Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Proctored Exams: Proctored exams are one of the many assessment tools used in MTH/STAT courses to assess student learning. For in-person sections, exams are proctored in-person on campus during class time. For remote sections, exams are primarily proctored virtually by the instructor in Zoom during remote class time. For online sections, exams are primarily proctored virtually by the instructor in Zoom on dates/times scheduled by the instructor. 

The exams for this class will be proctored virtually by me (your instructor) on the following dates and times; please make every concerted effort to attend my virtually proctored exams listed below. 

• Proctored Midterm Exam I (choose one option):
  • Evening Option: Thursday, April 25th from 6:00 pm to 8:30 pm on Zoom
  • Morning Option: Friday, April 26th from 10:00 am to 12:30 pm on Zoom
• Proctored Midterm Exam II (choose one option):
  • Evening Option: Thursday, May 23rd from 6:00 pm to 8:30 pm on Zoom
  • Morning Option: Friday, May 24th from 10:00 am to 12:30 pm on Zoom
• Proctored Final Exam Proctored (choose one option):
  • Afternoon Option: Monday, June 10th from 12:00 pm to 1:50 pm on Zoom
  • Evening Option: Monday, June 10th from 6:00 pm to 7:50 pm on Zoom

To have your exam proctored virtually, you must fully read and understand the Student Guide to Virtually Proctored Exams in Zoom and meet the technology/environment requirements; technology support will not be provided on exam day. Virtual proctoring was designed and piloted in collaboration between Math, Online Learning, and the Testing Center. 

If you do not meet the requirements for virtually proctored exams, prefer to take your exams in-person, and/or have an unavoidable scheduling conflict, please contact me as soon as possible. Alternative testing arrangements can be made for virtual or in-person proctoring at a testing center given adequate notice and depending on testing center capacity and availability. Scheduling appointments with a testing center and communicating with the instructor is the responsibility of the student, as well as paying any associated fees with using a non-PCC testing center. 

If you have accommodations through Accessible Ed & Disability Resources at PCC, please contact me so we can discuss your specific accommodations and how I can best support you. 

If you have any questions or concerns about virtually proctored exams, please feel free to contact me.

Remote vs Online: If you generally prefer in-person courses, then you might consider registering for a Remote section instead of Online. Remote sections offer synchronous meetings with your classmates and instructor, while this online section is asynchronous. More information about the types of classes here at PCC (remote, online, hybrid, etc.) can be found at www.pcc.edu/schedule/info/.

Online Math Courses: Online classes are very different from face-to-face (or remote) classes; they are more demanding and require more time-commitment and resourcefulness. This is especially true in an online math course. You should only take this online Calculus course if you're a strong math student and think that the online format would work well with your learning style.

An online math student should possess the following traits:

• Should be a strong math student (A's or B's in recent math courses).
• Can study independently, and proactively seeks extra resources when stuck.
• Understands that learning a concept takes time and can persevere when concepts don't make sense right away.
• Has the available time to go over the material, do homework and other assignments, and study. For this class, you should plan to spend 15-20 hours per week just on this course.
• Does not have prior commitments that will make logging in and participating difficult (e.g. getting married, going on vacation, having surgery, taking too many credits, working too many hours, etc.).
• Can communicate effectively in writing, and is willing to do so with the instructor and other students via discussion boards.
• Can independently work through computer issues and is willing to call the help desk if needed.
• Not a procrastinator, and can set their own schedule and stick to it.

Reflect on your own particular learning style and study habits when deciding whether an online course is right for you. Do not hesitate to reach out to me with any questions; I am here to support you!

Textbook: We will be using OpenStax Calculus Volumes 1 and 2; which can be found for free online at https://openstax.org/subjects/math. There is no need to buy the physical textbook(s) but you are welcome to do so. 

Online Homework: We will be using MyOpenMath for online homework and quizzes. This platform is free and all assignments will be embedded directly into D2L Brightspace so there's no need for any additional logins. 

Video Lectures: This course will feature instructor-created video lectures for learning content. These videos will be embedded directly into D2L through YouTube, so there's no need for any special software. 

Calculator: A physical graphing calculator is not required in this class. Instead, online graphing calculators (such as Desmos and/or GeoGebra) will be used and demonsterated throughout the term and will also be available to students for use during exams that allow technology.

Word Processor and Equation Editor: A word processor (such as Microsoft Word) and equation editor (such as MathType) are recommended, but are not required for the course. They can be downloaded for free and more information will be provided on the syllabus.

Scanner Hardware or Scanner Software: A scanner is not required, but there will be times when you'll need to upload your hand-written work. This can be easily done using either a scanner (hardware) or using a smartphone or tablet with a free scanner application (software) such as Adobe Scan, ScanBot, GeniusScan, etc. 

PDF Creator: All electronic documents submitted in this class are required to be in pdf format. If you have Microsoft Word, you can create a pdf using "Save As". Otherwise, you may need a PDF Creator, such as CutePDF. These are free and easy to use.