Math 110A, Calculus1

Start: 9/3/2024  End:  12/20/2024

Hello and welcome everyone!  I am glad that we will be going through this part of our Math journey together!  Math 110A is the first course in the Calculus sequence.  Since its invention, Calculus has been crucial to the development of many scientific advancements.  It has probably been useful in the invention of a great number of objects in your home :-)   

Please note that this is a 16-week fully online course, so no campus/zoom meetings are required.   However, if you need to meet with me, I will be available to you during office hours.  Bring your questions and I will help you face-to-face over Zoom.  No appointments are needed.  

Lesson and announcement videos will be posted at Professor Renee's channel.  You might want to subscribe. 

Time commitment:  

You should expect to spend 15 hours or more to complete one learning module each week.  

How does this Online Math 110A work?

You will learn the material by watching lesson videos that I made, reading the textbook and online materials, and discussions with your classmates and me.  There is a lesson concept check/quiz on Canvas after each lesson.  There are online homework on WebAssign for each lesson.  You participate in the weekly discussion forums on Canvas and may use the Pronto App to interact with other students and me to ask for or provide help on homework or lessons.   I check discussion forums and Pronto every day from Monday to Thursday.  Quizzes, tests, and exams will be on Canvas and WebAssign. 

Two important links to our course.

1. Access to our course:  Here is the link to our login page.

   • Go to https://ccsf.instructure.com/

   • Username (for students): CCSF ID numbers, such as W12345678, or @12345678

   • Your Canvas password is your RAM ID password.

   • If you have login problems with your RAM ID, please contact the CCSF Helpdesk at (415) 239-3711. 

2. Notifications for course announcements and conversations:  Please log into Canvas and set your notification preferences by adding a cell phone number for text messaging or an alternate email.  This will enable you to get a notification immediately when I post a new announcement, create an assignment, grade a quiz, leave feedback, or send you a message via the Inbox.  Here is a link that explains How to set Canvas notification preferences.  

Two Apps that are recommended to be downloaded to your  phones, iPad, or tablet, and turn on notifications in settings:

1. The Canvas Student App:  You can access Canvas and receive notifications of the course promptly.  You can download it from Google Play or Apple's App Store.

2. The Pronto App:    This is an easy-to-use communication App for our class interaction. It provides a means of synchronous chat/video/audio/images, much like your own group phone messages, with only course enrolled students in your Pronto group. Access is from the Pronto app or Canvas course shell.  In the past, students enjoyed using Pronto for questions related to the class.  It really connects students together.  Before each office hour, I will send out a reminder and a zoom link in Pronto.  So please do remember to download Pronto and turn on notifications. You can download it from Google Play or Apple's App Store.

Online Assignments & Textbook Information:

• Online Assignments:  You will be doing online assignments on Canvas and WebAssign.  

• Textbook information:  The textbook for this course is “Calculus, Early Transcendentals,” 8th edition, by James Stewart.  However, it is not necessary to buy the paper version of the textbook.  In Canvas Module 0, I will provide you with a class /course key to enroll in our WebAssign course.  Once that is done, you will be able to access and read the e-book (electronic version of the textbook) online and start doing homework on WebAssign.   

Lessons & Lesson Concept Checks, Homework, Quizzes, Tests, Exams:  

Lessons & lesson concept checks/quizzes (25% of grade) are on Canvas.  

Homework, weekly quizzes, tests, and exams will be online on WebAssign

There might be some extra credits in the form of fun games on Quizizz.

Office Hours:

To help you succeed in this course, I will be available to you on Zoom each Tuesday & Wednesday evenings 8:10 pm - 9:00 pm.  Bring your questions and I will help you face-to-face on Zoom.  No appointments needed.  Before each office hour, I will send out a reminder and a zoom link in Pronto.  So please do remember to download Pronto and turn on notifications. You can download it from Google Play or Apple's App Store.

Need Help from a Math Tutor?

Check out Tutoring at CCSF.  You can make an appointment for live tutoring, and it is free.  As a student at City College, you have access to a variety of services to help you in your classes. Tutoring, computer labs, study spaces, and course materials — our centers and labs are free to use and available online until further notice.

Other Questions and Help:

• If you have trouble logging into your course or don't understand how to log in, check out the Canvas Student Support Center.  It is an excellent, one-stop resource that might answer a lot of your questions.

