SEMESTER: Spring 2011 (8 week course) PROFESSOR: Ron Page
COURSE: MATH 116 – CRN 82540 E-MAIL ADDRESS:
TITLE: College and Matrix Algebra Note: use Blackboard’s e-mail for class
COURSE ID page00143
ONLINE COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Don’t enroll in the course unless you have access, on a regular basis, to a fast, reliable computer. Please review hardware and software requirements below. Also, be aware that former students have mentioned that this course will require more independent effort, than some other online courses.A successful student spends a minimum of 6 hours a week on the computer and is extremely disciplined.
Hardware and Software:
To successfully complete this online course, you will be required to meet the minimum hardware and software requirements. View Hardware and Software Requirements.
Internet Browser:
You must use a supported Internet browser in order to successfully work in WebCT, the online course management system for this course. To see a list of supported Internet browsers, click here.
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Prerequisite: Mathematics 96 with a grade of “C” or better, or equivalent, or Assessment Skill Level M50.Advisory: English 56 with a grade of “C” or better, or equivalent, or Assessment Skill Level R5. This course is designed to strengthen the algebra skills of students seeking Business or Natural Science degrees that are required to take an applied calculus course. Topics in the course include the theory of functions; graphing functions; exponential and logarithmic functions; solving equations involving algebraic, exponential and logarithmic functions; solving systems of linear equations, matrix algebra, linear programming, modeling, and application problems. Analytical reading and problem solving are required for success in this course. (FT) Transfer Credit: CSU and/or private college/ university. UC Transfer Credit: Mathematics (MATH) 116 and 141 combined: maximum credit, four units.
COURSE MATERIALS
The following course materials may be purchased at the campus San Diego Miramar College Bookstore or online.
REQUIRED TEXTBOOK(Purchase your book as soon as possible to be ready for the first day of class)
College Algebra Enhanced with Graphing Utilities, 5ed edition, by Michael Sullivan 2009(ISBN:0321631056)
REQUIRED MEDIA
CourseCompassaccess code(free with new book). Note: Can be purchased online at CourseCompass.com.
REQUIRED
Graphing calculator. Suggestion:Texas Instruments (TI-84) or better
TEXTBOOK COVERAGE
Please note:these are the dateswhen each test will become available! A 5% bonus will be applied to your test score if you take it any day from Friday to Sunday. The date shown is a Friday, but you have 3 days for the bonus.
DATE TESTfor CHAPTER
2/4 Ch. 2 (Ch. 0 and Ch. 1 for your review)
2/11 Ch. 3
2/18 Ch. 4
2/25 Ch. 5
3/4 Ch. 6
3/11 Ch. 8
3/17 FNL (Final has to be taken by 3/19/2011ON CAMPUS)
GENERAL INFORMATION
- CourseCompass, which includes MyMathLab,will serve as your tutorial, quiz and test source. You can access CourseCompass by going to Blackboard>Course Content>CourseCompass or by the URL of CourseCompass.com (going directly is advised).Use Internet Explorer as your Browser. First time users of CourseCompass will have to follow the steps listed on the CourseCompass home page. You will need to enter the ‘Course ID Number’, listed above in red, the first time you access CourseCompass. This ID Number is unique to your Math 116 course atMiramar College.If you experience any problems in the process or have difficulty with CourseCompass please call Pearson Support at 1-888-677-6337. Keep this phone number handy for any CourseCompass difficulties.
- Read each chapter completely before starting the assignments in either your textbook or CourseCompass. For your information, Chapter 0 and Chapter 1 are review chapters with no points assigned. If you have been away from math for several years, I recommend using these chapters as a review. Work through Examples that are given in the textbook and any Exercise problems at the end of each section that you find helpful. For your information, I assign every third Exercise problem as class-work in my lecture classes. Selected answers are printed in the back of the textbook.
- After reviewing the textbook, I strongly suggest that you work in CourseCompass. Go to CourseCompass, login and explore the navigation bars on the left of the screen.I will have you use all the navigation bars except “Communication” (all communications will be in Blackboard) and “Do Homework”. In CourseCompassyou will find exercises (Study Plan problems/aka Homework points), test and quizzes (Take a Test) and closed captioned videos of lectures (Multimedia Library).I highly recommend the videos (the videos work better on larger monitors).Use this material in CourseCompass’s Study Plan along with your textbook to prepare yourself for the quizzes and tests.
- Class-work,whether it is doing CourseCompassproblems and/or using the textbook, is a very important part of your success in this course. Failing to keep up with your class-work can be an undisciplined student's downfall. Most students having difficulties are not doing their class-work, so I strongly recommended that you set a regularly scheduled time to work on this course.
- Your grade in the course will consist of six (6) CourseCompass chapter tests, twelve (12) CourseCompass quizzes, homework and a final.Typically there are two (2) quizzes for each chapterand one (1) test. You can take the quizzes any time you wish during the semester and up to 5 times, but you will need to achieve at least 70% on one of the quizzes to proceed to the next level.The chapter test (or following quiz) will be flagged until you successfully complete the preceding quiz. I suggest that youre-take each quiz until you score 100%, possibly during the last weeks of the semester as a review. Each retake will generate different problems. For your information, the Sample Tests (A or B versions) in CourseCompass are for your review and worth no points. It would be good to take them as practice before you attempt the chapter test.
- The final exam will have 30 questions taken fromall six (6) chapters, which are chapters 2-6,8. It will be available during the last week of the semester and due on that Saturday.
- An Incomplete grade may be granted in this class when a student’s work is nearly complete (all but final exam taken) and some unforeseen circumstance arises that prevents the student from finishing his/her work for the course. The final decision on whether to grant an incomplete grade will be based on several factors. If you are requesting an Incomplete to be given to you for this course, you must contact your instructor.
