Welcome to General Biology!
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 If this is the first time you’ve been in my class, or if you are an "old" student, I’d like to welcome you! I have designed a web site called ”Dr. Nilsson's CyberOffice” and I use WebCT to assist and facilitate your learning (and to save trees and to reduce costs associated with printing). The CyberOffice was created to give students access to class material, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
You have the ability to print many of the pages, however, in an effort to save trees and to reduce costs associated with printing, before you print something from the WWW, ask yourself if you really need to print the page, or if you can just as well read the page on the computer screen. Some pages, like this one, cannot be printed. (It is often a good idea to use PRINT PREVIEW before printing web pages. If you do a print preview on this page you will see a blank page. This means that the page cannot be printed, however, you will waste one page if you try to print it -- feeding a blank page through the printer...)
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This is not an on-line course, but a web-enhanced course, so several aspects of this course are on-line. The ability to communicate with me, and even more importantly, with other students is available through web postings on the various WebCT Bulletin Boards. Also, on the WebCT you can communicate on a one-to-one basis with me or other students via e-mail. When I need to communicate with you, such as tips on the assignments, announcements, or news for the class, the communication will come to all students via the Internet, especially the WebCT entry page. Whether used or not, all students registered at STC have a WebCT account. If you haven't already done so, you need to look up your account information (your username and your password). You will miss class instructions if you don’t already use the STC WebCT at the beginning of the semester. If you don’t have your account information, you need to log in to the URL (web address) below. In this class, and probably in many other classes, you are responsible for information sent to you via the Internet.
It is very important that you check the Web CT bulletin board communications for the class several times each week! I check the bulletin board several times each day, and I RECOMMEND that you do the same. If you do not have Internet access at home you can use a computer at STC (e.g., student success center or the library), a public library, or if you have permission, a local high school or your work place. If you have never had a web-enhanced course before (or an on-line course) you may want to read this article from the Monitor (McAllen), and maybe this one.
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One of the goals of Dr. Nilsson’s CyberOffice is to help you learn how to learn; that’s called student-centered learning. This kind of learning puts the responsibility for learning on the student, YOU. The term student-centered learning is fairly new, but it has actually always been that way in higher education. Dr. Nilsson’s CyberOffice provides tools that you can use to help you learn.
Learning is a lifelong process. You can't possibly learn everything you need to know in a few years of college. I can help you and point you in a direction for what is important in a course, explain how to approach problems and issues, show how to find and make some sense out of the information. Most of you probably aren't going to be biologists, but much of what you learn in this class can be applied to other classes or other things you choose to pursue in life. In my class you can learn skills necessary in any life situation, such as the ability to think critically, to solve problems, and to write and speak clearly. That's why every college class you take is important, whether it's in your field of study or not.
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One skill necessary in today's world is the ability to work with computers. Some of you might struggle at first with the online part of this course. If you have problems at first, relax, keep at it, and soon you will see how practical and helpful it is to have course information available online. It really isn't that hard. However, you need to start as soon as possible. These days you cannot do much without the help of a computer -- this is especially true within the field of education.
Here is a comment from a former student: “Overall I like the structure of the class, if you want to learn it is up to you, but all the necessary information is always available to you online, I think that is what I enjoyed the most, the fact that I had access to anything I needed to know by going online.”
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Finally, remember YOU decide your life... no one else. Study every day! No one else is going to do it for you! Students who make A’s usually accept that they must study hard -- for hours every day, not just five minutes!
Obtain your WebCT account information if you haven’t already done so. Familiarize yourself with the pages on Dr. Nilsson’s CyberOffice, or get tips how to succeed in this course, explore the links on the General Biology Hub Page.
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Dr. J.A. Nilsson, your General Biology professor
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Copyright 2003, 2004, 2005, Jan A. Nilsson. Web page layout and design © and intellectual property Jan A. Nilsson. All rights reserved. Reproduction of the whole or any part of the contents without written permission is prohibited. Page created 08.I.2003, last updated 09.VIII.2005, most likely during the wee hours of the morning on a G3 PowerBook owned by Jan A. Nilsson.
-- Disclaimer: "Dr. Nilsson's CyberOffice", at the time of writing located as a file under the South Texas College's (STC) web server with the general URL http://www.southtexascollege.edu/, is the intellectual property of Dr. Jan A. Nilsson, member of STC biology faculty. The content of Dr. Nilsson's CyberOffice does not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of the STC faculty, staff, administration, and Board of Trustees.
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Link to Dr. Nilsson’s CyberOffice designated home page