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Math C-37935  Intermediate Algebra  Fall 2005 Online

Math C Schedule

Time required for lessons

Blackboard  BB user:"firstinitiallastinitial#######"...student id (ex. qj1234567) and password  "student"

Some short videos that might be helpful for starting in BB and ASC software: (note: takes a few minutes to download)
How to sign on in Blackboard    Changing your e-mail in Blackboard   Logging onto the ASC software server

Link for support with ASC software:
 Support site for Academic Systems software  

On-campus Meetings:

Two consecutive weeks, students should attend both meetings as different aspects of the course will be discussed at each meeting.
Tuesday 8/30, 5-7pm in E2-501  and  Tuesday 9/6,  5-7pm in E2-501
If you must miss these meetings, please contact me immediately!

Other on-campus meetings (3)
Three additional meetings for midterm, review and final exam tentatively scheduled for
Tuesdays 5:00-7:00pm  10/11 or 10/18 (to be decided), 12/6 and 12/13 in MT-08.  Confirm room locations later.

 Date and time for the midterm will be confirmed during the semester. Email or call for questions.



Course Description:

Fundamental laws, exponents and radicals, linear, rational and quadratic equations, graphical representations, complex numbers, functions and inverses, logarithms and exponentials and applied problems.

What does it take to succeed online in Math C?

COURSE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES:  The student completing this course will be able to:

a.   Solve rational equations, proportions, variation, and uniform motion problems
b.   Simplify expressions with rational exponents. Add, subtract, multiply and divide radical expressions
c.   Simplify, add, subtract, multiply, and divide complex numbers.
d.   Solve a radical equation
e.   Solve quadratic equations by factoring, completing the square, or by using the         quadratic formula
f.    Solve a nonlinear inequality
g.   Distinguish between function and non-function relations and evaluate functions expressing functional notation
h.   Find the minimum or maximum of a quadratic function
i.    Find the composition of two functions, and the inverse of a function
j.    Graph conic sections and solve word problems
k.   Apply properties of logarithms and exponents to the simplification of expressions and the solution of equations


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MATERIALS:

You will not be buying a text for this course from the bookstore.  Instead, you must pay a $95 materials fee at the cashiers office ( Acct #102-236110-0000-48877-000 ) for materials to be used with a computer-based program.  Bring your receipt to the instructor for your materials.
While a scanner is not required, it could make the sending of files to me easier.

 

System Requirements:

Pentium 100MHz or greater; at least 32 MB RAM, Windows 95, 98, or NT, quad speed CD-ROM drive, dard drive with at least 100 MB available space
Internet Access (firewalls, AOL or free internet access may have some problems)
 

Instructional delivery:

This course utilizes the concept of mediated learning and highly interactive computer software to help you learn the mathematical concepts in Intermediate Algebra. You will spend much of your time for the course in front of a computer (on or off campus) with pencil and paper and your Personal Academic Notebook (PAN). The computer will give you explanations, examples and online tests. In addition, you will be communicating with me and the rest of the class via e-mail and BlackBoard Discussion Boards. You will also have some tests to take "offline" but on your own to be submitted by a given due date, while the midterm and final exam are both scheduled for a set time on campus. While this is not a truly self-paced course, it offers flexibility in that you have a minimum pace to follow in order to complete the course by the end of the semester. Should you choose to work at a faster pace, you could finish the course earlier, before the semester ends.

 

Expectations:

While the time requred for each student to learn the material will vary depending on previous background, students should plan on spending an average of at least 8 hours a week working online with the material in the software.  Additional time (4-6 hours a week) should be spent working with the Personal Academic Notebook (PAN) working problems and reviewing.  While you do have some flexibility on time spent each week, I would strongly advise you not to get behind schedule. If you anticipate being unable to work on the computer for a certain length of time, try to work ahead of schedule and work in your PAN when you  cannot access your computer.  PLEASE BE AWARE THAT STUDENTS WHO HAVE WORKED ONLY WITH THE PAN AND NOT THE SOFTWARE HAVE NOT BEEN SUCCESSFUL IN THIS COURSE!  Make sure to update me on your situation. 

IMPORTANT DATES:

LAST DAY TO ADD:   SATURDAY  September 10
LAST DAY TO DROP:  (without W) FRIDAY September 16th; (with W) FRIDAY November 18th.  It is the student's responsibility to file for DROP STATUS by the given date to avoid a "W", "NC" or "F" grade due to lack of attendance. The instructor reserves the option to drop or assign a grade of "NC" or "F" to a student who is no longer actively participating in the class (see catalog).  

HOLIDAYS: (NO CLASSES) 

LABOR DAY HOLIDAY SEPT 5TH (Monday)
VETERAN’S DAY HOLIDAY NOV 11TH (Friday)
THANKSGIVING BREAK NOV 24th-27th (Thurs-Sun)

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FINAL EXAM: TUESDAY, DECEMBER 13TH, 5-7PM IN MT-08
 

Should there be a need to evacuate the building while you are on campus, please take all of your personal belongings with you and follow directions to the designated area.

Mission College makes reasonable accommodations for persons with documented disabilities. Students should notify DISC (Disability Instructional Support Center) located in S2-201 (855-5085) of any special needs.

See policy on discrimination, page *** Schedule of Classes.


Grading Policy

WEEKLY UPDATES/DISCUSSION BOARDS 10% 90-100 A    or CREDIT
ON-LINE TESTS (SOFTWARE)  20%  80-89 B    or CREDIT
OFF-LINE TESTS  20% 70-79 C    or CREDIT
MIDTERMS  25% 60-69 D    or  NO CREDIT
FINAL EXAM  25%  0-59 F     or  NO CREDIT

Students may work with others, but the work on the computer and on exams should be your individual work. Students should always bring the Personal Academic Notebook(PAN) to the on-campus meetings, along with pencil and paper to work problems and a list of questions or concerns.
 

