Syllabus

Course Description:

Finite Math 1630 is a problem-solving course, which means you must discover your own solutions to problems rather than follow recipes as in most math courses. The problems you solve are all primary components of 21st century digital technology. Some problems you work on individually; others require teamwork. Finite mathematics is intended for students studying Information Systems, Computer Network Technology, Programming Languages, and for students fulfilling their general education mathematics requirement for other degree areas.

Course Objectives:

To exercise your mind in pattern recognition and problem solving using the underlying concepts of our contemporary computer world.

The ability to read and apply instructions such as found in your VCR programming manual, ample experience writing English sentences with nouns and verbs, and practical use of 4th grade arithmetic: addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Also helpful is a previous exercise of one's imagination in some art form such as painting, music, plumbing, etc.

• Sets
• Logic
• Circuits
• Graphs
• Trees
• Topology
• Networks
• Numeration
• Primes
• Groups
• Codes
• Sequences
• Series
• Functions
• Algorithms
• Induction
• Recursion
• Counting
• Probability
• Statistics

This course requires you to edit, copy and paste images from one website to another. All of these tools are on your computer, but you may never have used them before. Many students are left behind in the course simply because they have never manipulated images on the web. The website where you will post your images is called a wiki. Wikis are bulletin boards that are quick to edit, copy, and paste to.

Your section of Finite Math has NO textbook. Instead, you have zillions of discussions and web pages to read.

Any scientific calculator that adds, subtracts, multiplies, and divides big and small numbers from 10⁹⁹ down to 10^–99.
Walmart sells the TI-30 and Casio fx-260 for less than $10.

The minimum requirements can be found at http://www.tn.regentsdegrees.org/students/hardware_software.htm.

The minimum requirements can be found at http://www.tn.regentsdegrees.org/students/hardware_software.htm.

BROWSER
This course was designed with the Windows Explorer Browser 6. The display is set for 1024 by 768 pixels. There is no guarantee you will see what is intended with another browser or display setting. These web pages do not set your browser fonts for you, but you can change your fonts in the browser by clicking Tools on the browser menu and then selecting Internet Options... Click the Fonts button and choose your fonts. Our language script is the Latin based alphabet. (My Web page font is Arial, and my Plain text font is Lucida Console. I like it better than Courier.)

WINDOWS MEDIA PLAYER
Some low resolution videos are interspersed throughout the course. The Explorer Browser plays these in a Media Player window. If you use another browser, or a Macintosh computer, results are not predictable. To download the newest version of the Windows Media Player, go to Microsoft.com.

JAVA VM PLUG-IN
You will need the Java VM Plug-In from www.java.com to use our applets. You cannot pass the course without it. The older Microsoft Plug-In will not work. You may already have the Plug-In installed. If not, the Java VM Plug-In, also called Java Runtime Environment, takes less than 5 minutes to download and install via fast internet access , and less than an hour via slow access.

HOVERSNAP
HoverSnap is a small utility program that will greatly simplify your life during this course. HoverSnap allows you to copy an image right off the screen and save it on your computer. This process is necessary for half your assignments. You can download HoverSnap for free at www.Hoverdesk.net. Learn how to use it right away.

Please see the separate page inside the course to find instructor contact information as well as a statement of virtual office hours and other communication information.

In this course, there are none of the usual tests or quizzes with accompanying homework. Your final exam begins the first day of class with your first assignment and continues till the last day of class with your last assignment. Parts of each assignment you will work on individually, while other parts require teamwork. Whether as an individual, or as a team member, all your grades are determined by what you write and think. This is what is meant by class participation. The assessment model applied in this course is sometimes called "continuous evaluation." Whereas continuous evaluation in a real-time classroom is impractical because of time limitations, online classes are asynchronous;that is, you attend when you can and as often as you can. This enables continuous one-to-one feedback between instructor and student without real-time distractions. At the end of the course, there will be no need for a proctored examination. I will know from our correspondance how well you have mastered the skills of the course; your accumulation of points will prove the extent of your mastery. Exams are useful to evaluate how much information you have retained at the end of a course; but this is not an information course, as are history, literature, law, medicine, art, music, and science appreciation courses. Finite Math is a skills course as all math courses should be. Other skills courses listed in college catalogs are cooking, science lab, computer programming, art studio, piano lessons, volleyball, and English composition. The objective of each assignment is to challenge and strengthen your problem-solving skills.

Three or four times a week, you will receive a new problem. (In the fall and spring semesters, a new problem is released every 56 hours; in the summer, every 48 hours.) Each problem will have multiple parts from which you may earn between 1 and 7 points. Some problems you will work out alone, while others you will discuss and solve as a team.

