Valencia Core competencies: TVCA

Valencia faculty has defined four interrelated competencies (Value, Think, Communicate and Act) that prepare students to succeed in the world community. These competencies are complex abilities that are essential to lifelong success. This course will help you develop and demonstrate the abilities to (1) think clearly, critically, and creatively; (2) communicate with others verbally and in written form; (3) make reasoned value judgments and responsible commitments; and (4) act purposefully, reflectively, and responsibly. Due to the nature of these global competencies many problems and activities will be presented in the context of an application. These applications will require students to select appropriate information from the problem and communicate effectively how to arrive at an appropriate solution.

Attendance Policy:

Due to the nature of this online course, on-campus attendance in the traditional sense cannot be enforced. However, the frequency of your visitations to the course sites will be monitored. In the event of an extended absence -that is, not logging onto course sites (BB and/or WebAssign) for more than 3 days, or not replying to my emails in a timely manner (within 48 hours)- you must contact me as soon as possible to indicate the reason for the inactivity. Before the withdrawal deadline, if your absences become extreme (3 days or more), you may be withdrawn from this course for noncompliance with the requisites of the course. If you miss two tests, this is consider excessive absences and you will be withdrawn from the course.

 After the withdrawal deadline, you cannot -for any reason- withdraw from this course and obtain a grade of “W.” 

Please check the "No-Show" section for more details on online attendance requirements.

Work Requirement:

Instruction in this course does not involve classroom lectures.  You will learn the material by reading the sections watching the videos and doing the problems outlined in the Topics section in BB. All instructional materials used throughout the course, as well as the scheduled activities, support and promote the achievement of the stated learning outcomes and unit learning objectives. You can find the course learning outcomes and unit learning objectives on the BB page.) I will act as facilitator and will guide you in your learning experience.

Accessing the Online Textbook material in MML:

To access the online textbook, login to Course Compass, and go to the Chapter Content (in the left hand side). Select the desired chapter and section in MML. In there, you will find the Watch Videos and the 'Multimedia e-text’ link that contains the book section in a PDF format. All the Multimedia and video lectures are integrated in the e-text.  The 'Tracked Tutorial Exercises' are optional and will not count towards your grade.

Doing Online Homework in MML:

When you are ready to take an online homework, login to Course Compass and in Course Home, select the 'Homework' tab. When you work a problem, make sure to click the save button. You may do the homework as many times as you want (until you get 100%).
Every time you hand in homework, your homework grade will be updated in your Gradebook. It is the student's responsibility to check their Gradebook to ensure that the homework was submitted successfully.

Caution: Trying the online homework before doing the assigned textbook reading will result in wasting many hours of your time in front of the computer without learning the material.

If you do not want to waste your time, the steps to take are: (1) Read the section in the book and work the textbook examples. Your guide should be the topics in the 'Topics' link in BB. (2) Make sure to follow the topics and examples listed in the 'Topics' link, (3) do the online homework and quizzes.

 You have learned the material when you can do the homework without referring to the book or your notes.

Remember: In Mathematics "There are no shortcuts".

Taking Online Quizzes in MML:

To take quizzes in MML,  login to Course Compass and in Course Home, select the 'Take a Quizzes & Tests' tab, and select your quiz. Do not hit submit until you have finished all the questions. You can take each quiz two times; the highest score will count. Each section will have multiple choice questions quiz. You will have no time limit to complete each quiz. You will be able to see the answers after the quiz deadline. Every time you do a quiz, your quiz grade will be updated in your Gradebook. It is the student's responsibility to check their Gradebook to ensure that the quiz was submitted successfully. To deal with any computer or technical problem that may arise, you should always take any examination at least one day before the due day.

Deadline for Taking  Online Homework/Quizzes:

There will be homework and quizzes assigned from the book.  Remember that the key for success in this course is to do homework. The dates listed in the 'Schedule' link in BB (see also the calendar in MML) are the last possible day for you to do online homework and take online quizzes.  There will be no extensions under any circumstances for any of the deadlines in this course. MML will not allow you to take an online examination after the deadline. There will be no time limit for online homework. Homework can be taken as many times as you want until you get a perfect score. Quizzes can be taken up to 3 times. I strongly suggest you complete the assigned work at least one day before the deadline. If you wait until the last minute to do the online work, I am not responsible for last minute technical difficulties.

Non Graded Assessment:

The Study Plan, and the Sample Tests and Quizzes  under the Quizzes and Tests tab, will not count toward your grade in the course. You only do those if you feel you require more practice.

Examinations:

You must take each test after completion of the computer Homework and quizzes and after studying the "Topics and Concepts section in BB.  Tests must be taken according to the schedule. You can take the tests at any time on or before the deadline date, but never after! If you miss one test, the final exam will replace that missed test grade.  If you miss any two tests, for any reason, only one tests will be replaced with the final exam I. You will obtain a zero on the other test. The final exam cannot be worth more than two test grades (200 points).

Important: Since the tests have problems from a test bank, you can only see your tests in my office after the tests deadlines. I will be glad to discuss your test performance during my office hours. I cannot give you a copy of the tests for you to review. You can only review your test performance in my office after the test deadline, and before the due date of the next test. Allow one hour to discuss your test performance during my office hours.  

