Math 199 (Policies)

As you know, this term we are meating virtually using Zoom. Our class will meet at the scheduled time for syncronous classes, and I hope you will all attend. I will try to make the virtual course as close to an in-class experience as I am able. That means I will be writing on a white board as I would in class, and asking questions of the students. It is important that you are in class for that, if you can be, and are ready to answer questions and ask your own when you are confused. I hope that we will be able to develop a strong class presence, even though we are not all in the same room.

Our classes will be recorded for our own internal use (the recordings will not be made public), so that, should you have to miss a class due to illness or any other reason, you will be able to view the class at a later time.

During our meetings, you should take notes as you would in any in-person class. While I don't have as much board space in my recording studio as I would in a normal classroom, I will try to make sure you have time to take things down before I erase them. Of course, if you miss something, there is always the recording so that you can go back and find what you missed. Indeed, you may consider taking all your notes from the recording; this could give you better notes since you will know more about what is important in hindsight after seeing the class once already. But that approach will also take more time, so it is a trade-off for you. What is important is that you actually do take notes yourself, as the act of writing is an important step in solidifying the material in your head, and helps you remember it much better than if you just listen to a lecture. It doesn't really matter if it is in class or later, as long as you do it (and you are less likely to do it if you wait).

The etiquette for our zoom class includes the following recommendations:

• Please be in class on time. I will try to open the room ten minutes before class begins, and will start the class on time. After the class starts, I will turn on the waiting room, and will admit new students individually. Entering late can be disruptive to the class, and you should avoid that, when possible. Of course, don't miss class just because you are late once in a while, but polease don't make a habit of it.
• You will be muted when you first enter the class. Please remain muted except when you have something to say to the class, as background noise from open microphones can be very distracting to others. Don't forget to un-mute yourself when you do want to ask a question or answer mine. Because I may not be able to see everyone on my screen at once while I am at the board, you should feel free to interrupt me, and not wait for me to call on you.
• Please keep your video turned on during class. It is important for me to be able to see you and interact with you, and it will help build community within the classroom. Note that you can set a background that will prevent others from seeing where you actually are (for example, if you are in a shared dorm room), so you can take advantage of that if you wish. If you are concerned about privacy issues, please contact me to make other arrangements.
• While the public chat will be available, I will likely not be seeing your messages while at the board, so speak up if you have a question. I will be happy to stop to address your issue. Similarly, I may not be able to see the icons if you use the "Yes", "no", "go slower", or other items in the chat window.
• The private chat between classmembers will not be enabled during the class.
• We are trying to work out the best practices for virtual classes, so some things may not be as smooth as we might like. If you are having trouble (e.g., if you can't read my writing, or if there are persistent network problems), please speak up about them. It is best to get those things worked out as soon as possible.

I suspect that using a phone to attend class will not be a very satisfying experience, as the screen will be too small to read my writing at the board. You should use a laptop or desktop computer if at all possible. If you use a phone, you may need to go back to the recordings later on a larger screen in order to take notes.

Math 199 (Fall 2020) web pages Created: 01 Sep 2020 Last modified: 5 Sep 2020 at 11:57 AM Comments to: dpvc@union.edu

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