Digital & Information Technology
Professor's Greeting
Professor: Jamshid Derakhshandeh
E-mail:
j.derakhshandeh@hccs.edu
Phone:
713-718-7902 (Leave a Voice Message but I respond to emails quicker)
Web Page:
http://learning.hccs.edu/faculty/j.derakhshandeh
Course URL: https://eagleonline.hccs.edu/login/ldap
Office Hours: By appointment as needed
WELCOME – Welcome to my online class. This orientation (this welcome message and the
syllabus) is primarily to get you comfortable with some basics of this course and then to go
through a basic understanding of how to use Canvas Online course website. There are six areas
to click on during the DE Orientation:
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DE Student Handbook
Technical Requirements (This is where you will learn about EO)!!
Attendance Requirement
Professor’s Greeting (Basic info for class – You are reading it now!)
Syllabus (Basic info for class)
Data Form (A required form for you to fill out)
I SUGGEST PRINTING THIS DOCUMENT, and all other documents that you may need to reference
later (syllabus, EO information, all assignment instructions, notes, etc…). It is actually more
convenient to check an organized folder to find a piece of information, rather than logging in
online and searching through the entire list of course links.
ORIENTATION REQUIRED! Make sure and go through ALL of the Technical Requirements within
the orientation, watching all the videos and/or reading all the PDF files. It is imperative that you
become familiar with EO as soon as possible. The videos are there to help you! Once you log into
our course there will be more information regarding our specific class, but the bulk of the EO
training will be in the Technical Requirements step during the orientation. Please print out
anything that you think you may need in the future.
PREREQUISITE COMPUTER SKILLS – For this ONLINE section, it is REQUIRED that all students have
the following knowledge:
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Understand file management – to be able to create, rename, locate, delete, save, move,
and copy files and folders
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Know how to switch between the icon view and the details view in My
Computer/Windows Explorer so that you can determine the sizes and types of files.
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Understand the basic meaning of a file extension
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A basic understanding of Window Terminology – dragging, resizing, title bar, left click,
right click, double click, etc…
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Understand the basic problem/program analysis and design concept
If you are not comfortable with the above, you should consider taking this course in a classroom
environment.
ABOUT MYSELF – go to http://learning.hccs.edu/faculty/j.derakhshandeh
Please feel free to contact me for any questions or assistance in the order of e-mail message
within EO, or if you are having problems connecting with EO, you can use my HCCS email:
j.derakhshandeh@hccs.edu, or by phone at 713-718-7902 and leave me a message. Note: I
normally respond to email messages much quicker than to voice mail messages
WITHDRAWALS: Please see syllabus for more information. Please note, instructors may
withdraw a student for lack of participation. In order to guarantee that you have been withdrawn
from the course you MUST officially request to withdraw BEFORE the official withdrawal date.
Do not wait for the instructor to remind you of withdrawal date. After the official withdrawal
date (see syllabus), the instructor cannot withdraw students.
TIME MANAGEMENT: Our course is divided intoTopics. You will need to work through all Topics,
one at a time. The due dates are the LAST date to submit assignments. It is HIGHLY recommended
that you complete the topics before the due date. Some of the topics will take less time, some
will take more time. The first few topics do not require as much time as some of the later ones.
This can cause problems if you delay too long. The topics one and two can be completed quickly.
Future topics, however, can require many days, depending on your prior experience. Just follow
the online schedule by meeting due dates.
WHAT TO DO WHEN LOGGED ON TO EO: You should log into EO twice a week at least. After
you have become comfortable with the course you should do the following each time you log
in:
i. Read through all the links in the topic that you are currently working on (when you log in
the first time, work on Topic 1)
ii. Check your email in EO
iii. Return to Topic 1 to check the NEWS Forum messages
iv. Return to Topic 1 to check any student questions in the Student Question Forum
v. Review upcoming due dates in EO under assignments and quizzes.
vi. When ready, read through the Assignment Instructions within the current topic, print it
out, and work through all the steps.
WHAT DO YOU NEED FOR THE COURSE: This is covered in more detail in the syllabus, but you
will definitely need:
i. A textbook (Note: it must be purchased from an HCC bookstore!!!).
ii. Access to an internet PC to be able to download software required for this course (Note: You
will most likely need to make internet setting changes on the PC so you must have administrator
rights).
iii. Firefox browser installed on your PC in order to access the EO website.
iv. Adobe Reader installed on your PC
v. Free MS Community Edition C++ IDE downloaded and installed on your PC. You need MS email account to activate for FREE.
vi. You need to set your browsers to allow popups (discussed in Technical Requirements of
Orientation, or click HELPDESK button once in course within EO).
ALSO ...
vii. You will have one ID to log into EO (where you currently are logged into now) to view your
course work.
viii. A notebook to save printouts, keep track of your ids, etc…
ix. A 4GB flash to save your work and
ix. A desire to LEARN as much as you can!!! 
