TO:  Students enrolled in TEC 5323 Advanced Database Technology

First, I would like to welcome you to our course TEC 5323 Advanced Database Technology.  This online environment will support active participation for student learning and will maintain the same academic expectations and rigor as resident classes. 

The following information are provided to help you ease into the course for conducive learning. Please read all the sections very carefully.

A. Pre-requisites:

Before enrolling in this course, you should consider the following characteristics essential to taking an on-line course:

1. Have the ability to work independently.
2. Be willing to work hard.
3. Have enough knowledge of email, web, and word processors.
4. Be comfortable using a computer connected to the Internet.
5. Have a high performance PC: Windows NT/2000/XP, minimum of MB RAM.
6. Like any resident class, a student is expected to spend at least 3 hours for every course credit per week. In other words, you are expected to spend at least 9 hours per week for this course (excluding hours spent at Marty's). This is no exception for on-line course.
7. Be able to perform multitasking, for example, to be able to work with your computer assignments while flipping through CNN, ABC and CBS, if you choose to do so.

The following are requirements for accessing the on-line course:

• A valid email account.
•         Email program, for example, Eudora, Netscape Mail, Web Mail, etc.
•         Functional web browser, for example, Internet Explorer.
•         Microsoft Office Word, Power Point. (Joy stick is not required for this class.)
•         Adobe Acrobat Reader (Free Software for download from Adobe)
•         Computer with a Modem for Internet connection or high speed connection.
•         Have a reliable Internet service provider, and a high performance computer.

If you are not able to meet the above basic conditions, please consider dropping this course as soon as possible to make room for other students. Please feel free to contact me if you have questions or concern.

B. Textbook and Reference Book:

The required readings are all on the course web site. Please refer to the course schedule to see the reading assignment every week. Missing dosage is detrimental to your health.

The reference book for the course will be sent by Textbook Rental Services via mail for those students not living in Coles County.  A return sticker will be included with the texts for you to return them at the end of the semester.  If you do not have a book by the first week of the course, do not panic. Please email me so that we will resolve it as soon as possible.

If you live in Coles county, please contact Textbook Rental Services at 581-7484 for dates and times to pick up your book.

Refer to the syllabus for the exact details about the textbook and reference book.

C. Communications:

i. Email: All course-related communications between the instructor and all students shall be done using the email utility within WebCT. The email within WebCT is simple, easy to use and free of spams. I will check the emails on daily basis as my priority. You need to login WebCT before you can use it. Details on WebCT login may be found on the next section of this page.

Emails sent to my regular email account may be delayed for responses due to the large volume of emails to be processed daily.

ii. Assignment Submission: We will use WebCT to submit your project. Click here for instruction.

iii. Virtual Office: I will use Yahoo Messenger as my virtual office starting Spring 2006. I will keep my eyes open during my office hours (11:00 - 12:00 PM, Monday through Friday).

If you want to catch me in the virtual office, you need to do the following:

a. Create a Yahoo ID at Yahoo's site.

b. Download Yahoo Messenger from Yahoo site.

c. Launch Yahoo Messenger on your PC or laptop.

d. Add my name in your contact list. My Yahoo ID is: peter_ping_liu. I will then agree with the addition. We are connected.

e. When you see me online, you may invite me to have a conversation with you. The conversation can be in the following mode: text, audio only, video/audio. I have web camera on my desk top computer.

I hope this method will save some long distance phone charges for students who live off campus. It will be valuable if you need any assistance for trouble-shooting your software system.

D. Course Materials and Sites: Fun place to interact with other students.

Web Site: The course information is located at http://www.eiu.edu/~pingliu/tec5323/. It is here that you will find all of your related coursework materials. 

WebCT: Course survey, test, class discussions, problems and solutions, project submission, and progress report will be located on WebCT.  You will always be able to check your performance throughout the course by clicking on the View Your Grades icon on the WebCT TEC 5323 Homepage.

Generally, your WebCT login user name will be your EIU email address.

Your WebCT Desktop: To log on to your WebCT desktop, do the following:

Open the browser of your choice to the following URL:

http://www.eiu.edu/vce/

Please note that your login screen may look slightly different from the following screen shots. But, the essence remain the same.

For your User Name, enter your PEN account, all lower case with no spaces

(i.e.: jsmith2). Press your Tab key.

For your password, type the password given from my email.

Press OK

This is the screen that you will see next. 

Click on TEC 5323 Advanced Database Technology

Your WebCT desktop will be the next screen you see.  Class Discussion, Test/Survey, Project Submission, Course Link, Grades, and Progress Reports are available from your WebCT desktop.

. 

 Below is an example screen from the discussion area.

You will want to press the down arrow next to Select Topic to see the various forums you will be discussing related to the course content.  You will need to consult the Course Schedule to view due dates for discussion questions. Your first discussion is in Week 1: Discussion. 

If you have any problems, please contact me as soon as possible so that we can work together in resolving the issue. 

I look forward to meeting all of you on-line.

Sincerely,

Peter Ping Liu, Ph D, PE, OCP, CQE and CSIT Professor

PS: This letter will be posted on Notes section of the course web site. Please review it as your reference.

PPS: Have fun learning.

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School of Technology
College of Business & Applied Sciences
Eastern Illinois University