INPUT ARTICLE: Article: It's always nice to be able to put a face to a name, and in an online course, the feeling of community has to form in a different way than in a traditional class. You can usually add a photo to your profile so it shows every time you post, or you could add an additional picture to your introduction post. If you're uncomfortable with adding a photo for privacy reasons, that is okay! If it was requested by your instructor, just send them an email about your reservations to let them know why you aren't adhering to their guidelines. Because you're posting online, it can be tempting to slip into an informal way of "speaking" by using slang or loose grammar, so pay extra attention to your introduction post. Use full, complete sentences, proper grammar, and make sure to proofread before you hit "submit." Try reading what you wrote out loud to hear how it soundsthis may help you reword or restructure your introduction for the best flow. Include information about why you're in the class and about what you do during the rest of your time (either for work or for fun). For example, you could write "Hi, my name is Sharon Izzo, and I work during the day at a nursing home. When I'm not working or in class, I like to spend time with my spouse and our 3 rescue dogs." You can also share what city you live in if you're comfortable with thatmany students who are in online classes form study groups that either meet in person or online. Remember that less is moreyour classmates will be less likely to read 5 paragraphs than they would 1 succinct paragraph. This is the best way to start building rapport with everyone. Reach out to others who live in the same area or who share the same interests as you. Chances are if you're in the same program, you might have multiple courses with them over the next 1 or 2 years. Having an active presence in your online class will make your overall experience more gratifying, and it'll also help you engage more with the material.

SUMMARY: Add a photo if you haven't done so already. Keep your tone friendly and professional. Share personal and professional information. Respond to your classmates' posts.

INPUT ARTICLE: Article: Your veterinarian can provide you with drugs to ease the vomiting. Since you can only treat the symptoms of parvo, not the actual disease, this step is one of the most important to provide comfort for your dog. Your dog may also need a medication to control diarrhea. Brace your dog against your body or a wall. Use one arm to hold him. Fill the syringe with the amount recommended on the bottle. Insert it gently between the cheek and teeth. Slowly push in the plunger. Let the medication drain into your dog's mouth. Though antibiotics will not do anything for the parvo, they will stop another infection from taking over. Your doctor can provide you with antibiotics, as well. Follow the directions on the bottle, and give the liquid orally as provided in the previous step. If your dog is particularly severe, your vet may need to provide pain relief, as well. You give this medication the same way as the others as needed. One study found that a using a certain medication regimen at home greatly increased a dog's chances of surviving. The first part of the regimen is giving a strong anti-nausea drug, Maropitant, once a day. The other part of the regimen is having the vet give one dose of long-lasting antibiotic under the skin when the dog is diagnosed (Convenia), and then having the pet parent give subcutaneous fluids 3 times every day. Ask your vet if these drugs are right for your dog.

SUMMARY: Slow down the vomiting. Give antibiotics. Provide pain relief. Try the new parvo protocol recommended by Colorado State.

INPUT ARTICLE: Article: Turn your oven onto a bake or fan bake setting and let it preheat for a few minutes. Find a baking tray with shallow sides and lightly grease it. Transfer your ham steaks to the baking tray and brush one side with your chosen glaze. Carefully flip them over, and lightly brush the ham steaks with the glaze on the other side. For more glaze and little more flavor, you can continue applying glaze every 5-10 minutes while the ham steaks cook. Put the baking tray with your ham steaks on it in the oven, and let them cook for around 25 minutes. Check the ham steaks as they cook until they are browned on either side and heated all the way through. Take your ham steaks out of the oven and transfer to a serving plate to eat immediately. Any leftovers can be kept in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. Be careful when taking the baking tray out of the oven, as it will be very hot. Use oven mitts or a kitchen towel to avoid touching it directly. For extra flavor, add another layer of glaze just before serving your ham steaks.

SUMMARY: Preheat your oven to 350F (177C) and prepare a pan. Glaze your ham steaks and place them on the tray. Bake the ham steaks for 20 to 25 minutes. Serve your ham steaks while they're hot from the oven.

INPUT ARTICLE: Article: You should read it without making any kind of marks. Instead, focus on really understanding what the author is trying to say. This might mean that you need to read one sentence or paragraph more than once. You might also want to reread the whole piece. That's fine. This will help you start to put the piece's arguments in your own words. You can also ask yourself what point or points or themes come up throughout the entire piece. The title can also give you a tip as to the main point of the piece. The author might also state their thesis more plainly by saying something like "my argument is...." or I believe... In a fiction piece, the author will more likely emphasize themes. So if you notice that love - discussions or descriptions of it, for example - come up a lot, one of the main points of the piece is probably love. Once you know for sure what the author's main point is, reread the piece, looking for the ways they support that point. You can find supporting material by looking for details that refer to the title, surprises in the argument or plot, repetition, or a lot of attention to details such as descriptions of characters (if any). Write down each time something like this occurs. To put something in your own words, write it down as if you were explaining or describing it to a friend. In that case, you wouldn't just read what the author wrote. Do the same when you're writing down the major points in your own words. You only need to know what they're arguing. So, for example, say the author's main argument is: "The U.S. Civil Rights Movement actually began in the 1950s." They might say that black women's boycott of mass transit is an example of this. You only need to note the black women's boycott, not the examples of that boycott that the author uses. For fiction pieces, this means avoiding rewriting every single thing that happens in the piece. Focus instead on the major plot points and the main motivator for those points. Don't include everything that happens to the character along the way.

SUMMARY:
Read the piece thoroughly. Write down what you think the main point of the piece is. Reread the piece, taking notes on the major points of it. Don't focus on the evidence that the author uses to support those points.