Reply to the professor's email in D2L/Brightspace portal.
Send the professor a Gmail, introducing yourself and your goals for this class.
Include the class ID and your full name in the Subject field like this: ENGL1101.?? YourName (Be sure to substitute your class section number for ??).
Use Youtube to watch two online lectures from the instructor and other instructional videos:
Access this class wiki in Google Sites to download the syllabus and the textbooks.
Read L. Lennie Irvin's essay "What Is 'Academic' Writing?" in Writing Spaces, Vol 1 (3-17).
Read the "ENGL1101.00 Weekly Assessment Assignment" and the "ENGL1101.00 Blog Assignment."
Use Google Forms to complete Assessment 01 below.
Use Google Blogger to create a class blog.
Go to Google Blogger.
The first time you visit Blogger, you will likely be asked to log in. Use your Google account info.
On the Blogger dashboard page, click the big blue New blog button on the left.
Enter a name for your new blog, something like: YourName's Cool Blog. You can change the name later if you wish.
Enter a unique address or URL for your new blog, something like: engl1101keith. Google will let you know if it is not unique. If it isn't unique, try again.
Choose a template. I suggest sticking with Simple. It's easiest to use, and you can always change templates later.
Click the button Create blog. Done.
Write an introductory post introducing yourself to your class colleagues (find the full assignment here). You will have to work with these people online, and most of us find it easier to work with people we know something about, so tell us what is important about you as a college student. Title this introductory post: Post 1: Intro to NameYouWantYourColleaguesToUse.
Click View blog to see the public view of your blog. Copy that link. The public address should be something like this: yoursitename.blogspot.com.
Gmail me the link to your public blog page.
Google provides more detailed instructions for creating blogs here.