Welcome to BUS-123, Introduction to Investments

Welcome to BUS-123, Introduction to Investments

My name is Frank Paiano and I am the instructor for your class. All of us at Southwestern Community College are very happy and honored that you are enrolled in our class. Thank you!

You Do Not Need Any Prior Investment Experience to Take This Class!

If you are at all worried about taking this class, let us put your mind at ease. This is an Introduction to Investments class. You do not need any prior investment experience. We start from the very beginning with the question: What is an investment? Whatever you have seen or heard on television, whatever your brother-in-law, Mr. Know-It-All-Investor, has confused you with, whatever in the past you thought you believed or understood or were baffled by, please leave it all behind you. Again, we start from the very beginning. Here is a quote from someone who found our presentations on iTunes:

"I graduated from Emerson College last year as a journalism major and my first job out of college has somehow led me to a position at an asset management firm. I know absolutely nothing about investing and after listening to the first lesson I already feel more confident in the work I do and the jargon I run into. I'm looking forward to finishing the series and finally getting a grip on this industry!"
-- Unsolicited Comment from an iTunes Viewer

So sit back and relax. Before we start on the class content, we need to introduce you to Canvas and, of course, Your Humble Instructor. Here is a video introduction of myself:

Video on Class Web Site - Video with Closed Captioning (CC) -- Audio on class web site

As you will see in our class, there is often more than one way to listen to or view the same media file. The chapter presentations are available on the class website, www.wonderprofess.com, and on YouTube. Apple is phasing out iTunes so we say goodbye to this platform. In the past pre-Covid, we always used 3CMediaSolutions to create ADA-compliant closed captioning. Because of Covid, 3CMediaSolutions can no longer close caption all the video we are creating. Therefore, we are only using 3CMediaSolutions for classes that have individuals who need closed captioning. Please contact us immediately if you need closed captioning. One of the advantages of using the class website or YouTube is you can change the speed of the video and "speed up" the lesson. Several students have told me that it made the videos far less boring and tedious, oops!, uh, I mean, far more interesting and exciting.

Ready to Get Started?

You are ready to begin our journey. We begin the class with the Introduction: Our First Step in this Journey, the Introduction Module. This module introduces you to our class, the syllabus, distance education for those taking an online class for the first time, and to Canvas, our Classroom Management System (CMS). Again, thank you for being in our class. We are glad that you are here! We will do our best to make this the Best Class You Have Ever Taken! (I know. That sounds a bit over the top but it is very sincere. Stick with us!)

Start Here

Instructor Contact Information:

Please contact me and we can make an appointment to meet in person, over the phone, via the Zoom Room Virtual Office, or at a location that is convenient for you.
E-mail: fpaiano@swccd.edu (Preferred method of contact by most online students. 24-hour response Monday through Friday)
URL: https://www.wonderprofessor.com
Skype: WonderProfessor
Chula Vista Office: 18A-112, formerly 210H (Someday the campus will reopen, right? We shall see!)
Office Hours: If these times are not good for you, please contact me and we can make an appointment!
At least five Thursdays Nights 7:00 to 7:55 pm Online in the Zoom Room Virtual Office
URL: https://cccconfernow.zoom.us/j/212931852 (Similar to Skype but much better.)
Office phone: 619-421-6700 x5692 (Email is better.)
Home phone: 619-223-5264 (Email is better. Please leave a message. Speak clearly! Identify who you are and which class you are taking. Thank you for your cooperation.)