Welcome Letter- MATH 252X — Section UX1

Hello and welcome online Math 252X students! My name is Beth Zirbes, and I will be your instructor for this online Math 252X course. You can call me Beth or Mrs. Zirbes, whichever you prefer. This letter contains a brief overview of important information about the course. For more detail, reference the course syllabus. If you have any questions, or something is unclear, please e-mail me at bazirbes@alaska.edu.

The primary location for this course is this website, https://math252x-summer.community.uaf.edu/. I will be posting most the materials for this course here. On this site you will find the syllabus, course schedule, note sheets, videos, and take-home quizzes, as well as other resources and suggestions to help you through this class! If something is unclear, or you can think of something helpful that could be added, please let me know!

Required Materials: For this course you will need the following:

Textbook and Optional Text: Calculus: Early Transcendentals 8th Edition, James Stewart, ISBN-13: 978-1285741550 and ISBN-10: 1285741552. Optional: Student Solutions Manual for Stewart’s Single Variable Calculus: Early Transcendentals, 8th Edition, ISBN-13: 978-1305272422 and ISBN-10:1305272420. This book contains fully worked solutions to all of the odd-numbered exercises in your textbook. This is not available through the UAF bookstore, but is available on Amazon (and probably elsewhere) to rent and buy.

Calculus: Early Transcendentals 8th Edition, James Stewart, ISBN-13: 978-1285741550 and ISBN-10: 1285741552. Optional: Student Solutions Manual for Stewart’s Single Variable Calculus: Early Transcendentals, 8th Edition, ISBN-13: 978-1305272422 and ISBN-10:1305272420. This book contains fully worked solutions to all of the odd-numbered exercises in your textbook. This is not available through the UAF bookstore, but is available on Amazon (and probably elsewhere) to rent and buy. WebAssign Access for online homework: You need to make sure that your textbook came with an access code for the online homework site called WebAssign. If you are borrowing a book or purchased your book used, you will need to purchase this code separately at webassign.net. WebAssign works best in Firefox, Safari or Google Chrome. It does not work well in Internet Explorer. If you have not yet purchased a code, don’t fret! WebAssign grants you a two-week “trial” period where you can use the service without paying. You also have access to an eBook on WebAssign. I posted directions how to get into the correct WebAssign course here.

Here is what you should expect from this course on a weekly basis. Every week you will have one module to complete. The module will consist of 3 to 5 small lessons, each of which include notes and homework. Additionally there is one written take-home quiz covering all the lesson in a module. The notes and take home-quiz will generally be due on Fridays by 11:59 AKST. Specific due dates for notes and take home quizzes can be found here. The homework will be due throughout the week, one assignment per day at most. This is a change from last semester as I am trying to do all I can do discourage procrastination! Due dates for homework assignments can be found in WebAssign and in this google calendar.

Video and Notes: The first thing you must do in each lesson is “attend’ class. I will have pre-recorded lectures with associated note guides/ worksheets. You will need to print out the worksheet and fill it out as I “teach’ the lesson in the video. You are encouraged to try problems before I do them in the video, watch difficult examples more than once, and pause the video as needed. These notes will need to be scanned and uploaded them into Blackboard. The notes for one week should uploaded as one big pdf document. Notes are usually due on Fridays by 11:59 PM AKST. Note that even though notes are due on Fridays you will need to do them before attempting your daily homework.

The first thing you must do in each lesson is “attend’ class. I will have pre-recorded lectures with associated note guides/ worksheets. You will need to print out the worksheet and fill it out as I “teach’ the lesson in the video. You are encouraged to try problems before I do them in the video, watch difficult examples more than once, and pause the video as needed. These notes will need to be scanned and uploaded them into Blackboard. The notes for one week should uploaded as one big pdf document. Notes are usually due on Fridays by 11:59 PM AKST. Note that even though notes are due on Fridays you will need to do them before attempting your daily homework. Online Homework: There will be nearly daily homework assignments on WebAssign. The assignments are due daily to discourage procrastination and facilitate better retention of the material. See WebAssign for due dates.

