Visit http://gatewayid.umsl.edu and click "Search for ID", or from the MyGateway login page (http://mygateway.umsl.edu) click on the "Gateway ID Search" button. Type in your student number and your Social Security Number and click on "Search." The next page will show your Gateway login ID.  For new students, you will have to choose a password the first time you access your account.

If you have previously accessed your MyGateway account and have changed your password, use the new password that you specified for this account. If you have used dial in access from home and have changed your password, you must use the new password that you specified.

Using MyGateway:
The MyGateway (http://mygateway.umsl.edu) online course management system was introduced here at UM-St. Louis at the beginning of fall semester 2000.  MyGateway provides all students and faculty with access to course materials, and a variety of programs that enable classroom communication and interaction using virtually any computer with a current web browser, and an Internet connection. 

To login to MyGateway:
1. Go to the web page http://mygateway.umsl.edu.

2. Click on the "Login" button.

3. Type in your login ID (Gateway ID) and password.

4. After logging on to the MyGateway system you will be brought to your "MyGateway" page.  From this page you can access most of the features of the MyGateway system, and all of your classes at UM-St. Louis, as well as a variety of other campus resources.

Class Announcements, Calendar events, and Task lists are available here, as well as a list of the courses you are taking, and campus organizations you have joined. The "Student" tab provides you with access to most all online services and resources here at UM-St. Louis. The "E-mail" tab allows you to access your campus email. You will also find links on your MyGateway main page that allow you to check your official grades at the end of each semester.

5. Additionally, you can add various content elements to your my Gateway page by clicking on the "Content" button found near the upper right-hand side of the page.

6. In the "My Courses" area on the "MyGateway" page, click on our class name, and you will access the class MyGateway site.  The first page displayed is typically "Announcements."  Here you will see all class related announcements, including the availability of online progress evaluations, and other class related news (Old announcements may be viewed by clicking the "View All" tab at the top of the page).  The links on the left-hand side of the screen give you access to a variety of tools and documents that your instructor has created for your class. 

The areas available, and some of the items you might find include:

Faculty Information: Contact information for your course instructor and teaching assistants. 

Course Information

Syllabus: Read the Syllabus carefully! Reading Assignments and Class Schedule: Includes the class reading schedule and allows you to know what is going to be discussed on what day.  Pay particular attention to this schedule! Teaching Assistants: Includes name, phone number, email, office location, and office hours of all teaching assistants. Grading Policies: Includes information about grading options, make-up exams, delayed grades, extra credit, student participation, and student conduct. Class Home Page: Includes links to class material, roksworld, information resources, and sociology links.

Course Documents:

Reading Assignments and Class Schedule: Includes the class reading schedule and allows you to know what is going to be discussed on what day.  Pay particular attention to this schedule! Virtual Handouts: in development Class Discussion Questions

Lecture Notes: A link to all online lecture notes.

Assignments:

Reading Assignments and Class Schedule: Includes the class-reading schedule and allows you to know what is going to be discussed on what day.  Pay particular attention to this schedule! Syllabus Quiz Online Tests: One folder contains online tests for the day and evening sections, the other contains tests for the VIP sections.

Wimba: Access to the Wimba Live Classroom and Archives

Discussion Board: This link allows you to access all forums and postings on the discussion board. 

To access a forum simply click on the title of the forum (General Discussion, etc.) To read a post click on the name of the post, not the name of the person. Old Messages: You may access old messages by entering the archives. Creating A New Thread: To add a new thread or topic to a forum click "Add New Thread" at the top left. Type your message and click "Submit." Adding to a Thread:You may reply to existing messages by clicking "Reply", typing your message, and then by clicking "Submit".

Communication:

Class email sending utility. Access to student web pages (via the Class Roster) The class discussion board for online discussion (there may also be a button that takes you directly to the Discussion Board) The virtual classroom program for synchronous online discussions and presentations-we may use this feature later in the semester.

Tools:

"My Grades" gives your access to your current class grades (quiz and "raw" test scores are automatically entered). The class calendar A class-based personal web page editing utility-you can create a personal web page that the rest of the class can access through the class roster in the Communications area. A student manual that will tell you more about the MyGateway system. Other resources and tools.

Course Map: a map of the entire class MyGateway site

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Wimba: Wimba Live Classroom is an online, synchronous learning tool we will be using this semester. Wimba allows students to "attend" a live class via the Internet, and it also allows me to archive class sessions so that students can access and review the recordings. There is a short tutorial on using Wimba on the main Wimba page in the class MyGateway site and additional help at http://www.wimba.com/services/support/. You can contact Wimba Technical Support by phone (toll-free): 866.350.4978 or email: technicalsupport@wimba.com. And, see the Wimba Participant's Guide or click on the help ("?") icon once you have started up the Wimba program. For further assistance with Wimba, MyGateway and other online tools, see these tutorials (they "walk you through" using Wimba).

You'll find a link to Wimba on the navigation menu of our course MyGateway site. To attend a live course session, you will need a computer with Internet access, as well as speakers and a microphone (a headset works best). Be sure to run the "Set Up Wizard" to insure your computer is properly configured for the Wimba Live Classroom interface. To review archived class sessions, you'll just need speakers. Any student is invited to participate via the live class sessions (face-to-face or via WImba), and all students are expected to review recorded archives if they cannot attend a live class session.

