Course Information

• Printable Spring Schedule

I teach math and computer science at Blue Mountain Community College. I have been here for 19 years. I teach in Pendleton, online, and in Hermiston. I received an A.S. in Business Administration from the Community College of Rhode Island, a B.S. in Math and Secondary Education from Rhode Island College, and a M.S in Math from Western Washington University. I love doing and teaching math, from arithmetic to calculus, statistics and beyond, in addition to programming and web development. I also like to mountain bike, road bike, dance with my wife, and play soccer with my daughters.

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.

Gary Parker

[email protected]

http://math.bluecc.edu/parker/

(541) 278-5772

Emigrant Hall 109

Blue Mountain Community College
2411 NW Carden Ave
Pendleton, OR 97801

In this course we will use "Introductory Statistics" by Illowsky and Dean as our primary resource.

The book is open source so electronic versions are free and print versions are affordable.  Here are some of the options available.

1. You can download a full PDF of the book in low or high resolution here
2. You can read the book live on the web here (no download necessary)
3. You can download accessible versions here (includes audio and braille options)
4. You can buy a printed copy here (about $35)
5. You can buy a premium interactive e-book here ($5)

This course makes frequent use of technology. You are encouraged to become adept with a spreadsheet and maybe a calculator.

• Access to spreadsheet software such as Google Sheets (https://www.google.com/sheets/about/), Open Office Calc (http://www.openoffice.org/), or Microsoft Excel. All computations used by the instructor in Excel should be compatible with older versions of Excel and Open Office Calc.
  
• A scientific or graphing calculator with statistical capabilities. The TI-83/84 graphing calculator is used by the author of the text and a fellow teacher who has shared his videos for demonstrations. You can get a free version of the TI-84 for you computer or phone at https://wabbit.codeplex.com/

Getting to know spreadsheet software - video by Matthew Watts

Free Spreadsheets - video by Gary Parker

For this online class, our "Experiences" will be completed at a rate of about 1-2 per week. Some may take you longer to complete than others so try to work ahead a little as we try to keep to our schedule.  The learning objectives are listed for each experience.  All of the materials and assignments included in the unit are there to fulfill the learning objectives.  All assignments are due by 11:59pm on the due date unless otherwise stated.

Experience 1 officially begins on the first day of classes, 2016-03-28.

I will keep all the experiences open right from the start of the semester for those working ahead, so be sure to look at the due dates to make sure you're working on the right unit :)

This course allows the use of LatePasses. You are given 20 LatePasses in this course so plan ahead and use them wisely. Late Passes must be applied before the due date expires. This is all you get for excused or unexcused situations of any kind. If you have a LatePass and the assignment allows using LatePasses, you can click on Use LatePass next to the assignment link. This will extend the due date by 48 hours (2 days). Using a LatePass will not result in a score reduction. You may use multiple late passes on a single assignment to get a cumulative extension (2 days for each pass). 

If you use a late pass and still turn the assignment in on time, message me and I will reimburse you for it. If you miss the deadline then message me and I will extend the deadline in exchange for late passes (I will take 2 pass for every 2 days for every assignment). Late passes can also be used for REDOs following the same exchange rate. Late passes cannot be used for forum assignments (Critical Thinking assignments included) so you will need to submit these via email or message and then Latepasses will be deducted when I grade.

Late passes cannot be used on the Final Exam or to extend the deadline of any assignment past the final day of instruction, 2016-06-04.

A document that summarizes the course policy on reattempting assignments.

Here is a brief description of the four types of assignments you need to complete in this course. Each category is worth 25% of your grade.

• Practice Problems - These are questions that test your knowledge and conceptual understanding (Levels 1 and 2 of revised Blooms taxonomy) You may attempt them unlimited times prior to the deadline. After 3 attempts your will get a new but similar problem. There are videos available in the more difficult questions. 
• Critical Thinking Questions - These are questions that elevate your learning from the level of information (Level 1) to that of application (Level 3). You should respond in complete sentences. Some problems are very challenging but you are expected to answer all of them and get most of them correct. Any mistakes should be corrected once you have reviewed the posts of the instructor and your peers. You must post your initial thread and any replies before the deadline. The type of reply (e.g. peer assessment, corrections, etc.) varies with each experience so pay attention to the instructions. Twice we will have group discussion assignments where you will post in wikis as a class. 
• Applications - These are more involved problems that allow you to demonstrate your working expertise (Level 4) of the learning. You should review all videos and documents and then complete your assignment. If your grade is not good enough you will have the option to REDO it. You must submit your initial assignment before the deadline. REDOs are due one week after the initial assignment is graded. 
• Exams - There are two exams that will evaluate your knowledge and conceptual understanding. You must take the exams by the deadlines at your nearest BMCC center. They may only be attempted once. There are similar practice exams for you to study. 

In this course we will make frequent use of assessment. To learn the correct format and mindset you should read through the presentation here.

You can access your grades for this course by clicking the Gradebook link at the top or bottom of the course page.   The Gradebook shows your score on each assignment for the class, as well as category totals.   You can review completed assignments, if you wish, by clicking on the score in the Gradebook.  You will be able to look again at the questions, the answers you submitted, my feedback, and the correct answers (after the due date).

There is also your overall (total) score for the class.  

Keep in mind that written assignments are not automatically graded, so will show a score of 0 (or a low number when only parts are written) until I read and record a score for your assignment.

Grading is completed the Monday after the deadline. If you submit late work it will likely be graded the following Monday.

Solutions to most technical issues can be found here. If you still can't resolve the issue, email me as soon as possible at [email protected].

You are now fully informed. Go to the Experience 1 folder and begin your learning.