Math 2565 Course Outline

There will be a primary course Q&A forum using Campuswire¹. Use of Campuswire is not mandatory (some of you may have privacy concerns) but it is strongly encouraged.

Campuswire has a primary class feed, that serves as a Q&A forum. There is support for mathematical notation, code highlighting, and remaining anonymous to your peers when you post.

For groups of students who want to be able to communicate outside of class, it is also possible to set up chat rooms in Campuswire. These can be made private, so that only those who are invited have access.

Campuswire should be your primary communication channel. In particular, any questions about homework and course content should be asked there, since I can reply there with mathematical notation. You will also get a much faster reply on the forum than you will from email. If you have a question you don't want to ask publicly, you can send a direct message instead.

To access Campuswire, use the signup link and PIN code provided on Moodle. But note that to sign up this way, you will need to use your U of L email address. If you prefer not to provide your school email address to a third party company, you can ask me to send you an invite to a different email address.

There is one exception to the “put all homework questions on Campuswire” rule: in our WeBWorK online homework system, there is an “Email Instructor” button you can click to send feedback. This is useful if you think there's an error in the question, or if you've tried it several times and can't figure out why you're wrong. That email comes with a link I can use to jump directly to your version of the question, and see what answers you've tried. See Subsection 3.1 for details.

You can email me for questions that aren't related to course content. For example, if you have to miss class, or a test, you can email me to let me know.

Short answer: yes. I recognize that not all students have access to the same technology. If your home internet is unreliable, attending Zoom sessions could be a challenge. If you can't attend synchronous sessions, I will arrange alternatives for graded work done asynchronously. I will also try to connect you with other students in the same situation, so that you still have a group you can work with.

I'll do my best to be accommodating of any illness that interrupts your studies. There is no need to provide details of the illness. If you miss a week or more of work, please get in touch to make a plan for catching up. One of the biggest challenges in math is that once you fall behind, it's difficult to catch up on your own.

In short, that any work you represent as your own, is your own. Much of your work can be done in groups, but not all of it. I will assume that you have access to a calculator, including online tools (like Symbolab²) that give you step-by-step solutions.

Use of these tools is acceptable, but take care that you are not overly reliant on them. What is not acceptable is having someone else do your work for you. This includes tutors, classmates, friends, family members, and online “homework help” sites. If you find yourself submitting an assignment without having learned the material, there is a good chance you have committed an academic offence.

Penalties for academic dishonesty are outlined in the Academic Calendar³. Depending on the severity of the offence, penalties for a first offence can range from a grade of zero on an assessment, to an F in the courses. Academic offences are also reported to the Dean of Arts & Sciences. They keep a record of each offence, and students with multiple offences can be subject to supplementary discipline.

Not at all! But keep in mind that your course instructors will be available for help, free of charge. (OK, maybe not free of charge, but you've already paid for it with your tuition.) I will be responding on the discussion forum regularly. There will be time to ask questions in every class, and there will office hours. The Student Success Centre will also be running free help sessions (details TBA).

Some of you may still decide to pay for tutoring, and that's fine. But you have a duty to disclose sources of help on an assignment, and the individual tests are still tests, even if you won't have someone watching over your shoulder.

You should probably avoid the various paid “homework help” websites. Most of these don't offer help. They offer worked solutions for a price. Getting those solutions won't help with your understanding. More importantly, the people working for these sites are paid (poorly) per solution, and they often provide incorrect and/or badly written work. (We saw plenty of examples of this last Spring, and yes, all those students now have discipline reports on file.)

First, contact me as soon as possible for any missed test. There are five tests, and I only count four towards your grade. As long as you only miss one test, there is no penalty. This is true regardless of your reason for missing the test.

No. This wastes health care resources and your time. (That was my answer before the pandemic, and it's doubly so now.) Just email me to say you were sick. However, if you miss more than one test due to illness, we'll need to meet to discuss how to adjust your grade.

First, make sure that you have registered with the University's Accommodated Learning Centre⁴. No need to let me know: they notify me of every student with accommodations.

If there are any adjustments I can make to facilitate your learning, please do not hesitate to get in touch with me. All students deserve an equal opportunity to learn. Note that the HTML textbook is designed with accessibility in mind, and should work with screen readers. However, I regret that we have not had the time (or paid help) necessary to add elements such as alt-text descriptions for images. It's on the to-do list, but that list is long, and growing.

Send me an email. Extensions are usually granted as long as they're granted ahead of time. Online homework extensions need to be in place before solutions become available. Book an appointment with me as soon as you feel like you're falling behind and I'll do my best to get you up to speed.