Students Who Are New To Online Math

If you have taken an online math course before, you may not necessarily need to read this part.  Most students are very accustomed to having an instructor immediately present when they are learning math.  When something doesn’t make sense, they can instantly raise their hand or interject and ask questions that help clarify for them.  In an online course, asking questions during the learning process is quite different.  I post links to notes, videos and suggested solutions, while students are also able to e-mail to ask for assistance if something still does not make sense to them.  Depending on the day of the week and time of day, I usually send responses in anywhere from 10 minutes to 24 hours.  Students enrolling in an online class should also be honest with themselves up front about how they will feel, both about reading uploaded documents to understand how the course works, and also about searching through online menus to locate assignments and parts of the course.  Reading the syllabus and FAQ documents that I post will give you an idea of how to start the course, what the weekly expectations are, how to submit assignments, when things are due, etc.

Things To Note About My Online Courses

1. Course material is organized inside D2L (LSC-Online).  MyMathLab is not required or used for my online courses.  Resources to help you understand the material are uploaded in the form of YouTube content, PDF documents, and homework solutions.  Specific problems and topics may only have one or two of these types of resources prepared.
2. Exams and homework are done in paper/pencil format.  For homework, you will complete homework using paper/pencil, and then you will upload it to a dropbox in D2L as a series of photos or as a scanned PDF file (your choice).  For exams, these are taken at a college or university testing center that must be approved by the instructor.  For more information about approved testing centers, please see the “Testing Center Information” section below.
3. No calculators are permitted for any exams.
4. No formula sheets or notes are allowed to be used during exams.  According to campus policy, formulas such as derivatives, integrals, identities, etc. are not given to students.  We assume internal knowledge of these types of formulas that allow for more fluent discussions of mathematics.
5. Courses are not self-paced.  Each week, you have particular assignments and topics for focus.  Weekly participation in a discussion board requires that you log in at least twice each week.
6. Exams are generally open over a period of approximately seven calendar days.  You decide, based on your schedule and the hours of your testing center, when in the seven days is best for you to take your exam.  All questions about exam procedures, other than what is listed here, should be directed to your chosen testing center.  See the “Testing Center Information” section below.
7. Deadlines for discussion board, homework, and exams are not extended.  If you think that procrastinating in an online course may be a large concern for you, please understand that deadlines for these courses are not negotiable.

Testing Center Information

1. Each exam must be taken at a proctored testing facility at a college or university.  Any Lone Star College testing center is approved for testing.  If you do not live near a Lone Star College campus, you may get a nearby testing center approved by the instructor at the beginning of the semester.  If you are planning to ask for it to be approved that you take your exams at a non-LSC testing center, please contact the center before the semester begins and ask them about the following.  For a testing center to be approved, it must:
   1. have the ability to receive exams by e-mail and the ability to scan completed exams to return to the instructor.
   2. require official photo identification in order to take exams.
   3. have a sign-in process that documents when students arrive at the testing center to take exams.
2. If you are using a testing center that is not a Lone Star College testing center, it is possible that they will charge you a fee for each exam you take there.  If you enroll in one of my courses, and you plan to test outside of LSC, please check this well in advance.  Fees usually range between $10 and $50 for each exam at most centers, but I have seen fees as high as $150 per exam.  Be informed about your testing center’s policies before enrolling in an online course.  Testing for my courses should be free at any Lone Star College testing center.
3. It is each student’s responsibility to be aware of their testing center’s policies and days/hours of operation.  If you choose a testing center that requires you to make appointments ahead of time, it is your responsibility to know this and plan accordingly.  If your testing center has limited days/hours of operation during an exam window, you are still required to complete the exam during the designated period.