1. Enroll for LIBR233 on Blackboard (http://tigris.sjsu.edu)

Follow the directions to do this on the greensheet.

Finding your groups for group discussion.

After you are enrolled on blackboard and your instructor has put you into a group, you can begin group discussions. To find these discussions, sign onto Blackboard, click the communication button, then click the group pages button, then find your group and click on that, and then at the bottom will be the options for group discussion, group email, group virtual chat, and group file transfer.

2. Try to send attachements to your instructor by creating pdf files on line. Please test this out the first two weeks of the semester to see that it works. Send me any sample file - content not important.

This was an experiment for Spring Semester 2001 and seemed to work. It is another of the ways the School is trying to support you as a distance learner so you do not have to buy an expensive software program. And if it works, your instructor will not get viruses via attachment. If you own a copy of Adobe Acrobat 4.0, you do not need to use this online service.

You may create your assignments in any of the following formats: Microsoft Office, Microsoft Publisher, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Excel, Rich Text format, plain text, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Framemaker, Adobe Pagemaker, Adobe Photoshop, Corel Word Perfect, Postscript, Image formats: gif (.gif), bitmap(.bmp), jpeg (.jpg), png (.png), rle (.rle), and tiff (.tif).

Now you are ready to convert your file to an Adobe Acrobat File. Here is how:

log onto http://createpdf.adobe.com

userr name: assignment

Password: dave

Now you see the screen "Create adobe PDF Online.

Click on "Convert a File"

In box one, browse to find your file on your hard drive.

In box two optimize for "screen"

Ignore box three

In box four, select: " Wait for PDF conversion in browser"

Click on "Create PDF" button

It will work away depending on the size of your file and then you will get a screes showing its status/progress. Eventually you will get a "conversion successful" screen. Now click on the "View PDF" button.

The document will now appear in Acrobat Reader.

Now save this file to your hard drive by clicking on the floppy disk icon on the top toolbar in Acrobat Reader.

Now you can send this document as an attachment to an email message to your instructor or to anyone else you please. Just remember to include your name/subject so that the instructor understands who sent the file and what it is. Thanks!

2a. (if 2 above does not work) Learn how to send an attachment on email to your instructor:

To test this out, create a word processed file, a database file, and/or a spreadsheet file and name it and save them on your hard drive. The content is the word hello repeated in Bold, Italic, plain text, large letters, small letters, with a footnote. That should test almost anything you need to send. Now you are ready to attach your test to an email message. Go into your email program and send a message to davidl@wahoo.sjsu.edu with "attachment test" in the subject line. In the body of the message tell me that it is your 233 attachment test and then tell me what word processor, database, or spreadsheet you used and what platform you are on. Then using the directions of your email program, attach the word processed hello message. When I email you back saying that the test has been successful, you are home free. Just keep trying until we are in successful communication. If you don't have a good email program, you might try downloading Eudora Light for free at http://www.Eudora.com and see if will work. There are several new versions of Eudora and the instructor strongly recommends that AOL users set up a Eudora account. The instructor uses Eudora Pro as his email handler and recommends it. You should use either Microsoft Word or AppleWorks (ClarisWorks) files on either Mac or PC. As an alternative, the instructor encourages anyone with access to Adobe Acrobat 4.0 or higher (the full program, not the free download reader) to send attachment via this format.

What is the purpose of attachments? The instructor does not accept any paper assignments for this class so you must email assignments via attachment to him. The major project will be sent this way.

3. Figure out how to read the library articles on SLIS electronic reserve:

Using Adobe Acrobat Reader

Download Adobe Acrobat Reader 5.0, for PDF files if it is not already on your computer. This will gain you access to professional articles in the PDF format. PDF stands for Portable Document Format. Any document created by any software can be converted to a PDF file, preserving its original content, layout, and color. These files are viewable with the Adobe Acrobat Reader. You can download Acrobat Reader free at Adobe's Web site. Be sure to take note of the name of the file you are downloading. After download, look again at the instructions on Adobe's download page. There are a few more steps for installation.

For many students trying to download pdf files, the time involved is enormous. This is because your modem might be slow, your information provider slow, etc. There is an alternative. You can download the entire 233 web site on to your hard drive (assuming you have the hard drive space). Then you will have instant access to any pdf article rather than waiting for it to be downloaded. Here is one solution that you may use:

 

Capturing the Web site

Method one: Capturing the 233 website using Webwhacker:

Download a trial version of Webwhacker to your computer. If you like this program, you can purchase it. In the meantime, in the trial period, you can download the whole 233 site to your computer. Do this:

a. download the Webwhacker software at www.bluesquirrel.com/download.all.html Versions are available for Mac, Win 96/98/NT, and Win3.1

b. Run the Webwhacker software so you see the toolbar at the top.

b. Without closing the Webwhacker software, open the 233 home page in your browser.

c. Click the grab button on the Webwhacker toolbar and a new window will open up.

d. On this new window is the security section which you will have to enter the user ID and password so you can capture the restricted readings.

e. Set the whack levels (choose all levels if you want the entire site) and set update frequency you desire.

f. Click on the whack button on the tool bar and it will whack the site. This may take all night so plan in advance.

g. When the download is complete, double click on the file name in the webwhacker list to view the downloaded version of the site. You will navigate through the site just as you would if you were online.

Method Two: Capturing the 233 website using Adobe Acrobat 4.0

There are several other ways to capture the entire web site. You may already know how. If you have Adobe Acrobat 4.0 or 5.0 (full version) it will allow you to capture a web site.

Method Three: Capturing the 233 website using Internet Explorer

there is a way in Intenet Explorer to save a web page to your hard drive. Your instructor does not have experience at this, but knows that various possibilities exist.

4. Get the password from your instructor for the SJSU Library electronic reserves for this class:

The School of Library and Information Science maintains a small virtual library for articles that instructors wish their students to read. This is like an electronic researve reading room. The articles are available only to those students who are enrolled in the course. The password will be sent to those students enrolled officially in the course and will be sent to those enrolled on Blackboard. If you miss this, email the instructor to get the password. You will not be able to read copyrighted articles on electronic researve from San Jose State University Library unless you have this password.

Remember as a student, you pay fees to the San Jose State University Library and thus have access to their collections, both print and electronic. Do connect to a link especially created for distance students at:

direct link to distance pages http://library.sjsu.edu/distance/

SJSU library homepage http://library.sjsu.edu

5. Learn to post to the Question of the Week. On Blackboard, groups will be set up for you to discuss the question of the week. The instructor will set these groups up a few days after the second class period.

What is the question of the week used for? This is a place your assigned group can discuss issues assigned by the instructor. The instructor will pose the question on the listserv and you should post at least twice during the time period prescribed. Try to turn this into an asyncronous (not at the same time) discussion. This is not a chat room, so you can post your comment any time of the day or night.

You will also use the smaller groups to discuss and help one another with the three themes of the course: reading, technology, and infrastructure