There are two types of email messages you will send the instructor, assignments and direct messages; they are handled differently. Direct messages are typically special questions to the instructor. For either type, you can use the email function in Blackboard or use your own email system to raperkins@alaska.edu. My policy is to answer direct messages within 24 hours, not counting Sunday's. These messages stay in my inbox until I answer them. The assignments, on the other hand, I transfer out of my inbox to a file for that homework or assignment. I don't open these emails until I am ready to grade all the students' homework, typically towards the end of the week they were due, but sometimes later. So it is very important to label the SUBJECT of your email correctly. If you are sending a direct message to the instructor about ESM 609, typically a question or comment that applies to you personally, label the subject line of your email "ESM 609 Question" or such. If you are sending a homework or assignment, label the subject, "ESM 609 HW1." I will always tell you how to label the homeworks.

When sending an assignment, there are three different labels that are important. First, the SUBJECT of the email, see above. The second is the FILE NAME. Most of your assignments will involve an attachment to your email, often a Word document. Here's how to label the files: For the homework for Module 8, for example, if your name is Jon Smith, the file would be SmithJ_HW8_xxxx.doc. Where the xxxx could be your file number, if you want one, or omitted. Use the underscore, not a dash or space. You need to save the file using this system. Sorry if this seems a little picky, but I get 30 or 40 assignment files on my desktop and it is much more efficient if I know what the file is about before I open it. I use the Subject line of your email to prioritize the email and determine where to stick the attachment for grading. After I transfer your attachment out of my mail program, I can see only the beginning of the file name, so I need the file name to start with your own name. Finally, as I grade the homework, I keep all the homeworks from the class open and grade one problem at a time, so it helps if you have your name on the top of the document.

If I am out-of-town, I will put an announcement on Blackboard.

Often I will comment on written assignments. I do this in a different color font, so it is easy to pickup, although sometimes defaults on your computer change the color font back to black. I hope you read the comments, but you do not need to respond to them.

My grading is generally separate from the comments. On a typical 5-point item, 4.0 would indicate a satisfactory answer that directly addresses the points required. Less than 4.0 would indicate an unsatisfactory answer. The most common reason for unsatisfactory grades is that the student did not answer the questions posed or simply left something out. A grade of 4.5 indicates several very good responses; a grade of 5.0 indicates several outstanding responses or all very good ones.

After I grade your assignment, I send it back to you, post your grades in the on-line grade book in Blackboard, and compose the Closure Submodule. That submodule has copies of questions, responses, and issues that are generated by that homework and questions to the instructor. You need to review the closure module. Some items in the closure submodule are indicated as particularly important, and these often become test items.

There are over 50 graded items for you in the semester. On some items you may get a slightly higher score than you expected, on some the opposite. I am always willing to discuss how I graded a particular item, but it is usually not a good use of our time. On the other hand, if you submit something and do not see a grade in the gradebook, or the grade in the online gradebook is different than what was on your returned assignment, please email me. This would be an example of a direct message, rather than a homework assignment.