Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Chapter 2 and chapter 3 mini-quizzes are now active.

If you look in the Week 1 learning module, you will see that the mini-quizzes for chapter 2 and 3 are now active.

There are many ways to use the mini-quizzes as you study, before you study and after you study. Be creative!

You get an unlimited number of attempts up until exam 1. At about noon on June 10, the mini-quizzes will go off the air, so use them now!

To-do list still important.

Other than the diagnostic test, the to-do list is still important to complete. Now that the noon deadline extension has passed, there are no bonus points associated with these tasks, however. But get them done, anyway! We will need them this semester for other work.

Popup blockers will defeat quizzes.

I use Safari on my Powerbook, and normally have popup blocking at its strongest setting.

BUT, when I work in Webcourses, I have to turn it off. Popup blocking will prevent Webcourses from poping out a separate window for the quizzes and other objects.

It's a pain in the you-know-what, so remember to cut down the popup blocking.

101 diagnostic

I just updated the regular Webcourses area, PSC1121 - 09Summer_BW62, to reflect that 101 of you have taken the diagnostic test. Good.

After answering the consent quiz, those 101 students will be able to see all of the learning module for Week 1.

The rest of youse guys, get in there by noon to take the diagnostic quiz!!!!

Monday, June 29, 2009

4 for Elvis

I just gave grades for the Elvis papers in TurnItIn.com, for the four students who were brave enough to advance a theory about Elvis and his whereabouts.

For those of you who did not see the to-do list yet, it is just a practice assignment, messing around with TurnItIn.com, with a dummy paper on any topic, including Elvis!

12 hours more

I am extending the deadline for the bonus points offered in the to-do list until Tuesday 12:05 PM. That seems fair.

So the object formerly known as Monday to-do list is now a Tuesday noontime to-do list! :)

71

I just updated 71 students who have taken the diagnostic quiz, as of about 6:30 PM. After you take the consent quiz, the main learning module will light up.

I will update the diagnostic quiz data again at 8 PM tonight and each hour thereafter til I conk out for the night.

PSC1121 - 09Summer_BW62 is now open. GO GO GO!

OK, go to the regular Webcourses area now, PSC1121 - 09Summer_BW62. The to-do list is there, and you can get in some work on it now.

When you've finished the diagnostic quiz and the consent "quiz" then the learning module for Week 1 will light up. It looks like this:



So you can see the grading scheme, schedule, concept guides and so forth, all of which you want to dig into as soon as you can. Remember, summer B is a tight schedule.

Webcourses work area opens sometime today, supposedly.

The Webcourses admin has told me that our main work area in Webcourses, PSC1121 - 09Summer_BW62, will autopoulate all 120 of youse sometime today.

Check after lunch, and if Webcouses PSC1121 - 09Summer_BW62 still is not lighting up for you, check again after dinner time.

Announcements here until Aug. 7

I will be posting announcements here for the rest of Summer B, not at the Outpost blog.

Check this every morning and afternoon. When I add some new material or make a significant change in our course area, I always announce it here immediately.

You will find it easier to keep up with this course, expecially during accelerated Summer B schedule, if you check this page two or three times per day.

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Sell back your textbook

I normally do not ask you all to buy books at the UCF bookstore, to keep confusion between sections at a minimum. Sometimes, though, you can sell back to the bookstore at semester's end.

If you have not sold back your textbook yet, you might be able to collect more money for it if you bypass the bookstore. Their price to buy back your book is pitifully low -- I heard $21 -- but they will then turn around your copy and sell it at an outrageous $133.

It really burns my grits.

So if you sell to a friend or roommate in August at $60, your friend or roommate will save significant dineros and you'll have more than the bookstore will give you at buy back.