Your WinXP (Active Directory) ‘User name’ will be your MEID, and your WinXP password will be your last name with the 1st letter capitalized.  You may be prompted to change your password upon initial login.  For ease of use you may want to make your WinXP password the same as your MEID password.

You can find your Blackboard username by clicking Blackboard on our home page:

• On the internet, go to EMCC’s homepage at http://www.estrellamountain.edu
• Click the Blackboard link near the top of the EMCC homepage.
• Click on the blue New User button at the bottom left of the screen.
• Under step 1, “Find your new Blackboard UserID and Password”, click the student link (if you are working for one of the district colleges follow the instructions for faculty/staff).
• At the Student Personal Administration Tool screen, click on the First Visit? Discover Your MEID and Set Your Password link to continue.
• At the Maricopa Enterprise ID Lookup screen, complete steps one and two and then click Next.
• >At the Set Password and Challenge Questions screen, complete the final steps to find your login information.
• Write down your UserID (MEID) and your password and keep it in a safe place.
• Under Useful Links select BlackBoard to proceed.
• Click on “Estrella Mountain Community College” from the list and log in.
• If you still have problems logging in or finding your UserID (MEID) and password for Maricopa’s Blackboard, please click on Student Help or call 1-888-994-4433 to get assistance.

Call the Information Commons Help Desk at 623-935-8150.

From the Estrella Mountain home page Click on My.maricopa.edu. Click the Login tab and follow the link for 'Forgot your MEID?' or 'Forgot your password?'.

From the Estrella Mountain home page Click on Quick Links and select Register Wireless Devices. Click on Register your device and follow the instructions. Your 'Active Directory UserID' and 'Active Directory Password' are the WinXP username and password you use to logon to the EMCC campus computers.

Most programs use File and Print from the Main Menu. Also, you can right click on the screen you want to print and click Print. In the Information Commons, computer pods are defaulted to printers A, B, X, and Y. When you choose print in the printer name field, it tells you which printer will be printing your document.

Instructions for contacting your instructor are on the Welcome announcement when you first log into Blackboard or in the Syllabus. Also, by clicking on the Instructor button in Blackboard, you will see information about your Instructor. Students are encouraged to create their own email accounts which can be accessed through the Internet. Free email accounts are available through providers such as Yahoo (www.Yahoo.com) and Hotmail (www.msn.com). Instructions on how to create these free email accounts are at these websites. For more information view this tutorial

When you register for classes at EMCC you get a credit of $25 which means you can print 250 pages. When you have $0 balance you will need to go to registration and pay for printing and come to the Information Commons desk to show the receipt. A technician will add the dollar amount to your account.

Most often Blackboard assignments are submitted in the assignment page at the View/Complete link. Occasionally Blackboard courses are arranged so that assignments are submitted in the Digital Dropbox or send via email. The Digital Dropbox is found under the Tools button. Whether using the View/Complete link or the Digital Dropbox, the procedures for submitting assignments are similar.

After clicking on the View/Complete link (or the Digital Dropbox button), read the Assignment Information at the top of the page, to make sure you fully understand the requirements for completing the assignment. At the Comments area, enter your assignment title and include your full name. At the File to Attach textbox, click the Browse button; choose File then a dialog box will open, allowing for the selection of the file you need to send from your storage drive. After the file is selected, additional files can be added by clicking Add Another File. After all the files are added, click the Submit button. You will then receive a message stating that the file has been successfully submitted. By clicking Tools, then My Grades you should see the ! Mark; this shows that you submitted your assignment.

When one or more files must be compressed before sending through the Blackboard, follow these steps:
1. Right click on the blank area on your desktop, select new, then select folder. Name your folder. Next, select and drag your files into the folder. It is important to verify that all files required to complete the assignments are saved within this folder and that all documents are labeled correctly. Remember that once you submit your file you cannot return to add another file.
2. Now, right click on the folder then select Send to and then select compressed folder. A zipped folder will be saved in the same location.

