Course Description:  Introduction to applications of computer software to calculus. Students must either have taken, or be concurrently enrolled in, Math 261 (Calculus I).  Every day in class will be a lab day - it will start with an introduction to the lab assignment and there will be at least some time to work on the labs yourselves in class.  The last day of class, December 5, is the day of the in-class final exam.

Student Learning Outcomes: The students in Math 260 will learn a mathematical software system, in this case Maple, and be able to use it to explore various concepts in one-dimensional calculus.  Specific topics include how to take limits, derivatives, and integrals, graphing (including three-dimensional graphing), equation solving, applications, and numerical integration.

Attendance and Grading Comments:  Attendance is mandatory in the sense that you will not be given an opportunity to make up work from class that you miss, and it is up to you to learn the material on your own.  I will not give you the lecture on a one-on-one basis in my office.  Regardless of why you miss, missing class will likely mean that you won't understand the material as well as you should and your lab grades will likely suffer as well.  Unfortunately this statement is true whether you miss class because you just didn't want to get up that morning or if you miss class because you had a major emergency (in fact, the better the reason for missing class is, the more students tend to not understand the material no matter how much they try to make it up, since they are distracted by other concerns in their lives).  Missing class is strongly discouraged.  It will not be directly penalized, however, except for exam days, and I do not take a formal attendance each day.

For a known absence due to military duty, jury duty, or other legal requirement, you must give me notice as soon as feasible and prior to the absence if it will require missing the final exam.  If you don't miss the final, I don't need to know why you were gone unless you wish to tell me.  Also, documentation will be required for a makeup exam to be graded.  For an absence due to an official university activity, you must give me written notice at least two weeks prior to the absence, as per university policy, for a makeup exam.  I feel it is necessary to point out that relatively few faculty members or coaches remember to provide this notice in that time frame, but it is up to you to remind them, since insufficient notice will be your problem, not theirs.  For an absence due to personal reasons such as illness or family emergencies, you should notify me as soon as feasible, before the absence in most cases.  In order for a makeup exam to be graded, written documentation of the reason for the absence will be required.  Example are:  a note from the doctor saying you were seen (it does not have to say what you were seen for), a copy of the police report for a minor car accident, funeral program or obituary, etc..  (In the case of a funeral, if your relationship is not clear, I may ask you to write a short sentence saying what the relationship is and to sign it.)

The labs are due the Wednesday after the lab is covered in class (so Lab 1 is due in the second week).  This due date holds whether or not you were in class the day the lab was covered or the day the lab is due.  I strongly suggest that you submit the lab as soon as you finish it.  Labs should be emailed to me (at elhill@mnstate.edu) as an attachment.  Labs are due before class time.  Late labs will be deducted 20% for each weekday (excluding holidays) that they are late.  (But the first 20% is from class time Wednesday and all day Thursday.)  So if you submit the lab due Wednesday on Friday, it will be 40% off.  The final exam counts the same as a lab, but must be completed in class.  For the final exam you can use the help system in the program and any written notes that you have, but you will not be allowed to use any other resources (so no emailing, text-messaging, etc., from the computer).  The final exam is intended to be mostly skill-based:  Can you make the computer do the mathematics that you ask it to do.  In my experience, about 75% of the students feel that the final exam is easier than the labs, at least by the time they get to the final exam.

Absences due to family vacations, reunions, weddings, etc., are not excused absences unless you inform me of them by Wednesday, September 5, 2007.  I expect you to schedule such events around your class schedules if they come up during the session, especially since the exam date is already set.  In addition, one-day illnesses will not be excused absences if they occur on any day but the day of the final exam.  If it occurs on that day, I expect you to go to the health center to get checked out.

Academic Honesty: You are expected to do your own work.  You may certainly work with others and get help on the labs, but the work you submit should be your own work.  Note that during the exam you will not be allowed to get help from others.  Make sure that you learn the material while you do the labs - that is the purpose of the assignments.  Then during the exam you can demonstrate your knowledge - that is the purpose of the exam.  Cheating and plagiarism will not be tolerated in any college course (or any course at any level).  See the MSUM Academic Honesty policy for more information and possible consequences of cheating.

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.

Course Requirements:  You are expected to complete all labs and take and pass the exam on the scheduled date.

Evaluations Standards: Your course grade will include lab and exam grades.  For more details, see the grade page.

Course Outline:  See the course schedule

General Comments:  The single biggest reason for poor grades in this class is not doing all of the parts of a problem on the labs.  Read the question and if it asks you to do more than one thing, make sure that you do, and show, all the things requested.  I also take off for spelling and grammar mistakes in your submitted assignments - so reread your work and make sure it makes sense.

I do not curve courses of this level.  I have given a class average of a B+ in a course of this level, and I have also given a class average of a D+.  I grade you as individuals, and by whether or not you personally have mastered the material.  I also very rarely give extra credit, and when I do it is to the entire class.  If you come to my office at the end of the term and ask if you can do extra credit to improve your grade, my answer will be no.  The grading scale and weights for the homework and exams are given here.

I will in general return any work the next class day or when it is graded.  You will email your labs to me - and I will require you to use your mnstate.edu email address.  Some of the labs I will print out and grade the hard copy and others I will grade electronically.  Those that I grade on hard copy will be returned the next class day after it is due, those that I grade electronically I will email back to you to your mnstate.edu email address.  Therefore don't let others read your email unless you agree to allow them access to some of your grades.  If you are not there on the day I pass back a lab graded in hardcopy, I will not give it to friends, roommates, or siblings/spouses/children/parents, nor will I give out grade information on the phone.  (These restrictions are not arbitrary - they are based on federal law regarding student privacy.)  Normally, I include any old assignments with any current ones, but I do not try to pass them back a second time unless you have turned in the most recent assignment.  I will bring the old assignments with me every day, so if you ask at the end of class you can get them then.

I expect you to be responsible for yourself as far as getting notes from a classmate if you miss class.  I also expect you to turn in any labs early if you know that you will miss class.  This includes those instances when the absence is due to an official university activity.

Cell Phones:  Turn off your cell phones when you go to class (this class or any other class).  Cellular phones and other distracting devices generally have no place in a formal or semi-formal setting, such as a classroom.  If your phone rings audibly during class, I will require you to leave the classroom for the remainder of the period.  This includes the day of the exam.  In fact, it applies especially on the day of the exam.  Hence, if your cell phone rings during the exam, you will have to turn in what you have completed up to that point.  No extra time will be given.  I strongly suggest that you always remember to turn off your phone.  (You are free to return to class the next day, and there will be no other consequences.)  Note:  I have found that cell phones on vibrate, when in a backpack next to a textbook, are still quite loud since they reverberate against the book.  If I can hear it at the front of the room or if most of the students next to you react to it, it is still an audible ring.  Keep it on something soft or on your waistband or in your pocket.  Or better yet, turn it off entirely.  This policy applies to any other distracting device, such as a pager or alarm clock, as well.

In addition, during the exam, your cell phone (or any other electronic device other than a calculator) may not be visible at all - you must put it in your closed bookbag or something similar.  If you use it for your watch, you will have to bring a different clock to exams or use the classroom clock.

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This page maintained by Ellen Hill, elhill@mnstate.edu
Last Revision:  01/04/2008

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