Welcome!

Hello future ASL signers,

My name is Mr. (William) Blais and I have been teaching ASL at COD for the past 6 years.  I am excited to welcome you to American Sign Language for beginners.  You are entering a fascinating world of sign language, Deaf history, and Deaf culture.  In the next 16 weeks I hope you will become as amazed by ASL as I have been.  There is a lot of work to be done, but I am here to help you and guide you on this wonderful adventure.  Good luck to all of you.

ABOUT THIS COURSE
This course is completely online and asynchronous, which means the materials will be available for you to access when it best fits your schedule.  However, there are due dates to make note of so the work is completed on time.

This is a 5 credit course in which you should expect to spend about 10-12 hours per week on coursework, practice, videos and projects. We’ll be using the textbook, Signing Naturally Student Workbook Units 1-6, 2008 by Smith, Lentz, and Mikos.

You will be learning how to communicate in ASL through fingerspelling, and how to communicate about many different topics including introductions, numbers, family members, and more. 

ACCESSING THIS COURSE
For the online portion of the course, we will use the CANVAS Learning Management System, which you can access through the College of the Desert homepage.  There is also a link on the home page of canvas to 24/7 tech support if you are having any problems with the CANVAS system.

GETTING STARTED
Once you have accessed  the class, check out the HOME page, which will give you more information about our course Check-in requirement. You may check in beginning Tuesday August 17 at 9:00 am. Navigate through the course to familiarize yourself with the layout.  If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me via email as soon as possible.  You’ll find more detailed information about the course itself in the SYLLABUS link on the main menu.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES/LINKS
Online courses are required to meet ADA accessibility guidelines. This means that all aspects of the online
learning experience are accessible. Please let me know if you have adaptive software and hardware to
assist you with taking this course or if you have any specific needs I should be aware of. The COD Disabled
Students Programs and Services Department is available to assist you during this course. You
can also email dspsinfo@collegeofthedesert.edu or call (760) 862-1395 for assistance.

CONTACT
If you have any general questions about this class, you can contact me through CANVAS
CONVERSATIONS. I will respond to you within 24 hours of receipt of your message. If you are having
problems getting into your course, please contact me at wblais@collegeofthedesert.edu or (for emergencies) text by phone at (760) 880-8123.

I look forward to meeting all of you! Welcome again!
Mr. Blais