Start this activity on the first day of class.

1.1 Use multiple tabs.

Set up multiple tabs in a window to reduce the time you spend looking for those sites.

1.2 Learn about this course's Canvas menu.

1. Click on the Module button then each Chapter 📑 to participate in discussions and submit project development/blog post assignments .
2. Click on the Grades button to see my weekly feedback and your scores.
3. View the class roster in the People area.
4. Use NetTutor when you need your writing reviewed.
5. When you need help, contact me using the Inbox.

1.3 Learn about this textbook's menu.

1. Click the homeHome button. Besides the introduction, you'll view student websites and their project topics from here.
2. Click the rss_feedNews button. Here you'll see a Facebook News Feed listing current news about successful women.
3. Click the info Syllabus button and read it thoroughly.
4. Click the play_for_workTutorials button. Extra credit lessons and other required skills are listed here.
5. Click the library_booksChapter buttons to work on each week/module's requirements.

1.4 Learn about the OSU Valley Library menu.

1. Use the library to locate journal articles for discussions and projects.
2. After hours, use the Answerland 24/7 library.

1.5 Read Canvas Grading Feedback

Every Monday or Tuesday evening, read the instructor's feedback in the Gradebook for Blogging and Discussions.

1.6 Use the Service Desk if you have computer, ONID, or Canvas problems.

But first:

• Logout.
• Close the browser and relaunch it.
• Login to OSU.
• Still have problems? Contact Service Desk.

Start this activity no later than Tuesday.

1.7 Set up Canvas

By the time you finish this course and leave the university, you will want to have practiced appropriate ways to communicate via email so that you appear professional at all times. NACE's Job Outlook 2016 lists attributes employers want to see on new college graduates' resumes. Written Communication Skills is in the top 3!

Remember that when you communicate via email, you cannot provide eye contact and body language to help explain yourself, so your message may be misunderstood. Sometimes the thread of a message is lost, making readers rely on memory (which is often faulty). And if you need the reader to act on your request, good manners will help you be successful.

1. Connect your ONID email address with Canvas.

If you have questions about the notifications,

Start this activity no later than Tuesday.

If you are an auditory learner, or your eyes are tired, I recommend listening to the course materials and readings to help improve information retention. Set up your computer now so you can listen to my introduction, below:

1.9 Choose a tool:

A. Chrome Browser (highly recommended)

1. Click the ⁝ menu icon and choose More Tools.
2. Choose Extensions from the popup list.
3. Scroll to the bottom of your list of extensions to click on Get More Extensions .
4. Search for Select and Speak Text to Speech (SpeakIt!) by and add it to Chrome. The icon will show up in the Chrome Extension Toolbar to the right of the Address/Search box.
5. Select the Introduction text (below) then click the sound icon from the Toolbar.
6. To have more control over how it works and to allow more use per day, consider subscribing with an account at iSpeech.

B. Macintosh

Do this step only if you don't like Chrome's options.

1. Set up Preferences for Speech to use a keystroke of your choice.
   • From the Apple menu, choose System Preferences.
   • Click the Speech icon.
2. Click the Text to Speech button.
3. Choose a Voice and Speed.
   • Install Samantha if you want the reader to sound like Siri.
4. Click the Set Key button and choose a keystroke you can remember.
5. From any document or website, select text you want to be read, and click your new keystroke.

C. Windows

Do this step only if you don't like Chrome's options.

1. Follow instructions for set-up and use of Speech/Text-to-Speech and the Narrator controls:
   • Windows XP and Vista
   • Windows 8
   • Windows 7
2. To read an entire window, click the window and then press CTRL+SHIFT+SPACEBAR.
   • To silence the speech, press CTRL.

Or download the Natural Readers program; it may work better.

D. Smart Phone Apps

• Try the Voice Reading or Natural Reader application for your Android phone.
• Try the Natural Reader for your iPhone, iPad, or iPod.
• Try the Natural Reader application for your Windows phone. UNTESTED; use at your own risk.

1.10 Listen to the instructor's introduction

Welcome to Gender and Technology, brought to you by Women Studies and Extended Campus at Oregon State University!

My name is M. Van Londen. I'll be your guide for the next 11 weeks while you explore technology and gender biases around the world.

The course textbook, which you are reading now, is sectioned by weeks, so that everything you need to read and produce in a week is listed on one page. Instead of a printed textbook, you'll use this website and the hyperlinks to scholarly and popular articles. In many cases, there are videos to watch and respond to.

