Techorient2 booklet02 print2

TECHNOLOGY

ORIENTATION

Let us introduce you to some of the technology you will use at TCTC.

Need to REFRESH your computer skills BEFORE classes begin?

Start the semester off on the right foot by attending one of these Technology Orientation sessions.

PENDLETON CAMPUS

Welcome to the TCTC Technology Orientation Fall 2014 Technology plays a major role in education today. As a result many students struggle to keep up with assignments and class activities simply because they don’t have the level of computer experience needed to navigate through a variety of different systems.

On a positive note, although it may take a little extra time at first to get used to the electronic tools used at Tri-County, most students find that once they get familiar with the routine, it really isn’t so bad!

This session is designed to introduce you to some of the most commonly used applications, such as Microsoft Word and eTC, and to give you experience using other tools that are available to all Tri-County students, including Career Coach, Degree Works, and Starfish. During the first two weeks of the semester, other sessions are scheduled to help you access MyLabs and Blackboard if you have instructors who require those systems (see schedule on the last page).

In any case, it isn’t unusual to have questions about technology! The Tutoring Center is a good place to go to get help with basic computer skills. The Service Desk is another good resource if you run into technical trouble with a computer. Contact information is given on the Resources page at the back of this booklet.

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Session Agenda WELCOME COMPUTER BASICS Getting Started with Microsoft Word 2013....................................................4 Navigating eTC.............................................................................................................9 Using Your TCTC Email Account.......................................................................12 Using TCTC computers.........................................................................................15

SPECIAL TECHNOLOGY SYSTEMS Career Coach.............................................................................................................20 Degree Works...........................................................................................................22 Starfish..........................................................................................................................25

CLASSROOM TECHNOLOGY Blackboard.................................................................................................................28 MyLabs.........................................................................................................................31 SafeAssign...................................................................................................................35

RESOURCES Resources....................................................................................................................38 Learning Technology Orientation Drop-Ins Schedule.........................39

Computer Basics

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Getting Started with Microsoft Word 2013 When you first open Microsoft Word, you’ll see a screen that looks like this:

In most cases, you’ll click on “Blank document” to get started; however, you also have the option to choose to start with one of the templates you see here.

A blank document will look like this:

At this point, you are able to start typing.

Let’s take a closer look at what’s on your screen. Notice the row of tabs at the top of your screen:

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Each of these tabs offers different options to aid in the creation of your document. We’re going to go over some of the most important tools found in a few of these tabs. Let’s start with the Home tab. This is the tab that is open when you first open a document.

Look for the Font box at the left of the screen. Here, you can edit the font of your document:

Click the drop-down menus in order to change both the font face and the font size; in the photo above, the font face is Calibri and the font size is 11.

This is also where you can choose to bold, italicize, or underline your text.

Other options found in this important box include highlighting text or changing the color of your text.

The Paragraph box also holds important tools found in the Home tab: Align text left, center text, align text right, or justify text.

Additional options

This box gives you the option to center or justify text, as well as to align text to the left or right of the page. Notice the arrow in the very bottom right of this box; these arrows appear throughout Microsoft Word, and if you click on them, they will open dialog boxes offering additional options. If you click on the arrow on the Paragraph box, this is what will pop up on your screen:

Take particular note of the Line Spacing drop-down menu. This is where you can find the options to single or double space the text on your document.

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The next tab that you should be aware of is the Insert tab. Sometimes, an assignment may require a header, footer, or page numbers. You can add these things by selecting them under the Insert tab. Click on the arrow beneath header, footer, or page number to choose the appropriate style for your document. Once you make your choice, a Design tab will appear that allows you to edit the header or footer.

When you’re happy with your header or footer, click “Close Header and Footer” in order to close the Design tab and continue working on your document. If you need to edit your header or footer later, simply double-click in the header or footer section of your document (near the top of the page or near the bottom of the page).

Click this when you’re done editing your header or footer.

The Insert tab is also where you’ll find the options to add things like charts, tables, photos, text boxes, and symbols to your document.

