Welcome to Astronomy 101WW&WX

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 (Astronomy Laboratory), it meets the general education requirements for a laboratory science course.

Astronomy is the perfect course to be taught over the Web. Taking a course over the Web gives you access to the most recent information and theories available to the lay person. Information in this course will include information provided by the instructor, the author of the text, Web publishers and other students taking this course. I hope that you will enjoy the learning experience.

BEFORE REGISTERING:

Use the links to the left to:
• Check the course description and academic prerequisites for the course.
• Check the technical prerequisites for taking an on-line course.


Preview the on-line course materials, especially the Syllabus, Calendar and Units of Study. In the Units of Study area, you can access Unit One. Unit One will show you how a typical unit is organized.

Take the distance learning assessment tool.
• Contact me with any questions you have.

Please e-mail me the following information.
• Your name
• The college which your are attending
• Your e-mail address
• Your home phone number (or a number at which I can reach your most easily)

You may want to view the WebCT Online Tutorial, which is located within the CCBC Online Help Desk.
 
• Confirm that you can log into the Communications Center. If you experience problems, please let me know. The student database is manually generated. This means there is the possibility of typos or that your name is not currently in the student database.


Please do not attempt to log in to the communications center before the semester starts on February 3, 2003. Please e-mail or call me (410.455.6935) immediately if you have any problems logging in. You should note that once the class begins, all communications will be carried out from within the Communications Center. You should use my personal e-mail address, only in the case of an emergency, i.e. the WebCT server is down.

Attend an orientation in chat room 1. The chat room is located in the Communications Center. The orientations in chat room 1 will be held on Thursday, February 6, and Sunday, February 9, from 9:30 PM to 10:30 PM. I suggest that you log into the chat room in advance so that you become familiar with it. Also, I suggest you go through the online materials in advance and write down any questions you have.

Complete the two orientation assignments I will post to the bulletin board in the Communications Center. One of the assignments is to introduce yourself by posting an Autobiographical Sketch. The other exercise is called Orientation Exercise. Both exercises are graded. These assignments are designed to give your some practical experience with the communications tools which will be used in this course and to introduce yourself to your classmates. Both assignments should be posted on the Bulletin Board in the Communications Center by Sunday, September 15. To log into the Communications Center, click on the Communications link on the menu to the left. Go to the Bulletin Board and read the posted messages. Then complete the two assignments. Don't hesitate to contact me if you experience problems.

Get started with the course. It may take the first unit to feel comfortable with taking an online course, especially if this is the first on-line course you have taken. To get started, go to unit one, printout and review the Study Hints at the top of the unit one page.
 

• Get started with Unit I.