Welcome to Astronomy 101

Astronomy (ASTM 101) is an introductory level astronomy course that meets the general education requirements for a science course at CCBC. Taken with ASTM 102, it meets the general education requirements for a laboratory science course. In this course, you will be introduced to basic astronomical principles and the scientific processes which have led to our current understanding of the universe.

NOTE: Although this course is designed for non-science majors, the student taking this course should have successfully completed high school or college algebra. However, commonly astronomical concepts are expressed mathematically. Therefore an ability to understand mathematical expressions is important.

Taking a course on-line will give you both increased control over your learning environment and access to information that is not available in a traditional section. The approximate amount of time/week you can expect to spend on this course can be calculated using the same formula used for a traditional course, 3 times the number of contact hours/week. Since this class is a 3 credit course (3 hours contact hours/week), the AVERAGE number of hours you can expect to spend is 3 x 3 hours of class time/week = 9 hours/week during a typical 14 week spring or fall semester. This is an average. The amount of time you will spend will vary depending on your background, learning style and familiarity with online technology. Students new to the online environment will more than likely require more time at the beginning of the semester in order to become familiar with WebCT/Blackboard.

Use the links to the left to:

• Check the course description and academic prerequisites for the course.

Please Note: Although this is a course designed for non-science major, successful completion of either high school or college algebra is required.

• Check the technical prerequisites for taking an on-line course.
• Preview the on-line course materials, especially the Syllabus and Units of Study. In the Units of Study area, you can access Unit One and the unit one labs.

Assess your readiness for online learning.

Check your technical savvy.

Check the technical requirements for taking online courses at CCBC.

Contact me if you have any questions.

Survey the course information by following the links on the menu to the left. Especially important are the Syllabus and the Units of Study links.

Before the semester begins, you will receive a letter from Joel Martin welcoming you to your online course. You will find your login information in the upper left hand corner of the letter. If you are a CCBC student and have not received Mr. Martin's letter by August 25, 2009, you can access your login information by:

• Logging in to the CCBC Online Information System (SIMON). NOTE: If you are new to SIMON, you will first have to create a user name. To create a user name, click the Log On button in the upper right corner of the SIMON home page and follow the steps on the left under Create A New User Name.
• After logging in, click on Student Email and Unix Account Information. It is located toward the bottom of the Main Menu.
• Click the View button to find your WebCT/Blackboard User ID and password.

I will also send all students a welcome letter. Here is a copy of that bmemo.

After you have your User ID, you should confirm that you can log in to the WebCT/Blackboard server. Click on the Login button to the left. Logging in takes you to your personal myWebCTBB page. The courses for which you are registered will be listed in the center of your My WebCT/BB page. If the course is not listed on your myWebCTBB page by August 25, 2009 please e-mail me or call me at 443.570.5048. The semester officially starts on August 31, 2009. You should not delay in logging into the course since there are assignments due the first week of class.

Once the class begins, all communications will be carried out from within the courseb. You should use my personal e-mail address, only in the case of an emergency.

Before starting with the course, you should complete the following activities:

1. Complete the following tutorial:
   • Navigating a Typical Unit
2. Review the unpassworded portions of course. They can be accessed by clicking on the links to the left. Especially important are the syllabus and unit one (available by clicking on the Units of Study link).
3. Write down any questions you have

Complete the orientation activities. The orientation activities are required and graded. Follow the instructions below to access the activities.

1. From your myWebCT page, select the course link and go to the WebCT course home page.
2. Click the START HERE... link.
3. Print out the page that is displayed and follow the instructions.
4. Post any problems or questions to the public discussion board by clicking on the Discussions link located on the Course Tools menu. The deadline for submitting the 3 three orientation activities is posted in the WebC/BBT course calendar.

Try to attend the optional orientation chat session. The chat room is accessed by entering your WebCT/BB course and clicking on the Chat link, located on the Course Tools menu. The orientation will be held on Sunday, August 30, 2009 at 8:00 PM. A repeat of the orientation will take place on September 2, 2009 at 8 p.m. You can find details about the chat session by checking the course calendar after you log in to the course.. I suggest that yobu log in to the chat room in advance so that you become familiar with it.

NOTE: The orientation chat is optional. If you are unable to attend the chat session, I will post the chat log under the Chat Logs icon located on the course home page.

After completin the 3 part course orientation, you should begin with unit one. You can preview all of unit one by clicking the Units of Study link to the left. In order to submit the unit assignments you must lo in to the course and access the Units of Study from the course homepage. Be sure you complete the orientation activities BEFORE beginning unit one. Although the chat orientation is optional, the orientation activities described in the Start Here section of the course are required.

Welcome to the course...
Paula Noeller