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Welcome to your new mathematics classroom. Expect to be surprised. Expect this to be different in every way from classrooms you have experienced before. And… it's more than just being at a distance. It's a whole new way to think about and do math.
We want you to read this Manual completely to get a feel for what this course is all about. You don't have to wait until you are at a computer. Don't worry if it doesn't all make sense at first. Just read, and jot down questions to ask us if you want to. We want you to feel that you are beginning to know us and to know what this next year of math will be like.
You are probably a senior in a high school in Ohio. You are enrolled in the OSU Academy, which means that you qualify to take classes at the Ohio State University while still in high school. You have taken either the EMPT Calculus Readiness Test or the AP Calculus Test and are ready to start calculus or continue on in calculus. The course you will be taking is a college calculus course. Some of you have had some calculus already and will be beginning your college study at the level identified by the EMPT. You are probably pretty smart. You are definitely a risk taker, willing to take a chance on learning a tough subject with invisible teachers. You have time in your schedule to do math. We'll learn more about you as we exchange messages and homework and during mentoring sessions.
You may be the only student at your school or there may be several of you. Whatever your situation in your own school, remember that there are high school students from all over Ohio taking this course. You can talk to them through e-mail and through AOL Instant Messenger. Since learning, especially learning math, is not an individual activity, you should think about all other students as your colleagues, your helpers, and your resource. You can talk about things together, ask each other questions, solve problems together, vent your frustrations with each other, and just communicate about math and about your learning.
Many students have come to believe that talking with others and sharing work is cheating. Not in this course! We will expect you to help each other and to work together. If you are lucky enough to have other students at your school, start right now to get to know them, if you don't already. Your mentor will help you get into teams of 2 or 3.
There is a site coordinator at your school, probably a math teacher. The site coordinator is your advocate with OSU and with your school and district administrators and with your parents. Your coordinator's job is also to look after things at school. The coordinator made sure the technology was in place and will make sure that any changes, adjustments and repairs get made. Your coordinator is there to encourage, support and coach you, to make sure you have easy access to a computer and to be sure you can schedule time to work and to talk to your mentor. The coordinator will make sure you are communicating with your mentor and bug you if you are not. The coordinator is responsible for being sure you know about deadlines and for nagging you about them if necessary.
Think about your site coordinator as someone to help you solve problems, but not necessarily the math kind. The coordinator should not be expected to teach you calculus; it is the mentors' job to do that. That's not to say that you shouldn't talk math with your coordinator, just that you should focus your learning needs on the mentor. Your school coordinator will be the one who officially gives you your high school grade. There is more about that in the section on grades.
There is also someone at your school who knows the technology, all about the computer and the software and the network. This person will be the one who helps you if you run into technical problems. Our expectation is that this person is available to you during the time you are working, and especially when you are hooking up to OSU. Sometimes the technical expert is the site coordinator, sometimes it's someone else. The site coordinator will know. Find out who to go to with technical questions. Or better yet, become a technical expert yourself! Many school districts have a district person who is the one who has to solve the really hard problems. This person is usually not in the school, but it is in your best interests for you to know who it is.
BACK
THE FOLKS AT OSU
There are several people at OSU devoted to keeping your class running smooth. These people will make sure that you and your mentor are communicating well, and that our computers are allowing you to communicate. They may e-mail you sometimes. If you have any problems or questions, these are the people to talk to. They are there to help.
Here are those special people for you to know.
There are lots of mentors. All of them are undergraduates at OSU, so they are only a year or two ahead of you. They have all been through the course that you are now taking, so they will know what you are talking about when you have questions. They have had extensive training in teaching and in using the technology. You will have a mentor assigned to you. Other mentors will help you when you contact the Hotline. Maybe they will talk to you on AOL Instant Messenger. Your own mentor's job is to know how you are doing at all times, to help you out when you're stuck. Your mentor will e-mail you regularly. Don't ignore them, they need to know how you're doing. Your mentor will get surly if you don't communicate regularly, but otherwise you will find mentors charming, intelligent, fun, and helpful.
From about 8:00 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. there is a mentor waiting for your call on the Hotline. It may or may not be your own mentor, and it will be a different person depending on time of day or day of the week. Everyone on the Hotline is eager to help you with whatever is bothering you or keeping you from doing your work. The person monitoring the Hotline will answer your questions or find someone who can. The Hotline is your main source for answers to your course-related questions. Your questions may be about math, about the technology, about assignments, or anything else. In addition, the Hotline is in charge of grading your assignments and getting them back to you as fast as they can, giving you the necessary feedback on it as well. When you have problems or questions, call (614) 688-3920 or send an Instant Message to CROSU0, CROSU1, CROSU2, CROSU3, or CROSU4.
This is Bill Davis. He has been a professor in the OSU Math
Department since 1964, so he has lots of experience, and he's pretty old. He founded
the C&M program here at Ohio State. His favorite thing is
people who THINK, so you'll be fine if you're prepared to do that. You will see his name
all over your cybertextbook because he is one of the authors. Don't worry. He's OK.
You can call him Bill.
Program Director and Teacher of Record
The program director and teacher of record is Lee. He is an OSU professor with a Ph. D. in Mathematics from OSU. Lee teaches Calculus&Mathematica courses in the computer lab here at Ohio State as well. He really enjoys teaching math, especially to those who are ready and prepared to learn. Lee is easy to relate to, so do not be scared to ask him questions. He is a big fan of music and rather knowledgeable on the subject as well. As long as you listen to Lee, don't make fun of his socks, and do what he says you will get along with him without a problem. It is rather important for you get along with Lee since he is the guy who grades your quizzes and final exams. He also gives you your final grade. He will e-mail you a lot. Respond, always. He knows how to help you.
This wise old Greek guy gave us the model for our teaching. He never answered a question with a direct answer but asked questions to help lead to the answer. It is also the name of the file server at OSU where all the web pages are kept and where you will have an e-mail account. Socrates lives in the basement of the Math Tower.
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