Often, an assignment will specify what kind of margins to use. Margins refer to how much blank space is left on the top, bottom, and sides of a document.

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Microsoft Word 2013 automatically uses one inch margins; this is the standard for many assignments, but if a teacher requires something different, you can edit the margins of your document under the Page Layout tab.

Other Helpful Tips Spell Check Word 2013 automatically checks your spelling as you type.

If you misspell a word, a red underline will appear under it. If you right-click on the misspelled word, a drop-down menu will open with a list of correctly-spelled words that appear close to the word that you typed; simply click on the word that you meant or choose to ignore the suggestion if you intended to spell the word the way that you did. *Note that Word will only point out your misspelled word if it’s not an actual word. If in the process of misspelling a word, you spell a different word, then Word will not point out your mistake. For example, if you meant to type “dessert” (a sweet treat), but you actually typed “desert” (a dry region with sparse vegetation), the word will not be underlined. This is why it can still be helpful to look up a word if you’re unsure of its spelling

Saving Your Work To save your work initially, click on the File tab.

A new window will appear, and on the left side of the screen is a list of options.

Click “Save As” in order to name your document and save it to the computer or another location (like a flash drive).

***Remember that you cannot save your document to a TCTC computer and expect it to still be on the computer the next time that you use it; only save to the computer if you plan on emailing the document to yourself or putting the document in a different location at the end of your session.

Click this button often to save your progress.

It is a very good idea to save your document often in case the program crashes or another technical error occurs while you’re working on it. Once you’ve chosen where to save your file (what you did in the last step), all you have to do to save your document again is click on the floppy disk icon in the upper left part of the screen.

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Printing from a TCTC Computer To print your document, click once again on the File tab and select Print on the list to the left.

A Print box will appear as well as a preview of your document to the right.

Here, you can choose the number of copies you want, which printer to use, and if you want to print the whole document or only certain sections.

Before you print your document, be sure that you know whether it should be 1-sided or 2-sided. Many of the printers at TCTC automatically print documents on both sides of the page. In order to change this, you’ll need to click on Printer Properties.

A box like this will pop up:

Notice that 2-sided is selected under Document Style. Click the bubble next to 1-sided if you want your document to be printed on only one side of the page.

Afterward, click OK and print your document.

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It’s easy to get overwhelmed with all of the tools available in Microsoft Word, but remember that you can still create exceptional work by just being familiar with the basics!

Navigating eTC 1. Many computers across campus use the eTC login page as their home page. If you’re accessing eTC through a personal computer, simply visit http://etc.tctc.edu .

2. Once logged in, you’re directed to the welcome screen. Take note of the e-mail icon beside the red arrow. This directs you to your TCTC e-mail account, which you will need to use to correspond with your teachers and other faculty.

3. The first tab you will need to make note of as a student is the Message Center tab. Under this tab, you will find a calendar of upcoming events taking place at the college. In addition, the directories feature allows you to search for instructor and student e-mail addresses.

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4. The My Dashboard tab will also be beneficial to you as a Tri-County Technical College student. The “Personal Info� box showcases your information as the college has it on record and shows your T-number. This tab also has information about your transcripts, billing, and your class schedule.

5. The Get Ready tab provides information on the application process for admissions and financial aid. This tab also provides links to COMPASS information and assessment tests such as SmarterMeasure.

6. The Get Set tab provides resources to prepare for your upcoming semester here at Tri-County. Here you will find links about class registration, financial aid, and Degree Works.

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7. The Get Connected tab will provide you with connections to academic resources, personal information, and student life. Here, you can access Starfish, which is used to make appointments with services around campus like the Tutoring Center, Disability Services, and Career Services. You can also locate open computer labs, access the campus bookstore’s site, and request help from IT.

8. The Learn tab provides a portal to Blackboard, which will be used heavily as an online component in most of your classes for things like turning in assignments and communications with the instructor. This tab also provides links to the Tutoring Center, academic advising, and the library homepage.

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9. The last tab on the eTC page regarding students is the Succeed! tab. This tab provides information about your final grades and transfer information, as well as tools like Degree Works and Career Coach.

