Getting Started

Welcome to the online course Conservation in the 21st Century. This Website is the hub of the course. Assignments will be posted in the assignments area and announcements will be posted regularly on the home page. To be successful in this course, it's important that you begin by carefully reading all the pages of this site.

Next Steps

  1. Read the syllabus thoroughly.
  2. Read the blog and wiki page instructions carefully (links on the left).
  3. Go to "Assignments" link (on the left) to get started in the course
  4. Send an EMail to your "buddy" to say "Hi." See the "buddy list" below.

We really want to emphasize that if you are having any trouble working with any part of the course, email Deane at Deane.Wang@uvm.edu. He will try to answer your questions as promptly as he can.

A few things to remember... currently Vermont is 13 hours behind Beijing, so the time difference needs to be taken into consideration. Assignments will available Monday in the morning (often posted on Sunday). Student responses should be posted/entered by Wednesday at 10 AM in Beijing = Tuesday at 9 PM in Vermont. Student comments, summaries, and/or syntheses should be posted/entered by Thursday at 10 AM in Beijing = Wednesday 9 PM in Vermont. The same schedule holds for the end of the week assignment schedule: Firday 10 AM Beijing = Thursday 9 PM Vermont for responses; Saturday 10 AM Beijing = Friday 9 PM Vermont. I will remind folks of this for the first few assignments.

Also, the course is being taught in English. This may be a bit of a challenge for students in Beijing. Please let us know what kind of challenges this may present for you by 1) EMailing Deane (deane.wang@uvm.edu), 2) indicating language problems you may be having directly in the "Comments" or on the Wiki, or 3) connecting (EMail or Skype) with your "buddy." I have set up a "buddy system" for US and Chinese students to help each other with any questions or difficulties associated with taking this course online. I expect that at first these communications will take place via EMail, but later after we discuss and practice using Skype, you might use this mechanism to help each other.

Buddy List