CLASSMATE HELP

REGISTERING THE FIRST TIME YOU USE CLASSMATE All students and tutors must register the first time they logon to Classmate. The form is simple and short. The data will be used to protect the system from outside use and to compile data for Classmate analysis. To register, go to the tutor homepage, click on login, then click on Register. The form will appear. Once you have filled in all of the lines, click on submit. Students will be ready to use Classmate immediately. Tutors will be able to access the site once the administrator has approved them.

FINDING A TUTOR Tutors can be found by clicking on the Subjects / Helpful Links button. Choose a subject area and click on it to find a list of available tutors. You can communicate with a tutor via t-mail (tutor mail) or live chat (if they are available). It is not necessary for you to know the tutor that assists you. If you have never communicated with any of the tutors in your subject area, simply pick one at random or ask all of them your questions. The way to compose a message to all of the tutors in a subject area is explained in the "Using T-Mail" section.

USING T-MAIL (TUTOR MAIL) Tutor mail, or T-mail, is used to communicate with tutors in an asynchronous (e-mail type messages) format. This is not an e-mail system. You cannot send regular e-mail on the Classmate system. All T-mail messages remain within Classmate and are to be concerned with tutoring only. To communicate with a tutor, go to the Subjects / Helpful Links page. Click on the subject area in which you would like to ask a question. Choose your tutor, then under the e-mail column, click on his username, it should be underlined. In the Subject line, give a brief description of your specific question. In the text area, type your question. Be sure to include what course it is for, what college you attend, and what assignment you have been given to complete (if applicable). When your message is complete, click on Send. The tutor should respond to you within 24 hours. To read his or her message to you, click on T-mail when you re-enter classmate. A message will be waiting in your personal t-mail box. To t-mail all of the tutors in a particular subject area, click on the selection boxes next to the tutors you want to use, then click on the Compose button. You can also choose to t-mail only two, three, four, etc. of the tutors in a subject area.

USING THE CLASSMATE CHAT ROOM TO COMMUNICATE LIVE WITH A TUTOR Students and tutors can communicate via a live chat room. A tutor must be available online before live chat can occur. To chat with a tutor live, go to the Subjects page. Click on the subject area in which you have a question. Look in the Chat column on the far right of your screen. If a tutor is live and currently available, this will be indicated by the presence of the word "chat" in this column. To chat with the tutor, click on the word "chat" in his or her row. The chat room will open. You may see a Java Security screen pop up that says "Granting the following is high risk: Access required by terminal emulators and other communications programs." This warning is provided to all users; there is no threat to your computer. Click on Grant and you will enter the an area where you can choose a subject (channel). Click on the down arrow and scroll to the subject you wish to discuss. Click on Connect Now! and you enter the chat room. To communicate with your tutor and anyone else in the chat room, type your text in the text bar at the bottom of the chat screen and hit Enter (on your keyboard). Your text should appear in the window above. If there are other tutors and students in the chat room, and you wish to chat with your tutor privately, double click on your tutor's name in the box on the right hand side of the chat box screen. A small chat room will open on top of the main room. You use this room the same way you use the main chat room but you are chatting with your tutor only.

FINDING A TUTOR'S SCHEDULE Students can see the schedule for live tutoring by clicking on the name of any tutor listed. This screen will indicate when tutors will be live and available to answer questions. If no tutors are available, you can t-mail your questions. See "Using T-Mail."

USING THE CLASSMATE BULLETIN BOARD TO ASK OTHER STUDENTS Classmate provides a bulletin board for students to pose question to peers who are not tutors. This will be helpful for students who have questions about particular classes, or have simple, general questions that their fellow students may be able to answer more quickly than a tutor. The questions and their answers are always available for viewing so students can access files with answers to general questions at any time. To use the bulletin board, click on the bulletin board icon on the main page. Choose or create a subject area by clicking on the down arrow. Title and type in your message. Check the bulletin board often for assistance and answers.

USING HELPFUL LINKS The helpful links page provides a plethora of useful sites on the Internet in a variety of subject areas. Mathematics, English, and Study Skills are just a few of the areas of help available. Students not able to contact a live tutor might find answers to their questions here. These links are especially useful for those who want help with study skills. There are two ways to go to the helpful links: 1) On the welcome page, click on Web Help. 2) Once you have logged in, click on the subjects, then click on the link to helpful web pages.

GUIDELINES REGARDING SUBMISSION OF PAPERS AND ESSAYS We are glad to respond to your questions about the structure of a sentence or a paragraph. Please do not send the text of an entire paper unless the tutor asks you to do so. It is important that you correct and edit the work and we provide assistance and direction only in that process. You can attach files when you compose a message to an English tutor in t-mail.

ASKING MATHEMATICS RELATED QUESTIONS IN CLASSMATE Students wishing to ask mathematics related questions or create formulas should be prepared to type out the names of symbols and signs. Examples....

Student: how do I find the circumference of a circle?

Tutor: 2 x PI x radius.

Student: what is Pythagorus's Theorem?

Tutor: a(squared) + b(squared) = c(squared).

Student: how do I solve x(superscript 3) x squareroot of 4?

Tutor: Let's take this one step at a time.

CONTACTING CLASSMATE You can contact CLASSMATE by writing us at classmate@classmate.parkland.edu . You can call us at 217-351-2287. We're here to help.