The online discussion board is easy to use and will play a very important role in this course. You will use it to post many of your homework assignments and to communicate with your classmates. You will also use this board to get help with your work. Whenever you have a question about the course, about an assignment, or about how to use one of the course tools, you should post that question in the "Helping Each Other" conference. One of your classmates will probably see your question and offer some assistance. I will check the "Helping Each Other" conference at least once every 48 hours (unless otherwise announced) and respond to questions that have not been answered by your classmates.

I believe that this course should work just like a classroom where everyone has the opportunity to hear the answer to every important question. That is why I will not respond to general course questions or questions about assignments that are sent to me by email. Everyone deserves the same level of assistance and the "Helping Each Other" conference will be a public place where this type of sharing can occur. If you are shy about posting a question there, you can post your question anonymously.

Your job today is to post two or three test messages in the "Practice Conference." You can find the online discussion board by clicking the "Communication" button. You should post at least one message as a "new thread" and at least one message as a "reply" to an existing message. Notice how the board treats these two different posting options. Don't worry about getting something embarrassing out there - you can always "remove" an unwanted message that you have posted.

Remember: I will check the "Helping Each Other" conference at least once every 48 hours unless otherwise announced. This means that you should start your work early enough that you can ask a question and receive a response. Please keep this in mind when you are requesting assistance - if you flirt with the deadlines your request for assistance may be posted too late for a response.