Discussion Session #1
Welcome to
SLM521. We are anxious for the course to begin. We have our direction set for
the class but are curious as to your expectations.
Is this your first online class? Do you have any questions...concerns....fears.....about
what you are going to need to know and what you will be asked to do? Have you
heard any rumors about the course? (None of them are true - it is much worse
than anyone would tell you;-) Share your thoughts with
us and with each other in this week's discussion!
Reply to Discussion question on
This is my
first online course and first class at
Reply to Margaret Kartanowicz on
I enjoyed
reading your "expectations". I have a degree in Mathematics but
worked as a programmer/analyst for 14 years. The technology has exploded since
I left working full time in 1992. I feel a little overwelmed
but know if I keep in touch with others who are wandering through the maze of
information there is hope to become a Web/Internet master. I hope to hear
comments on the discussion board about what is confusing about the course and
the successes people are having. Cindy (Cynthia) Vaskis
Reply to
Margaret Kartanowicz on
Hi Maggie,
Sorry I took so long to respond. I've been busy doing income taxes and looking
at all the other stuff we have to read for this course. I never took speed
reading but I think I will be pretty fast by the end of this course. I would
like to talk to or see what other people are doing for math tutoring tools.
That would be great if you'd like to put her web address in a reply message to
me.
I feel overwhelmed by all the material. Every time I go into a page I think I'm
getting to the bottom of the links there’s always more choices on menus next to
the articles. At some point I have to stop and say "my life can't be only
web surfing all day." I think the point of this class is to learn to
discriminate between what's important in the big picture of what's out there
and what is just too much detail that clouds that bigger view of the world. You
can always go back and get the details if they are really needed. That's what
Favorites on the web page menu is all about, i.e., "I'll save this address
and look at this later if I really need to."
Well, I'd better get back to finishing the assignments. We may have snow
tonight and if the kids are out of school tomorrow, computer time may be
minimal for me when they are home playing their games.
Give me a call if you want someone to bounce ideas off. I know some people are
getting together but my family needs me to be home in the afternoons and
evenings so my peer connections may have to be via the
web/internet/e-mail/phone. Talk to you soon,
410-386-0818
Reply to Erin Shockley on
Hi Erin, I
read your latest comment. I also am not a teacher yet but have several years of
volunteer work tutoring elementary students with basic math - multiplication,
subtraction, etc. and tutoring some home schooling groups about computer
programming. I worked when I was single as a computer analyst/programmer on
math application programs for large government projects.
Then I moved into an area of programming called Artificial Intelligence where
our group developed software using Expert System shells (KEE and G2). At the
time personal computers were virtually non-existent and computer graphics was
the hot topic on $100K computer systems, nothing any typical programmer could
afford. So my experience with developing expert systems was always work related
and done at work where the machines were located. Now with a Dell 8200 system
and Pentium 4 I'm ready to pursue developing a math tutor at home on a much
more powerful system than we used to have at work.
The idea I have considered for a long time and am now just getting started
toward is to create an expert system that contains basic math skills up through
undergraduate level math. It would monitor the student's responses to problems
and essentially back up to lower level subjects if the student was having
problems. It would be as if a teacher was sitting with a student and asking
them if they understand what they are doing. If the student is responding to
the exercises incorrectly, it would provide a pathway to retreat to underlying
math concepts so that the student could build up confidence at lower levels
before moving on toward higher levels. I think the biggest problem with most
math programs is that they are geared toward teaching math at one level but are
not connected to other levels of math so there is no way to go back to the
basics to review within the same program. I’d be interested to know if your
thoughts are in this direction also and if you have seen any programs that seem
to do what I am suggesting. Thanks, Cindy (Cynthia) Vaskis
Reply to Malinda Lawson on
Hi Mindy,
I am also finding out how much there is to learn and feel overwhelmed at times.
One thing that has helped me is to pace myself. Just do one or two things a day
and not get bogged down in looking at all the work there is to do. Sometimes I
ask if it is worth sitting at the computer for 5 or 6 hours at a time or is it
better to print out an assignment and get a cup of coffee and put my feet up
and read it slowly when the kids are at school or in bed at night (when all is
quiet). I appreciate how they have paced the class so that the discussion board
topics are the only necessary things to be done each week. Although I've been
working on the other stuff as much as I can. That takes a little of the
pressure off so that I can handle interruptions like the flood we have in our
yard right now. It is good to know that others are also trying to come up to
speed on terminology. I hope to become proficient in speaking web lingo by the
end of this course also.