Course Information

Math 290: LaTeX - Section 01, Spring 2011

1 Credit: T 3:00 - 3:50pm MacLean Room 169

 

Textbook: The Not So Short Introduction to LaTeX2-- available free online at the following:

       http://www.ctan.org/tex-archive/info/lshort/english/lshort.pdf

Instructor: Justin James, Mathematics Department    

Office: MacLean 375M                                     Office Phone: 477-4011         

Office Hours:  W               9:30 – 10:20am       Email:  jamesju@mnstate.edu

TTh          10:30 – 11:20pm       Webpage:  web.mnstate.edu/jamesju

                                    MTWTh      1:30 –   2:50pm

                        F                1:30 –   2:30pm

                       Other times by Appointment

 

Course Description:  An introduction to LaTeX, a mathematical typesetting language, including page layout commands, typesetting formulae, enumerated lists, tables, arrays, graphics, plus other packages and specialized document classes.

Prerequisite:  MATH 260, MATH 262

 

Course Requirements: You are expected to attend class meetings and to complete all lab assignments.  By the end of the course, you should have a working knowledge of the LaTeX typesetting language.

 

Course Objectives and Student Learning Outcomes:

Upon completion of the course, students will be able to do the following:

 

·        Typeset mathematical formulae using LaTeX.

·        Use the preamble of LaTeX file to define document class and layout options.

·        Use nested list and enumerate environments within a document.

·        Use tabular and array environments within LaTeX document.

·        Use various methods to either create or import graphics into a LaTeX document.

·        Use the beamer package to create presentations.

·        Define and use new commands within LaTeX.

·        Use Theorem, Corollary, and other environments.

·        Use BibTeX to maintain bibliographic information and to generate a bibliography for a particular document.

 

Instructional Strategies:  Lecture, group work, in class lab activities.

 

Attendance and Academic Expectations:  You are expected to attend class regularly and on time.  The penalty for unexcused absences is that missed assignments cannot be made up.  You are expected to read the assigned material prior to each class meeting and to attempt the assigned lab assignments.  When working in groups, you should participate in what the group is trying to accomplish.  You are encouraged to form a study group to work with outside of class.

 

Labs: I will collect and grade a lab assignment once a week (on Mondays).  Late labs will receive a significant late penalty.

 

Presentation: During the last few class meetings, each student will be expected to give a brief presentation in class using beamer and other LaTeX tools learned throughout the semester.  You must meet with me at least two weeks in advance of your presentation in order to get my approval on both your topic and content.  You will be graded on both the quality of your presentation and the LaTeX source code for your presentation.

 

Exams:  This course will have no exams.  However, we may need to use a portion of the final exam period in order to fit in all of the student presentations.

 

Course Grading Policy: Your final grade in the course will be computed as follows:

 

Labs:                                              130 points

Attendance/Participation:                   60 points

Presentation                                     60 points

Total:                                             250 points

 

I will compute the percentage of the total possible points each student earned during the semester (rounded to the nearest .1%), and will then assign letter grades based on the following scale.  I may make slight adjustments to this scale (down, never up), but don’t count on this happening.

 

96.5-100.0%     A+                    81.5-86.4%       B                      69.0-71.4%       C–

91.5-96.5%       A                      79.0-81.4%       B–                    66.0-68.9%       D+

89.0-91.4%       A–                    76.5-78.9%       C+                    60.0-65.9%       D

86.5-88.9%       B+                    71.5-76.4%       C                      <60.0%             F

                                                                       

Make-up Work: I only give make-up assignments for extreme personal emergencies or for absences which are officially sanctioned by the University.  I will expect written documentation in either of these cases.  If you miss an exam and a make-up exam is not warranted, you may replace your grade on one missed exam with your un-scaled percentage score on the final exam.

 

Special Accommodations: Students with disabilities who believe they may need an accommodation in this class are encouraged to contact Greg Toutges, Coordinator of Disability Services at 477-5859 (Voice) or 1-800-627-3529 (MRS/TTY), CMU 114 as soon as possible to ensure that accommodations are implemented in a timely fashion.

 

Academic Honesty: You are expected to do your own work.  You may work with others and get help on assignments, but the work you submit must be your own.  During exams and quizzes you will not be allowed to get help from others.  Cheating and plagiarism will not be tolerated in any course at any level.  See the MSUM Academic Honesty policy for more information on the possible consequences of cheating.

 

Thanks, And Let’s Have A Great Semester!!

 

 

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