Dear Students,
Welcome to MAT123 Summer Session II 2024!
I can't wait to meet you all on Monday July 1st to start our Calculus II class during Summer Session II! Don't forget we meet mostly Monday-Thursday from 7/1/2024 to 8/1/2024 for 2 hours and 50 minutes each morning starting at 8AM sharp via Zoom. Please note, that Week01 is strange as July 4th is a Thursday, so we will meet Monday-Wednesday and Week02 will meet Monday-Friday.
My BrightSpace/D2L LMS site is up and running but Nassau Community College (NCC) may not allow access until Monday 7/1/2024. So, I thought I'd give you a few pointers ahead of time:
Please download the SYLLABUS from BrightSpace/D2L, read it carefully and pay very close attention to:
Page 1:
Daily Lecture Zoom Link
Math Learning Center Zoom link
Technology Requirement
Page 4:
Required Textbook
Page 5:
Student Responsibilities
Course Policies
Page 6:
Academic Dishonesty Policy
Page 7:
Copyright Statement and Assessments
Page 8:
American with Disabilities Statement
Childcare and The NEST
Pages 9-13:
ClassWork, HomeWork Assignments and Exams
Please download the WELCOMEBIO from BrightSpace/D2L, fill it out and return to me via college email ASAP. My email address is listed in the SYLLABUS.
3) HARDWARE
We will be using the TI83/TI84 line of Graphing Calculators for classwork, homework and tests. Please make sure you have a TI83/TI84 or an emulator on a tablet or laptop during class and tests in addition to your primary device for viewing our lectures via Zoom. Here's some sample TI-BASIC code from our first unit!
I typically have 3 ChromeBooks running during class: one for hosting/monitoring zoom lectures, a second one to share notes and code during a zoom session with my TI84 Plus CE Online Emulator and another one to read my notes and lesson plans. You may be able to get by with multiple tabs on one device. Please feel free to make your own choice. Pick whatever works best for you!
***PSA: The current TI-84 Plus CE online emulator available from TI requires you to log into the app periodically thereby wiping all your RAM!
This emulator's RAM is not persistent!
You will lose any stored work on your emulator. We will be writing several TI-BASIC programs for use in classwork, for homework and on tests, so this is a BIG problem!
Please use a hand-held TI-83/84 to store your work. Otherwise, you'll be re-entering programs all the time. That's a lot of typing....
The prior emulator, which was deprecated and replaced with this one, was a ChromeOS Extension and had no such draw back! The only limitation, which the current emulator also suffers from, is that there is no way to download *.p83 or *.p84 format programs directly from the web using software like TI-Connect, so you have to type all your code yourself. Another limitation that both emulators have is that they don't have python built-in, but TI-BASIC is fine.
These last 2 issues are not deal breakers, but RAM persistence is! I will use the emulator in class to demonstrate how to use your hand-held graphing calculator on my pseudo smartboard over zoom, but you need the real McCoy (Star Trek reference?) in your hands!
You will find 3-4 primary screencasts of our lessons in each of the 5 units on our BrightSpace/D2L. See a sample recording above from my Google Drive. I recorded these videos, labeled Harvard Calculus (prior textbook), during Summer 2012 when I was using a TI83. These are the main screencasts for which you are responsible and the basis for our lectures. I have also included some extra related videos from my 2018 AP Calculus BC class using the TI nSpire CX CAS. You may view these for extra practice or just watch the Harvard Calculus Screencasts. Again, please feel free to make your own choice. Pick whatever works best for you!
5) SOFTWARE
In addition to Zoom, BrightSpace/D2L, Google Drive and TI84 Plus CE Online Emulator, I will be using the Squid and CAMScanner apps and recommend you use them too. I'm using AndroidOS apps on my Chromebooks, but these apps, or something similar, should be available for iOS and Windows.
Squid is great for taking notes on a tablet or writing your solutions directly on a pdf such as a test using a stylus. The free version of Squid is great, but you need to pay a monthly fee or a one time lifetime fee for pdf markup. I also paid a fee for the geometry tab which makes drawing diagrams with your stylus easier! The monthly fee is not much if you only want to use Squid for a month or two. I paid the lifetime fee instead for a couple of extra features as I use this app all the time but I don't need the entire feature set.
CAMScanner is great for converting handwritten work to pdf format so you can email your Exams to me. Please make sure all submissions are legible before emailing.
Typically during my Zoom lecture I will be sharing notes with you using Squid with a stylus (handwritten notes) and TI84 Plus CE Online Emulator with a keyboard (TI-BASIC coding).
6) EXAMS
When you take an exam, you have a choice. You can download and print the test so you can complete it with pencil and paper in a traditional manner. Then you can use CAMScanner to convert your handwritten work to a pdf and email your test back to me. Alternatively, you can download the test onto your tablet, markup the pdf with your solutions using Squid with a stylus and just email the new pdf to me with your work. Again, please feel free to make your own choice. Pick whatever works best for you!
Test taking tips:
0) During any zoom session, remember:
No pajamas, no bedrooms!
1) Place your webcam such that I can see your workspace and your hands during the exam so I can see devices you are using. No cellphones! But Calculators, Laptops or Tablets are ok.
2) A copy of the TEST is available for download at 7:30AM from BrighSpace/D2L so you can set up how you want to take the exam before class starts at 8AM (tablet and stylus or pencil and paper).
3) You may use anything on our BrighSpace/D2L site to help you during the test.
4) Consult your preTEST solutions during the TEST as a model of how to write complete answers. Show all work supporting each answer.
5) Avail yourself of any computing environment you are familiar with to check your work: TI-83, TI-84, TI-85, TI-86, TI-89, TI-92, TI-200, TI Voyage, TI nSpire, etc.
6) Show all work in the spaces provided for each question or clearly labeled on separate sheets of paper.
7) Avoid 1/2 credit errors (round off error, missing units, incorrect notation, incomplete work, illegible work, etc).
8) You may leave class when you are done. Don't be in a hurry, you have all class period. Carefully check all your work, time permiting, before you leave class.
9) Return clearly legible copies of all your work as a single pdf file via school email no later than 15 minutes after you leave class or 11:05AM, whichever comes first (gives you time to use CAMScanner or Squid to prepare your work for uploading). Class ends 10:50AM.
That's it for now. I hope you find this note is helpful and I hope that you will learn a lot this semester in my class!
Well, that's all folks!
Be well,
A. Jorge García
Applied Math, Physics & CompSci
Nassau Community College (1993-)
http://shadowfaxrant.blogspot.com
http://www.youtube.com/calcpage2009
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HTH,
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MATH 4H, AP CALC, CSH: SAGECELL
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