To Start Microsoft Word click on Start then, Programs then, Microsoft Office, then Microsoft Office Word 2007. A new Word document will come up. Align right and type your Name, and the information your professor required (Class, Assignment #, Date, Professor Name). Click the Center button and Bold and type your title. Press enter and align left. Click File then Page Setup and set all the margins to 1”. Click on the Layout tab and under Headers and Footers mark different first page and click OK. Click on Format and under Line Spacing click double. Most of the college professors prefer double spacing. Start typing your paper and save the file every 5 minutes. To number your pages click View then select Headers and Footers. Align right and type your Last Name then click Insert and select Page Numbers.

To Start Adobe Photoshop click on Start menu, Programs, Adobe, then Adobe Photoshop CS2/CS3.  When the program loads, click on the File menu, then Open.  Select the file that you wish to work on, click Open.  With the picture displayed on the screen. Select the Image menu, select Image Size.  On the Image Size dialog box in the Document Size section, the Width and Height of the document’s displayed.  Highlight the value in either Width or Height, and alter the value to your preference. Note, that when you change one of the values, the other changes automatically and proportionately. Once you have altered your document, click OK. 

To eliminate unwanted portions of your image, we will use the Crop tool.  On the far left side of your screen you will see a vertical toolbar. Locate the Crop tool.  Hovering your mouse over each icon will display the tools name. In Photoshop CS2 the Crop tool is on the left column, the third icon from the top. In Photoshop CS3 it is the fifth icon from the top.  With the Crop tool selected, click and drag a rectangle surrounding the area of the image that you would like to capture. When you release the mouse button, you’ll see a dashed line marquee with selection “handles” on the corners and the middle of each side. You can hold your cursor over these handles and drag them to adjust the size of your selection.  When your marquee is where you want it, double click inside the marquee and the image will be cropped.  The area outside of this marquee is the area to be eliminated from the image. When you have completed with the changes on your image, click on the File menu, select Save. Your image is now ready to be placed into……

In PowerPoint go to the Developer tab>>In the Controls panel>>Click on the More Controls option, (the icon that looks like a hammer and wrench w/three dots under). Scroll down to Shockwave Flash Object, highlight and Click OK. With your mouse on the slide that you want the video, make a box on your slide. In the box place your mouse and right click and go to Properties. In the Properties box, (Custom) is displayed on the top. In the far right side of Custom is a button that has 3 dots on it, Click this button. In the Properties Pages dialog box, paste the URL that you copied earlier. In the URL, replace ALL(=) and (?) with the front slash(/). Click OK. Run Powerpoint.

The Learning Enhancement & Writing Center at Estrella Mountain provides free tutoring to students for the following academic areas: Liberal Arts, Social Studies, Occupational, and Developmental as well as writing support for any Estrella Mountain class. This service is to assist students with learning various strategies that promote academic success which should help them enhance their development of cognitive and problem-solving skills that will assist them in becoming independent learners.

We provide drop-in and appointment-based tutoring. To schedule an appointment with a tutor, click on this link to check available times or sign up for tutoring. Students needing accommodation for learning disabilities do need to schedule appointments through the disability office coordinator.

A tutor can sit with a student as long as needed, but keep in mind that the tutor may be helping more than one student at the same time.

There are 2 ways to get a paper critiqued:
Come to the Writing Center for in-person paper critiquing and sit down with a writing tutor.
Submit your paper through the Online Writing Center Link available on your Blackboard page. If you do not see The Online Writing Center in your Blackboard, call 623-935-8150 and ask to be enrolled.

All students must be present when their papers are being critiqued in the Learning Enhancement & Writing Center. However, online critiques may be requested through the Online Writing Center in Blackboard. Submit your paper and it will be critiqued and returned to you online within 24 - 48 hours. Help with Blackboard is available if needed by calling 623-935-8150.

Visit the LEC desk in person, call the center at 623-935-8189, or make an online reservation through our online link http://www.emc.maricopa.edu/ctl/tl_form.asp or call the LEC desk at 623-935-8189.

Tests must be completed in one sitting, allow yourself the time you need to complete them.

It is possible; however, books often change from semester to semester. Therefore, you will need to check with the LEC desk personnel or call the center at 623-935-8189.

