Margie Lawson
Make your writing soar
If this is your first class, this page will help you find your way around. If you're returning, you may discover some cool new features. We are always updating our classroom to make sure that it uses the latest technology.
Logging in should be as smooth as my miniature dachshund's ears.
My dachshund has two ears. So does my website.
One ear...er...section is the main website where you buy classes. You log in from this link. There are buttons there to help you reset your password if you need help.
After you are logged in, click "Go to Classroom" and you'll go to the classroom "ear" of the website. You'll see a picture of your class on the bottom of the page. Click the picture and you're in class! Note: if your class hasn't started yet, it may be in the "future" tab.
How to Download Files:
Teachers will add downloadable files to the classes. Click on the file icon and you'll see the download arrow sending the file to your downloads. The icon may look different depending on what type of file it is. Common files are PDFs, zips (collections of files), doc files, and even epubs.
How to post your assignment or comment:
Inside a forum, click on Add a new discussion topic.
Type your assignment or comment in the new comment box.
If your teacher needs you to submit a file for class, you can drag the file from your desktop and drop it right on the blue arrow.
Let's talk a bit about the icons in that editor window. We have some fun features. The little down arrow will open up a second row with even more options!
While you are in the forum working, if you hover over each of the icons, you'll see a hint at what they do. You won't need all of those, and some may be familiar from your word processing programs.
There are a couple of them that are unique to LWA.
To Reply to a message -- Click on Reply in the lower right hand corner of any post to share your input and encouragement.
Top of the page, upper right.
Edit Your Profile:
Top of the page, upper right.
Now click on "Edit Profile":
Change whatever you want in the settings at the top.
There is one very important exception. Do not change your email address on this page. You may be locked out of your class. Please change your email address only from your "Account" page on MargieLawson.com. If you need help, contact the webmaster.
Then scroll down to upload a picture.
Just drag your picture from your desktop and drop it onto that blue arrow. Once your picture is in your profile, it's there for all of your Lawson Writer's Academy courses.
While you are on that page, you may want to save your timezone. These are listed strangely, organized by Continent. That may make it hard to find where you live. If you live in either North or South America, look through America. Cities are alphabetical. You may not find your city. Just pick one that is in the same timezone that you live in. Sadly, this is coming from the software and we can't make it easier. It doesn't show anywhere. Just pick something in your timezone.
Scroll down and tap "Update Profile" to save your changes.
The system has some default preferences set for you. You may want to change these so that it works more the way you want it to.
From the upper right menu, choose "preferences":
The most common area that people want to edit is their forum preferences.
Here are the most commonly preferred settings on that page:
The Email digest type controls how often you'll receive emails when people post in the forums. You can choose to receive an email every time someone posts. If you are in an active class, this can be overwhelming. If you choose Complete, you'll receive one email a day with all posts to class forums that you are subscribed to for the last 24 hours.
Forum auto-subscribe lets you choose whether you want the system to automatically subscribe you to a forum or not. When you are in a forum, there will be buttons where you can manually adjust these settings.
Digest emails can be useful to refer to later when you review the class material.
Forum tracking lets you add a light yellow highlight to new posts that you haven't seen yet. You can also set the system to mark any that have been sent in your digest as already read if you'd like.
A word about digests: sometimes they get lost in your spam filter. Check there first if you aren't getting your digest.
Don't forget to hit "Save changes" at the bottom of the page when you are done.
You might feel a little disoriented in the beginning, just like you did on the first day of classes on a new campus. You'll soon know your way around.
Questions? Contact my virtual assistant Jenn Windrow. She'll be your GPS.
Enjoy your class!
© 2023 Margie Lawson, all rights reserved.