Hi everyone,
I created a new discussion for question-and-answer — you are welcome to use it if you have questions about WeBWorK, classwork, exam reviews, and so on. The discussions board can be found on the “Course Profile” area (click the menu item “Course Profile” near the top of this page, just under the comic), or you can follow this direct link:
Most people go to college because they are trying to build a better future for themselves. What job do you hope to get after college? Imagine you have completed your college degree, and your education and experience have allowed you to obtain the job that you want.
With this job in mind, consider the following list of activities. Which of them are you most likely to be asked to do as part of your new job? Put them in order from most likely to least likely. If you are uncertain, make your best guess based on your current knowledge and experience.
List of activities:
Assignment (due Thursday, March 7):
Respond to the above activity by leaving a comment in response to this post. Your comment should include all of the following:
Extra Credit. Comment on someone else’s post. Do you agree or disagree? Why?
UPDATE: Thanks to everyone who has responded so far, BUT… the point of this assignment is to give your classmates the chance to explore new, fun music! So I’ve added a requirement — you MUST include at least one or two specific songs in your post in order to get the extra credit (it would be extra special if you include a youtube link!). Yes, it’s hard to decide on just one or two, and I know you like lots and lots of different music… tough luck.
You have no OpenLab assignment this weekend – use the time to catch up on other work and study for the exam.
Extra credit (due Thursday, 2/28, at 2:30pm). Tell me what music you like. What’s in heavy rotation on your iPod? I’m listening to Parov Stelar (“compulsively listenable electroswing”) and alt-J (“creamy vocals, hip-hop drums, folk guitar and synth”). A few ground rules: No offensive lyrics, be considerate of others, feel free to include a link but only to a legal site such as YouTube or SoundCloud.
Last summer I taught this course, MAT 1272, in summer school. Just before the final, I gave my students the following assignment:
Imagine that you are invited to speak on the first day of MAT 1272, to give advice to entering students. Write a paragraph…describing what you would tell them.
To see the assignment and the students’ responses, follow this link.
Your assignment, due next Thursday, 2/21/13 at 2:30pm, is to:
NOTE: Some of the advice is related specifically to the fact that it is a summer course, which covers the same material that we are covering but in the space of only 5 weeks. Feel free to ignore these comments, as they do not apply to us!
This is just a quick update regarding problem #8, since it includes something you have not yet seen:
When a stem-and-leaf diagram contains TWO ROWS for each stem (for example, “18” appears at the start of the first and also the second row), the convention is to split up the leaves as follows:
If you have any questions about this please send me an email or leave a comment below.
Best of luck!
Mr. Reitz
Heads up: if you’re looking for the “Welcome and Getting Started” post that was here before, it now appears farther down the page — just scroll down to see it.
This assignment is due Thursday, February 14th, at the start of class (2:30pm). Late submissions will receive partial credit.
Assignment. Choose ONE of the following two topics. Write a comment in reply to this post (click “Leave a Reply” below), responding to the topic in 1-2 paragraphs. Begin by telling us which topic you chose. Be sure to include your name so I can give you credit.
Topics.
Extra Credit. For extra credit, write a response to one of your classmates’ comments. Do you feel the same? Did you learn anything? Do you have any advice? Be kind.
Why are we doing this, anyway? Having progressed this far in your school career, you are familiar with many of the tools for learning math: studying, practicing by doing problems, asking questions when you need help, and so on. I’d like to talk about two activities that may NOT seem related to learning math — but research shows that engaging in these activities can dramatically increase the amount that you learn, and change the way you learn it. The first is writing – something not typically associated with mathematics. When you express your ideas in words, it forces you to think them through very carefully, detail by detail. A great way to check and see if you really understand something is to try to explain it to someone else, either out loud or in writing. Example: if you know how to add fractions, try teaching it someone who doesn’t know how. The second is called metacognition, or “thinking about thinking.” This happens when you think about what was going on in your head while you were working on a problem or trying to learn a new idea. What train of thought did you follow? Where did you get stuck, and what did you do next? What were you feeling at the time? and so on. Combining writing and metacognition can be a tremendously powerful tool in identifying the ways we learn best and the ways we make mistakes, and learning to improve. However, like any skill, it takes practice. That’s why we’re getting started by writing a little about our past experiences with mathematics.
Heads up: if you’re looking for the “Welcome and Getting Started” post that was here before, it now appears farther down the page — just scroll down to see it.
WeBWorK is accessible from on and off campus (anywhere you have access to the internet). Your first assignment will be due on Thursday, February 14th, and will cover the material from Sections 2.1, 2.2 and 2.3. Here’s what you have to do:
Assignment. You must complete the following three steps.
Step 1. Log in to WeBWorK here: http://mathww.citytech.cuny.edu/webwork2/MAT1272-Reitz/. I have created Usernames and Passwords for each student registered for my class.
Username. Your username for WeBWorK consists of your first initial plus your last name, all lowercase (for example, John Smith would have username ‘jsmith’).
Password. Your temporary password is the same as your username (if your username is ‘jsmith’, your password is currently ‘jsmith’).
Step 2. Change your password and update your email address. To do this, select “Password/Email” from the main menu on the left. Use whatever email address you like (I suggest using one that you check often).
Step 3. Complete the first assignment, titled Assignment1 – Sec 2.1-2.3, by clicking on it in the main screen.
If you have any trouble – either with logging in, or with completing the assignment, post a comment here or send me an email and I will get back to you.
WeBWorK Tips:
This course is MAT 1272, Statistics, taking place in the Spring 2013 semester with Professor Reitz. We will be using this website in a variety of ways this semester – as a central location for information about the course (assignments, review sheets, policies, and so on), a place to ask and answer questions, to post examples of our work, and to talk about calculus, mathematics, education, reality and imagination.
Getting Started
Anyone on the internet can look around the site and see what we are doing, and even leave a comment on one of the pages. However, only registered users can create new posts and participate in the discussion boards.
How do I register?
You will need to do two things:
Problems with the OpenLab or with your CityTech email:
Please let me know if you run into any problems registering or joining our course (send me an email, jreitz@citytech.cuny.edu). I also wanted to give you two resources to help out in the process:
1. For problems with your citytech email account, contact the Student Computing Helpdesk, either in person, by phone, or by email:
Student Computing Helpdesk
Location: Namm First Floor – Information Booth
Hours: Monday, Wednesday & Friday: 9:00am – 5:00pm
Tuesday & Thursday: 9:00am – 6:00pm
Phone: 718.260.4900
E-mail: Studenthelpdesk@citytech.cuny.edu
2. For problems registering for the OpenLab, contact the OpenLab admin team, either by email at openlab@citytech.cuny.edu, or by following this link.
The OpenLab is an open-source, digital platform designed to support teaching and learning at City Tech (New York City College of Technology), and to promote student and faculty engagement in the intellectual and social life of the college community.
