Marcus
McGuff

Course Policies / Course Syllabus

Coursework and Grading (Page 1) General Information Prerequisites Minimum Time Committment (includes important TASP/THEA/TSI information) Class Participation and Discussion Groups Homework and Quizzes Tests Grades Late Homework, Tests, and Other Work Course Objectives ACC Policies (Page 1) Withdrawals and Reinstatement Scholastic Dishonesty Statement on Students with Disabilities Statement on Academic Freedom Acceptable Behavior

The Academic Online Interactive Math Software (Page 2) Textbooks and Software - IMPORTANT Username and Password Minimum Computer Requirments General Information on the Software Getting Started with the Software The First Lesson and Orientation Form 3 How to Use the Software Staying on Schedule Working Ahead Other Useful Things Orientation Forms and Course Checklist Tutoring ACC Services ACC Testing Centers ACC Student Services ACC Instructional Service

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Course Policies and Information / Course Syllabus

MATD 0370 - Elementary Algebra Distance Learning (Open Campus)

Spring 2008 - Synonym 14943 (Section 092)
February 11, 2008 - May 11, 2008

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Software Technical Support phone number: 1.952.607.3899

Textbooks and software - IMPORTANT

1. The textbook/license can only be found at the official ACC bookstore (not at Bevo's or other bookstores). Those are on campus at all campuses except for RGC, where it is located at 817 W. 12th. (See the ACC bookstore website for more information.) Also, please be sure to get the version for your semester (sometimes the edition changes). When you purchase your materials for this course, you are mainly purchasing a license for you to use the software for one year.
   
   When you first start, the computer will ask for your validation number; for a while, you can click on "Remind me later" and continue working in the software. You should to this until you are certain that you are in the right course and will not need to withdraw or transfer section. At some point, it will ask you again and the "Remind me later" button will not be available. At that point, you must enter your validation number. That number is included on a card that came with your book. In order to work, it must not have ever been used by any other student. Be careful not to lose it - if you do, you will have to buy another license.
   
   IMPORTANT NOTE: Before you open the cellophane wrapper on your book, go ahead and log in using the information I send you and begin working with the software. When you first start, the computer will ask for your validation number; for a while, you can click on "Remind me later" and continue working in the software. You can even view the material in your textbook on a section-by-section basis if you click on Tools, then Personal Academic Notebook, from within the tutorial program. You should to this until you are certain that you are in the right course and will not need to withdraw or transfer section. At some point, it will ask you again and the "Remind me later" button will not be available. At that point, you must enter your validation number. That number is included on a card that came with your book. In order to work, it must not have ever been used by any other student. Be careful not to lose it - if you do, you will have to buy another license.
   
   

   Special information for Spring 2008 only:

   IMPORTANT WARNING: We are using a different edition of the textbook/software for the course this semester than the other online classes are. It is the same material and company, but a newer, more up-to-date version. You must be sure to get the correct version to take the course. To get the correct version, you must do the following:

   1. The only place you can buy the textbook/software we are using is at the Rio Grande ACC Bookstore, at 817 W. 12th St. in Austin. I'm sorry, but this is the ONLY bookstore where you can get the book this semester. (It's a long story, and I apologize for the inconvenience, especially for those of you coming from out of town, but this is really the only way we can be sure there will actually be books there when you go to purchase one.)
   2. It should be available starting around Friday, Feb. 1. (If you are coming from out of town, you might want to call before coming in.)
   3. You MUST ask for the book for MATD 0370, synonym 14943. This is IMPORTANT - You need to be sure they give you the one for this section (be sure to check the synonym number). No matter what anyone at the bookstore tells you, do not buy a different version of the book. Your book should look like this (click for larger picture):
      
      
   4. If you have already bought the other edition of the book, do not open the cellophane wrapping. Please go back to the bookstore to exchange it for the correct version. (If you have already opened the cellophane wrapping or already have the book, from taking the course last summer or fall, please contact me right away to find out what to do.
      
      
2. Allow yourself time to get started. It is common that students need a few days from the time they buy the materials to get started. (Sometimes students go to the wrong bookstore or find that their computer's hard drive is full, or have other problems.) However, you must work on the software at least twice during the first week for a couple of hours, even if you started late. If necessary, you can go to one of the Learning Labs to work until you get the software installed and working on your computer at home. All you need there is your username and password, which you should receive from me on or before the first day of class. Ask to be placed at a computer that already has the software installed.

