spelling mistakes or grammar errors. Most teachers will require a minimum of a certain amount of words for each discussion. Like when posting a response to the teacher's prompt, some require a 200 word minimum. Make sure to meet this requirement. They also want 100 word minimums when you respond to other students but it is different for each teacher and each class. But you know that they don't just want "Yeah I agree with you Sara." You're going to have to use 100 words or so to say why you agree, or why you disagree. Discuss things with these people! The discussions can be pretty interesting. Some professors want you to post a minimum of 3 times or so. Read in the syllabus how they want you to do it, and follow all instructions.
Step 16: Gradebook
"Gradebook" shows you your overall grade. It may take a while for a letter grade to appear, but you can see whether you have an A to an F, and a + to a -. Underneath that, you'll find find how many points have been graded so far for you to see. Then, you can see the total points for the course (in which case it is 2039). After that there is a percentage of how far you are in the course. Oh, and that little guy holding a clock means you're working on an assignment, and it is not done yet but the due date is approaching!!!
Step 17: Do a great job!
The last thing to do is just work hard. If you do a good job and work hard, there's no way you can fail the class. Make no mistake, it is going to be very hard and time consuming, you may have to say no to hanging out or playing sports, but by working on this college course now, you are creating a better future. I wish you all the luck in the world on your class(es), and thanks for tuning in to this website!