The following includes information that is helpful in preparing to pursue an online program. Please closely review it so you are ready to actively participate in the courses.

The course management software we will be using is Blackboard. You will need no special software, only Internet access. It is highly recommended that you have high speed Internet access . BlackBoard works most efficiently with Explorer 5.5 or higher. You may also use Netscape 4.0 or higher. You can still access course materials with a modem or older computer, but you will need to allow more time to download materials and complete course assignments.

Once accepted into the program you will be issued an email account from the School of Medicine. This email account will also be your proxy account to use in accessing library resources from the Harley French Medical Library. This will also be the primary method of communication with the program.

Successful Participation in an online course requires active participation. Please plan on checking your email and the Blackboard Sites a minimum of 2 times per week.

BlackBoard includes a variety of course components. Each instructor may modify the structure of the course slightly. For more information about BlackBoard, please review this website:

http://cilt.und.edu/gateway/student/about.html

The following provides you with an overview of the course components available:

• Announcements: Course instructors may use this section to post information about the course and any upcoming events or changes.
• Course Information: This area is where the course syllabus will be posted, information about the instructor, required textbooks, etc.
• Course Documents: This section is where you will find your course notes and any lecture materials. New information will be posted through out the semester
• Assignments: Assignments for the courses may be posted here or in the course information section with the syllabus.
• Communication
  • Collaboration – this is similar to the chat room and will be used for class discussions and group projects. One of the things that will be important for us to consider in planning these sessions is the various time zones of class members.
  • Discussion Boards – This is where you will interact with other students and the course faculty to discuss course topics and other issues. You will post many of your course assignments here and offer feedback to others. This is a vital piece of the online curriculum and you will want to check it frequently and post messages regularly.
  • Send an email – The feature will allow you to easily send messages to fellow students and faculty members. It is only a feature for sending email, you will need to check your medicine email account regularly to receive emails associated with the course.
• External Links- This area may be used by the instructor to supplement course readings. Links to articles or websites may be included for your review and use.

Submission of Assignments:

Many of the assignments will require you to post to the discussion boards or send an email with an attached assignment. As a general rule in submitting assignments you will want to save the assignment as a rich text file. Rich text files can be opened by various programs such as Word or WordPerfect and faculty members will be able to provide feedback, and return to you in a timely fashion.