For each problem you are expected to perform these tasks:

1. COLLECT DATA to experiment with the ideas in the problem.
2. FIND PATTERNS among your data.
3. WRITE RULES in English sentences with nouns and verbs.
4. RELATE RULES to other problems you encounter.

There may be a maximum of 250 points by the end of the course. Whatever the maximum, I will divide it by 5 to determine your grade. If the maximum is 250, then 250/5 = 50 will be a D, 100 a C, 150 a B, and 200 an A. If MAX is the maximum number of points offered, then the formula is this:

A = 4/5 MAX = 80% of MAX
B = 3/5 MAX = 60% of MAX
C = 2/5 MAX = 40% of MAX
D = 1/5 MAX = 20% of MAX

Our course uses email to send and receive private messages. Email is where you send me the solutions you have worked out by yourself alone. For example, send me your solutions to the puzzles via email, but send publicly shared work, such as your doodles, to the wiki for all to see.

Wikis are public bulletin boards that you can edit easily. Wiki is Hawaiian for Quickie. Wikis allow you to post your comments, questions, and images quickly.

You will have a wiki page for each of your assignments. Some assignments you will answer on the wiki for all to see. Some assignments you will send to me privately. When sending solutions or questions privately, do not ever send Word documents or Excel spreadsheets. Send only gif files with your plain text answers. New assignments and updates will be added continually. So keep posted.

Our Finite Math Wiki is at http://www.editme.com. You will need a USERNAME and PASSWORD to log in. Your username will be the Alias either you or I choose for you. Your password will be your last name in lowercase.

• Columbia Guide to Online Style by Janice R. Walker and Todd Taylor
• Citation Styles Online http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/online/cite6.html

Your assignments are grouped under the heading Assignments in the Course Menu and on the Homepage. Each assignment is a problem with multiple parts. You will receive new problems continually; so it will benefit you to check the website at least once a day for hints and comments. If you have questions about any assignment, send me a message or post it on the wiki for all to see. I will alter assignments when necessary, and post a message about it in the discussion area or on the wiki. Read all messages and comments. They will most likely contain something useful to help you solve a problem and earn you more points.

It is important to keep up with your assignments, even though you cannot solve all the problems right away. You should attend the website as many hours as you attend a regular class. You should not stay stuck on any one problem before you move on and attempt other problems. You can always return to a problem and work on it later. If you submit a solution within two weeks of its posting, and it is wrong, you are allowed to continue working on it till you get it right. If you do not submit a solution within two weeks, you will be barred from working on it after the deadline. However, all solutions are due by the last day of class. If you fall behind, failure is guaranteed.  

If you do not submit some assignment within a two week period, you will be dropped from this course with an automatic grade of WF. However, if you submit only one assignment every two weeks, you will fall behind very quickly, and find it impossible to catch up. Therefore you should attend this class just as often, and as diligently, as you would a regular class. If you cannot do that, then for your own sake, do not enroll.  

You will soon realize that participation is essential to passing this course. Participation is 100% of your grade. All your grades are totally dependent on your interactivity with the instructor and the class. This class is taught by the Socratic method. You present solutions; I respond with questions. In the old game of Dungeons & Dragons, one player was elected Dungeon Master, and the other players went on a quest. This course will be conducted much the same way. You are on a quest for points. The more you write me, the more you learn, and, thus, the more you earn. Post your ideas and questions on their related wiki page, and share your public assignments with others. Send me your private assignments by email. I usually read your comments and review your solutions before Jay Leno every night, and also around lunchtime. You should log in at least once a day for the latest news. Those who write the most, earn the most. However, if I do not hear from you for two weeks, I will assume a dragon ate you, and drop you from the course. Good Luck! & Let the Quest Begin!

Library

The Tennessee Virtual Library is available to all students enrolled in the Regents Degree Program. Links to library materials (such as electronic journals, databases, interlibrary loans, digital reserves, dictionaries, encyclopedias, maps, and librarian support) and Internet resources needed by learners to complete online assignments and as background reading must be included in all courses. 

Students With Disabilities

Qualified students with disabilities will be provided reasonable and necessary academic accommodations if determined eligible by the appropriate disability services staff at their home institution. Prior to granting disability accommodations in this course, the instructor must receive written verification of a student's eligibility for specific accommodations from the disability services staff at the home institution. It is the student's responsibility to initiate contact with their home institution's disability services staff and to follow the established procedures for having the accommodation notice sent to the instructor.

Syllabus Changes

The instructor reserves the right to make changes as necessary to this syllabus. If changes are necessitated during the term of the course, the instructor will immediately notify students of such changes both by individual email communication and posting both notification and nature of change(s) on the course bulletin board.

Technical Support

Syllabus Video