We will use three platforms in this class:

Google Drive: this is for creating and sharing documents. You will use it to write your rough drafts, do peer review and revisions, and submit your final drafts. You will also type up some of the homework assignments here. Anything you are writing for this class should be placed in a folder for this class, which is shared with me. Otherwise, I won’t be able to see it.

ePortfolio: this is a LaGuardia-specific platform for sharing information and publishing work. Our class ePortfolio will be the place you go to find information about the class, announcements, and readings. Later in the semester, you will create a section of your own personal ePortfolio for publishing your revised final drafts of the take-home essays. If you haven’t yet created a personal ePortfolio in First Year Seminar, I will help you do that.

Blackboard: we don’t use blackboard much in this class, because many students find it hard to use and it is especially problematic for those students who don’t have computers at home. However, I will keep an updated gradebook there for you to check your grades (though you can keep track of grades yourself in your Personal Gradebook in the Course Reader). You will also use Blackboard to submit Papers 2 and 3 to Turnitin to be scanned for potential plagiarism.

Setup Instructions

Part 1: Check out the class ePortfolio

1. Logging in:

To access the ePortfolio for this class, you can copy the following web link into your browser: https://lagcc-cuny.digication.com/eng101-0726 You will then be prompted to log in using your Live account credentials. 

OR, you can log in through My LaGuardia.

Once you are at the course site, you will find all of the information relating to our course.

2. Find our course under “My Courses”

When you log in to ePortfolio through My LaGuardia or through the regular homepage at https://eportfolio.laguardia.edu/ you will see all of your Courses listed under “My Courses” and all ePortfolios you have access to. If the ePortfolio doesn’t come up right away, click on our class under “My Courses”, then click on the tab for ePortfolios, then select the ePortfolio called ENG101.0726. You can bookmark that link so that in the future, you only need to click on the page and log in.

Part 2: Setting Up Google Drive

1. Go to https://www.google.com/drive/

2. If you already have Gmail or a Google account, sign in. If not, create a new one, or create a new one solely for school work, if you prefer to do so.

3. Once you have signed up and/or signed in, create a folder for this class by clicking on the button in the upper left-hand corner and clicking on

4. Name the folder with “Your Name – English 101” and click “Create.” Now when you share it with me, I will know whose folder it is.

5. Click on the title of the folder to open it. At the top of the screen, you will see “My Drive > Your Name – English 101”. Next to the title of the folder you will see a little downward arrow, like this: Click on that.

6. The dropdown menu has an item called “Share”. Click on that.

7. In the box under “People” enter my email address: tcoleman@lagcc.cuny.edu. Next to the pencil icon, click on the downward arrow and make sure that “Can organize, add and edit” is checked. Then click “Done.” Now I should be able to access your folder and the files inside it.

Part 3: Creating a Google Sheet with your Contact Information

1. The first file I want you to create is an Excel spreadsheet in which you will provide some contact information. 

2. Make sure you are already in the folder you created called “Your Name – English 101”. If not, open it up.

3. Click on the “New” button again and select “Google Sheets.” Change the spreadsheet name (in the top left-hand corner of the screen) from “Untitled Spreadsheet” to “Contact Info- Your Name”. 

4. Fill out the spreadsheet as follows with your own information:

Last Name	First Name	Major/ Department	Email	Phone	Is it ok for me to use your work anonymously as a sample in class? (yes/no)
Coleman	Tara	English	tcoleman@lagcc.cuny.edu	(718) 730-7454	Yes

Part 4: Creating a Google doc with a Day 1 Writing Sample

Next, I want you to create a Google document to answer a few more questions and to produce a brief writing sample. Make sure that you are still in your folder for this class, called “Your Name – English 101”. Click on the “New” button and select “Google Docs.” Give the document the title “Day 1 Writing Sample”. The questions and prompt are below. You don’t need to type up the questions, just your answers.

Short answer questions:

Answer the questions below in a few words or a few sentences – whatever is appropriate.

1. Have you taken any English classes or writing-intensive classes at the college level before? If so, which one(s), where did you take them, and what was your grade? (If you failed English 101 previously, either here or at another institution, please give me a brief description of what happened and how you think I can best help you to succeed this time around.)

2. What languages do you speak, read, write or understand, even if only a little? How do you use these languages, if at all, at the moment? 

3. What kind of writer are you now? What was writing or English like for you in high school or, if you have been out of high school for a while, what kinds of writing have you been doing lately, for work in other contexts? What do you enjoy writing (social media posts, comics, poems, songs, anything)? What goals do you have for your writing this semester?

4. Is there anything you want to tell me at this point? (You don’t need to answer this question, but if there are any concerns you want to share or things you think would be helpful for me to know at this stage, feel free to let me know here.)

Once you have done all of this, congrats! And thank you.