Taking your MAC 1140 Take-Home Part of Tests:

There will be a 120-minute time limit for each take-home parts tests. Problems not answered within the time limit will be counted as incorrect. As you answer each question, I suggest that you save your answer after each problem you have completed. By doing this, if the power goes out you will not lose your work. Even if you save your answers, you can go always go back and change them. Make sure you select “Save All Answers,” and click on “Save and Submit.” Immediately, the computer will give you the test score. Make sure you are using the Firefox Browser, and the computer has the latest Java installed before login to your test. If any other browser is used, or an old Java is installed, some problems may not show up, and you will miss the attempt. If you use a Tablet to take the test (iPad, Samsung Galaxy, exc.), some pictures will not open. Remember that you only have one attempt at the test. You must complete the Take-Home part of a Tests in one session. Once you open the Take-Home part of the test, you must complete it. If you open and close the Take-Home part of the tests, you will not have access to it again. Under no circumstance, you will be allowed to continue with the Tests once you open and close the test. When taking a test, you are responsible of making sure that your test is submitted in BB. If you do not receive a score at the end of your test, your test was not submitted.

Taking your MAC 1140 Testing Center part of Tests (Proctored):

The the onsite examinations in this course will be submitted electronically via BB at the testing center. At the testing center, you will login to BB http://online.valenciacollege.edu/ with your login name and password. Once you have logged in, under the Course Content you will select “Assessments (Tests),” found in the left-hand side, where you will find both the Take-Home  and Testing Center parts of the tests. When you open the Testing Center part of the test, the program will ask for a password. The testing center personnel or proctor will type a password for you. Make sure the proctor is using the Firefox Browser, and the computer has the latest Java installed before login to your test. If any other browser is used, or an old Java is installed, some problems may not show up, and you will miss the attempt.  All Testing Center examinations  are closed book/notebook. No notes or formulas are allowed.

Again, you cannot take Testing Center examination from home. However, you can take the tests (at the testing center) at any day/time that is convenient to you, no later than the specified deadlines.

 As you answer the test questions, I suggest that you select “Save answers” after each problem you have completed. By doing this, if the power goes out you will not lose your work. Even if you save your answers, you can go always go back and change them. Once you finish this part, make sure you select “Save all Answers,” and click on “Save and Submit.” If you do not select Save and Submit, your test will not be sent and graded. After you submit your test, the computer will give you the test score for that part. If you do not see your score, you have not properly submitted your test.

All the tests have no time limit. I recommend that you allow at least two hours to take each test (two hours or more). Again, since there is no time limit, there should be no reason to leave any question unanswered because you ran out of time.

When taking a test, you are responsible of making sure that your test is submitted in BB. If you do not receive a score at the end of your test, your test was not submitted. Should you have any technical difficulties while submitting your test, you must alert a Testing Center staff member immediately! The Testing Center specialist must contact me and explain any technical problems encountered. Make sure that this procedure is strictly followed; if the Testing Center specialist does not corroborate the problem, you will receive a score of zero if the test is not submitted properly.

It is your responsibility to inform me immediately via e-mail of any issue you encounter when taking tests. The issue must be informed in writing so that there is written evidence.  Informing me afterwards is not an acceptable excuse.

The deadline specified in the Weekly Schedule is the last day you have to take both versions of each test. If you wait until the last minute to take a test, I am not responsible for last minute technical difficulties at your selected testing center, including, but not limited to: accessibility to a computer, availability of BB, availability of Internet connection, etc. To avoid this, I recommend that you take a test days before the due date. A test will always be available the day after the deadline of a previous test; so plan accordingly.

When taking tests, it is strictly forbidden to go to any website or check e-mails. Doing this will be considered Academic Dishonesty, resulting in getting an F in the course with an Academic Dishonesty note in your transcript.  All computer screens, at the testing center are constantly monitored from the sign-in desk. Schedule your test-taking dates and times efficiently! I am not limiting you when taking tests, so please do not limit yourself.

At any time, you can see your tests grades in the 'My Grades' tab in BB.

Taking your MAC 1140 Final Exam Test:

Valencia ID Cards:  

General Notes:

When you use a computer there is a possibility technical problems like computer crashes, power outage, corrupted plug-ins and a down system. Plan to do the homework quizzes and take the tests early, before the deadline, so that you will have time to fix technical difficulties that may arise. Technical problems are not an excuse for missing any computer work. If you are having problems with your computer you can access this course on any other computer. Every time you use a different computer remember, you must install and check all the plus-ins. If you encounter a problem, is most likely because you do not have the computer and internet requirements, you do not have the plug-ins correctly installed, your plug-ins are outdated, your pop up blocker is on, you have other programs opened in the background or you have a CD/DVD in your CD/DVD drive. If this is not the case, you can call MML Technical support at 1-800-677-6337 (M-F 8AM-5PM CST).

Grades:

There will be a total of six (6) grades in the course. An Online homework/quiz grade from MML (one grade), four (4) on-site tests (one grade each) and an on-site Final Exam (one grades). Your course grade will be the average of those 6 grades.  Test problems are similar to homework problems and examples in the book. The book homework is not collected or graded. Similar problems will show-up on tests.

The final grade for this course will be derived from the following sources:

Online quizzes and online homework                                     100 points   (50 points quizzes/50points online homework)