Course Syllabus for Math 118 Online: Intermediate Algebra
• Topics to be
covered • How to begin • How to study • How to use the materials provided • How
to use your time • How to succeed
Overview
This
online course is a mixture of printed text, digitized videos and online
facilities for course management, learning direction and testing of acquired
skills. You
receive the same college credit as students taking courses by traditional
methods because you will be learning the same course material. Primarily, you
will be able to learn at a pace controlled by both you and your instructor.
That is, you will need to comply with your instructor's guidelines and
schedules, but because you will not be spending as much drive time commuting to
campus, you will have that time to spend with studies at home or even during
breaks in your office.
tOpics to be covered
Properties of real
numbers, algebraic expressions such as polynomials, fractions, radicals, and
exponents. Solutions of first and
second degree equations, incloding literal equations
and absolute value. Solutions of linear and nonlinear
systems of equations. Relation and functions.
Components of Course
· · Textbook": Thinkwell, Intermediate Algebra ISBN: 1-60538-017-2.
Text is interactive on the World Wide Web at www.thinkwell
.com. (Authorization code is bundled with your box of Text). The lectures are
on the Videos.
· · Access to the Thinkwell website. This is where practice interactive exercises are available with lecture notes as well as transcripts of the lectures on Videos.
· · WebStudy: a course management system to guide you in moving
through the course, provide communications with your instructor and other
students in the class. Some supplementary materials and links to help enrich
your experience are also available.
Getting Started (*Do not Put This Off or you
Step 1.
Purchase your material bundle at the College bookstore. You will need to have
Adobe Acrobat Reader to read the lecture notesand
Apple Quicktime to view the lectures properly
installed on your computer.
Step 2.
Log in to WebStudy. Briefly, the process is:
go to http://ccp.whyy.org and enter your username and password in
the form described below, then click the login button. Your username is your
student J number and password should be password. Refer to the handout about
login in to WebStudy for more details. After you are
in, click on the Timeline tab to see what the course looks like. Explore. Click
on some links. Be sure to click on the Self-assessment link and answer the 10
questions. It is self-scoring. Report your score to your instructor using
the report your status assignment. This exercise is to help you and test that WebStudy is working correctly for you. The score is an
indicator of whether online distance is suitable for your learning style.
If
you have trouble with this, e-mail your instructor, Dr. Ji Gao
at jgao@ccp.edu and tell me your name and
Step 3.
Use the Thinkwell Authorization code to
register yourself on the Thinkwell website for
the intermediate algebra course. That registration is only good for this
semester. Be sure to choose my name (Dr. Ji Gao) as
the instructor. Once this is done, you will be able to see the exercises online
and any custom material that I may create there for you.
Step 4.
Make sure you can view the videos. If you do not have Quicktime,
it will be installed for you.
Step 5.
You are now ready to begin. Return to WebStudy and
look at the assignment for the week.
· · View the Videos
for the week. Try working some examples on paper. Do not just view the video
passively.
· · Work the
exercises on Thinkwell.Com. There is no printed text as such. It is all
interactive and online. (You may print out the lecture notes from Adobe reader
if you wish for review).
· · Examinations are taken in WebStudy.
There are four tests and department final exam they are equally weighted.
· · There are no meetings for this course except the last week of each
semester for taking the Final Exam. There is the Department Final Exam,
you need to come to the college any day during the final exam week. You
can use Calculator for 4 tests, homeworks, and
quizzes, but you can not use Calculator for Department Final Exam.
Time Management Ideas
Taking
a course independently can take from 15 to 20 hours of work per week. This includes all activities from watching the
videos, taking notes, working exercises and taking exams. The trick is to fit
that in with your schedule. The best way is to split it up. Decide how many
days you can work on Algebra -- the more you spread it out, the better. For
example, if you decide to work 5 days, allow three hours per day. If you are keeping up to schedule with less time----great.
This is just a reasonable estimate. Adjust based on your background and
abilities.
Do
not fall behind the syllabus schedule.
Do not wait until the last minute to take assigned exams. Exams are due on the
indicated DUE DATE, but you are given a two day grace period to allow for
technical problems. Doing the homework on Thinkwell
is preparation for the exams. Do not be afraid to repeat exercise on which you
did not do well. That is a good way to prepare.
Use
what helps you the most.
Not
all the materials available for this course will be equally helpful to you,
depending on your learning style. Ask questions by sending e-mails inside WebStudy to your instructor. If you are having a technical
problem do not wait for it to vanish. It won't. Get it
resolved immediately.
Don't
forget about help.
As a
registered student you are entitled to peer tutoring. Make an appointment with
a tutor by calling the Math Learning Lab if you need to or if you are on
campus, stop in and make an appointment.
USE
WEBSTUDY
This
course is NOT self-paced. It is flexibly paced. However you must complete
exams by the deadline or they expire and you get a zero. No makeup. No
exceptions.
Any
question? Need suggestions? E-mail Dr. Ji Gao at jgao@ccp.edu