Note: the above id/password is independent of your HCC email id, and your HCC registration id. It’s a good
idea to keep a log of all your ids and passwords in a safe location
COMMUNICATION WILL BE VIA EO: You will have to log into EO to send and receive email
messages. All email should come from within Canvas. However, if you are having trouble
accessing Canvas, you may reach me via my hccs email listed on my syllabus. You can use this
email from any non-Canvas-Online email account (hotmail, yahoo, etc...). Please try to avoid
using this email unless you are having a Canvas problem. Let’s try to keep as much
communication as possible within Canvas LMS.
PC/BROWSERS: You must use Firefox to access EO. You must have administrator rights on your
PC in order to install some of the software, which may not be the case if you use a work PC. And
remember, you must allow your browser to open pop-ups from our course which is discussed in
the Technical Requirements section of the orientation!
TEXTBOOK: It is imperative that textbooks are purchased ASAP for this course (second week
preferably, third week at the latest). If this is a problem, you might consider taking this course at
a later time. Check HCC bookstore on latest textbook edition
HELP – During the course feel free to contact me for help, but do so several days before any due
date, if possible. If you try to contact me on the day something is due, there might not be enough
time to solve the problem.
During this Orientation you might need assistance from:
You might also need the following assistance:
1. EO Technical Help : Go to http://distance.hccs.edu
2. MS Expression Edition Technical Support : Go to Microsoft Web Site.
SYLLABUS – The next step in this DE Orientation is the course syllabus. Students should read all
parts of the syllabus and make sure that they meet all of the course prerequisites (required to be
ready for college level English (ENGL1301) and college level math (MATH1314) prior to registering
for this Internet delivered section) and have adequate hardware, software and Internet access.
Any questions, contact your instructor now.
TIPS
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Make sure you complete the DE Orientation and take advantage of all their CO
documentation files and videos!
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Check your CO Email and Forums frequently! This is how the instructor stays in contact
with you!
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There is a HELPDESK button at the top of our course page within CO. There are many
useful resources in that area. Make sure and at least go through the Popups information
located there to make sure that your PC is set to allow pop-ups within CO.
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Most links in CO result in pop-up windows. If you click on a link and you do not see
anything, your browser might be blocking pop-up windows. You should see a message
under your menu bar on your browser which you can click to view the popup. Many addon toolbars also block pop-ups (such as the Google Add-On Toolbar). Make sure those
are set to allow pop-ups from our sites as well!!
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You may also use the Ctrl key while clicking on a link to allow the pop-up to be viewed.
This can help you determine if you are having problems with pop-ups. If this is the case,
then you will know to fix the pop-up blocker settings immediately!
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DO NOT PROCRATINATE. There are SEVERAL assignments in this course. The key is to work
on them daily/weekly. If you try to finish too many of them at one time, you will
overwhelm yourself. Also, the sooner you start assignments, the sooner you can ask me
questions! Time is the biggest factor which will determine your success in the course.
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Purchase a book ASAP!!!! This will help you stay ahead of schedule (or at least on
schedule)!
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Distance Ed is not for everyone. This is a very intensive course, even for the computer
literate. We have many assignments, which require a lot of reading. If you like one-onone instruction, consider taking this course in a classroom setting.
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Feel free to ask any course related questions, or to post them on the Forum. The main
problem I have seen is students not asking questions, or asking them on the last day. Work
on the assignments ahead of time, and then ask me questions.
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PRACTICE everything many times. The key to learning is repetition.
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Understand the two different types of assignments.
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Lab - requires you to create files on your PC using (latest MS Community Edition
C++ IDE Or any other required compiler/Assembler), zip the source files and the
application file and upload the zipped folder in CANVAS.
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Quiz – requires you to submit quizzes within CANVAS
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Regardless of the assignment type, you must always go to CO to view information
regarding assignment instructions. Think of EO as our classroom. This is where you go for
instructions. Each assignment is different, but they are well documented. Print them out,
and follow the instructions. You will notice that we try to follow a pattern to keep things
consistent.
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Feel free to ask questions to me, or to friends, with regards to concepts, etc… HOWEVER,
all work must be started and completed independently. Do not copy another student’s
work, even if you make your own changes. That is academic dishonesty. Please see
syllabus for further information.
FEELING OVERWHELMED?: There is a lot of material to absorb right now. It’s understandable
that you may feel a little confused. Repetition is the key when feeling overwhelmed! The main
thing is to start right away and to review the information until you feel more comfortable,
especially now, before the course schedule becomes more intense!
WHAT TO DO NEXT? Have a great semester and please proceed to the next step of this
orientation! After you complete the orientation, log into CO, access our course, click on
assignment BIO and submit and take syllabus quiz.
After Topic 1, move on to Topic 2 and read all those links, and complete the first assignment and
quiz within Topic 2.
Have a great semester and thank you for choosing HCC!