You must first set up a WebCT account. Then (I know this is crazy) log out and go back to the WebCT homepage. At the very bottom, you'll see a link that says "See Courses on this server." Hit that link and choose "UAM Fall 2008" in view by category, then click the update button. Find your class, which should begin with a JOUR prefix. At the far right, you'll see a pencil. Click it to add the course. It'll ask you for your user name and password, then you've added the course. Now you're ready to begin!

TAKE THE SURVEY

  Answers the following questions, then write an essay of your answers for your student profile. If you are in a writing course, you will use this survey for your first interview of your classmate. You may provide additional information if you like. Add a picture to the profile so we can see who you are! If you're taking more than one course from Sitton, you can copy and paste the information from one survey into each of the boxes. You'll need to change the information on what you expect to learn from this class.

1. Name, class standing (first-year, sophomore, junior, senior), Hometown, State
   
2. e-mail address (Yours, not your roommate's, parent's or significant other's)
   
   
3. phone number where classmates can reach you
   
   
4. Tell something interesting or memorable about yourself
   
   
5. Read any online newspaper to find an article that in some way relates to your childhood. Link to the article and write a paragraph describing how it relates to you.
   
   
6. Rate your familiarity with the Internet on a 1-to-10 scale with 10 meaning completely familiar. When did you first encounter the Internet?
   
   
7. Do you have a personal Web page address? If so, what is it?
   
   
8. What made you want to study communication, i.e. why are you taking this course?
   
   
9. What do you expect to learn from this class and how will you apply the knowledge you gain in the future?
   
   
10. Have you taken a communication course (e.g. journalism, speech) before? If so, what course? If not at UAM, at what school?
    
    
11. What are your education goals? Do you plan to attend graduate school for a master's or doctorate?
    
    
12. What campus organizations do you belong to?
    
    
13. Do you have a full-time or part-time job? If so, what do you do?
    
    
14. Career goals? (Tell what kind of job you want to be doing in 10 years.)
    
    
15. List two movies you've seen recently and tell what you liked or hated about them.
    
    
16. List the last three pieces of music you purchased or downloaded. Where did you get it, i.e. WalMart, iTunes, Limewire, Amazon, Napster, Rhapsody, LastFM?
    
    
17. Name the two most memorable books you've read and what makes them so.
    
    
18. Name the newspaper or magazine you most admire and why.
    
    
19. Conclude your essay with one perfect English sentence that includes the word "love."

   You should have this assignment completed by our next meeting. When you finish, e-mail a note informing Dr. Sitton that you've completed the task.

PREPARE TO POST

   If you're having problems getting the information for your homepage, do the following:

1. Open a second Internet browser. You can do this by clicking on the browser shortcut a second time, or by opening a second browser window through the FILE menu.
   
   • If you're in Netscape, open the FILE menu and pull down to "NEW." A submenu will pop up — hit navigator. This will open a second browser.
     
   • If you're using Internet Explorer, open the FILE menu and pull down to "NEW." A submenu will pop up — hit "Window." This will open a second browser.
     
2. Write a paragraph or two that answers the survey questions in a coherent fashion.
   
3. Go to WebCT. Fill out your name and password to get in.

UPDATE YOUR STUDENT PROFILE

Now you should have one browser open on the first day survey page, and a second window with the your WebCT homepage showing. Scroll down to the instructions portion of the survey to help you post the information you've already written.

   You should have arrived at the opening page (it has the class banner on top). You need to update your WebCT homepage. Here's how you do it.

1. Hit the "homepages" icon, then click your name — this will bring you to a page with options on the right side of the page. These tools will help you update your page.
   
2. On the right side of the WebCT page, look for "option:textblock." Choose "Edit/Add Upper Textblock." A box should appear, along with a button that says "html". Hit that button.
   
3. A new window will appear that has two views: "Wysiwig" (What You See is What You Get) and HTML. Cut and paste your survey answers into the wysiwig window. Once you've pasted it in the window, hit the button that says "update."

ADD THE PICTURE

   After you've finished, close the browser with the survey information. Now you need to upload a picture of yourself so we'll be able to put a face to the information; if we cannot see your face, it doesn't count. If you have a personal picture, follow the directions to get it the right size. To do this:

1. Scan a picture of yourself and save it as either a GIF or JPG images (preferably no larger than 200x200 pixels). Since WebCT is a Web-based interface, jpg or gif files are required. The gif file tends to be smaller, so it's the recommended format. If you have a "broken links" picture or a black box covering your picture, you have scanned the photo in an unreadable format (perhaps PNG, TIFF). (If you haven't scanned pictures before, ask for help at the computer desk, or from the instructor).
   
2. In WebCT's homepage, look for "Modify/Add Banner" on the right side of the page. Click here, then choose "File upload." You should see a button that says "browse."
   
3. Hit the browse button which will open files on the desktop.
   
4. Find your disk and your photo file within that disk. Press return and the photo will upload directly from the disk.
   
5. Load the picture, telling WebCT to align it on the right-hand side.
   
6. When you're finished, make sure the button next to your image is highlighted, then scroll to the bottom of the window and hit the button "Update."
   
7. To upload a scanned copy of a newspaper or magazine article, make a link. On the right-hand side of your WebCT homepage design, click the "add link" button. On the next page, use the url to the newspaper where the article appears. For the scan of the article, click the upload icon button, browse until you find the picture on your desktop, then continue to upload it.

SEE AN EXAMPLE

Photo by Michael Ford

Liberty Island - Sitton stands before the New York City skyline during a 2008 trip for the College Media Adviser's spring convention. Not even the pigeons got him down.

Ronald Sitton, assistant professor of Journalism at the University of Arkansas at Monticello, hails from North Little Rock, Ark. Catch him via e-mail at sitton@uamont.edu or on his office phone at (870)460-1138.

While spending Mondays in North Little Rock in preparation for the upcoming week, he can be found in 110 Wells Hall North from 8-9:40 a.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays and from 10 a.m.- 3 p.m. Wednesdays during his office hours. Otherwise, e-mail him as he checks it no fewer than three times a day Monday through Saturday. (Sunday's the day of rest.)

This article reminds Sitton of his childhood, since the people in his Missionary Baptist church accused his mom of sinning against man and God -- even though it was his dad who fooled around on his mom (with her best friend), thus leading to their divorce. Even today, Sitton finds it amazing how many so-called Christians love to cast the first stone, thus possibly turning people away from God instead of turning them to God. Real Christians refuse to judge lest they be judged. But I digress. 

Sitton received a doctorate of philosophy in Communication from the University of Tennessee, while attaining his bachelor's and master's in Journalism from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. A 2005 Voice article describes his thoughts about the journalism program.

Find out more about his hobbies, tastes, former studies, and educational and work background at his cyber-home, Sitron's Post (home.comcast.net/~sitron45/). He started working on the 'net in 1996 for graduate school and considers himself an eight on a scale of one-to-10. He only keeps a facebook account as he found social networking takes more time than he has available and can lead to unintentional problems. Not that it's bad for anyone, just not good for him at this time.

In addition to teaching, Sitton advises the yearbook and campus newspaper. The Voice came in second last year as the best online newspaper in the state. It marked the second runner-up status in three years, with a third place sandwiched between. The Voice meets Tuesdays from 3-4 in 106 Jeter Hall and The Boll Weevil meets Thursdays from 3-4 in 106 Jeter Hall. He also freelances, blogs and maintains The Southerner Journal portal on a part-time basis.