With these tips, you’re well on your way to navigating eTC!

Using Your TCTC Email Account It is very important to know how to use your TCTC email; often, this will be your instructors’ primary way of communicating with you, and you might even receive an email from them before classes begin.

It is a good idea to check your email a few times throughout the day. You never know when an instructor could cancel class or offer more information about an assignment.

To access your email, start by logging in to your eTC account at http://etc.tctc.edu.

Once logged in, this is what you’ll see:

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Next, click on the E-mail icon on the top right side of your screen.

A new window will pop up. This is your inbox. It will look something like this:

Your emails will be listed in this pane to the left. Emails that you haven’t read will be in bold.

Clicking on one will highlight it in yellow and open it on your screen. The email open here is about a scholarship opportunity, and it was sent out to all students; as you can see, it is very beneficial for you to read your email.

To write an email to someone, start by clicking New on the toolbar on the top left of your screen:

A new window will pop up. This is where you will compose your message.

The Subject box is where you’ll type a very short description of what your email is about. For example: Request for Meeting

The To box is where you’ll type the email address of the person you’re trying to contact.

Click in this space to begin writing your email. Notice that you can change font style and size at the top.

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When you’re done writing your email (and you double-check to be sure that you have correctly typed in the email address of the person you are trying to contact), click the Send button in the top left of the box.

After you press send, it is a good idea to check your Sent Items folder to be sure that the email you just sent is there. If you do not see the email there, it might mean that something went wrong and it didn’t actually go through; in that case, you should probably try to send the email again.

If you want to reply to an email or forward an email to someone, you will use the buttons below (these appear near the top right corner of an email in your inbox): Clicking the Reply button will let you type a reply to the sender.

If you want to send the email that you received to someone else, click the Forward button.

If the email was sent to multiple people, clicking this button will let you reply to all of them. This is especially useful for group projects, but be sure not to click Reply All if you only want the person who sent the email to read it.

Other Helpful Tips Finding Someone’s Email Address The Find Someone button in the top right of your screen can be useful if you don’t know somebody’s email address. After clicking it, type all or part of someone’s name and press Enter. A list of possible options will come up; scroll through the list until you find the person you’re looking for. Be sure that you’re choosing the right one because sometimes there are multiple people with the same first and last name, and sometimes a person doesn’t actually go by the name that TCTC lists.

Deleting Emails Most people don’t want to keep all of their emails, so they delete them in order to eliminate clutter from their inbox. You can use the Delete button at the top to delete emails, but what if you accidently delete an email that you need? Luckily, you have a second chance. When you delete an email, it is sent to the Deleted Items folder. Clicking on this will allow you to view emails that you’ve deleted and move them back to your inbox if you decide that you want to keep them; however, if you delete an email from the Deleted Items folder, it is actually gone, and there is no retrieving it.

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Your TCTC email comes with plenty of other features, but the best way to learn is to dive right in and use it. Between checking your email regularly for important news and communicating with your instructors and classmates, you’ll be an expert in no time!

When using a TCTC computer, be aware:

1. The box highlighted here in orange shows the CD-ROM drive which doubles as the DVD input. To open the drive, press the small rectangular button to the right of the letters DVD. Once the disk has been placed in the drive, gently push it back into the computer and the software will start.

2. The box hightlighted here in red shows the USB ports. Note that TCTC computers possess four, not two, of these ports. To use this port, insert the plug section of the USB (also known as a Flash Drive) into one of the small rectangular ports. The computer will then begin actively reading the files.

3. The box highlighted here in yellow shows the insert port for headphones. On TCTC computers, this hole is the second from the top, and has a small picture of headphones to the right of it. .

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To access files once the USB has been inserted into the USB port, use the mouse cursor to select the Start Menu. To do this, hover the cursor over the Windows symbol on the bottom left of the monitor screen and left click with the right index finger once.

Windows Start Menu Icon

The Start Menu will then appear on the left side of the screen. Click once on “Computer” and a window with all available drives and files will open.