Go to the web site http://www.estrellamountain.edu/ctl/tl_form.asp or call the LEC desk at 623-935-8189.

Our tutors are comprised of a diverse group of individuals. Many of our tutors are student peers, adjunct faculty, community members, and full-time staff.  These individuals have academic experiences and degrees in their tutoring subject area, which, in turn, assists in the development of the student’s academic success.

We’re here to help you as you work to become a more effective writer. We don’t write or edit papers; instead we try to help you learn writing strategies that work for you.

When you get your paper back, you’ll see areas that have been highlighted in yellow, text that has been added in brackets {}, and comments at the end. Your tutor will concentrate on areas that seem to be causing you the most trouble and on areas that you ask for help on. At the end of the critique, you’ll see the Online Writing Center logo.

After you read the comments and suggestions, you can work on revising your paper. As you go through this process, you’ll be strengthening your writing skills and (we hope) developing more confidence in your writing ability.

Call us at (623) 935-8150 and give us your name and your Blackboard username. It just takes a few seconds for us to enroll you in the course.

Once you click on the Online Writing Center course in Blackboard, you’ll see a page with complete instructions. Before you start to submit, make sure your document is saved either in Microsoft Word or Rich Text Format.

You need to click on the Online Critique button, then on Digital Drop Box, then on Send a File. (Make sure you click send a file, not add a file!) Then fill out the form.

• Include your name in the Title section.
• Use the Comments section to tell us about your writing assignment and about the type of help you want or any areas of concern. The more information you give us about the type of writing you are working on and the type of assistance you want, the better we will be able to help you.

There are several things you can do to optimize your Online Writing Center experience.

• Include information about your writing assignment (in the Comments section)—it’s much easier for us to give you helpful suggestions and ideas if we know exactly what you are trying to accomplish
• Submit early—revision is an essential part of writing, and you’ll need time to consider the response to your paper and then revise your paper.
• Make sure that you tell us (in the Comments section) exactly what you’d like us to focus our critique on. We can’t cover every issue without overwhelming you, so you can help make sure that your response is useful by directing the tutor to concentrate on certain areas.
• Consider submitting multiple drafts or using the in-person Writing Center too. Since writing is a process, sometimes it helps to get reactions to your paper as you work through the process.

We try to return papers within 24 hours—longer on weekends and holidays. During busy periods (before midterms and finals) we might not always get every paper back within 24 hours, so try not to wait until the last minute to submit it.

Instructors know that writing is a challenging process and may want to make sure that you take advantage of the free, easy writing support that is available. When you are immersed in the process of writing a paper, it can be hard for you to look at it objectively.

By submitting your paper to the Online Writing Center, you get a fresh perspective on what you’ve written. A trained tutor will be able to help you see ways you can improve your paper through revision. Since effective writers know that revision is an essential part of the writing process, your instructor may be trying to encourage you to spend time revising your work before you turn it in for a grade.

We usually return papers within 24 hours—longer on weekends and holidays. So, if you think you should have gotten a response already, make sure you are checking correctly. Get into the Online Writing Center course in Blackboard, click on Online Critique, then on Digital Dropbox. Your critique will have a new title (the original title + some additional letters.) Click on the file, save it to your computer, and then open it.

If the paper isn’t there, call the Writing Center at (623) 935-8189. Sometimes technical problems make it impossible to open files, and we can help diagnose and fix the problem.

Most likely, you submitted your paper in a word processing format that we couldn’t access. You can avoid this problem by submitting papers in Microsoft Word. If you don’t have access to Microsoft Word, you’ll need to save your document in Rich Text Format (RTF) before you send it. You can do this by going to Save As, going to the pull-down menu that controls document type, and selecting Rich Text Format or RTF.

We are able to offer students unlimited use of the Online Writing Center. In fact, we encourage you to submit different drafts of the same paper if that will help you. Or you can submit as many different papers as you want. The only requirement is that the papers be for an Estrella Mountain course.

Certainly! In fact, lots of students like to use both. Some prefer the in-person attention when they are working on early drafts and then use the Online Writing Center for more finished drafts. Try combining the services to see what works best for you.