We'll start each week by:

1. Reading about the myths of progress regarding gender and technology, related to engineering, science, education, business, finance, art, etc. and discussing research that supports or dispels what you believe to be true.
2. Then you'll learn new skills, which include setting up a Wordpress website to hold your weekly recaps and projects, using Google News to find scholarly and popular articles, optimizing images for the web, saving screenshots and PDF files, and creating an email signature.
3. The projects will use a variety of technology, so that by the end of 11 weeks you'll feel comfortable exploring any computer technology as well as other mechanical technologies required at home, the office, or at school. The four projects include Weekly Blogging, Cultural Research about a female technologist, Gender Lens Analysis of a technical product, and Financial Analysis of the cost of one of your greatest dreams.

Doesn't that sound like fun?!

Because we cannot meet face to face, you'll need to ask for help via the Canvas Inbox. Any question any time of the day or night will be as we read within 48 hours and more often within a few hours. If you are confused about a step of the instructions, include the step number in your message. If you are confused about your score or my comments related to your score, please include those comments in the message along with a link to your web site. If you see a typo or broken link, please email those to the Instructor as well.

If you are having computer trouble, please contact the OSU Help Desk.

It's important to the Instructor that you feel good about the work you do for this course, so save time by asking for help sooner rather than later.

Let's get started, shall we?

What do you think?

If you found it helpful to listen to the textbook, then keep that keystroke handy. If not, then rely on your eyes to read. Listening beyond this point is not a requirement, but I wanted you to try it because I have students tell the Instructor over and over how helpful it is.

Start this activity no later than Tuesday.

1.11 Participate in the Discussion

1. View the movie above to learn about gender and social media.
2. Read the Guidelines in the next step to understand the limits of this course's discussions.
3. Click the discussion in Canvas and:
   1. Tell us what part of the world you live in.
   2. Note the degree you're seeking and the kind of work you hope to do when you graduate.
   3. Relay your technology experience at home and at work (not just computers).
   4. Tell us how the email signature and listening set up went. Which tool did you set up on which platform? Do you like how it works and will you use it in the future?
   5. Note the kinds of social media you have used that you find beneficial and why.
   6. Research news/blog sites in your field of study that you would like to read weekly. Describe one blog and an article found there. Link to its home page by embedding the URL in title of the site. Learn how to do that using this Embed Links tutorial.
      
   7. If you've never used Canvas's Discussion Forum, read this tutorial: Canvas Student Guides for Discussions

1.12 Follow Guidelines for Creating a Safe Space in the Online Classroom

Adapted from Dr. Susan Shaw, Oregon State University

• Make a personal commitment to learning about, understanding, and supporting your peers.
• Assume the best of others in the class and expect the best from them.
• Acknowledge the impact of sexism, racism, ethnocentrism, classism, heterosexism, ageism, and ableism on the lives of class members.
• Recognize and value the experiences, abilities, and knowledge each person brings to class. Value the diversity of the class.
• Participate actively in the discussions, having completed the readings and thought about the issues.
• Pay close attention to what your classmates write in their online comments. Ask clarifying questions, when appropriate. These questions are meant to probe and shed new light, not to minimize or devalue comments.
• Think through and re-read your comments before you post them.
• Never make derogatory comments toward another person in the class.
• Do not make sexist, racist, homophobic, or victim-blaming comments at all.
• Disagree with ideas, but do not make personal attacks.
• Be open to be challenged or confronted on your ideas or prejudices.
• Challenge others with the intent of facilitating growth. Do not demean or embarrass others.
• Encourage others to develop and share their ideas.
• Be willing to change.

1.13 Remember these tips every week

1. Follow instructions. Each Chapter's instructions are different.
2. Write in your own words. Copying text from articles without quotations will not be tolerated. Quote only a sentence or two, not whole paragraphs or lists.
3. Check for plagiarism. Any threads with plagiarism will earn a 0 score.
4. Relate your research and comments to gender and technology.
5. Required: Use hyperlinks as a way of citing articles.
6. Do not repeat yourself in every reply; that makes for a boring experience for your peers. Choose new topics to discuss instead.
7. Use paragraphs often. Nothing is harder to read online than a really long paragraph.
8. Edit any thread to make changes, then click Done.
   • This will keep others from having to respond in two places.
   • I've set the Canvas forums to allow modification. If you find you are unable to modify a thread, please let the Instructor know.

1.14 Read and respond to Replies.

Reply to the instructors' and students questions no later than midnight on Sunday of week 1.