Read This First

 

Welcome to MATH 2625 class! Please read the following to gett ready for the course.

 

(Your first extra credit assignment is at the bottom of this page.)

 

What do you need to do for this course?

 

  1. Read the course syllabus and grading policy to get a general idea about this course.
  2. The textbook is Elementary Statistics, A Brief Version, 4th edition, by A. Bluman. For those students who wish to use older editions to save cost, please follow the subject title instead of chapter number while studying. You only need Bluman’s Elementary Statistics, A Brief Version. You do not need the other customized Bluman’s book that is used in a regular MATH 2625 class. YSU bookstore has the textbook for this course that bundled with a student version SPSS.
  3. Follow the weekly Study Schedule in the Course Content section of WebCT to learn the materials. If you finished the material earlier than it is scheduled feel free to go further to next topic.
  4. View the recorded lecture videos in WebCT when available. There are lecture notes that can be downloaded and printed from the same page.
  5. Do WebCT online quizzes through WebCT Quiz page after reading, and submit them as scheduled. Please feel free to discuss with the instructor on questions in quizzes. I strongly recommend you to complete the quiz immediately after you finish studying a chapter.
  6. Turn in assignments through WebCT Assignment Dropbox. If there is problem submitting assignment, please use other methods such as email, fax, or in person, and also inform me about it. Please read the instruction for each assignment carefully and submit your assignment according to the instruction before due date.
  7. Turn in a final written project paper at the end. Due date will be announced. Feel free to discuss with the instructor about the project. Do not worry about this until after the 10th week.
  8. Email or call or Skype or visit Dr. Chang if you have questions in learning the course materials.
  9. Please use the Discussions link in WebCT as much as possible. It can be used for asking questions or discussing issues. Please consider Discussions to be a Questions and Answers page. You may learn from your own questions or questions raised by other students. Please do not use Reply Private option unless you really want it to be private.
  10. Do not try to submit everything at the last minute. Although the due dates are scheduled, it is advised that you submit your assignments or quizzes one day before the deadline so that if you have problem submitting your work you’ll have time to notify me to resolve the problem. Therefore, you should consider that the actual deadline is one day before the schedule time.
  11. For each due date the submission time is before 11:00 pm that day. You will be notified if there is a change.
  12. Information related to the course will be mostly sent to you through WebCT email. It is your responsibility to check your WebCT email regularly to get the class information and updates.

 

About Quizzes and Exam:

 

  1. WebCT quizzes can always be found from the Quiz link under the Course Menu. After you submitted the quiz, you may see the grade and the questions that you missed. Feel free to discuss with the instructor on those questions that you missed. If you have trouble finding quizzes and the results of the quizzes please contact the instructor. If you are not satisfied with your quiz score you may take a second attempt on the quiz. The best score will be used for grade.
  2. Regular WebCT online quizzes can be accessed any time and must be submitted before the due date. You may log on and off many times from the online quiz before submitting it. There is a due date for each quiz but no time limit until the deadline.
  3. Online WebCT Timed Final Exam must be submitted within specified time after you started the exam. Please read the instruction carefully when taking the online exam.
  4. During the online quiz or online exam you may use your notes, the textbook for the course, the lecture notes from instructor, calculator and SPSS software. Please feel free to discuss with the instructor when you have trouble doing on quiz problems.  You may not consult with any other person during the final exam except for the instructor for this course.

 

 

What are in the WebCT course menu?

 (Some of the items will appear later and some will be rearranged during the semester.)

  1. Homepage: an organizer page contains links to some important pages in our course WebCT.

1)      Read This First: that is the document that you are currently viewing.

2)      Syllabus: for the description of the course.

3)      Grading Policy: for course coverage, grading scale, and general information about the course.

  1. Course Materials: an organizer page contains all course information included lecture materials, assignment, study schedule.

1)      Study Schedule: the major part of the course materials that provides the weekly study guide based on Bluman’s 4th edtion. This page will be built and updated almost weekly during the semester.

2)      Lecture Videos: lecture videos with lecture notes.

3)      Suggested Exercises:  selected exercise problems from textbook for practicing. Do not turn in.

4)      Assignment Dropbox: for submitting some of the assignments especially written assignments.

5)      Quiz/Exam: for taking online quizzes, exercises and exam, and viewing the results and answers.

6)      Term Project: a description of the term project. Do not worry about this until after the 10th week.

7)      My Grades: for checking your current grades status.

  1. Communication Tools: an organizer page for various communication tools that can be utilized in WebCT.

1)      Mail: for email communicating with instructor and other students. Please try to use WebCT email for this course.

1)      Discussions: for asking questions and discussions.

  1. Additional Tools: an organizer page contains additional materials that can be used for your study.

1)      SPSS References: text instructions and video instructions for SPSS software.

2)      WebCT Video Clips: videos demonstrating the use of some of the functions in WebCT.

3)      Formula Card: a copy of the formula card that is provided in the textbook.

 

About WebCT

 

  1. The list of items above is the list of links under Course Menu on the left side of the WebCT page that you can use to reach all materials in WebCT.
  2. WebCT help is content sensitive. You can click on Help link, and WebCT will provide help for the WebCT page that you are currently viewing.
  3. If you have problem with WebCT you may check with YSU help desk (330) 941-1595 or visit WebCT browser tuneup page: http://www.webct.com/tuneup
  4. If you can not view some of the materials in WebCT that may mean you do not have the plug-in player for it, and you can download them from the following WebCT browser tune-up page: http://www.webct.com/tuneup/viewpage?name=tuneup_browser_tuneup_information#plugins

 

About SPSS

  1. SPSS is the software to be used for this course. Please have the software ready by the end of the first week of the semester. YSU has the software in almost all the computer labs. However, you may get the student version of SPSS software through

a)      YSU bookstore: SPSS bundled with the Bluman’s textbook. A textbook specially for distance learning MATH 2625 course.

b)      online store:  in e-academy web site  SPSS Statistics 17 for Windows GradPack Base (06-Mo Rental)

  1. SPSS is designed for statistical analysis. If you wish to use EXCEL, you may do so. However, the instructor does not have additional instructional material for it besides the EXCEL instructions in textbook. You can follow the instructions in the textbook to learn it. Also, SPSS may be used in your major courses later, so be sure to check with your academic advisor before you decide to use EXCEL.

 

Final comments:

  1. In distance learning, communicating with your instructor is very important. Do not hesitate to contact your instructor immediately whenever you have questions.
  2. Make yourself a study plan and follow it throughout the semester. Distance learning course may be convenient. But, to be successful in a distance learning course, one must set a routine study schedule for learning the materials and follow it closely. Please click on this link to read about distance learning. 

 

Extra Credit Assignment 1 (10 points): (Extra credit assignment gives you extra points to add to the total 500 points. This means that you may earn more than 500 points.)

Task 1: Add MATH_2625_DL_Chang to your WebCT account. Send an email in WebCT to me, Andy Chang (MATH_2625_DL_Chang), with a text message in it indicating that you have successfully added the course to your WebCT account. My WebCT

Task 2: Post a message in the WebCT Discussion page under the topics Test which is the first discussion topic.