Greetings

Hello CAPP-310 Students,

Welcome to "Desktop Publishing ". So you want design pages and make them inviting, enticing, appealing - maybe even readable. Admirable goal. I am here to help you do just that.

Another UM term is underway and I am so flattered that you have chosen to spend your summer with me - well part of it anyway. My name to all my students and colleagues is Phil. It is my pleasure to help you through CAPP-310 this DE Term 1. We need to get to know each other better before we start so I have gone first and shared something of myself with you if you follow the link above.

I need you to put a brief bio sketch highlighting your relevant background for this course on WebTycho (in the class conference area) within the first two days of the course, please. Also, please tell us why you are taking this course and just as importantly, what is it that the other students and I can help you achieve this term. I also want you to post your special concerns about your preparation to take this course and state your desires for areas we should emphasize over the next four months.

Your next assignment is to read the course syllabus, where I set the stage for the course, and various supplemental Guidance and handouts on my web site. I have posted a link to my site in our WebTycho virtual classroom, but you have one here as well. Please read through this information. If you have Web Wacker software (a web site download utility program) and use it carefully, you can download that part of my site related to this course and keep it on your own system. Alternatively, if click each link and visit every page quickly, you can view the history off-line. (Use CAPP-310 Index Page as your starting page.)

We will spend much of this first week confirming our skill with the WebTycho method, getting to know new colleagues and establishing a routine. I also want you to survey your local library holdings to determine how much help they might be to you in this course. You may find some good page layout or graphic design sources you did not know were there.

You will control the content and conduct of our exchanges, for I will concentrate first and perhaps principally on those concepts you ask me to cover. I will also ask you to comment on certain topics relevant to our subject during the course.

It is your responsibility to get each assignment to me on time. Start early. Complete major assignments a week or two in advance so you have a chance to critically review them for content and quality of ideas. If you just hit the cutoff date early in the course, you have an excellent chance of being late on subsequent assignments. Keep a copy of each assignment. If you cannot meet a deadline, please e-mail, fax or call me for an extension prior to the due date. The course is sequenced and timed reasonably as it is, and you can expect that if you are late on an assignment, you will just make it harder for yourself to complete the next portion of the course successfully.

Perhaps no assignment is more important than looking for one article or web site a week to share with the class. This can be an article or site on DTP itself or an example of really good or really bad design that you critique.

I have a flexible personal schedule and work out of my home. See the contact details on this web site and separately on the Bulletin Board for how and when to get in touch with me.

I am frequently out for short periods (that sometimes become longer than I intended), so if your concern is urgent and I am not in, leave a message on my Call Minder (hold on for at least seven rings) or fax me your question. Of course, watch out for my email response to you and continue trying to reach me directly by phone. If your email goes down temporarily, use a friend's account to email me or fax to keep in touch.

If you have a particular worry about your course of study or find yourself in difficult circumstances, contact me right now instead of waiting. (Naturally, should something come up later in the course, get in touch with me at that time.) I want to deal with your concerns now so we can get on with the task at hand - which I view as helping you learn as much as you want to learn.

Please email me your primary and any alternate email address, supporting UM center, your telephone and, if available, fax number.

Should you be unable to check your email and WebTycho at least once every 48 hours and respond to questions within that same period, please notify me.

Finally, ask for help from me sooner rather than later, while there is still time for such help to make a difference. Whether it is difficulty with the study material, finding adequate time or surroundings for your study, personal emergencies - whatever - I am truly here to help you succeed.

I look forward to hearing from you concerning questions asked and points raised above. We shall have an exciting and fruitful term with your help.

Yours Faithfully,

Phil