On the left side of this new window, there is a section labeled “Computer” and under it is an option named “UDISK (E:)” or something similar. Click this E Drive to access your personal files present on the flash drive previously inserted into the USB port.

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It is also important to note how high the volume is when you begin to listen to anything requiring audio. To adjust the volume of the computer, click the speaker button on the bottom right of the monitor screen. To do this, use the sliding bar to control the volume. Moving the tab up will increase the volume while sliding it down will decrease it.

Volume Control Icon

Special Technology Systems

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Technology Orientation – Part II Activity Sheet Career Coach 1. Locate the Career Coach links and click on one to access the system.

2. Type the name of the career you are pursuing in the Search careers box on the left side of the page and then write it here: _______________________________ 3. Select one of the jobs listed under that career. You chose: _______________________________ 4. Find the following information about this job: a. Median wage ________________________________________________ b. Estimated annual job openings ___________________________________ c. The % of workers in your age group ________________________________

Degree Works 1. Log into eTC, locate one of the Degree Works links, and click to access the system.

2. From your worksheet, name at least one course that you still need to take in order to complete your degree. List it here: ___________________________.

3. Click on the Planner tab. Is there a plan showing in the Student Educational Planner on the right side of the page? Circle Yes or No 4. Go back to the Worksheet tab. Click on the red Student Info button. a. What is your Financial Aid Status? _________________________ b. What is your COMPASS RDG score? _________________________

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StarďŹ sh 1. Log into eTC, locate the Starfish link, and click to access the system.

2. On your Home tab, locate the names of your:

a. Faculty Advisor _______________________________________________ b. Student Success Coach _________________________________________ c. Instructors __________________________________________________ d. __________________________________________________________ e.

__________________________________________________________

3. On the Services tab, locate the Leading EDGE Workshop Series and click on the link to its website. Name the five tracks or categories of the sessions being offered: a.

__________________________________________________________

b. __________________________________________________________ c.

__________________________________________________________

d. __________________________________________________________ e.

__________________________________________________________

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Career Coach Many students choose a major and make plans for future employment without actually knowing very much about the local job opportunities in the profession they are choosing. Career Coach is a tool that help you investigate job availability in the upstate, identify skills related to those jobs, and develop realistic wage expectations.

1. Links to Career Coach can be found on the public TCTC website and on the Succeed! tab in eTC.

2. Watch the Tutorial video, search for the career you’re interested in, or answer some questions to learn which career might be best for you.

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3. After typing in a career name, select the specific job you want from the generated list to get valuable information such as:

a. A description of that specific job and the education required b. Approximate range of wages c. Number of people employed in this career in our area d. Current job postings e. A list of similar careers 4. If you click on the Compare button next to one of the similar careers, you’ll see a comparison of job skills needed for each.

Compare

For additional information contact: Glenn Hellenga ghelleng@tctc.edu 864-646-1585

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Degree Works How can you stay on track toward completing your degree if you can’t see where you’re going? Degree Works, our degree audit system, will help show you the way! By referring to your Degree Works account regularly, you will be able to monitor your progress, identify requirements you still need to meet, and find courses you still need to complete. You and/or your advisor can also create a plan for you to follow.

1. Links to Degree Works can be found on the Get Set and Succeed! tabs in eTC.

2. Clicking on the link will take you to your Worksheet or audit. From this page you can: a. Email your advisor or success coach by clicking on his/her name. b. See the percentage of program credits you have completed and/or registered for

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c. See how close you are to the 150% credit limit for Financial Aid

a b c

3. There’s a lot of valuable information on the audit itself. a. Colors i. Completed requirements will be shown in yellow with a green check box in front. ii. Requirements that will be completed when the current course work is completed successfully show up in blue. iii. Remaining course work shows in a pinkish color b. Special requirements will be listed immediately below block headers. c. Course information can be found by clicking on a course identifier d. Courses that don’t fit into your program and those that are currently “in progress” will show at the bottom of the page

b

c

d

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4. The Student Info link at the top of the audit will take you to the Advising/Registration Worksheet. Here you can a. Update your contact information b. Check your Financial Aid standing c. Review your SmarterMeasure assessment results

a

c b

5. Additional resources include the Planner tab, the FAQ link, and the Additional Links.

For additional information contact: 24

Lou Ann Martin lmartin4@tctc.edu 864-646-1372

Starfish is designed to help you connect to resources at TCTC. It is also an early alert system that your instructors may use to alert you to academic concerns in your classes. Through Starfish, you can make appointments with instructors, your faculty advisor, your success coach, the Tutoring Center, and any other service or individual with posted office hours.

