Greetings!My name is Hobart King and for the next several weeks it will be my great pleasure to introduce you to the most interesting subject that I have ever known - environmental geology. We will study the interactions between people and the earth. Ground water, landslides, floods, water wells, earthquake activity, landfill siting and mineral resources are examples of environmental geology topics. These topics can be relevant to you when selecting a place to live, purchasing insurance or maintaining a homesite. I feel that I am very qualifited to teach this course. Before coming to Mansfield in 1994, I worked for 15 years at a state geological survey. At the time of my departure I directed their Economic Minerals and Geologic Hazards Section and environmental geology was the focus of my work. I am pleased that you have registered for this course and I look forward to working with you. I have selected some very interesting subjects for our studies and am excited about leading you in this venture. I developed Environmental Geology Online as Mansfield University's first online course and have taught it many times since 1998. To prepare myself for online teaching and to study the methods of other instructors I have completed several online courses myself. These have been on subjects such as hydrology, computer graphics, computer languages, and geography. I have enjoyed these courses, worked hard to complete them, and learned a lot. Perhaps the most important thing that I learned about taking online courses is that being a successful student is an exercise in discipline. You have to be self-motivated to get the work done. My advice to you is to dedicate three or four special blocks of time every week to work on this course. Most students who complete this course report spending between 10 and 15 hours per week with their online studies. Reserving this time through a regular study schedule can help you maintain that discipline.
How this course will work.For many of you, this will be your first online course or at least your first course with me. You can learn how it will work and what the expectations will be in your first reading assignments: the syllabus, the frequently asked questions and advice from former students. Be sure to read them carefully. (Some students print their reading assignments to avoid long reading times at the computer.) There will be a quiz on these readings at the end of this lesson.This orientation lesson will ease you into the online classroom experience - you will become familiar with the course website as well as the situations you will encounter while taking the course. It will be easy if you are willing to take your time, try new things, and experiment for a few minutes to find your way. Success is at your fingertips if you are patient and take the time needed to familiarize yourself with the course website.
Getting Started.Throughout the course we will be using online discussion boards, personal webpages, online quizzes, and email messages. You can earn a few easy points by completing the four tasks that accompany this lesson. These tasks will also confirm that your computer is compatible with the Blackboard course delivery system.Don't worry if you become uncertain about something while doing this lesson. Just try what you think will work. If you make a mistake, try again until you get it right. That is the whole point of this first lesson. Your goal is to come out of this lesson having found success with each of the tools needed to complete this course. The tools are easy to use but it may take you a couple of tries to do things perfectly. Good luck with your work. Dr. King
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