Hi everyone,
These are challenging times, filled with unknowns – I know everyone’s lives have been turned upside down. I, and the rest of the faculty at CUNY, are pushing ourselves to learn new technology tools and to think creatively about how we will continue your college education from a distance. I wanted to post a brief update today, to let you know more details about how our class will be run going forward, and to give you a chance to ask questions (feel free to comment on this post).
What’s going on in terms of our class right now? Right now, all of CUNY is in a “recess period” until tomorrow (Wednesday 3/18) – this means that our classes are on pause. On Thursday 3/19 we will officially resume class, but through distance-learning only (we will not meet face-to-face).
When will we meet again face-to-face? CUNY has announced that classes will not meet face-to-face for the rest of the semester.
How will we hold class if we are not meeting face-to-face? Great question. Over the next few weeks we may try a few different things, but this Thursday our class will work as follows: I will post a lesson on the OpenLab, including some things to read and some videos to watch. I will also assign WeBWorK based on this material, and provide some different methods for you to ask me questions.
How will exams be handled? I still don’t have an answer to this, although we are considering a variety of options. Our next exam (originally scheduled for this Thursday) is cancelled for now – it may be rescheduled, or replaced with quizzes, or some other solution.
What if I have questions? For questions on WeBWorK, I encourage you to use the “Ask for Help” button at the bottom of every problem. This will take you to the WeBWorK Question and Answer site on the OpenLab, and (once logged into the OpenLab) will allow you to ask a question about that specific problem, and view questions and answers that others have asked about that problem. NOTE: Your question will be anonymous, so no-one (except me) will know that you wrote it.
For general questions, feel free to post on this OpenLab page (either comment, or create a new post), or send me an email: jreitz (at) citytech.cuny.edu.
What if I need more practice? I have enabled the “Show Me Another” feature in WeBWorK (the Show Me Another button appears at the bottom of the problem, next to “Submit Answers”). This gives you a chance to work on a similar problem, without affecting your WeBWorK score. You can check your answers and look at hints.
That’s it for now – check your email and the OpenLab regularly for updates. Take care of yourselves and your loved ones.
Best regards,
Prof. Reitz
