Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Welcome to MTH244! I'm Jon Wherry, and it's great to meet you. Here is some information to help you as you select which class will best fit your needs as a student.

Setup: This is an online, WEB, class that does not meet synchronously. Each week, you will watch a series of videos covering various material related to confidence intervals, hypothesis tests, and other Statistical topics. You will be expected to complete lecture notes that accompany the videos. These are to be submitted digitally on the days of the exam.

There will be weekly reading (strongly recommend), discussion posts, and homework assignments.

Pace: This is not a self-paced course. There will be material released on a weekly basis. This ensures that you have time to practice the material, but it also helps to maintain a learning community. If you are all learning the same material at the same time, it's easier to collaborate, form study groups, and ask questions.

Proctored Exams:

Proctored exams are one of many assessment tools used in MTH to assess student learning. Our class will be participating in a Virtual Proctoring that is being run in collaboration with Math, Online Learning, and the Testing Center. The exams in this class will be proctored virtually in Zoom with me, your instructor, on the following dates and times:

• Midterm 2 on Wednesday of the week 7 from your choice of either 3:00 to 5:00 PM OR 6:00 to 8:00 PM on Zoom
• Final Exam on Wednesday of finals week from your choice of either 3:00 to 5:00 PM OR 6:00 to 8:00 PM on Zoom

To have your exam proctored virtually, you must fully read and understand the Student Guide to Virtually Proctored Exams in Zoom and meet the technology/environment requirements; technology support will not be provided on exam day. Virtual proctoring was designed and piloted in collaboration between Math, Online Learning, and the Testing Center. 

If you do not meet the requirements for virtually proctored exams, prefer to take your exams in-person, and/or have an unavoidable scheduling conflict, please contact me as soon as possible. Alternative testing arrangements can be made for virtual or in-person proctoring at a testing center given adequate notice and depending on testing center capacity and availability. Scheduling appointments with a testing center and communicating with the instructor is the responsibility of the student, as well as paying any associated fees with using a non-PCC testing center. 

If you have accommodations through Accessible Ed & Disability Resources at PCC, please contact me so we can discuss your specific accommodations and how I can best support you. 

If you have any questions or concerns about proctored exams, please feel free to contact me.

Things to keep in mind before taking an online math course:

Online MTH courses are much harder than other modalities
To be blunt, the pass rate for online students is much lower than face-to-face courses. It often takes more work, and time, to succeed at an online math course.

In order to be successful in this course, you will need to be comfortable following written directions, be a self-directed learner, be comfortable with technology, have good time management skills, and be able to spend at least 15-20 hours per week completing required math work. If you think you will have trouble meeting these criteria, you should register for a traditional, face-to-face class.

Online classes are very different than face to face classes. I want to emphasize that if you have failed MTH 244 before, received a C in MTH 243 or if it has been many years since you have taken a Math course, taking MTH 244 online is most likely not the best fit for you. Also, if your schedule is really full, you might find it challenging to devote enough time to this class to be successful. It requires you learn the material on your own and statistics show that in order to succeed taking math online you should be a strong math student with a strong prerequisite math background and TIME to put into learning the material. I want you to be successful this term, whether it be in my class or a face-to-face section on campus.

An online student should possess the following traits:
Strong math student.
Can study independently.
Can learn mathematics by reading and watching videos.
Understands that learning a concept takes time and can persevere when concepts don't make sense.
Has the available time to go over the material, do homework and is able to log into the course most days.
Can communicate effectively in writing, and is willing to communicate in writing.
Is willing to communicate with the instructor and other students in writing via discussion boards.
Will not depend solely on tutors, that is, some students are under the notion that having a tutor is all it will take to attain understanding and pass a course.
Can work through computer issues such as a video is not working and is willing to call the help desk to work through computer issues.
Excellent and time management and pacing.

You need to have computer and internet access at least several times per week. You will need to make sure to have the following (further details/instructions are given during the first week):

• a PDF reader (such as Adobe Acrobat Reader) to read the PDF handouts,
• a way to print PDF files for your written assignments or a device with a monitor that can be written on
• a way to scan written assignments (there are free phone apps that will do this),
• a way to view YouTube videos,
• familiarity with file management, email, and uploading documents.

Electronically submitted work will be printed, completed by hand, scanned, and uploaded to D2L. Alternatively, work completed by hand electronically (such as with a tablet or 2 in 1 laptop), saved, and uploaded will also be accepted.

Online YouTube videos are the foundation for the lecture portion of the class.