Be sure to run the "set-up" wizard the first time you try to access the live class room or an archive to insure your computer is properly configured.

All class sessions will be broadcast live via Wimba. Login a bit early and insure your speakers and microphone are working properly.

Click on the "Wimba" link on the course navigation menu (left-hand column on main MyGateway class page) Click on the "Live Classroom" link. Click on the "Enter Room" button (you'll also see links for the "Setup Wizard" ). When you leave the archive, be sure to click the "Exit" link (located just above and to the right of the "people listing" and Prof. Keel's photo in the lower right-hand corner of the "Live Classroom" window).

To review archived class session, you'll just need speakers (headphones work best):

Click on the "Wimba" link on the course navigation menu (left-hand column on main MyGateway class page) Click on the "Live Classroom" link. (first item on the page) Scroll down the page--you'll find a list of archive class sessions under the heading: "Here is the list of the recorded archives for this room:"

Please Note:

1. You can download mp3 and mp4 files of the Wimba archives for playback on Ipods and home computers.
2. I CANNOT track these downloads or playbacks and therefore CANNOT assign attendance points for using these file formats (Soc. 1010 students--see the class syllabus for more details on attendance and participation expectations). HOWEVER, if you cannot access the online archives or cannot attend the live class, reviewing the MP3 or MP4 recordings will provide you with access to course content, AND you can earn additional engagement point by making additional contributions to the weekly class discussion forum (beyond what is expected for the course). See, the Online and In-Class Participation--Sign of Life (SOL) section in the course syllabus (accessible from the listing here) and contact Prof. Keel for details. Click on the blue arrow to the right of the archive name to "Enter" the archived recording. When you leave the archive, be sure to click the "Exit" link (located just above and to the right of the "people listing" and Prof. Keel's photo in the lower right-hand corner of the "Live Classroom" window).
3. Playbacks of archived sessions must be played back prior to the following class session or at least within seven days, if you don't want to be considered absent. For a class that meets at 9:30 AM on Tuesday, you need to have the archived reviewed by 9:30 AM on the following Tuesday. You also need to complete a full, 75 minute review.
4. Wimba tracks the length of your playback. Partial playbacks will receive partial credit. When you leave the archive, be sure to click the "Exit" link (located just above and to the right of the "people listing" and Prof. Keel's photo in the lower right-hand corner of the "Live Classroom" window). If your playbacks indicate excessively long (over 2 hours) connection times, you will not recieve attendance credit and we will contact you to discuss how you are using this important utility. Class attendance scores will be updated on a regular basis. If you note a discrepancy between your Wimba activity and your attendance score, you can contact Prof. Keel or the class TAs to discuss the problem.
5. If you have to pause a playback, note that the timer keeps on running--extended pauses will show too long a playback and you may not receive credit. If it happens once or twice, just let the TAs know. If it happens more frequently, you are going to need to find a way to focus on the archives and complete a normal review. You can stop (always stop then click "Exit") and restart archives to complete a playback. You can use the “Appshare markers" to navigate around in an archive, however you may get the audio and web page sharing out of synch—it usually clears up after a while—but pausing and restarting can sometimes help.  You can also open another browser window, navigate to the page we are discussing, and follow along on your own.
6. Any student is invited to participate via the live interface (all class sessions will use Wimba). All students are encouraged to use the recorded sessions in their studies for the course.  Students who fail to attend a live class session (for whatever reason) must use the archive feature of Wimba to receive credit for attendance.

There are so many variables that effect Wimba’s performance when playing back the archives and participating in the live class.  Internet clutter, your connection speed, the performance of your computer, etc.  Make sure you run the “Wizard” to insure your computer is up-to-date.  It’s also important to insure you aren’t running other programs and have a good, stable internet connection (use a wired connection if possible--wireless can be iffy). 

The audio quality can be hit or miss—it helps if you use headphones or ear buds, and insure you have all the audio settings on your computer properly adjusted and the volume turned up.  I can also screw-up.  I try to keep the microphone close to my mouth so it picks up the what I have to say, but that means hearing other students is iffy—I try to either repeat or incorporate what the students have to say into my follow-ups.  When they sit way across the room, there’s just not much I can do—sometimes I can’t even hear them ;-) That’s why I encourage students to sit close to the aisle where I am located.

Always insure you have the Wimba window maximized on your screen--otherwise the web page sharing may not display well. If you lose the web page sharing or audio--wait a bit. If it doesn't come back, it might be best to log out (click "Exit") and restart the program.

If you have problems accessing or using Wimba, you can contact Wimba Technical Support by phone (toll-free): 866.350.4978 or email: technicalsupport@wimba.com. And, see the Wimba Participant's Guide or click on the help ("?") icon once you have started up the Wimba program. For further assistance with Wimba, MyGateway and other online tools, see these tutorials (they "walk you through" using Wimba). Plus, don't forget there is a short tutorial on using Wimba on the main Wimba page in the class MyGateway site and additional help at http://www.wimba.com/services/support/.