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Username and password

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Minimum Computer Requirements*

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Information About the Software

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Getting Started with the Software

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The First Lesson and Orientation Form 3

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How to Work with the Software in this Course

1. To begin a lesson, you should look to see if I have posted any section notes about what topics need special attention.
2. Most of your time will be spent on the software components called Explain and Apply. The software will explain the new material and then ask you to work problems, giving you immediate feedback with correct solutions. In the Apply section, if you need more explanation of a concept, you can go back to that particular page from the Explain portion. Be sure to log out when you quit, so that the results of your work will be saved. The grades you make in Explain and Apply do not count in your course average, but they are important indicators of how you are doing with the material. I will look at those along with the time that you spent on each lesson to give you advice on how to learn the material. It is crucial that you do the Apply section in each lesson.
3. When you feel comfortable with the material, you are ready to do the pencil-and-paper homework. Look over the instructor's section notes again (if there were any) before you start this. Do not do the paper homework before you do the Explain and Apply parts of the lesson. You will find that frustrating and will probably waste a lot more time than if you had just started with the Explain and Apply stuff. (You might also wind up practicing the homework using methods that don't work. This would be a Bad Thing; it can be very hard to unlearn this sort of thing.)
4. After completing the Explain, Apply, and paper homework for a particular lesson, go to the section in the software labeled Evaluate. The Evaluate Quiz is a test, usually between 8 and 12 questions long, that is not timed. You should treat this quiz like you would a regular test, so don't use your notes or look back at other problems while you are working it. You may take this Evaluate Quiz up to three times and the highest of the three scores will be recorded. (Don't do those three all at the same time. If you make a low grade on the first one, do some more work before you take it again. If you still make a low grade, discuss it with me and we'll make a plan for what you need to do to improve before you take it again.) You have not mastered a section until you make at least 80 on an Evaluate quiz. This is the only grade from the computer that I will count in your grade. At least one Evaluate Quiz must be taken from each section. If you don't take an Evaluate Quiz from a section, you will receive a 0 for your grade for that section.
5. In a particular section, if you believe that you already understand the material well enough to do less than the full Explain and Apply parts, then start with the Overview and then take the Pretest at the beginning of the Lesson (it should show up as an option in the Overview). At the end of the Pretest, there is a recommendation for which topics in the Explain and Apply portions to do. Again, you should treat this like a regular test, so don't use notes or look things up during the pretest. If you got quite a few problems right on the Pretest, then the recommendation will omit the topics of the Explain and Apply sections dealing with the material you already know. Write those down in your notebook, so you'll be able to remember that later if you don't complete the entire lesson in one sitting. You are not required to do a Pretest. It is only required if you want to omit some of the Explain and Apply portions.
   
   If the Pretest grade is above 95, then none of the Explain orApply portions are required. In fact, you will be asked if you want to save the Pretest score as the Evaluate quiz grade. That completes the required work for the lesson, but you must still do the assigned book homework and any extra handouts. If the Pretest grade is between 70 and 94, and if you want the quickest way through the lesson, you may go directly to the Apply portion that you are required to do. A problem will be presented to you. In the lower right corner is an icon that will take you back to the particular pages of the Explain section that discuss that concept. Go through that. Then "Go Back" and work the Apply problem. Also read through the explanation, whether you got the problem right or not. Then go to the next Apply problem. If the Pretest grade is below 70, first do the Explain parts that are recommended, and then do the Apply parts. As you go through an Apply section, click on the icon on the lower right to review the Explain parts, as needed. (Notice that, unless you made a 95 or better on the Pretest, you still must take the Evaluate Quiz.)
6. The Explore sections are in the textbook rather than the software and are not required for most lessons. Whatever is required from the Explore sections will be made clear on the Homework Assignment page.
7. You should work through the "Online" section of the homework assigned by the software, but ignore the "Offline homework" assigned by the software. Your paper homework assignements are those posted on the schedule page of my website. The extra handouts on some individual sections are posted on that page as well as in the software. (Test reviews are posted only on my website.)
8. Periodically, please check your progress. After you sign in to the system, click on the "Progress" button. That's the same information I see about your progress. Notice that it indicates what dates you worked on the material, how much time you spent, and your grades.

   Time Required:

   • Most students spend about 10 minutes on the Pretest. If you get all the problems right, then that's all that's required in the software. (You can then move on to the homework.)
   • Students who miss one or two problems on the Pretest will need to spend about 15 minutes on the Apply section (assuming their review goes quickly) and then another 10 minutes on the Evaluate quiz. So those students will have spent about 30 minutes on the software part of the lesson.
   • Students who need full explanations and practice in a lesson will typically need to spend an average of 2 hours or more on the software in a lesson. The lessons are not all the same length.

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Staying on Schedule

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Working Ahead

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Tutoring

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