Thanks for your interest in my online Precalculus class. This document will give you an overview that I hope will help you decide if this class is right for you. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at any time either by calling me at 281-290-3915 or emailing me at John.B.Burghduff@LoneStar.edu.

Information About the Class

This class will be run through MyMathLab. MyMathLab is similar to and has all the major features of D2L (the course management system accessed through Lone Star College-Online) except that it is more compatible with mathematical content. This class, including its gradebook, is housed on the servers of Pearson Education, Inc rather than on the servers of LSC-Online. We will not be using D2L at any time; all course materials and communication tools reside in MyMathLab.

The class site in MyMathLab is loaded with all the materials you will need for the course – an electronic version of the textbook, video clips, animations and PowerPoint presentations that support the course, help screens, a gradebook to track your progress, and access to live tutoring over the phone and online. Reading the online interactive textbook and certain other multimedia items I have posted is a required component of the course. As you use these materials to learn the concepts of the course, you will work homework assignments online. Each homework assignment is instantly graded and may be repeated until its deadline. The average of the homework assignments will count as 25% of the grade in the course.

There are five tests in the course plus a comprehensive final exam. All the tests are taken online but are password protected and must be taken in a proctored (supervised) testing environment such as the Assessment Center at Lone Star College-CyFair or at other colleges and centers in the Lone Star College System or other testing centers that are enabled to test online using MyMathLab. Students will not be permitted to take tests unsupervised under any circumstances. Students outside of the Houston area are required to locate a testing center at a college or university in their vicinity and to submit contact information for my approval by the end of the first week of class. (Note: Many testing centers charge a fee for tests given to students from other college systems. Students are responsible for paying these fees. Testing within the Lone Star College System is free.) Each of the five regular exams is worth 10% of the grade and the final exam is worth 20%.

The class will include a variety of communication tools that will help you engage in discussion both with me and with the other students in the class including a discussion board to promote collaboration with all of the class members and a mechanism for communicating through your usual email systems. Participation in all of these communication venues on a regular basis is highly encouraged. Each week, we will have a discussion topic of the week posted on our discussion board. Each student is required to post a response to each weekly discussion question. The percentage of these questions to which a student responds will count as 5% of the grade in the course.

The textbook for the course is Precalculus Enhanced with Graphing Utilities, 7th edition by Sullivan and Sullivan, published by Pearson Publishing. If you purchase a new book through the LSC-CyFair bookstore, (ISBN # 9780134265148) an access code for MyMathLab will be included for free. If you purchase a used book (ISBN # 9780134119281), you will need to purchase a MyMathLab access code separately.

It is not actually required for you to purchase the book – the entire text is posted in MyMathLab if you don’t mind reading online. If you elect not to purchase the book (or if you buy a used book), you will need to purchase a MyMathLab access code (Pearson Education, Inc. ISBN # 9780321199911). The access code may be purchased at the LSC-CF bookstore or may be purchased online the first time you log in to MyMathLab.

For additional information about the class, view the syllabus for your semester linked below.

How to Get Started in the Class

If you decide you would like to enroll in this class, you will have to have a MyMathLab access code, a valid email address and access to a computer with the system requirements listed at the end of this document. MyMathLab will need to download some plug-ins to your computer so, if you are using a shared computer, you will need to have authorization to add software.

This class may be available for online access as much as one week before the start of the semester in case you want to get an early start. See the table below for the date the class will become accessible for your semester. To enter the MyMathLab site you will need to go to www.mymathlab.com. If you have used MyMathLab or any other Pearson MyLab product in another class, you may log in to your existing account and select the option to “add a class.” If you are new to MyMathLab select the link to register as a student. You will be able to purchase an access code online at that point if you don’t have one already. You will also be asked for the zip code of the college which is 77433 and the Course ID for my class, which changes each semester and can be found in the table below. If you are a new user, you will be asked to select a login name and password which you will be able to use for all future logins.

The following table contains the Course ID for current and upcoming semesters as well as the date the class will be accessible and a link to the syllabus.

Not currently active

Course ID:  
Date Course Available:  
Syllabus: 

Once you are into the course website, select the button labelled Begin Here in the upper left corner. This will guide you through how to download necessary plug-ins and will take you through an online orientation that will give you all the information you need to work your way through the class. There is a quiz at the end of the online orientation. You must pass that quiz with a score of 100 to proceed with the class.

I’d be honored to have you join my class and would be pleased to answer any questions you have. Please call me at 281-290-3915 or email me at John.B.Burghduff@LoneStar.edu.

System Requirements

	Operating Systems	Browsers
Microsoft Windows	Windows 10	Internet Explorer 11 and Edge Firefox 46.0 to latest Chrome 49.0 to latest
	Windows 7 or 8	Internet Explorer 11 Firefox 46.0 to latest Chrome 49.0 to latest
Mac OS	Macintosh OS 10.11 (El Capitan)	Safari 9 Firefox 46.0 to latest Chrome 49.0 to latest
	Macintosh OS 10.10 (Yosemite)   Macintosh OS 10.9 (Mavericks)	Safari 8 and 9 Firefox 46.0 to latest Chrome 49.0 to latest Safari 7 and 9 Firefox 46.0 to latest Chrome 49.0 to latest

Connection speed
CourseCompass requires an Internet connection with a minimum connection speed of 28.8 kbps (kilobits per second). The faster your connection, the faster you will be able to view this site and some of your course’s content. If you are experiencing slow download times, you may need a faster connection.

Note: Third party cookies must be enabled for MyMathLab to work properly.