Access to Apirc is by means of an URL. By including an URL on your website or in an email, students can connect directly into your channel.

To start the JAVA program and connect to the channel you have set-up on the vcsun server, the URL to include is http://irc.vcsun.org/irc/?channel=name. Change the word name to the channel name you have chosen.

For example, the URL for my Virtual Office in the channel DrShelia would be:

• http://irc.vcsun.org/irc/?channel=DrShelia

When you connect to the IRC server, a dialogue box will appear.

• In the "Nickname" box, type in your real name where you see "Student."
• The channel name you have selected will be entered.
• Click on "Connect."

When you connect, two Java Applet Windows will appear on your screen. They will be layered. The bottom window is the Welcoming Window that tells you that you have connected to the irc.vcsun.org server. Read the message concerning the conditions of use for the University's IRC Server.

The top window is the Channel Window in which you will be typing your comments and reading the comments of others.

After entering the Channel, type your comments in the dialogue box at the bottom of the Channel screen. Hit "enter" to make the comments appear in the Channel.

To join a different channel, click on the Join Channel button. When the Join Channel box appears, Enter the channel name and clik on OK.

To connect to my Virtual Office on the IRC Server: http://irc.vcsun.org/irc/?channel=DrShelia.