Dear all,
I would like to welcome you to our Fall 2021 Technical Writing class! To make sure you’re in the right place, this is ENG2575 OL68. I am Prof. Ellis and I will be leading our class this semester.
It’s important that you read through this message carefully and follow my directions below to join our class on OpenLab.
Even though classes don’t begin until Wednesday, Aug. 25, the school asked faculty to reach out to students early to help everyone be ready to begin when classes begin. At any point, feel free to reach out to me by email with any questions that you might have.
Our class is completely online and we will not be meeting synchronously (meaning at the same time). Instead, our class is designated asynchronous, which means each student can watch lectures and do the work at times of their choosing as long as deadlines and due dates are met.
Furthermore, there are, required team-based projects in which students will have to collaborate with others and coordinate times to work together throughout the semester. Please bear in mind that this is required for all ENG2575 classes and is therefore non-negotiable.
We will be using City Tech’s OpenLab to coordinate our class and the work that you will be doing this semester. To get you setup with the OpenLab, you will need to create an account using your City Tech email address (if you haven’t already done so), which you can do here: https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/register/
After you login to OpenLab with your account, you need to visit the Profile Page of our class and click on “Join Now” on the left side under the avatar image of a bank of post office boxes: https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/groups/eng2575-ol68-technical-writing-fall-2021/
Then, to access our class site where I will post lectures and assignments, and you will turn in many of your projects in the class, click on “Visit Course Site” (on the right) after you joined the course, or you can go there directly by following this link: https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/elliseng2575ol68fa2021/
On our Course Site, you will see this Welcome message from me at the top of the page. On Wednesday, Aug. 25, I will post the first lecture video and weekly writing assignment. I explain a lot about how the class works and what we will be doing in that video. Watching each week’s lecture, taking notes, and completing assignments are required for success in the class.
Also, look at the menu on the left side of our Course Site to find the link to the class Syllabus: https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/elliseng2575ol68fa2021/syllabus/. All of our class’ policies, major assignments and grades, and schedule can be found there. I go over the syllabus in detail in the first lecture video.
Finally, I will hold weekly virtual office hours on Wednesday from 3:00pm-5:00pm on Google Hangouts here: https://hangouts.google.com/call/ffqYdoXngPvd-4OB-HTtACEE. There is also a link to the weekly office hours on the left side of our Course Site. If you would like to meet with me at a different day and time, please send me an email with your availability for the coming week so that I can arrange a time that accommodates both of our schedules.
I’m looking forward to working with you all over the coming semester. Remember to contact me with questions or if anything comes up that affects your performance in the class at jellis@citytech.cuny.edu. I want us all to complete the semester successfully!
Be well and stay safe!
Best, Professor Ellis
