Lab 1

The first thing we want you to do in this lab is meet your classmates. Turn your chair around a form a group around the table behind (or nearest) you. Introduce each other; tell something about yourself, your interests, and what you are studying. Make a note of how many are in your group, counting yourself.

The purpose of the rest of this first lab is to familiarize yourselves with the computers in the lab. Your lab instructor is providing you with an orientation to the lab computers and got you onto this page, but from now on, you will be expected to access all course pages yourself. One especially important point is to open new windows when you want to go back and forth between web pages. To do so, click on File in top menu and click on New Window.

We'll primarily be using three programs:

• ReggieNet - a web-based course delivery program prvodied by ISU through iCampus.
• Microsoft Word - for some labs you'll download a lab assignment into which you'll insert or attach your work from the labs (sometimes typing things, sometimes cutting and pasting), and then attach it and submit it in ReggieNet.
• SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) - a statistical program.

For our first lab we will focus on finding course materials in ReggieNet, using MS Word, and saving an assignment. We'll start talking about SPSS next time.

ReggieNet, a web-based program, is accessed from your main MyIllinoisState page. As part of our first lab, we would like you to explore the class pages on ReggieNet. Since ISU can only support so many users on ReggieNet at one time, your session will end due to inactivity.

Now open MyIllinoisState in a new window. After you log-in on the Welcome page, go to the Home page and the Academics page , which includes ReggieNet. As an enrolled student, your home page will show PSY 138. Click on it for this semester. Log-in with you ULID and password. (If it is not listed yet, the instructor will tell you how to access ReggieNet today.)

The class Home Page that opens up has a menu on the left (labeling the Home Page as Course Content). From the Home Page directly or from the menu on the left, you can access the Syllabus, Gradebook, Announcements, Resources & Materials,Tests and Quizzes, and Assignments.

Check out the Syllabus page. Note that there is an overall schedule on the course syllabus. If you have a question about the course, it is your responsibility to look for the answer on the syllabus. If, after checking, you still have a question, then e-mail your instructor (or ask in class). If the answer is on the syllabus, you will be directed back to it! (We want to reinforce responsible, independent behavior, not helplessness and neediness.)

Taking a Quiz in ReggieNet

There will be 10 homework/quizzes throughout the semester.  These will typically be due on Friday by 5PM.  They are intended to give you additional practice with the material that you are learning in the course.  Today you will take a "samplequiz." Based on material from the syllabus.  Typically you may take each quiz up to 3 times, with your best score counting.  The questions on these quizzes are drawn from a large database of questions, so each time you take the quiz, you will likely have different questions. 

Completing a Lab

Each Lab consists of a webpage (like this one) and an Assignment.  The "webpage" contains the lesson for the day.  Embedded in the lesson are exercises that you are expected to complete for the assignment.  We will be "turning in" the assignments using ReggieNet.  When you click on the link for the day's lab, it should open in another window (or tab).  After opening the lab, return to the ReggieNet window and go to the assignment section.  Locate and open the assignment for that day.  You should find instructions for how to complete the lab exercises for that day and for how to turn things in.  Sometimes you will type your answers into a space provided in the assignment, other times you will be required to save your work (typically in Word, Excel, or SPSS) and then upload it to the assignment page.  If you have any questions about how to turn things in, don't hesitate to ask your GA for help.

You will be completing all of your lab work in the course--Lab Assignments and Quizzes, (but not Lab Exams)--in ReggieNet. Once you submit your work, it will be graded and you will be provided with your grade and feedback (at the end of the availability period). Note that you can only complete the Lab Exercises for credit during a limited time range. If you do not submit the Lab Assignment during the availability period, you get no credit for the lab. Quizzes also are available during specified time blocks. If you do not submit your Lab Assignment or Quiz during the availability period, you will receive no credit for it. There are no make-ups in this course! (If you will be off-campus during the availability period, make sure you get access to the internet so you can complete these required activities.)

Click on the Assignments link in the side bar.  Select Lab1.  This should bring up a set of questions to be answered.  Today's lab doesn't require any statistics, but instead is designed to give you experience using the ReggieNet Assignment feature.  You should open up an MS Word document and type your responses to the Lab 1 assignment questions into it.  Then save the Word document and upload it to ReggieNet using 'Add Attachments.'  In future labs, there may be a Word document with the questions in it that you download.  Then you'll fill in your answers (sometimes you may need to upload the Word document and and SPSS document).

Some general Tips

Uploading and Downloading Files

Throughout the course, you'll need to upload files from this or other programs to your datastore or desktop and download files from there to ReggieNet. These will primarily be data files for SPSS and lab assignments. The process is straightforward: just click a link, and then save the file to the your personal space on the H-drive datastore or the desktop. We will practice doing so in this lab.

Using MS Word

Sometimes you will be typing your answers into a word document, saving it and then uploading the save file to the assignment page. Often you may do a combination of things (e.g., type in some answers & upload a datafile and an output file).  This section is primarily for those who are not familiar with MS Word at all, but also those new to the latest version. You lab instructor will demonstrate how the comments below work in the current version. In the next lab, we will cover Excel.

If there is a Word or Microsoft Office icon on the desktop click on it; otherwise, click on the Program button at the bottom of your screen and click on Word.

Once Word is open, you need to click on New Blank Documents or Open an existing document. You will be given a menu of locations on disk and hard drives; once you locate the file, click on it and it will open.

Then you need type your answers directly into this file and save it by going to the file menu and select "save as..." Your datasore (or the desktop) is the location where you save it.

For some labs (especially those using SPSS) you may be asked to "copy" and "paste" work from a different program into your work sheet. In most programs you will use the Edit menu (or a toolbar) to "copy" the work (highlight what you want, then select copy from the edit menu), and then switch to your worksheet in Word and select "paste" from the edit menu. A simpler alternative is to save the SPSS to your datastore or desktop and than attach it to the Lab Assignments.

Use the remaining time in the lab to explore ReggieNet and ask your lab instructor for help as needed.