There will be 9 quizzes, and 5 examinations. All quizzes and examinations will be taken online, and are best taken using a standards-compliant web browser like Mozilla Firefox. Examinations and quizzes will consist of multiple choice, true or false, fill-in-the blanks, matching type, and calculation questions. All online testing material can be found at the course web site on Vista WebCT, and can be taken from anywhere (home, work, school, BSA computer labs, in the airport, from a hammock sipping Mango juice, etc.) the student has access to the Web. All tests are open-book, open notes, but before taking any test, the student will be asked to indicate his/her agreement to an Academic Honesty Statement. This statement will certify that the student agrees to abide by university rules on cheating, and any failure to do so will result in a failing grade. Thus, for example, while you are allowed to use books and notes for the tests, it is cheating if you ask other students to help you while taking the tests. This statement is available online at your course website. Do this first before doing anything else. A grade of F will be assigned if this is not completed.

Quizzes: There are 9 quizzes for this class. Each quiz is worth 10 points. The amount of time allotted for each quiz may vary, but will typically be around 25 minutes. You will have two attempts to take each quiz. The average result of the two attempts will be your score for that quiz. If you are happy with your first attempt, there is no need to take the second attempt.  Results for the quizzes will be known immediately. Only the best 8 quizzes will be considered for your grade. Thus, the maximum points from quizzes is 80.

Examinations: There will be 5 examinations. Each examination is worth 50 points. Each exam (including the final) will take approximately 75 minutes. All examinations are cumulative. You will have only one attempt to take each examination. Results for the examination will be known immediately. Only the best four exams will be considered for your grade. Thus, the maximum points from exams is 200.

All examinations and quizzes will be available at your website from 11 June 2007 until 14 July 2007. While examinations and quizzes may be taken in any order,  I suggest that you take them in the order given in the Exam and Quiz schedule. Please make sure you complete all requirements by 14 July 2007.

Dates and Timings: Test (quizzes, and examinations)  are available for the duration of the course, and can be taken at any time during which they are available. As a warning, please do not wait until the last minute to take your tests. As you must realize in dealing with technology, several things can and will go wrong. The only condition under which I will extend the due dates is if the Vista server goes down on the last available day. Any problems with your computer, will not change the due date. As such, it is your responsibility to ensure that you complete the tasks in a timely fashion. You will get zero (0) points for all missed tests. Please ensure that your tests have been graded correctly, and notify the instructor immediately of any concerns.

Academic dishonesty: Cheating means to misrepresent the source, nature, or other conditions of your academic work (e.g., tests, papers, cases, online quizzes) so as to get undeserved credit. The use of the intellectual property of others without giving them appropriate credit is a serious academic offense. It is the University's policy that cheating or plagiarism result in receiving a failing grade for the work or course. Repeat offenses result in dismissal from the University. Students must indicate their acceptance to this policy before they are allowed to take any quiz or exam. As soon as you log into your Vista course website, please take the Academic Honesty Statement quiz first. You will not have access to any other quiz or exam until you do so.

Grades

Starting Fall 2005, a new grading system is in effect. As such, please pay close attention to the following grading scale for this class.

Grade	A	A-	B+	B	B-	C+	C	C-	D+	D
Minimum Score Required	257	249	241	230	221	213	202	194	186	168

• None of the tests can be made up. You will receive a score of zero (0) for any missed tests. 
• Please print and keep a copy of your tests after each exam or quiz. That will be the proof I will require if there are any disputes about test scores. 
• You will have one week after receiving the score for each test to request any corrections.

System Requirements

As this class makes extensive use of audio and animation, make sure that you have access to the following:

• Easy access to the Internet.
• A system with a sound card
• Mozilla Firefox or Internet Explorer
• Macromedia Flash plugin for your browser
• Adobe Acrobat
• Java plugin
• Javascript enabled in your browser
• Color monitor

Course Structure

• Calendar: This is an electronic calendar that gives the schedule of exams, quizzes, etc., that I might have put up. You can also enter information for your benefit here. At any point, you can compile the information to get a printout.
• Syllabus: Will link to this document
• Communication: This contains links to:
  • Mail: To send mail to me use  mshanker@kent.edu instead.
  • Chat: My IM chat id is mis24056. You can also use the chat tool in Vista.
  • Whiteboard: A tool that we can use to illustrate/depict concepts graphically.
  • Discussion: An electronic bulletin board. If you have questions, this would be the best place to put them. That way, your fellow students can benefit from the replies. Check this regularly.
• Study Tools
  • Multimedia Lectures: Provides a link to the online lectures.
  • Assessments: This contains links to online examinations, quizzes, and surveys.
  • Grades: You can click here to check your progress
• Glossary: This is a searchable glossary of the main terms used in this class.

Multimedia Lectures

The main page for the online lectures is at http://www.personal.kent.edu/~mshanker/personal/Classes/m07/Summer%202007.html, but can be easily accessed from the course website Homepage by clicking on Multimedia Lectures. The Lectures are organized into Chapters, with each Chapter  further broken down by topics. Each topic lasts about 50 minutes.  While everybody's learning style is different, here is my recommended approach:

1. Download a copy of the lecture overheads either in powerpoint format or pdf format.
2. Then, start with the first multimedia lecture Chapter 1. 
3. Start at the beginning for each Chapter, for Chapter 1, that will be Introduction. 
4. After you are done with the Chapter, go back to your Home page at Vista and test your knowledge with the Practice Quiz for that Chapter/Quiz. A schedule of quizzes and examinations is given here. If you are not comfortable with the subject matter, try additional problems from the Chapter Exercises. You can also do problems from chapter exercises in your book.