Information for instructors of Math 89, Math 90, and Math 91

• We will be grading final exams on Thursday, March 13. A more detailed schedule will be coming your way soon.


• Here are some copies of some old finals: Math 89, Math 90, Math 91. Please remind your students that the questions that appear on the actual final exam will not be exactly the same as these questions!


• Here is the front page of every exam. Feel free to give your class this information. No calculators, no books, no notes. 25 questions. Partial credit is awarded, so they should show their work. Even if they get the right answer, they may not get full credit if they do not show work.


• After the final exam, please drop off all exams in the box in the Math Office.


• Your final exam should come with a "signature sheet" for all students in the class. When the student turns in the final, please have them sign the sheet. The purpose of doing so is to avoid situations where the student claims a final was lost and the instructor claims the student did not show up for the final.

• Here is some information on adding and dropping students.


• Here is where to find final exam times for four-day-a-week classes.


• Here is the schedule for the Tutorial Lab.


• Any student who receives a score of 65 or higher on the final exam will pass the course.

• You can tell your students that the computer program is available at all on-campus computer labs except those in the library and the engineering labs. They can access it by clicking “Start,” then “Workspace,” then “Coursework,” then “AcademicOnline.” They are welcome to use the computer labs in SH356 and SH357 at any time, even if another class is in progress, as long as they give first priority to the students in the class and don’t disturb anyone.


• There have been some problems with computers in SH-C356 crashing, freezing, and otherwise behaving badly. We need your help to solve these problems. What we need you to do is tell your students to follow these steps when they're ready to log off: (1) Do NOT just close the window! This is what's been causing the problems. (2) Instead, first they should go to "File/Quit" and quit the program. (3) Then they must LOG OFF.
  
  They should not leave the room until the Interactive Mathematics program looks like this picture! (If you're teaching in SH-C356, you can show this picture on the projector and tell them to make sure their screen contains that picture before they leave.) You will probably need to tell your students about this twenty or thirty times before they actually start doing it. So remind them about it every class period!


• Here are two things students can do if they're having technical problems with the PLATO software:
  
      (1) Visit the PLATO tech support website. The Troubleshooting Guide may help them solve the problem.
  
      (2) Call PLATO tech support at 1-800-681-4357. (Unlike me, these people should actually know what they're talking about.)
  
  If neither one of these things helps, then have the student talk to me.


• Here is the computer problem report form. These are also available in the drawer of the desk at the front of the room in SH-C356. If you are running into a problem with one of the computers in SH-C356, 357, or 259, please fill out this form in as much detail as possible, then give it to me or to someone in the Math Office.


• Here is some info on adding and removing students from the Plato system.


• Math 89 instructors: There are boxes with Section F5.2 in Room SH-C357. If the supply starts getting low, please let me know.


• Math 91 computer-based instructors: There are boxes with Sections 11.1, 17.1, and 17.3 in Room SH-C357. If the supply starts getting low, please let me know.


• Every website on the internet on the computers in SH356 except those used in Math 89/90/91 classes should be blocked. If you’re nevertheless having a problem with students surfing the web during class, then first of all address the problem with the student(s), and second tell me about it.

• All lecture-format classes are required to use MathXL for homework. You can also have students submit written homework, if you like. The MathXL homework grade must count towards at least 5% of the final course grade. If you feel that this will mess up your grading system, then talk with me, and we'll work something out.


• Here is a handout on getting started with MathXL. It's from Spring 2006, so the screen shots look a little different than they do now, but the procedure is still the same.


• You can tell your students that MathXL can be used on all on-campus computer labs except those in the library and the engineering labs. If students are having any difficulty using the program in campus labs, please tell them to tell you and/or me ASAP.


• Here's a tip: If students are having trouble with MathXL at home, they can call Pearson's MathXL Support line at 1-800-677-6337 Mon-Fri, 5am to 5pm or Sun, 2pm to 9pm. Calling this number will be most effective if students can call at the same time as they are experiencing the trouble. More info about MathXL Support, both for students and for instructors, can be found by clicking the Support tab at www.mathxl.com.