J. Patrick Fenton, CIS Dept., West Valley College
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Content delivery for courses today is greatly dependent upon the use of technology, and this page is intended to help you gain access to the supporting technology for your course. My courses use a variety of resources, some of which you may access directly via links I provide, and others that you may need to access independently on your own system via installed software or web pages to which you are directed, or even a combination of technologies. The items listed below should help to get you started, though more specific information may be provided elsewhere. In all cases, please be sure to read completely all instructions before attempting to install, use, or access any of these resources so that your experience will be as good as I anticipate it to be.
Angel (Angel Learning Systems) Angel Login
West Valley-Mission Community College District uses a common course management system for on-line learning that we refer to as Angel. This is the District's standard system for all courses, whether lecture, on-line, or "hybrid" - meaning a combination of both techniques. Through this system, you will be able to follow the course calendar, see lessons with due dates and assignments, communicate with your instructor and fellow students, find resources appropriate to your course, track your progress, and so on. Depending on how the course is implemented, there may also be chat rooms, forums, discussion panels, and other collaborative features.
Angel is the primary tool I use to communicate with students regarding all assignments, tests, due dates, and other information related to the course. The Calendar tab in Angel is the first place you ought to check for work due and tests. Assignments are posted to the Lessons tab, and there are typically "Drop Box" links for you to use in submitting your work.
To access Angel, you use your Student ID and a password. Your student ID was assigned to you when you registered and should be shown on your MyWebServices profile or on your enrollment receipt. Unlike MyWebServices, Angel uses ONLY the student ID, with no initials, as the user name, and your default password is your birthdate in six digits - e.g., a birthdate of January 7, 1985 is 010785. NOTE: Each semester, passwords are reset to this six-digit birthdate.
Students new to Angel services may wish to read on-line Angel help for more detailed instructions on the use of this system.
Important Note Regarding Browsers: The Angel system was designed and optimized for Microsoft Internet Explorer. You may use Firefox to access Angel, and it generally performs well. Apple Macintosh users need to use Firefox, not Safari, to access Angel, as several key functions simply are not supported via Safari. All users must also have Java enabled and must allow pop-ups in order for Angel to properly function. Internet Explorer version 8 is not recommended for Angel and may cause some functional problems; IE ver 7 is recommended.
MyITLab MyITLab Login
MyITLab is an on-line content delivery system developed for Pearson Education, the publisher of textbooks used in several of my courses. MyITLab is one of several related Pearson on-line products; you may have already used one of Pearson's on-line products in a Mathematics, English, Business, or other course and may have a Pearson on-line account. MyITLab is a separate product, although if you have a Pearson account you may add this to it, but it requires specific system setup, registration, log-in, and enrollment function. It is complicated to explain, so I prefer that you go to the web page set up especially for MyITLab.
You really should read the page of instructions for MyITLab, but here are a few specific things you need to know:
MyITLab can be accessed via any browser, but once you attempt to log in and use MyITLab, you will discover that it works ONLY with Microsoft Internet Explorer version 7 in a Microsoft Windows XP or Vista environment. It does NOT work with IE version 8, nor with Firefox or any other browser. MyITLab is totally dependant upon Microsoft's technology, including ActiveX elements and web page scripting unique to Microsoft's operating system. Therefore, students are constrained to Windows-based PCs; Macs nor Linux systems will not work. Students who have an Apple Macintosh with an Intel processor may install and run Windows via a "Virtual Machine" product, such as Parallels or VMWare, or use Boot Camp to dual-boot their Mac to run Windows, but you have to have Windows, end of story. (I may post a separate page explaining the Mac-Windows solution.)
There is a specific set-up process for MyITLab that requires downloading and installing both software elements and data to your machine. A "wizard" for this is on the MyITLab site, and is explained on the MyITLab instructions page. MyITLab will not function unless this is done.
Please, I implore you, READ THE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST before attempting to set up MyITLab, before attempting to create a student account, register your MyITLab product, or join the on-line course within MyITLab. The Registration Key is a SINGLE USE KEY and I cannot get you a replacement; you really do want to do this the right way, so read, please.
Data Files
Data files are provided by the publisher for most textbook hands-on assignments. For whatever reason, the CD/DVD is not always supplied with the book; therefore, I will provide a link to a compressed, "ZIP" file containing the required data. Look below (or on the sidebar) for your link.