Distance Education at PNC - Orientation

So, you signed up for a distance education (online) course at PNC! Welcome to the orientation for your experience in online learning. Online learning offers you the convenience of working on your course projects from home or any other location, yet gives you access to the quality courses that you are accustomed to at PNC.

Courses that are offered online are somewhat different than those that are offered on-campus. Here are some differences:

• You have more responsibility to complete the work. You instructor may or may not give you reminders about assignments that are due.
• You have more responsibility to read the syllabus and understand it.
• It is your responsibility to keep up with due dates.
• You need to e-mail or call your instructor if you have questions.
• If you find that you cannot keep up with the work, it is up to you to drop the class or get into an on-campus section. The instructor cannot do this for you.

In order to work on your course, you will need to know how to use the Blackboard Vista software system. Listed below are a series of links to pages on the Purdue West Lafayette web site that will give you an introduction to what to expect when you log into Blackboard. First, let's talk about how to log into Blackboard at PNC.

To log into Blackboard, go to ecourses.pnc.edu (or click on Blackboard Vista from the MyPNC page).
Click on the Vista Login button.
Type in your ID and password (it's the same one you use to log into the PNC e-mail system).
You are now on the 'My Blackboard" page. Choose your online course, and click on it.

Now, to get an introduction on how to use various parts of the Blackboard system, use the following links. Remember that these have been written for the West Lafayette campus and some of the small details may be different at PNC. A majority of the information, however, is the same in Blackboard. To see the various parts of the orientation, click on the underlined link that says "Printable Version". A page will open where you can view with all the materials.

Navigation within a Course

Using the Mail Tool

Using the Discussion Tool

Using the Chat Tool

Attachments

If you have questions about your course, you should immediately e-mail your instructor.

 

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