Canvas

     Much of the content and day-to-day information about the class can be found on the University’s course management system called Canvas. You gain access to the site by logging into the campus network (Note - Not your campus mail address!). The classes you are enrolled in and that have enabled Canvas will then be accessible.

     Files

          The formal class syllabi and lecture notes are posted in this section. I use Apple’s Keynote rather than PowerPoint for presentations, and since the file conversion results in garbled formatting, the notes are posted instead as pdfs. These are for your use in class to follow the lectures and to add whatever additional notes might be useful from the discussions and questions that might come up during class.

          The lecture notes alone are a poor substitute for attending class, however, and while the textbooks are generally very thorough and your classmates’ note taking comprehensive, ultimately your grade depends on your understanding. Coming to class regularly gives you a better feel for what I consider important, what the expectations are, and any random exam questions I happen to think up during class. Lectures assume that everyone has read the assigned material prior to class.

          Practice exams will also be posted in this section before the scheduled exam dates, along with any other necessary materials. The practice exams will be about half the length of the upcoming exam, made up of the same types of questions that will appear (but not the actual questions), and will include an answer key.

     Calendar

          The schedule of lectures is posted here (as well as at the end of the syllabus), along with the dates of the exams given during the lecture time slots. The due dates for the chapter quizzes throughout the term (described below) are also posted here; the dates that the quizzes become available are not listed, but are usually 4 to 5 days before the quizzes are due.

Announcements

          Any special information about the class will be posted as both Announcements and Conversations (which by default will also be sent to your campus email address). It is your responsibility to make sure you are aware of this information throughout the term. If you prefer to use a different address than your assigned campus one, you should check with 4HELP about having your campus messages forwarded to yout preferred address.

Grades

          All of the grading information can be found here. I will update TopHat points periodically during the term, and will post the lecture exam results when they are finished. The results of the online quizzes are automatically updated once you complete a quiz. Once scores have been posted, please check them for accuracy. If there are any discrepancies, let me know and I will try to find where the problem lies.

Exams

     The size of the class necessitates the use of a computer-scored format (using opscan/scantron/bubble sheets) for exams. The exam questions will be a mix of true/false, multiple choice and matching questions. The number of questions on the exam per lecture topic will be roughly proportional to the amount of emphasis given to the topic in lecture. When completing the opscan forms, please make certain that you have written in your name, entered your correct ID number and filled in all of the bubbles corresponding to the questions on the exam.

     None of the exams are comprehensive, including the final; approximately one week ahead of the scheduled exam date I will announce what topics/chapter the exam will cover. Keep in mind that because the lecture schedule below is tentative, the actual topics for each exam may differ from what they appear to be on the formal syllabus.

     The exam questions are drawn from the lecture notes and from important figures used in class to illustrate concepts, especially ones that I have personally created or that are found in the current edition of the textbook. There will also be questions taken from the question sheets that accompany any video presentations.

     My aim for each exam is such that an average university student who does an average amount of preparation will earn an average score, roughly 75%, corresponding to the middle of the range of C grades. If the raw average for an exam is less than 75%, then I consider that I have underestimated the exam difficulty, and add sufficient points to everyone’s exam score so as to adjust it to 75%. If the raw average is above 75%, then I consider that I have simply underestimated how the class would perform and make no adjustments. The posted scores you see on Canvas will include any such adjustment, and because each exam is individually adjusted (if needed), the final averages will not require any further changes.

     If you must miss a scheduled exam, contact me beforehand (directly or through the department office). It is entirely the student’s responsibility to schedule a make-up, and any exams not made up by the time of the next exam will be counted as a zero. Furthermore, all non-final exam classwork must be completed by 5 PM of the official last day of classes; once Reading Day and Finals Week arrive, the only exams I will deal with are the finals.

Classroom Supplements

     Embedded Questions

          Periodically during lectures, I will show slides posing questions about the material we have just discussed. These questions act as a mini-review for the class, and allow me to gauge how well the materials has been understood. They will be highly similar in style and content to those that will appear on the exams, and in fact, roughly 10% of each exam will be comprised of these questions, verbatim. The questions will not be included in the posted lecture notes; the only way to see them before the exam will be during the lectures. As noted below, roughly 16% of the course grade is based on answering these questions in class.

     The use of embedded questions is a common practice at Virginia Tech, and answering the questions requires the purchase and use of either a hand-held classroom response device (an iClicker) or classroom response software that will run on a phone, tablet or laptop (Top Hat). Although I have used iClickers in the past, I have moved to using TopHat for reasons of cost and convenience. Note that iClickers and the Top Hat software cannot be used interchangeably for a class, so if you have an iClicker, you will still need to purchase a copy of Top Hat.

     Quizzes

          As we begin each new topic during the term, there will be short (5 question) chapter quizzes. The questions are drawn from pools of questions provided by the textbook publisher, specifically taken from the current edition of the textbook. In general, they will be available at 8 am on the day before we are scheduled to start a new topic and be due at midnight a few days later. Questions on any given quiz are selected randomly from the pool; each quiz is graded automatically and the scores are sent directly to the Grades.

Grading

     The class grade will be based on the four equally weighted exams (≈65%) along with the llecture-embedded question scores (≈16%) and the online quizzes (≈19%). The typical grade scale I use is:

A: > 92     A-:90-92     B+:87-90     B:83-87     B-:80-83     C+:77-80

C:73-77     C-:70-73     D+:67-70     D:63-67     D-:57-63     F: < 57

     Averages near the grade boundaries are rounded to the higher grade, so an average of 79.5% would round to 80 and receive a B-.

Other class policies

     Classroom behaviors

          This class will be administered following the Honor Code and the Virginia Tech Principles of Community.

          Students who feel they might require accommodations are encouraged to discuss them either with me or with the appropriate campus office.

          Please have some consideration for your peers considering personal electronics; turn off devices such as cell phones, beepers, or musical players before class begins. The use of laptop computers in class is allowed, but this must be limited to matters dealing with this class (Let’s face it - if you are checking out Facebook, or tweeting in class, why bother coming?). In addition, no electronic devices of any kind can be present during exams.

          In the event of an emergency, you will be instructed on what to do. If building evacuation is required, leave by the nearest exit immediately. Once clear, you will be instructed as to whether the class will reconvene elsewhere or be canceled.

     Contacting me

          The best way to contact me tends to be via e-mail; I check the campus account frequently (and tend to respond reasonably quickly) while in my office, but less frequently otherwise. Bear in mind that a message sent at midnight has little chance of getting a reply before the next morning’s class. I encourage students to come to my office during my posted office hours (or previously scheduled appointments), but outside of those times I have other commitments and may be unable to spend any time with drop-ins.

          Note that while I am more than willing to fix a glitch in materials I have posted, if you have technical issues, such as with Canvas or getting the lecture notes to print the way you wish, I probably won’t be of much use and you should check with the University’s 4HELP.

     Frequently asked questions

     A fuller discussion of some of the topics mentioned here, along with other relevant information, may be found on my Intro Course FAQ.