There will be nearly daily homework assignments on WebAssign. The assignments are due daily to discourage procrastination and facilitate better retention of the material. See WebAssign for due dates. Take Home Quiz: Each module will come with a comprehensive take-home quiz, which you must download, print, complete and submit via Blackboard. Quizzes are due on Friday evenings by 11:59 AKST. You will earn 5 bonus points on your quiz if it is in by the Thursday before the due date! (Note: quizzes are found on the main page for each module, not the side tabs. For example, to find the quiz for Module # 1 you must click on the tab that says Module 1, not the side tab.)

Each module will come with a comprehensive take-home quiz, which you must download, print, complete and submit via Blackboard. Quizzes are due on Friday evenings by 11:59 AKST. You will earn 5 bonus points on your quiz if it is in by the Thursday before the due date! (Note: quizzes are found on the main page for each module, not the side tabs. For example, to find the quiz for Module # 1 you must click on the tab that says Module 1, not the side tab.) Proctored Quiz: Each lesson also contains a weekly quiz that is timed and proctored. These quizzes are usually given on Mondays. The dates of proctored quizzes can be found here. Each quiz is closed book, closed notes, and no calculator. The maximum allowed time on these quizzes will be 30 minutes. Look at e-Learning’s website and determine where you will take your proctored quizzes and exams, and start the process of finding a proctor early. If you are a Fairbanks student you can take your exams at eCampus in 131 Bunnell without an appointment. The testing center is open from 8 to 5 every day and until 7 on Wednesdays. If you are not in the Fairbanks area you will need to find an appropriate proctor in your local area. More information about how to find an appropriate proctor can be found here.

Each lesson also contains a weekly quiz that is timed and proctored. These quizzes are usually given on Mondays. The dates of proctored quizzes can be found here. Each quiz is closed book, closed notes, and no calculator. The maximum allowed time on these quizzes will be 30 minutes. Look at e-Learning’s website and determine where you will take your proctored quizzes and exams, and start the process of finding a proctor early. If you are a Fairbanks student you can take your exams at eCampus in 131 Bunnell without an appointment. The testing center is open from 8 to 5 every day and until 7 on Wednesdays. If you are not in the Fairbanks area you will need to find an appropriate proctor in your local area. More information about how to find an appropriate proctor can be found here. Exams: There will be 3 midterm exams and a comprehensive final exam in this course. All exams will be closed book, closed notes, no calculator, proctored exams. You will need to either take these exams at the testing center in Fairbanks, or arrange for a proctor in your local area. The three midterm exams are Friday, June 3rd, Tuesday, June 28th, Monday, July 25th, and Friday, August 12th.

As this class does not meet on a regular basis I do not hold office hours at a regular time. It is best to reach me via e-mail. I check my e-mail regularly and I guarantee a response within 1 business day, and two in extreme circumstances. Note that on the weekends you are not guaranteed a reply until Monday morning. It is best to work ahead on your assignments so I have adequate time to respond before the assignment is due.

If you are a student on campus I am also open to meeting with you in person, just send me an e-mail and we can arrange a time and place to meet. If you are not on campus and wish to “chat’ we can do an e-live chat on Blackboard at a time that is convenient for you. It is my goal to make it a rigorous (online doesn’t imply easy!) and enjoyable course. This course will be a lot of work, please be prepared for 12-20 hours of time invested in this class depending on how prepared you are. I am here to help you get through, and I would LOVE to help you solve math problems! Please let me know if anything seems wrong, confusing or cumbersome.

Sincerely,

Beth Zirbes

Note: All students who are enrolled in a University of Alaska course are expected to use the official UA e-mail address that has been assigned to you. If you do not know your username go to https://elmn.alaska.edu and click on option # 3. Follow the instructions there to find your username. Your username will appear before the “@alaska.edu’. To access your UAF email account to send and review your email, go to www.alaska.edu/google/. If you have trouble, please contact the OIT (Office of Information Technology) Help Desk at 907-450-8300 (in Fairbanks and its vicinity) or 1-800-478-8226 or by email at helpdesk@alaska.edu. They can also help you with UAF Email, Google Apps, and Blackboard. The email assigned to you is recognized as your official university email contact and system user ID. If you use another email address on a regular basis (@hotmail.com, gmail.com, etc.), you can forward your additional email addresses to your UA email by clicking “Settings’ and then “Accounts’ from within your @alaska.edu account.