diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
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@@ -9,8 +9,8 @@ This is the Renku project for the course [Bio334](https://studentservices.uzh.ch
 2. Once logged in, go to the Bio334 "project" that Mark made:
 [https://renkulab.io/projects/mark.robinson/bio334_spring2020/](https://renkulab.io/projects/mark.robinson/bio334_spring2020/)
 3. Near the top right, click on the button to fork the project; this should bring up a box where you can modify the name (you don't need to) and you can click on the 'Fork' button, putting you on the landing page of your (new) project.
-4. Click on the environments tab, then 'New' to open a new environment. Hopefully, it shows "Docker image available". For Python or command line work, select /lab; for R work, select, /rstudio (you can always switch back and forth). Leave the number of CPUs at 0.25 and Memory at 1G. Click 'Start environment'. This may take a couple minutes to boot up.
-5. Once it's loaded, 'Connect' to the environment. This should open a new browser window with a web link that looks like:  
+4. Click on the environments tab, then 'New' to open a new environment. Hopefully, it shows "Docker image available"; if not, perhaps it says "Docker Image building", which is also ok (it might take a couple of minutes to build and then turn to "Docker image available"); if you get a message, ask Mark or one of the TAs and we will try and find out why. For Python or command line work, select /lab; for R work, select, /rstudio (you can always switch back and forth). Leave the number of CPUs at 0.25 and Memory at 1G. Click 'Start environment'. This may take a couple minutes to boot up.
+5. Once it's loaded, 'Connect' to the environment. For "Default Environment", you can choose `/lab` or `/rstudio` for the entry point, but for the early part of the course, `/lab` is probably more convenient (but you can always go back and forth). Keep "Number of CPUs" at 0.25 and "Amount of Memory" at 1G. This should open a new browser window with a web link that looks like:  
 https://renkulab.io/[snip]/bio334_spring2020-198a8763/rstudio/  
 https://renkulab.io/[snip]/bio334_spring2020-198a8763/lab/