Marcus
McGuff

Trigonometry

Distance Learning

Getting Started - A Checklist Before you commit yourself to a distance learning math course, you need to ask yourself some questions and then follow the instructions below carefully. This is a check-list that will walk you through making sure you are in the right class and getting started with this class. (Keep coming back to this list until you have checked everything off.)

  1. Is this the right type of class for you? Some people are more successful in distance learning courses and some are more successful if they attend a class regularly. It's better to find that out before you start the course. Please take this survey and think carefully about the results. I want you to succeed in whatever class you take and there are several in-class sections available you could take if distance learning isn't a good fit for you.

    Taking this course by Distance Learning requires good reading skills. If you don't feel comfortable carefully reading and following instructions without having someone remind you about things, then you probably shouldn't sign up for an online course. In this course, you will have to do a lot of work on the required computer software. If you decide you don't want to learn math this way after starting the course, you will have to drop the course and lose the money you paid for your materials and tuition, so you need to decide this beforehand.

  2. Is this class at the right level for you? Your ACC Assessment Test result should have told you which math course you are supposed to enroll in. If it did not recommend this course, then please contact me to discuss this before enrolling. If you enroll in a course you were not placed into, you may not be able to continue in it. Please read the information on Advising before you register to make sure you are in the right course level.

  3. Learn about how this course works. Read the course policies (page 1 and page 2) and any informational handouts about the course very carefully so that you are sure you understand the requirements. If you have any questions, please contact me.

  4. Get your ACC email address. You need to use that email address to communicate with me in this course. Most communication in this course is by email. Also, many email accounts and email programs come with "anti-spam" (or "anti-junk mail") filters. Normally, this is a very good thing. However, I have had a quite few cases where these filters have blocked my email to students in the course. There are two things you should do to try and avoid problems with this:

  5. Enroll in the course through the usual ACC process. Go to my page on Registration for more information on this.

After you enroll for the course, you need to do some things before you are ready to actually start the class:

  1. Work the Prerequisite Study Sheet for Trigonometry. This won't count towards your grade (except as part of your first homework assignment), but if you are able to understand and work correctly at least 24 problems on this review, then you are probably ready to take Trigonometry. The answers are included, but work the whole thing through first without looking at the answers.

    After you finish, go back and check your answers. If you cannot work correctly and understand at least 24 of these problems, then you should consider enrolling in College Algebra (MATH 1314). (A kindly warning: "Fudging" your answers on this will only hurt you; if you aren't really ready for this course but sign up for it anyway, you will just waste your own time and money.) If you aren't able to do at least 24 of these, you should contact me before you use the license number for your software (in case you need to return the book/software). If you are having financial aid problems (i.e., your financial aid money hasn't come in yet and you can't buy the book until that happens), you should also apply for a temporary access code. This will only give you a little bit of extra time (14 days for you to get things straightened out), but it will allow you to get started working right away, which is really important if you want to do well in the course. Please email me directly if you wish to requrest a temporary access code; be sure to include your name and the reason you feel you need this code.

  2. Complete the online orientation. Before you purchase your course materials, read through everything and fill out the Orientation Form. Be sure to do this by the posted deadline. Go to my page on Orientation for more information.

  3. Log in to the ACC Blackboard system and take the Orientation Quiz. Notice that you can take the Orientation Quiz multiple times until you get 100% on it (you must finish that during the first week of classes).

  4. Wait for information from me about how to sign in to the MyMathLab software. I will send these out on or before the first day of class to each student on my official roll sheet for whom I have a working email address and Orientation Form 1. See the course policies section for full details.

  5. Set up an account in MyMathLab: This semester, we will be accessing MyMathLab through your ACC Blackboard login. To sign up for MyMathLab in this course the first time, first log into the ACC Blackboard system. Then, click on the MyMathLab menu item on the left (this won't appear until the first day of the semester or perhaps a day or two before) and choose "MyMathLab with Pearson eText Course Home" and accept the licensing agreement. You will then be given a choice to log in using an existing MyMathLab account if you have one already from a previous semester or to create a new login (you can also do this if you have forgotten your previous login). After registering, the last step will be to enter the access code that came with your book, pay for access via credit card or Paypal, or request temporary access. Please choose "Request Temporary Access" option from the following screen to finish your registration:

    MML purchase options

    You will have a chance later to enter the access code that came with your textbook (or pay for it with a credit card); please don't do that until you have passed the Pretest and we are absolutely certain that you will stay in the class.

    IMPORTANT WARNING: If you buy a new book, the book is not returnable after you open the shrink-wrap covering the book. Please be sure you are in the correct course before you open this shrink-wrap. (See the Getting Started page for information on the Prerequisite Study Sheet for Trigonometry you should take before you break the shrink-wrap.) If you are unsure or you are having problems with your financial aid arriving in time, you should request Temporary Access through the software before buying an actual book.

    The next time you log in to Blackboard, you can get into MyMathLab by clicking on MyMathLab and then choosing "MyMathLab with Pearson eText Course Home" - you don't have to log in to MyMathLab separately any more. (You should keep your MyMathLab user login and password someplace you can find it, in case Blackboard is down and you need to go to MyMathLab.)

  6. Take the Trigonometry Pretest inside of MyMathLab. See my policies page for details on how this works. You must pass this before you can start the course.

  7. Buy the textbook/software license. After you unwrap it, the textbook/license is NOT RETURNABLE, so be sure you are in the right class and that you have done well on the Prerequisite Review Sheet for Trigonometry and the Pretest. Go to my course Policies page for complete information on this. You might also want to pick up the other required supplies for the course while you are there. This is not just a textbook course. It requires you to use the software to pass the course. You will need to take care of buying the book (or at least the software) before your temporary access is over (14 days). It is not acceptable to wait until the end of that period or later to take care of this. (It is possible to just buy the software without the printed book, which is significantly cheaper, if you are having financial problems.) If you haven't bought the software by the time you temporary access runs out, you will be dropped from the course.

You are now ready to actually start the course:

  1. Work through sections 1.1 through 1.3, watching the videos, reading the textbook, and doing the homework (online first, then written). To find the homework assignment, go to the Course Schedule in MyMathLab.. When you're ready, take Quiz 1 (1.1-1.3). If you do well enough on that, move on. (See the Policies page for details on how to do all this...)

  2. Have a good semester. You are now ready to really work on the math. I realize this seems like a lot of stuff to do to get started, but if you take care of these administrative details now, you can spend the rest of the semester working on more useful things (and things should go pretty smoothly as a result). Please feel free to call or email me if you have any questions. I look forward to hearing from each of you.

  3. If you don't already have an ACC student photo ID cared - Go here for more information about this. (You will need this ID card when you go to take your first test.)



This webpage was created by Marcus McGuff.
It was last updated on January 28, 2017 .