ONLINE TUTORING: Online tutoring may be available certain hours on certain evenings. Check with the instructor if you are interested in using this resource.

This course may be taken on a CREDIT/NO CREDIT option. The student should inform the instructor by the end of the 6th week of classes if he wishes to exercise this option. A student must achieve 70% or higher to receive a CREDIT grade.

IMPORTANT NOTICE : THERE IS NO MAKEUP OF OFF-LINE MIDTERM, TESTS, OR FINAL; STUDENTS ARE URGED TO ATTEND EACH ON-CAMPUS MEETING. HOWEVER, STUDENTS SHOULD CONTACT THE INSTRUCTOR IF THEY MISS A MEETING OR AN EXAM.

ANY STUDENT INVOLVED IN CHEATING ON AN EXAM WILL RECEIVE A GRADE OF 0 (ZERO) FOR THE EXAM. ANY FURTHER INCIDENTS WILL RESULT IN EXPULSION FROM THE CLASS. SEE PAGE 139 OF THE SCHEDULE OF CLASSES FOR THE SCHOOL POLICY.

HOMEWORK: Even though specific homework problems will be assigned by the computer after the student has completed each section, students are encouraged to do all homework problems directly in the academic notebooks. While homework is not going to be collected on a regular basis, I would still urge you to do as many problems as possible to verify that you understand the material. I will announce when to submit homework.

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WEEKLY UPDATES/DISCUSSION BOARDS: As part of your grade, you are to e-mail me at least once a week (by Sunday evening) with an update of what you covered the previous week. You also need to post to the DISCUSSION BOARD ON AVERAGE OF ONCE A WEEK, either with a question or by answering a question posed by the instructor or another student. The posting may be as brief as you like, but you should read other students' postings.  You may include questions, concerns or revelations in these postings, or a response to other postings.  As in a classroom, students are expected to be courteous and respectful of all others in the class as they communicate in the Discussion Boards.

ON-LINE TESTS: These tests are at the end of each lesson and may be taken as many as three times. The highest score will count. Some lessons offer a pre-test which may be counted as the actual test if the score is between 90%-100%. Students are urged to consider using the pre-test as a practice test. (That is, don’t take the pre-test until just before you take the test at the end of the section.)

OFF-LINE TESTS/QUIZZES:  These tests will primarily cover the topics indicated on the proposed schedule. Students are also responsible, however, for previously covered material. Tests will be posted in the Assignments area or the Digital Dropbox in BlackBoard and should be returned by e-mail (pdf or JPG files), FAX or hard copy by the date indicated on the exam.  You will need Word or Acrobat Reader to open the files. Again, these tests should be your own individual work.  Solutions will be graded on the basis of clarity of work as well as the answer.

MIDTERM: The midterm is a written, cumulative exam which covers all the material from the beginning of the semester to the time of the exam.

FINAL EXAM: The final exam is a written, cumulative exam which includes the material covered during the entire semester.

Office Hours: Students are urged to ask questions via Discussion Boards or to make use of office hours on campus. You may also e-mail me with questions anytime and I will get back to you as soon as I can.

NOTE: Students should be aware of the services available through the MATH LEARNING CENTER in S2-401. Individual help is available from instructors and/or tutors on a drop-in basis. Arrangements may also be made for an individual tutor for the semester. Sign-ups for individual tutors should be made as soon as possible to allow time for proper matching of tutor and student. This service is available at no cost to the student! Every effort should be made to get individual help whenever necessary.

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This is your FIRST assignment! You need to get this information to me as soon as possible, and certainly by the second class meeting!

Please send me an e-mail with the following information:

1) Your name and the course your taking with me.
2) Your e-mail address.  If you want to list more than one, that's fine-list them all.
3) Your US mail address
4) Contact phone number, day/evening/cell and best time to call
5) Let me know as soon as you've installed the software and are able to log on.  If you run into difficulties, please contact tech support and keep me informed on your progress. The support number is 1.800.681.4357  or http://support.academic.com/
6) Let me know that you know how to download attachments...I usually send out Word and pdf documents. You should try downloading a document from the digital drop box to be found in the Tools section in BlackBoard.
7) Let me know if you will be sending me your quizzes via e-mail attachments (Word or pdf files) or scanned images (JPEG format), or by dropping off work at the college.  You may want to do a "test run" with your answers to this first assignment in one of those formats.  Math symbols can be found in equation editor in Word, but be sure to check if you convert to a pdf file that the symbols translated correctly....I've found that sometimes they do not!
8)  Let me know that you have already  logged into BlackBoard and in Tools/Edit Home page, you’ve changed your e-mail to your actual e-mail address.
9)  Let me know that you’ve located the Discussion Boards area in BlackBoard and that you’ve posted either a question or intro, or a reply to another student, or a comment.
10) Do  you have any questions for me at this time.
11)  In addition, if you did not have your picture taken at the orientation meeting, please send me a picture of you.  A head shot, preferably in JPEG format.  I keep a class sheet of student photos for identification purposes...I don't do anything else with them. It also helps me to put a face to a name when we converse through e-mail.

That's it for now.  Remember that your on-going assignment is to e-mail me at least once a week (or more, if you like) by midnight every Sunday...just a short note on what you've done (or haven't done) online and any questions you might have.


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last revised 1/3/05