You can get to your Starfish account by clicking on the Login to Starfish button on the Get Connected tab or by using the link in Blackboard.

On the left side of your Home tab or Dashboard, •

alerts will show under My Success Path is the top left corner

•

your success coach and advisor will be listed under My Success Network, along with a link to tutors who can help you with » writing assignments in any of your courses, » study skills, and » basic computer skills

•

Appointments you make through Starfish will show in the bottom

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On the right side of your Home tab or Dashboard, •

Under Courses I’m Taking » You will see each of the courses for which you are registered, » You will be able to schedule an appointment with any instructor who has office hours posted, » And you will be able to schedule an appointment with tutors in specific courses if a link is available

•

Any messages you receive through Starfish will appear under My Messages in the lower right corner

Look on the Services tab for a list of resources available to TCTC students.

If online scheduling options are available, you’ll see a link below the title of the service.

For additional information contact: 26

Lou Ann Martin lmartin4@tctc.edu 864-646-1372

Classroom Technology

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Overview of Blackboard Blackboard is the LMS (Learning Management System) which Tri-County Technical College students use to access online courses, publisher course content and supplemental material for some face-to-face classes.

Blackboard can be accessed in several ways: 1. Direct access: http://bb.tctc.edu (This is the preferred method of access.)

2. From the eTC login page (an alternative method):

3. From the Learn tab within eTC:

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When you access Blackboard, the first page you will see is the login page:

Once you successfully log in, you will see a page similar to this:

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Clicking on a course name will take you into the course. Each course may be laid out differently but there is always a navigation menu on the left, with selected content on the right.

Things to remember:

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Your log in credentials (user name and password) are the same as for your eTC email.

•

The Blackboard system requires maintenance during the semester, and a schedule of maintenance dates is available through a link on the login page. Blackboard may not be available during some maintenance periods.

•

If you have problems using Blackboard, contact the Service Desk by phone (864-646-1779) or by email (servicedesk@ tctc.edu) or by submitting a ticket here: http://www.tctc.edu/Academics/Prepare_for_a_Career/SchedulingLocation/ OnlineHybrid/How_to_Access_Online_Courses/Support_Form.xml

•

Video tutorials on how to use Blackboard are available here: http://ondemand.blackboard.com/students.htm

MyLabsPlus Many math instructors use MyLabsPlus as part of their course.

There are numerous valuable resources available in MLP to help you learn. For instance, you will find the electronic version of your text, videos and animations that you can view, sample homework problems to practice, as well as online assistance with how to work these problems. It is a great tool to aid in your learning.

Before you get started in your course, be sure you have:

• The Blackboard web address • Your Blackboard login name and password • The access code you purchased from the bookstore with your textbook (you can also purchase online within the course) • The preferred browser for MLP is Mozilla Firefox

Getting Started:

1. Go to your school’s Blackboard site and login with your username and password 2. Click on your Blackboard course and then click the “MyLabsPlus Bridge” link 3. This will take you into your MyLabsPlus course 4. Click on an assignment or learning aid link within the course. You will first be prompted with the License Agreement and Privacy Policy page. Click I Accept once you have read the terms of use.

5. You will be prompted to enter your access code or purchase online. To enter your access code, select the Access Code option, enter your code (that came with your text), and click Next.

If you prefer to purchase the code online using a credit card, select the Buy Now option and click the product link to complete your purchase.

Once you have successfully entered your access code or completed an online purchase, you will receive a confirmation page and you can continue working.

