HELLO! Welcome to Psych101.

**There will be an intro video that you will need to watch this week.

Each week I will post an agenda that reviews the to-do list for the week.

Please take time to explore the Canvas shell, you will find the syllabus (a must read) and other important information about the course. For the week, please familiarize yourself with the layout of the course, get yourself organized, and complete the discussion boards posted.

About the discussion boards for this class:

Each week there will be at least once discussion board. The conversation should be on-going through the week, so please post early and check back often. Remember, we don't meet for class, so this weekly post will be your opportunity to have a discussion about what we are learning that week.

With that, I am asking that each person post at least three times. The first post should be with your answer to the prompt. Then, 2 additional posts that further the conversation. Please do not post consecutively (let there be at least one post between your posts). 2 is the minimum, there is no maximum amount of times that you can post.

I welcome feedback and am open to discussion if anyone has any ideas (or previous experience) on how to improve the discussion board experience.

As for the grading of the discussion boards- if you answer the questions, engage in the conversation, and are demonstrating that you are learning the material (actually talking about the concepts, answering the questions completely) you will get full points. This is a learning experience, so I am looking more for your active participation and thinking about it vs. getting the answer "right." I do not grade for spelling or grammar, but it should be free of those errors, have an academic tone, and be respectful of others in the class. We all have different opinions on things, and I welcome you sharing yours- but please, please, please be open minded and polite to the others in the class. It is okay to disagree, it is okay to not have the same view points- it is not okay to belittle others or be disrespectful.

I WILL NOT BE ACCEPTING LATE DISCUSSION POSTS. PLEASE SEE THE SYLLABUS REGARDING HOW MUCH OF YOUR GRADE THEY ARE WORTH (spoiler alert: it is HALF your grade). IF YOU DO NOT COMPLETE THE DISCUSSION POSTS YOU WILL NOT PASS THIS CLASS. (I will talk about this more in depth in the video, so please check it out!)

If you ever have any questions or need assistance, please reach out to me via email.

For this week you will see there two discussion boards.

-Introductions- due by Sunday, September 8, follow the prompt provided.

-Predicting Your Success- due by September 8, follow the prompt provided. This is meant to be an on going discussion about success, grit, and your goals. Please apply the material from class as we move through the first chapters of this course.

Please utilize your time management skills wisely. This week and next week there will be 2 discussion boards assigned. After that, there will be only one a week. The purpose of the extra discussion boards in the beginning of the semester is to help us get to know each other and set ourselves up for success in this course.

You will also need to find and review the syllabus. This is no joke. The syllabus is the contract which outlines the assignments, due dates, expectations, and everything else you need to know about this course. Since we do not meet in person, it will be extra imperative that you look at this document to keep yourself on track.

Explore the course shell and textbook. Please click around in this course shell and get a feel for the layout. Everything you need for the week is in the module for that week- including your textbook! It is free! Make sure that you can access it- and be prepared to read each chapter assigned weekly.

If you have any questions, please email me. Typically, I am very quick to respond and during the business week I usually have opening to hop on a Zoom call. I am a whole person behind this computer and I care about your success, not only in this course, but in all you do. Seriously, reach out, lets chat!