Welcome to your course's home page! The Course Home page is the first page you will see when you click into each of your classes. Even though this is the first page of your online course, you can access many of P.L.A.T.O.'s tools from this one page. The course home page is structured to give you the ability to quickly access some of the most important components in P.L.A.T.O.
Clicking into one of your course's homepages, the page will look quite similar to P.L.A.T.O.'s Homepage. Many of the features will be the same--with a few small changes. The icons along the top of the page will be identical - except for one. Instead of seeing the 
logo, you will see the name of your course and section instead. If you click on your course's name, you will be taken back to your course's homepage.
Similar to the previous page, the News feature will be seen running down the middle of the page--this feature can be useful to see new developments in your courses, but how often it is used to up to your professor. The News section can be used to provide updates on class progress, post about assignment due dates, and give information on P.L.A.T.O. system changes.
Another great feature in P.L.A.T.O. is the Calendar. As busy as students are, deadlines and due dates are easy to miss. The Calendar shows due dates, when assignments are locked, and when discussion forums close. Keeping track of due dates and assignments can sometimes seem like a class in itself. Using the Calendar can help keep track of your classes.
The image below is the list on the right hand side of any of P.L.A.T.O.'s Course Home page. This list of links can be extremely useful to navigate through the different facets of P.L.A.T.O. However, although these links are useful, they are not a complete list all of the information contained in P.L.A.T.O. In order to find all of the information you need to succeed in your classes, you will also need to use the information contained in the Lessons, Resources, and Communication tabs.
As you go through your course work, it is important to be aware of what your classmates and faculty member are posting about. When someone posts on the discussion forum, you will be notified under the Updates heading that is located on the right hand side of your computer screen, underneath the the list of P.L.A.T.O. shortcuts that were discussed above. When someone posts, the caption will display the number of posts and read "Unread Discussion Posts." You can click on "Unread Discussion Posts" and be taken directly to your discussion lists where you can read through the other posts.
When there are no other updates, the caption under Updates will read "There are not further updates for" your class. It is strongly recommenced that you keep updated on what your fellow students and faculty member post because it will deepen your understanding of the course content and help you to see elements of your class in different ways. Being open to different ideas and opinions can help you to better grasp what you learn in class which can help you to succeed in your assignments.