I believe that it's possible to sign up for a Google Group using a non-GMail account (I've done so for other Groups with my Hotmail account, and while it was a bit tricky, it did eventually work).

For ease-of-reference, here's the group's URL:

http://groups.google.com/group/ccc_bit_142_2008fa

Email Address:

For this class, you are required to send the professor an email address, and you are required to check that email address at least once every 24 hours.  The easiest way to do this is to send the professor an email at MPanitz@cascadia.edu, from the email address that you plan on checking (this doesn't have to be the Cascadia-provided email address - anything that you read sufficiently frequently is great).

In this email, please put the following:

In the Subject: line, please put the name of this class (BIT 142)

In the Body , please put your name (first and last), especially if your email address is unrelated to your name.