thing0

=**Thing #0 - Get Ready!**= = =

**Introduction**

 * Welcome to Learning 2.0 - 23 Things! **This is your first official course "lesson," organized with an **Introduction**, **Discovery Exercise** and **Learning Activity** -- a format which will quickly become familiar to you. Reading carefully is, for better or worse, a pretty essential key to success in this course. You will also find lots of embedded HELP resources along the way within the Discovery Exercises and Learning Activities -- placed at the point of need.


 * Before you get started, it's important that you read over the site** so that you understand //exactly how the course works//. The four pages everyone should read __in their entirety__ are:


 * Home - what the course is about
 * About - general description of the course
 * FAQs - most everything you might want to know
 * The 23 Things - a list of course topics which will provide the links to each week's lesson as it is posted

**Discovery Exercise**

 * Please note:** you must complete the Learning Activity (below) after you complete the Discovery Exercise. This will be true of every course lesson.


 * PART 1:** For this course, you are asked to use your MISD Google Apps account (part of Google) for many of the services you explore. Your Google Apps account gives you access to all sorts of Google goodies, such as Google Reader and Google Docs, both of which we will explore in later weeks. Click here and make sure that you can login to your Google Apps account. If you have trouble, you may need to contact the MISD Helpdesk.

We will communicate with you regarding this course via your school email account. Please verify that you can access your email from your home computer using the Email Web Access link on the MISD Staff web page.


 * HELP Video:** How to access your Google Apps account


 * PART 2:**
 * [|Get Firefox]**. Firefox is the Web browser of choice for this course, as many of the tools we will explore just seem to run more smoothly in Firefox (or Chrome, if you prefer, which is best for Google Apps). **Please install Firefox and make sure you have [|Java] and [|Flash] installed for Firefox as well.**

**Learning Activity**
After completing the Discovery Exercise above, complete this form to send us your information for the course. **W**e will send you an email invitation to view a Google spreadsheet which we will use throughout the course to track your progress. ** You MUST remember to check your email account. ** Learning 2.0 - 23 Things registration form
 * PART 1:**

Send an email to **mcushing [at] mesquiteisd [dot] org**. In the email, include your **full name and school name** and any questions you have about the course. Confirm for us that you have Firefox (just humor us). **We** **will use these emails to create a contact list for the course.**
 * PART 2:**

Congratulations! You are now ready to begin your Learning 2.0 journey!