Students take this course to discover what it takes to succeed in college and in life. The course focuses on the psychological development of learning motivation and behavior as it relates to searching for a major and career.  You will learn how to be successful in college by improving skills such as textbook reading, note-taking, listening to lectures, managing time, studying for tests, and improving memory.  You will also have the opportunity to explore colleges and discover your personality, values, interests, aptitudes and personal strengths in order to plan your education, major and a successful career. You will advance your technology and presentation skills throughout the process.  Because this course is offered online, it is assumed that you will have basic computer skills (word processing, e-mail, Web browsing).

Getting Started!

Everything is listed in the syllabus and the online schedule for this 8 week course.  Readings in CollegeScope (your online e-text), assignments, weekly discussions, quizzes and activities that are listed are due each week on Sunday night by 11:55 PM.  You will be able to log into your course on the first day.  Login to your Blackboard student account here.  Send me an email if you are not able to log into your course.  There are no class meetings for this course.  We will do everything online.  If you registered after the first week, I will need to add you manually to the course.  You cannot log in until the weekend before the class begins!

How does ONLINE Learning work?

Please see How an Online Class Works for details about online learning.  Students need to have access to a reliable computer with a good Internet connection (high bandwidth) and word processing software.

Accessing your Blackboard (Bb) Account!

• Go to http://bb.gcccd.net
• Click on “User Login” (Bookmark this site by adding it to your favorite sites).
• Your Blackboard ID is your first name and last name in lowercase with no spaces and a dot in between your first and last name (For example, Joe Smith would have a Blackboard ID of joe.smith).
• Your password is your birth date in 6 digits (For example, if Joe Smith were born on January 1, 1986, his password would be 010186).
• If you have registered late or just before school starts, you may not be able to log in.  If you cannot log in, please contact me so I can log you in.

Required E-Textbook and Materials

• COLLEGESCOPE:  We will be using the new interactive online edition of College and Career Success.  This online e-text is personalized for each student based on an assessment of your personality type and learning style which is taken at the beginning of the course.  There is an access fee of $50 which takes the place of purchasing a textbook. Order your online text at this website:  http://www.collegescope.com/ccs/cuyamaca.  Do not purchase the printed version of the textbook at the Bookstore, however you can purchase this access code for the e-text at the bookstore.  CollegeScope Support Help Email:  support@humanesources.com and phone number:  1-888-295-1520
• USB Port/Thumb drive/Flash Drive is highly recommended.

Your textbook is fully online.  You will need a high speed internet connection to read your text.  You can use the computers and campus labs to read your text, but I advice you have a system at home.

Directions to Register for your E-Textbook, CollegeScope:

There is an access fee of $50 which takes the place of purchasing a textbook. 

The first time you log in to http://www.collegescope.com/ccs/cuyamaca, click on the "Register Here" button. You will use your e-mail address as your login ID and will be asked to create a password for your account. Make sure to write down your e-mail address and password so that you can log in to your account in the future. After you have created your account, log in with your e-mail address and the password that you created. Add my group under the section number and year of the course you are taking.  To personalize your text, you will take an assessment of your personality, learning style and college success skills. To get the most value from your text, it is important that you complete these assessments in a careful and honest way. On these assessments, there are no answers that are better than others. We all have different personality types and learning styles and every type has strengths that can be used to be successful in college and to choose the career that makes use of these strengths. Do not answer the questions the way you think an ideal person would answer them. It is important to answer the questions honestly in the way that describes you the best. The assessment is easy, but long. Pick a time when you are not tired and have plenty of time. If you get tired during the assessment, take a break or come back to it later. After you have finished the assessments, go to My Portfolio. Read "My DWYA Report" and "My PEPS Report" for an interesting description of your personality and learning style.