Greetings:
You have taken this course because you wish to refresh (or relearn) your basic
skills, or perhaps because it is required and you have no choice! You have taken
this particular Internet-based section for your own reasons, but I strongly
suspect its convenience played a big role in that decision. Since you will receive
very little direct instruction, you will find that taking this course via the
internet will be very challenging. To learn, you will read and do homework exercises
in the textbook, study instructor prepared course notes online, and ask questions
via e-mail, on the Discussion board, and in chat rooms. That said, the majority
of the workload will fall upon your shoulders. That's the way internet courses
operate.
Time
Frame:
While the internet provides a great deal of convenience concerning exactly what
time of day you do your work, this class is designed to run the entire length
of the semester. You will not be able to finish early. Also,
please do not expect materials to be available prior to the day on which the
course begins.
How
are students graded?:
There will be eleven online quizzes to be completed during the course. Quizzes
need not be proctored and may be taken at any location. Each quiz will
have a posted time limit, and all answers must be saved and submitted within
that time limit. At the end of the semester, the lowest of your eleven quiz
scores will be dropped, and the remaining ten quiz scores will be used in your
course grade computation.
In addition to these quizzes, there will be two Midterm Exams given during the semester. These exams will be given online, but they will be password protected and must be taken in a proctored environment (such as a college testing center). No exam scores will be dropped, and no make up exams will be given for any reason. All answers for the Midterm Exams must be saved and submitted within the posted time limit.
There will also be a cumulative Departmental Final Exam given at the end of the semester. This exam will be given online, but it will be password protected and must be taken in a proctored environment (such as a college testing center). No make up Finals will be given for any reason, and all answers for the Final Exam must be saved and submitted within the posted time limit.
An Extremely
Important Note about the Final Exam:
According to Math Department Policy, you must earn at least a 60% on the Final
Exam, or regardless of your overall point total, you will not be eligible for
a grade of C or higher in this class.
Will We Ever See Each Other?:
Although we may be able to conduct a video chat online, it is highly likely
that we will not see each other at all. There will be online office hours, held
in the course's Chat Room, during which you can get help. If you can't attend
the scheduled online office hours, it is possible to arrange an appointment
via e-mail to meet in the course's Chat Room at another time. In general, it
would be a good idea for you to communicate with me on a regular basis until
you are finished with the course. That way, you'll know I'm available and you
will be less likely to fall behind.
Required
Textbook:
This course will use a book written and edited by several members of CSN's own
Math Department. The title of the book is Prealgebra, 2009, Edition 5, and the
author is listed as M. A. Wyatt. It can be purchased at any CSN bookstore, or
online at E-follett.com. We have chosen to use this in-house book because we
can supply it to you at a very low cost. You may not, however, be able to sell
it back to the bookstore at the end of the semester.