• Here is the self-paced, self-enrolled "Passport to Canvas" course, designed to take students through a quick journey to learn the basics of Canvas.

• If you have a need for academic accommodation, you can contact our Disabled Students Programs and Services or the representative who supports accommodations for students who are disabled.

• To help you succeed in this course, I will be available to you on Zoom during office hours.  Bring your questions and I will help you face-to-face on Zoom.  No appointments needed.  If you need to contact me, please send me a message through the Canvas Inbox (preferred) or email me at renee.liu@mail.ccsf.edu.  During weekdays, I’ll respond to your messages within 48 hours.

Please let me know if you have any questions/concerns.   I welcome your suggestions and will do my best to accommodate your needs.  

Let our Math journey begin!        

Professor Renee Liu

Math 110A Syllabus

You must be able to take the online tests and the final exam during the following dates using WebAssign:

• TEST # 1 online September 2024

• TEST # 2 online. October 2024

• TEST # 3 online. November 2024

• FINAL EXAM: online. December 2024

Add procedure:

• If the class is full, you can add yourself to the waitlist (before the class begins). If a seat becomes available, the next student on the waitlist is notified by email and has 24 hours to respond and register. Check your official CCSF gmail email frequently! If you are offered a spot and you do not register within the 24-hour time frame you will lose your spot and you must get back on the waitlist.

• If the waitlist is full, you must wait for a spot on the waitlist to open up (this happens sporadically). There is no other way to add the course before the course begins. I highly recommend searching for a section of 110A that has open seats!

• Important: The waitlist ends right before the first day of class. Although it is unlikely spots will become available at this point, all students still interested in registering can fill out a Class Add Request in the MyRam Portal starting on the first day of class (you do not have to email me, just fill out the request). If a spot opens up, your request will be approved (you will receive an email) and you will have 24 hours to register in the course.

Drop Policy:

• Students who do not complete any of the assigned activities in Module 0 in the first week of class will be considered “no shows” and dropped from the course.  Students who fail to complete module 0 by the end of the 2nd Friday, or subsequently have not completed any module for more than one week, without communicating in advance with the course instructor, may be dropped from the course.

• Students must complete the assignments on WebAssign with an average grade of 70% or higher to remain registered in the course.  Please let me know if you want to remain registered but you are unable to complete the assignments for some reason.

Course Communication Policy

• To help you succeed in this class, I will be available to you on Zoom in office hours.  Bring your questions and I will help you face-to-face on Zoom.  No appointments are needed.

• For course questions, post them in the weekly Q&A Class Discussions in Canvas or Pronto, your classmates and I will answer your questions ASAP.  Please reach out to help when you see the need and ask for help when you need it.  I check your posts every weekday and respond to several students each week to further discuss and clarify comments.  

• If you need to contact me for personal issues, please contact me through Canvas inbox (preferred) or email me at renee.liu@mail.ccsf.edu, and I'll respond to your messages within 48 hours Monday to Friday.  If you don’t hear back from me in 48 hours, assume I did not receive your email and resend it.

• When posting in the class discussion, please treat each other with respect.  Understand that communications shared through text have a higher likelihood of being misinterpreted than the spoken word. Therefore, when you type a thought or a comment, read it carefully before you submit it. 

• All image and video content shared within our class will reflect acceptable academic standards. 

Drop Policy

• Students who do not complete any of the assigned activities in Module 0 in the first week of class will be considered “no shows” and dropped from the course.  Students who fail to complete module 0 by the end of the 2nd Friday, or subsequently have not completed any module for more than one week, without communicating in advance with the course instructor, may be dropped from the course.

• Students must complete the assignments on WebAssign with an average grade of 70% or higher to remain registered in the course.  Please let me know if you want to remain registered but you are unable to complete the assignments for some reason.

Late Work Policy

• Good time management skills are especially important in an online course. Consider blocking out a regular time in your schedule each day for this course. This class will take approximately 15 hours per week minimum.

• To best help you complete the course successfully, I ask that you complete one module per week.   

• For an assignment on WebAssign, within 7 days of the due date, you can request an automatic extension on WebAssign on that assignment.  Each assignment is allowed one extension, and one extension will give you extra 24 hours to finish the assignment from the time that you accept the extension.  There is a 10% penalty for problems submitted after the due date.   There is no extension for the Final Exam.

• If life events interrupt your work in this class, no worries, I will work with you! Please contact me ASAP so I can provide as much support as possible.