Welcome to Math 251 - Online!

Below you will find answers to common questions about this course:

Learning in an Online Environment

The best part about online learning is it offers flexibility.  You can choose when and where you want to learn and you don’t have to fight traffic or find parking to get there.  You just need your computer and a great attitude.

Online learning is not for everyone.  Ask yourself if you are disciplined and motivated enough to take a few hours a day, 3 or 4 times a week, to succeed in learning algebra and to pass this class.  There will be no class that you have to be in at a certain time and no professor right there in class to answer your question.

What you will have is MyMathLab.  MyMathLab has taken your textbook and put it online.  It has enhanced it with buttons you can click to get short audio and video clips, see animations, and try practice problems with guided solutions.  Each section of the book begins with a video lesson explaining the material.  While doing the homework if you get stuck, MyMathLab can help you.  It can walk you through examples, give you solutions, generate new similar problems and even take you to the part of the video that explains the particular type of problem you are working on.  MyMathLab also has an online tutoring center.

Course Structure

Basically, the structure of the course is as follows:

      1)  Complete the online orientation at http://socccd.blackboard.com/ by the end of the first of week of classes.

      2)  Learn math by watching online video lectures and reading the online text.

      3)  Complete online homework and quizzes according to the timeline.

      4)  Communicate with your instructor via email.

      5)  Take your final exam on campus with ID.

The only time you are required to come to campus is for the final exam.  All other work is online. 

What if I can't make the on-campus final exam?

If you are out of the Southern California area and coming to the final exam would create a hardship, you must arrange a proctor through another college, high school, library, or military educational officer.  Proctors need to be arranged at least 2 weeks before the scheduled final exam date and your final exam must be completed by the scheduled final exam date. A list of colleges that proctor for a small fee is available at

http://www.ncta-testing.org/cctc/.

Course Website/Online Textbook

For those of you who have taken online courses with the college before, this one is not via the Saddleback College Blackboard site.  Instead, the course uses MyMathLab, a website maintained by the textbook’s publisher.  Intead of buying a hard copy of the textbook, I require each student to register for this site which includes the online textbook.  The cost of registering is about 1/2 the price of the hard copy book.  The orientation assignment will give you instructions on how to register.

Syllabus and Timeline (This is a sample only with no specific dates and times.)