Hello, my fellow instructors!
 
Would you please have your students post an introductory paragraph
about themselves on the Forum pages?  This is a very helpful action
for all students, as it gives them their first real sense of participation
in a learning activity outside their classroom and campus.  If your
semester has started, please do it now or, if not, please make this a
first action by your students as soon as your semester starts.
 
This is a relatively easy process.  Here are the steps (you may want
to print this out to tell your students):
 
1.  Go to the course web site at
        http://www.wilpaterson.edu/~irt/courses/soc399/
 
2.  Scroll down a bit and click on "Forum"
 
3.  Under "Getting Started with Forums" click on "Introductions"
 
4.  Read whatever messages are posted, then click on
     "Post new messages in this thread"
 
5.  Enter name, e-mail address, and "Introductions" as subject, and
     give introductory paragraph in the message section.
 
6.  I recommend you use the preview button first to double-check
     for typos and content, before hitting the post button.
 
That's all there is to it!  These pages will be used subsequently for
discussions, reports, and the final project, so this is a good way for
your students to get comfortable with this form of communication.
You should encourage them to check the Forum page at least once
a week, more often if they can.
 
Also, if you are a participating institution and I have not listed you
as such on the course home page, please let me know and I'll add
you to our group.
 
                                        Vince Parrillo