As online students, we construct knowledge in other ways than by simply completing readings and assignments. An important part of this process is communicating with fellow learners and learning from what they have to say. As such, this is the forum where we can learn a little bit about who we are and what we do. Your first assignment in this course is to write a short biography about yourself. This is a time to say our virtual hellos and to get to know each other.

This week’s introduction forum will focus on the following objectives:

Part 1: Build peer-to-peer relationships by introducing ourselves and sharing our backgrounds with one another. Articulate your learning goals and expectations for this class.

Part 2: Choose the topic for your course project. Familiarize yourself with PowerPoint with Audio Narration, which you will be using for your final presentation. Upload a “mini-presentation” introducing the molecule of your choice and explaining why you chose this topic for the course project.

NOTE: Your forum entry must contain both parts to be considered complete.

Part 1: INTRODUCE YOURSELF To make your posts, click on START A NEW CONVERSATION above State your name and Introduction in the title (Title: Jane Doe – Introduction – Molecule/Substance Choice).

In Paragraph 1, include the following information:

Introduction
*Name
*A picture (does not have to be a picture of yourself – click for link)
*Your major and year in school
*Your branch of service and rank (if military)
*Your job title and a brief description of your job
*Where you live
*Your interests and hobbies

In Paragraph 2, include the following information:

Chemistry Background
*Why you are taking this class
*What you hope to learn from this class
*Your experience with chemistry
*Your future goals
*Anything else you would like us to know about yourself
*Is there anything specific you would like to learn about in this class?

In Paragraph 3, include the following information:

Plan if Computer “crashes” or is unusable
*How you will access/print course materials
*Communicate with the instructor and classmates
*Meet the required due dates for assignments

PART 2: UPLOAD A BRIEF PRESENTATION INTRODUCING YOUR COURSE PROJECT TOPIC (submitted as an attachment)

The topic of the course project will be any molecule/substance found in the Chemistry World Podcasts: https://www.chemistryworld.com/podcasts. The molecule/substance will preferably be one that you have personal familiarity with.You must select a different molecule/substance than your classmates – so include the name of your molecule/substance in the title of your post. Familiarize yourself with the Course Project Guide. Create a narrated PowerPoint presentation (or other multimedia program as approved by your instructor) (2-3 slides) and upload it as a file attachment to your forum post. For instructions on how to create audio narration in PowerPoint, see the following link: Record a Slide Show With Narration. Your mini-presentation should include the following:
Your name, date, class name, and my name Common name of the molecule/substance and the IUPAC name of the molecule/substance. For help writing an IUPAC name, check out the online version of The Blue Book: https://www.acdlabs.com/iupac/nomenclature/ The reason you chose this molecule/substance. One additional resource where this you found this molecule/substance in popular literature.

Resources
1. Chemistry World Podcasts: https://www.chemistryworld.com/podcasts
2. IUPAC Nomenclature Of Organic Chemistry: https://www.acdlabs.com/iupac/nomenclature/