Hi and welcome to ISS 310 Virtual, People and the Environment. My name is Nicole Dear and I'll be your instructor this semester. As your instructor, I'm responsible for all course communication and answering any and all questions related to the course. My job is to guide you through this course, and our primary means of communication will be e mail. I encourage you to contact me at any time via my MSU E mail address. Nidhi Kalani is assisting me this semester, as you are part of a large section of students and grading projects will be a big undertaking. To help expedite this process, Ms Kalani will be responsible for overseeing your projects, assigning grades, and giving feedback. I'm really excited to be leading this course and look forward to interacting and learning with and from you all. A little about me, my background is in global health and epidemiology, but I've always been really interested and excited about maps and incorporating geography into public health questions and solutions. I'm now a third year PhD student in the Geography department and my research interests include health and medical Geography, spatial statistics, and GIS. ISS 310 is a survey of global and regional interactions among people, their geographic locations and utilization of space in the physical environment. Particular emphasis is placed on the relationships between natural systems and human society. This course is entirely online, meaning that all lesson material, assignments, and quizzes are available and completed via D2L. Please pay close attention to the schedule and the due dates listed in the syllabus. E-mail is my preferred means of contact. Please feel welcome to reach out at any time. I'm really excited for this course and the semester ahead. Talk soon.