Online and Semester Versions Compared 
29may13


\begin{document}
\maketitle

\section{Introduction}
Of necessity, there are differences between the online and the semester
based blended course. The following applies to netMA348,402, and 403.

\section{Syllabus}
The NetMath version of a course is entirely online. Therefore there are
no common lectures, labs, seminars, or tests  where the entire class 
is expected to be present in the same location at the same time.  You
learn the course materials on your own from the online lessons and the 
textbook, assisted by your mentors, the instructor, and each other.
(See "Moodle" below.) You use the syllabus as a guide for which lessons
to prepare in the given  week.

\subsection{Course pacing}
The syllabus for the in-class version of the course is based on a 
16 week semester. The summer session for these courses is 8 weeks.
Therefore, you should factor a 2/1 increase in the amount of work
you are expected to do per week. The semester syllabus is divided up
into days of the week. In the online version such scheduling is advisory,
no penalties are assessed for early or late work, but only within reasonable
limits. See below on "class participation". 

\subsection{Labs and seminars}
Suitable activites specific to the online course will be substituted
for in-class activities that do not translate to online learning environments.

\section{Lessons and Textbook}
The lessons are web documents with figures and mathematical symbols.
For the text, the figures any browser will do. But to see the 
mathematical symbols correctly you will have to use a MathML compliant 
browser, such as Firefox. Firefox is available free for all platform
specific operating systems: Windows, MacOS, and Linux. Plugins exist
for older versions of Internet Explorer, but they no longer work for 
newer versions of IE.

\section{Class participation}
Students are expected to contribute work at least twice weekly to 
be considered "active" in the course. The syllabus stipulates certain
homework, labs or quizzes to be submitted by certain dates. But 
active participation in the Moodle and the Filecards also constitutes
class participation. 
\subsection{Homework}
How, when and where work is to be submitted is explained in detail
later. Generally, it consists of a PDF document written in 
LaTeX, and illustrated by figures made on the course specific
geometry software. It is submitted on the Moodle, where a 
corrected copy will be returned to the student. Exceptions to this
may be negotiated for a variety of reasons.  

\subsection{Moodle}
While all lessons are always available on the web, other items,
such as the Moodle, Filecards, texWins etc., reside on FERPA 
secure servers which require authentication with your 
University of Illinois NetID and AD Password, which you receive
after registering for the course. As soon as you do, you should
check in, fill out your profile, submit your course information 
sheet etc on the Moodle. This is you class participation for the 
first week.

\subsection{Filecards}
Most (though not all) lessons have embedded questions in a format
we refer to as "Filecards" for reasons explained in the course
background lessons. These Questions and Answers are interactive
in the sense that you should fill them out as you study the lesson.
This receives class-participation credit, or debit for not giving 
any answers.  Your mentor checks your answers and makes suggestions. 
You then  correct and complete the answers for full credit.

\subsection{Elluminate}
On demand and scheduled at optimal times, there may be synchronous
interactive web consultations using the Elluminate software, which
is free for registered students in the classes. The sessions are 
recorded for the benefit of those students unable to participate
live in the session. Questions on the Elluminate session can 
continue on the Moodle.

\subsection{Journals}
An indispensible part of these courses is your class Journal 
(explained further in the advice-lessons). You may arrange to have 
parts of your journal evaluated and critiqued by submitting
scans of selected pages. You can use the Journal on your 
quizzes, and in the two proctored exams.

\section{Proctored Exams}
There are two examinations which must be taken with an approved
proctor. The midterm is a 2 hour written exam which your proctor
scans and submits as (single) b/w .pdf file by email. The final
is a similar, 3 hour exam. You arrange with an approved proctor
to take the tests in time for their results to be submitted to
the University for the record. (Dates will be published once definite.)
Your proctor must email with the instructor prior to being approved. 
The proctor should be a responsible educator who is not the student's
subordinate, peer, or job supervisor. An approved educational testing
service may be retained for these exams.

\end{document}