COURSE ORIENTATION

Welcome to the course orientation for Music Fundamentals Online (MUS 6), an online class taught through Cabrillo College. I'm Susan Parrish, your instructor, and I look forward to working with you in this online music classroom.

This course assumes that students have no experience reading music. If you have prior experience with music (reading, singing, or playing an instrument), this course will expand your understanding and knowledge. After completing this class, you will be able to read and notate your own music, and better understand any instrument you play or the music you listen to.

This is an "online" class, and is presented entirely via the Internet. You will not come to campus for orientation or meetings. You will complete all of your assignments, quizzes, and exams online. You are NOT required to attend any meetings on campus.

This page provides information about MUS 6 Online and includes links to additional information that may interest you. Please read it before contacting me with any questions.

BLACKBOARD

We use the Cabrillo Blackboard Online Server as the communication system for this course. Blackboard is managed by the Teaching Learning Center (TLC) at Cabrillo College. The Blackboard pages for this course provide a rich set of tools that make online learning easy, including:

Logging into Blackboard

You must access the class site and log into Blackboard during the first FIVE days of the semester.

You can log into Blackboard at anytime after midnight on the first day of the Cabrillo semester. It's a good idea to watch Cabrillo's video demonstration that shows you how to log into Blackboard for the first time. To successfully log in, you must provide your last name, date of birth, and Cabrillo student ID number (not your social security number).

Note that Blackboard will issue you a username and will require you to choose a password. Passwords are case-sensitive. Your instructor does not have access to your password. After you are registered, you access the course by supplying your user name and password.

If you require additional help with Blackboard, the Cabrillo College web site also includes a number of tutorials.

If you have problems logging into Blackboard, be sure that you have not disabled cookies for the site on your computer. Some login problems in the past have been caused by tight security systems installed on student computers; note that AOL users in particular have experienced access problems in other classes.

Using Blackboard

You need to check the Blackboard course site AT LEAST 2-3 times each week.

You can use your own off-campus computer, or you can access your course on the Cabrillo campus in the Computer Technology Center (room 1400), the Library, or in the Music Lab (room 202).

Any course changes, additions, or deletions will be posted on the Blackboard site. It is your responsibility to access Blackboard frequently and make sure that you have current information.

Attendance

Learning to read and understand music, like any language, requires regular and consistent practice. Expect to spend an average of 7-10 hours per week working on the course; this is the equivalent to spending 3 hours in the classroom plus 4-7 hours per week reading the course content in the Learning Modules and completing the homework assignments.

If you work with the material on a daily basis you are more likely to gain a better understanding and retain what you learn than if you wait until Sunday afternoon every week. It is very important that you complete all the assignments on a timely basis as you are continually building upon your understanding from a foundation of previously learned concepts and skills..

This class has a 30 hour minimum LAB Requirement that is worth 5% of your total grade. You are required to log into the class at least 2 times a week. Attendance is taken via participation in the Discussions. Students are required to spend a minimum of 15 hours reading and reviewing the course pages in the Blackboard and log a minimum of 15 hours in Practica Musica. The tracking features in Blackboard and WebStudent allow the instructor to view and monitor the time and activities of each student.

Other Class Information

You can click the following links to learn more about the structure of MUS 6 online before the class starts.