- As a check to see if you have read this syllabus, please post in the Student Introductionof Blackboarda short introduction 'bio' and include a tasteful digital of yourself picture (my picture is on Your Student Introductiongrade will replace your CourseCompass Quiz 1a (20 pts. Intro + 20 pts. Picture). I will assign points for the ‘Student Introductions’ at the end of the first week.
GRADING POLICY
All grading in the course will use this scale: 92-100%=A, 82-91%=B, 70-81%=C, 60-69%=D, and 0-59%=F. You can always check your grade on CourseCompass using the ‘Gradebook’Navigation Bar. A reminder to review each quiz or test immediately after taking it for computer grading errors and notify me as soon as possible if any are found!
CHAPTER TESTS
Six (6) chapter tests will be administered through CourseCompass. Each Chapter Test will have 25 problems and a time limit of 100 or 120 minutes. Tests can be taken only once. Please refer to the statement below in TEXTBOOK COVERAGE about the bonus option. Tests are available on specific dates and will stay open until the end of the semester, but schedule your time so that you are not taking more than one test a week! Please note the next to last sentence in Drop Policy below.
CHAPTER QUIZZES
Twelve(12) chapter quizzes will be administered through CourseCompass. Each Chapter quiz will have 10 problemsand no time limit. You can take the quiz up to 5 timesto improve your score, but you must achieve a score of 70 % or better to progress.The quizzes are designed to prepare you for the chapter tests.
For your information, the “a” Quiz (Quiz 1a, Quiz 2a, etc.) is the only Quiz with no prerequisite (70% or better).
FINAL EXAMINATION
One (1) Final Examination will be administered through CourseCompass. The Final Examination will have 30 problems, a time limit of 200 minutes and is comprehensive covering Chapters 2-6, 8.
One final note on grades: At the end of the semester, I will assign 10 points for every 60 Study Plan problems workedcorrectly, for a maximum total of 100 points. So you understand, one hundred points are enough to change your grade by one letter. You might want to think of this as your Homework grade! For your information there are 1100 points possible in the class, the breakdown: Introduction-40, Quizzes-240, Tests-300, Final-420 and Homework-100.
TESTING PROCEDURE
When you are ready to take a test or quiz go to CourseCompass and click on “Take a Test”. If the test or quiz is flagged then make sure you have successfully (70% or better) passed the preceding quiz.
THE PLACe/INVEST LAB
Individual tutoring is available free of charge at The PLACe/Invest Lab in room D-106. The tutoring service is available Monday and Wednesday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Tuesday and Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., and on Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00noon. If you would like further information or have questions contact The PLACe/Invest Lab by telephone (619) 388 - 7852.
DISABLED STUDENTS PROGRAMS AND SERVICES
Students with disabilities who may need academic accommodations should contact me by email or telephone as soon as possible. Disabled Students Programs and Services (DSPS) department can assist you in identifying appropriate accommodation to meet your needs. Ifyou would like further information or have questions contact a DSPS counselor by telephone (619) 388 - 7312.
DROP POLICY
A student will be dropped for the reasons listed below.
CourseCompass REGISTRATION
Students will be dropped without warning if they fail to register with CourseCompass under the Course IDof page00143 by the endof the fourth day of the semester.
Test and Quizzes
Students will be dropped without warning if they fall behind on two or more chapter tests. Students will not be allowed to take more than two tests a week! It is the student’s responsibility to drop a class they stop attending.
KEYS TO SUCCESS IN AN ONLINE 8-WEEK COURSE
Below are comments from former, successful students:
“The program that you are operating on, coursecompass is a very, very good and easily understandable one. At the beginning I was very nervous at trying [College Algebra] online, to be honest I was scared out of my mind!!! So I started browsing the application and found helpful tools most notably, the study plans and the sample tests!!!!
I tackle the study plans first. Once I am secure with my progress I do the quizzes & I retake it until I am happy with the outcome. Once the quizzes are finished I start on the sample tests. I normally do 4 sample tests before doing the actual exam. Without these helpful tutorials I would be completely lost!!! If I am stuck on a problem there is a tutorial for ‘show me how to solve’ with a video too!”
“I don't use any short cut but hard work. I read the textbook thoroughly, take the practice quizzes and tests as many times as it takes to make sure I understand everything, and then take the test when I am mentally and physically prepared. Most importantly, I don't allow myself to procrastinate, even if that means sometimes I will have to stay up very late to finish the task on the date it is supposed to be done.”
SOME THOUGHTS ON AN ONLINE 8-WEEK COURSE AND MY PHILOSOPHY ON MATH EDUCATION
There are plusses and minuses to an online course, as there are with many things in life. A few plusses: you don’t have to attend class on campus; you can work on the class at a time that is convenience with your schedule; and finally, many students believe that an online course is the easier way to take a course. The first two plusses are certainly true, but the last one is most definitely not true!
If you have taken an online class before then you know what I am referring to. Online classes and in particular math online classes are the more difficult road to travel. I am not trying to frighten you away from the class, but to enlighten you about your journey. If you read the comments above, you can see the successful students made a commitment, spent the time and were therefore successful.
I don’t know your background in mathematics, but I assume that you have taken the prerequisite classes. I also don’t know how you personally feel about learning this new topic in mathematics, but I would suggest that you embrace the challenge. Either you can decide to learn a new and challenging topic or you can close your mind and just get by, or even worse, fail or drop the class. You have to decide which path you are going to take, but being successful in a challenging undertaking is a very rewarding experience. So don’t waste this opportunity to be successful. I hope your semester goes well and you have an enlightened and rewarding experience!