Philosophy 1 - Welcome

Welcome to Philosophy 1, Online:

This distance learning course is conducted completely via e-mail, the Internet, through the U.S. Mail, and by telephone communication. The primary mode of instruction is through e-mail and Internet connection. You are expected to communicate with your instructor and other classmates through specific assignments. Most of your work, however, is done on your own through reading assignments and accompanying lecture materials.

In order to successfully complete this course, you should plan your schedule very carefully and try to stick to it. A campus course that meets two times a week will take an average of four hours of preparation per week. Since you are not meeting a traditional class, you can expect to spend an average of six to seven hours per week on your course work. Look carefully at your work schedule, school schedule, and family obligations and allow plenty of time for each.

When taking a distance education course you must take the initiative to ask your instructor questions if you do not understand the material. You may have to communicate with your instructor with an e-mail message or post a question on the class bulletin board, or you may have to call the instructor and leave a message on an answering machine. Either way, the response from the instructor might not be instantaneous. You must learn to move on to other material and wait for your instructor to respond.

This course will be utilizing a course management program called Angel.

Computer Competency

You must be computer competent to take this course. This includes being proficient in being able to navigate computer programs, use the Internet, and send / receive "Word" document / file attachments, and send and receive e-mail.  

 

If you have not mastered these skills, you will need to take a computer class prior to taking this on-line course, or have someone assist you in learning these skills.  Unfortunately, this course is not designed to provide instruction in how to complete these tasks.  Students will need to have a reliable computer and reliable on-line access to complete this course.

This course also requires the skills of college level reading, college level writing, and test taking skills.  Mastery of study skills is also necessary because online students must be able to study independently, follow the on-line assignments, and read the accompanying textbooks.  If you have not mastered these skills you may want to consider looking into the variety of 'basic skills" courses offered here at West Valley College before you take an online class. 

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What Do I Do First?

Start by looking at the course syllabus here.

To determine if distance learning courses are right for you, click here.

Take the distance learning skills survey by clicking here.

To learn how to succeed in an online course, click here.

Beginning the Course

1. This course uses an online course management system called ANGEL. It requires that you have a log in name and password. If you just registered, it may take a few days for the college to set up and process your information on our database before your log in name is active. Click on the link below to learn how to determine your log in name and password:

Click here to learn how to log in to ANGEL

2. On the first day of the semester, go to the ANGEL log in page and get started:

http://wvmccd.angellearning.com

• Click here to access the ANGEL login page (remember you need to use the Firefox browser if you are using a Macintosh or either Firefox or Explorer on a Windows PC)

3. You will not be able to access the course before the official start date as listed in the schedule of classes.

4. Please email the instructor from within the ANGEL course management system when you log in for the first time.

Please include the following information in your e-mail:

• Your name
• Your mailing address
• Your phone number
• Your e-mail address (This is for emergencies only. We will be using ANGEL's internal email system throughout this course.

5. If you are not already enrolled in this course, scroll down to the "Enrolling in this Course" area of this web page and follow the directions given for registration and enrollment.

Logging into ANGEL

You will need a log in name and password to access ANGEL.

Your login user name consists of following:

• The first letter of your first name
• The first letter of your last name
• All seven digits of your student ID number.
  • Your student ID number is generated by the computer at the college and is included with all of the paperwork you receive from the college.
  • This number is not your social security number
    
• So if your name is Maria Smith and your college ID number is 1234567, your log in username would look like this:

  ms1234567

If you can't find any paperwork with your student ID number on it or you never received any paperwork in the first place, please contact:

The college Admissions and Records office at 408-741-2001

Your password is your six digit birthdate.

• So if you were born on December 14, 1980, your password would be 121480
• Single digits must have a 0 in front of them
• So if you were born on May 9, 1977, your password would be 050977

If you can't log in or need help with ANGEL, contact Max Gault in the Distance Learning office:

• max.gault@wvm.edu

Enrolling in this Course

1. If you are not a continuing West Valley College Student, you must first apply for admission to the college and register for the course. You may access the college admissions web site by clicking the following link:

To apply for admission, click here

2. After you are registered as a West Valley College Student:

• Find the correct section number for this course in the printed schedule of classes or in the online schedule found at the college web site under the "Quick Links" menu on the home page.

• Use the college's WebAdvisor system to enroll in the course

3. If you feel you may need some additional student services, feel free to access the college's Student Services Online Resources web page. Here you will find links to a variety of college resources like counseling services, financial aide, the library, career programs etc.

4. Click here to access the Online Counseling web page

Required Text:

Click here for help finding your required textbook.

To access the West Valley College bookstore web site in order to purchase your book, click here

Links

This course is linked to my web page and can be accessed via the West Valley College web page -

http://www.westvalley.edu/wvc/

or directly through my web page -

http://instruct.westvalley.edu/upton