1. THINK CONTINGENCY. Locate a backup system -- just in case your computer goes down. Breakdowns will occur: it's more a question of "when" than "if." Also, be familiar with both IBM/MS-DOS and Macintosh systems, as well as with various web browsers (Netscape, Microsoft Internet Explorer, etc.), email programs (e.g., Pine, Eudora), and word processors (e.g., MS Word, Word Perfect). The key is flexibility: know more than one way to accomplish a task.

2. LOGON FREQUENTLY. Log on as often as you can, preferably twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening -- seven days a week. If this isn't possible, then log on once a day during the week and once over the weekend. Create a workable logon schedule, a comfortable routine, and you'll find the work (in the form of email messages and web announcements) manageable. If you let days go by before logging on, email and announcements will pile up and you'll find it difficult to catch up. Also, you'll find yourself outside the communication loop and out of synch with classmates, unable to understand what's going on.

3. RESPOND. Respond to email you receive. If you don't, the sender will assume (a) you didn't get it or (b) you don't want to respond. Remember that you're invisible to the writer. You're saying "I'm here" when you respond.

4. RESPOND IMMEDIATELY. If possible, reply immediately after receiving a message. If time doesn't allow for a comprehensive response, send a quick one-liner: "I rec'd your message and will reply this evening." Reply within 12 to 24 hours of receiving a message. This is called "grounding," and in the virtual classroom, grounding is essential.

5. USE A STABLE EMAIL ADDRESS. Send messages from a stable address that will remain constant for the duration of the course. Any change in email address will result in confusion and delays that may affect your mail for weeks.

6. IDENTIFY YOURSELF. Include your full name somewhere in your message, either in the "From:" line or the "Subject:" line in the header or in the body of your message. Don't assume that your instructor and classmates will remember who "Local Boy" or "fuzzybrain" is.

7. PARTICIPATE. In a completely online class, you don't physically "attend" a class, but attendance is still vitally important. In a virtual classroom, you attend by sending messages. By completing and distributing class work via email on or before the due date, you let your classmates and the instructor know that you're "present." If you remain silent, no one will know you're in the cyber classroom; you are, for all intents and purposes, "absent."

8. USE MEANINGFUL SUBJECT-LINES. Compose meaningful descriptions in the "Subject:" line in the header. The instructor will usually suggest a label in his/her description of the activity. Use it. If none is suggested, create one that's informative, one that lets the receiver know which task you're submitting for his/her review.

9. ORGANIZE MESSAGES. Organize the email you receive into a system of folders. In Pine, you can "[s]ave" to folders of your choice. In this way, you can keep track of your class mail and distinguish it from other mail.

10. USE ASCII. Send documents as standard ASCII files. Don't attach them to messages as encoded files that require special decoding software. Most of your readers won't have the necessary software or skills to do the decoding. Also, when sending files created in your personal word processing program, e.g., MS Word for Windows, save the file "as text" or "as text with linefeed" before sending them via email.