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Interaction in an online course is different than in an in-person class, but we can make it work. Use the
discussion feature in Moodle to ask me and your classmates questions and check the Questions and
Answers discussion folder to see if your question has already been asked answered before you ask
me. I expect you to ask questions, be curious, have fun, be challenged, and interact so that your
learning experience is maximized. I also hope that you will interact with your peers. Working with others
to discuss the material will help you gain a better understanding of it.
As part of an online course, you will spend more time teaching yourself concepts than you may be used
to doing. Thus, you may have to read and reread sections of the text book and the online notes. Read
slowly, take notes, try the examples, try and retry problems using the online resources, or try odd
problems in the text so you can check your answers. When you get stuck, work problems online in one
of the tutorials, watch the online videos, ask another student, post a question in one of the Questions
and Answers discussion folder, or call or email me after you have given it your best shot.
This course is schedule-driven, not self-paced. Thus, you must keep up and hand in assignments every
week. In order to succeed you will have to work extremely hard! You will need to spend at least 1-2
hours each day reading the section and working problems (at least 8-10 hours/week or more). If you
cannot commit this much time, please do not take the course because you will most likely not be
successful.
Homework:
Homework is an important part of this course. It is extremely important for you to read and do
the homework every day! I will assign weekly homework problems. These problems are the
minimum amount of homework that you should complete. If you need to do more problems to
understand the material, then you should do so.
Weekly homework starts on Monday at 12:00 a.m. and is due no later than 11:59 p.m. the
following Sunday (except the first week when you get an extra week in case you don't have
course access right away). You get two attempts at each problem so you can learn from your
mistakes, but not just repeatedly guess until you get the correct answer. Late homework will
not be accepted. Keep track of your individual assignment scores inside MyLab/Mastering.
The MyLab/Mastering page is loaded with tools to help you learn - videos, animations, the
book in an online format, StatCrunch (a statistical software program that is easy to use), a
calculator, and other materials. Use these materials to your advantage. When working
homework problems in MyLab/Mastering, you will notice icons on the side; you can click on
these to pop-up videos, the calculator, StatCrunch, similar examples, and other helpful
materials. Make sure you click around inside MyLab/Mastering so you can use it to its full
potential.
It is up to you to keep up and not fall behind. If you do not read the text and work problems, it
is highly unlikely that you will be successful in this course. You must do the homework in a
timely fashion and ask questions when you get stuck. Math can be frustrating, especially when
you are working on it without a face-to-face classroom for lecture, interaction, and discussion,
but you cannot give up. Those who are successful in math persist through frustration, but still
ask questions after giving it their best try.