Intermediate Algebra – Math 121
Welcome to Intermediate Algebra (Math 121)! I’m very happy to be working with you this semester and I hope you will find Intermediate Algebra to be a very rewarding learning experience.
You will have the option of using a website created by our publisher, Addison Wesley called Course Compass. Within that site they have developed a fantastic product called “MyMathLab”. MyMathLab is the software that allows you to do online homework, online testing, and use the multi-media textbook associated with our class. MyMathLab requires the following:
To begin using this site you must purchase your textbook along with your Student Access Code for MyMathLab. This can be done at the bookstore at Kellogg Community College’s Battle Creek Campus or online. When the textbook is purchased at KCC's Battle Creek campus, it comes bundled with your personal MyMathLab Student Access Code.
You are now ready to register
into the website for our course. You are not going to be using KCC’s
blackboard, do not try to find your course as you may have for previous courses
you have taken through KCC. Your course ID follows, it is necessary for you to
register in the Course Compass website.
Course ID: cox06187 school zip code:
49017
First, go to my academic web page. There are two ways to do this: (1) type in http://academic.kellogg.edu/coxa/ or (2) go to http://www.kellogg.edu/ then click on the button “Faculty & Staff” then “Faculty Web Pages” and “Anna Cox”.
Once you are at my academic web page, click on your course title and number under the “Syllabi and Course Information”.
Then click on Course Compass . If you would like you may watch a video will describe the whole process on how to register at:
http://info.coursecompass.com/website/tour2005/cc_library/cc_register.swf
The video told you to open
Internet Explorer and go to
www.coursecompass.com or
www.students.pearsoned.com. Follow the "Registration" procedure for
student’s which is self explanatory. It will ask you to supply your Student
Access Code (which came bundled with your book), your Course ID code (see
above), an email address that you’d like to use for the course, you will be
required to create a username and password for entry into the course, it will
ask for basic things like your name and phone number etc. If you struggle at all
with the registration procedure, this link will take you to an Adobe Acrobat
file that will spell out everything you’ll see in the registration process:
http://mymathlab.com/mml_stu.pdf
After you complete the registration process you should be able to “Login”
to the course website using your newly created username and password. Once
logged in, enter the course by selecting the “”
offering in the upper left hand corner. Both addresses noted above
www.students.pearsoned.com and
www.coursecompass.com will allow you to login to your math course. We are
NOT using KCC’s Blackboard!!
Now you can explore the course web site. You will find the course syllabus, homework assignments by chapter, and multimedia textbook along with a variety of other things in the various buttons down the left hand side. Please be sure to look at the first welcome announcement. You are in “Course Compass”, it is a course management tool that allows me to publish documents/assignments, provide online homework, testing and MUCH more. It is very similar to Blackboard, which is the tool most often used at KCC, however we are NOT using KCC’s Blackboard. If you’ve used Blackboard for another course however, you should feel right at home.
Finally, this last bit of information is often what causes students most of their problems. You must install six software plug-ins on the computer. The plug-ins can be installed from Course Compass. When you open the course and are at the announcements page you will notice four tabs close to the upper right corner. One of the tabs is labeled “Support”, click on that tab. On the next page in the upper left corner you will see “Additional Software” under the System Requirements. Click on the “Additional Software” link. All the additional software you must install can be done so from this page, however if you click on the first link “MyMathLab Installation Wizard”, you will be guided to the correct plugins for your textbook. Below are the names of the six software plug-ins you will need, if you do not have them already:
Adobe Acrobat Reader
InterAct Math®
Java™ Plug-in
Macromedia® Flash™
RealNetworks® RealOne™ Player
TestGen Plug-in
8. Fill in intro message with an introduction of yourself: where you are from, your outside school life, pets, hobbies, family, interest, job, etc. This should be a fairly lengthy paragraph about yourself. Everyone in class will be able to read this when you are done. Under Personal Information please put what your goals are: what are you studying, why are you enrolled in this course, are you a transfer student and what institution you are transferring to. This should also be a fairly lengthy paragraph. (DO NOT put your address, phone number, etc)
9. Under upload a picture, click browse then in the look in file click and scroll until a: and then make sure to look for files of type: All Files and choose the file with your name (it may have a red box beside it).
10. Add three web pages one of which should be mathematical in nature, do a search if necessary.
11. Scroll down and Click on submit then ok.
12. Go look at other students web sites. To do this go into Communication then into Roster now click on search and a list of names should appear. This should be a list of everyone in our class. You will vote on who has the best home page and give a brief reason as to why you like it.
13. To vote for your favorite homepage, click on Discussion Board then Favorite Homepage then Add New Thread. Fill in Subject (My favorite homepage is…) and Message and then submit.