Welcome to Week Three
Support Services (MAT0099)
Course Content - Practical Applications
This week we'll see how to apply the concepts we discussed in weeks one and two to real world situations.
Weekly Motivation
[I do not] carry such information in my mind since it is readily available in books. ...The value of a college education is not the learning of many facts but the training of the mind to think. [1]
-- Albert Einstein
Think about how Einstein's observation applies to your own education. Most students who are working on a college degree are doing it for the specific goal if improving their job prospects but Einstein's comment encourages us to think about the bigger picture. What do we get from education beyond mere factual knowledge? How can we benefit from taking classes that aren't immediately relevant to our short term goals? What can we do to position ourselves for a future whose needs we can't predict?
[1] In response to a question about not knowing the speed of sound, Einstein: His Life and Times (1947) Philipp Frank, p. 185
-- Albert Einstein
Think about how Einstein's observation applies to your own education. Most students who are working on a college degree are doing it for the specific goal if improving their job prospects but Einstein's comment encourages us to think about the bigger picture. What do we get from education beyond mere factual knowledge? How can we benefit from taking classes that aren't immediately relevant to our short term goals? What can we do to position ourselves for a future whose needs we can't predict?
[1] In response to a question about not knowing the speed of sound, Einstein: His Life and Times (1947) Philipp Frank, p. 185
Class Notes - Support Services
As we move further into the course's material, I'd like to make sure everyone is aware of the support services that the University makes available.
- Live Tutoring The University provides access to a tutoring service that provides support for math, science and English classes. You can access their website through the Student Common.
- Live Sessions The eCollege classroom has a discussion area where students and faculty can go to have live discussions about the material. I'll be glad to arrange office hours by appointment to meet with students there. If you'd like to do this, please send me an email and we can arrange a date and time. As a general rule, I'm available any time during the day and most evenings after 9:00 PM ET.
- Supplemental Materials Every week I post a variety of supplemental materials in the Problems and Solutions forum. These include written materials with a variety of examples, links to videos and dynamic, web-based tutorials.
Technical Issues
If you're having technical issues with eCollege, e.g. uploading files, downloading files or viewing the grade book, or using the EZGraph tool, you should contact the South University Helpdesk at 1-888-444-3404. I'll be glad to answer any questions you have about the course's content but faculty don't have the training or access to do any kind of tech support.
Contacting Me
There are a number of ways for you to reach me during this course:
- E-mail: gallen@southuniversity.edu
- Telephone: 813.995.8622 (office hours only)
- Skype: gregory.allen.su
I'll be available by phone every Tuesday from 8:00 - 10:00 AM ET and from 8:00 - 9:00 PM ET and on Thursday from 8:00 - 10:00 PM ET. Outside of those hours, Skype is the best way to get a hold of me. I'm usually online working in the afternoon and again in the early evening.
Assignment Schedule
This week's assignment schedule follows the same pattern as last week:
Discussion Questions due on Saturday.
Homework due on Monday.
Quiz due on Wednesday.
Discussion Questions due on Saturday.
Homework due on Monday.
Quiz due on Wednesday.
Professor Gregory Allen
Email: gallen@southuniversity.edu
Website: http://www.whitecraneeducation.com
Location: Skype: gregory.allen.su
Phone: 813.995.8622