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6. If you are waiting on financial aid and cannot purchase a MyLabsPlus Access Code within the first week of class, select the Temporary Access link (this may be found in the Course Home tab) and a temporary code will be immediately returned. This code will provide you with temporary access for the first twenty-one days of your course (starting the first day you register with Temp. Access). Note: You will still need to purchase an Access Code by the end of the 21 day period.

7. Once you are in your course, you will see tabs in the top left corner for Course Calendar, Homework, Quizzes & Tests, Study Plan, and Gradebook. You will also see a Chapter Contents tab which is your ebook for your course. For most courses, there will be videos, animations, and power point slides for each chapter in the Multimedia tab. And in some courses, you will have a Graphing Calculator Manual or a Tools for Success tab which contains more valuable resources to help you succeed in your class. Take some time to click on each tab and explore what resources are available to you.

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MyITLab In addition to Blackboard, some courses use MyLabs for training, assignments, and/or assessments in the course. For example, CPT 170 – Microcomputer Applications, which is the basic computer literacy course required by most majors in the College, uses MyITLab. A nursing course might use MyNursingLab, or a Management course might use MyManagementLab. Typically, a student will start using MyLabs through a link in the Blackboard course, or through going directly to the MyLab site, such as http://MyITLab.com

Once you are registered in the system and enrolled in the course, you will see some information on how to get started using MyITLab.

You will also see links to the assignment calendar.

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The assignment groups provide for easy navigation through course materials and assignments.

Additionally, you will be able to see your grades on your MyLabs work.

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Using SafeAssign Your instructors, particularly ENG instructors, will require you to submit your essays through SafeAssign to guarantee authenticity—to be sure you have documented all borrowed information.

SafeAssign is set up by your instructor in Blackboard. Some instructors will set up SafeAssignments to go along with each assignment. For instance, if you are working on an first assignment essay, your instructor may have supplemental information posted to Blackboard, and the SafeAssignment access point included with the illustration essay.

Within the folders, you will find a SafeAssignment identified with a green check.

Some instructors have a folder with all the SafeAssignments in the folder. And some instructors use the Course Tools menu.

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To upload an essay or assignment to SafeAssign, follow these steps.

1. Log into your Blackboard account.

2. Locate and enter the class you need—ENG 101, for instance.

3. Locate the SafeAssignment portal or folder.

4. You will then see your SafeAssignments. See below for another sample screen grab.

5. Choose View/Complete.

6. You will have two choices. You can browse your computer for your essay, or you can cut and paste your essay in the textbox (2 below).

7. Check the box in 3.

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8. Submit. You should see a green bar at the top letting you know your submission is successful. As proof for your instructor, you should take a picture (on your phone) or do a quick screen grab (Ctrl+PrtSc) showing the green “success” bar.

9. Within an hour or even less, check back to see your results.

Resources

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Resources FOR TECHNICAL HELP: Service Desk servicedesk@tctc.edu 864-646-1779

FOR HELP WITH BLACKBOARD: Blackboard tutorials - http://ondemand.blackboard.com/students.htm

FOR GENERAL HELP: Tutoring Center tutoringcenter@tctc.edu 864-646-1367

For more in-depth instruction on using computers: REGISTER for CPT 119

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Learning Technology Orientation Drop-Ins What Is It? Orientation drop-ins are designed to make sure you start the semester off right by understanding the ins and outs of your learning technology—MyLabs, MyLabsPlus, Blackboard, and SafeAssign. We’ll help you get logged in, navigate the programs, and become proficient in using them. Drop-ins will be facilitated by instructors and learning technology experts. The schedule for drop-ins is on the reverse side of this card.

Should You Attend?

Your instructor will let you know on the first day of class if you’ll be using learning technology and which one(s) you’ll need to know how to use. If you’re unfamiliar with the technology your instructor requires, you should attend one of these orientations.

Why Should You Attend?

You should attend a drop-in because learning technology is likely a part of your grade. Your instructor will expect you to be able to use it within the first 2 weeks of school. Not knowing how to use it could negatively impact your grade.

Questions: Comprehensive Studies Department, 864.646.1395

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