Dear PAC 442 Class Member:

Welcome to our online Internet and American Life class!  We should have an interesting time during the Spring 2006 semester exploring the impact that the Internet is having on our society.  Please note that this class is 100% Internet-based – all of our interactions will take place online.

Our class syllabus, all of our class readings, our “Discussion Board,” and some course announcements all will be available on the UIS Blackboard server at http://bb.uis.edu (note that there is no “www” in this address).  Your username and password for this site are the same as your UIS network ID and password in the UIS Active Directory.  If you need additional information, please go to:  http://www.uis.edu/cts/netid/ .

You are expected to login to our class on the UIS Blackboard server a minimum of three or four times each week; if you do not have this much time to devote to this class, then it probably isn’t right for you.  All of the assignments for the term are already posted – you might want to get a jump on the semester and start reading some of the assigned papers.  All of the course materials are posted on the web at:  http://online.uis.edu/oakley/sp06/pac442b/

If you have never taken an online class before, please look at “What Makes a Successful Online Student” at:   http://www.ion.uillinois.edu/resources/tutorials/pedagogy/StudentProfile.asp

I can be contacted in a variety of ways:  by e-mail (oakley@uis.edu), by the free AOL Instant Messenger program using the screen name BurksO2 (see http://www.aim.com/ ), or by telephone (217-244-6465).  Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have a question or a problem.  I also need to be able to reach you!  So, please send me an e-mail note to let me know you have received this letter – that way, I’ll have your e-mail address.

Note that the Spring 2006 semester officially begins on Tuesday, January 17th.  I am looking forward to interacting with you this semester!  See you on the Internet!

Sincerely yours,

Burks Oakley II, Ph.D.
Professor