Welcome to Freshman Composition II On-Line

English 112-W1
Southwest Virginia Community College

Hi! I'm Idana Hamilton, instructor for this section of Freshmen Composition II. If you are considering registering, I will be happy to answer any questions you have about the class. You may contact me in any of the following ways:

voice: (276) 964.7722
fax: (276) 964.7720
email: idana.hamilton@sw.edu
office: Buchanan Hall 111

To take this course online, you need:

• reliable email. (Use your VCCS account; you may also use alternative email, but your first source to check should always be the VCCS account. If you need help with your VCCS account, let me know.)
  • you should know how to attach documents, send and receive email, and how to save messages if you need them later
• access to the internet and a recent version of Netscape or Explorer. It doesn't matter where the computer with the internet connection is--your house, a friend's, or at one of the College's labs.
  • you will be asked to search for materials, collect web addresses, use and document web sources, read and post to threaded discussions (instructions will be provided for most of these activities when we get to them, especially forum or threaded discussions).
• a textbook: Kirszner and Mandell's Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing (available at the campus bookstore)

Once you have registered, please email me (if you already have an address) so that I have an email address and some information about you and can send some instructions to you. It is the student's responsibilty to contact the instructor; I will respond quickly with information and instructions. Within the first week of classes, you should receive your welcoming/instructional email from me.

We will be using a BlackBoard site for the course. Distance Learning/Audio-Visual Services is responsible for BlackBoard functionality. Their contact information is at the following site: http://desweb.sw.vccs.edu/infopages/blackboard.htm. The technical director for this course is Stacy Harris. If you have trouble with technical "know-how," then contact Mr. Harris in any of the following ways:

voice: (276) 964.7522
fax: (276) 964.7720
email: stacy.harris@sw.edu
office: Buchanan Hall 106

Password information
When you enroll at SVCC, you have been assigned an email account with a User ID and a password. This is the same for Blackboard courses. Your User ID is the first part of the email address up to the @ . To find your email address, click here and follow the instructions. (Note: legacy SIS # is your social security number without hyphens.) Write your email address somewhere so you can find it easily. Your password is the six digits of your date of birth (month, day, year).

Example: If you were born February 6, 1984, your password would be 020684.

If you need help getting your email account set up, please call or email Stacy or me.

If you are enrolled and want to try out the password and take a look at the course, click here.