EXTRA CREDIT GENERAL INFORMATION

•You can earn extra credit points via any of the options listed below.  Your extra credit points will all be added to your total quiz points at the end of the semester.  Keep an eye on your “extra credit” grade in WebCT to see how many extra credit points you’ve accumulated so far this semester.  Extra credit should be turned in throughout the semester.  Don’t wait until the end because in the end...it’s too late.

•I offer extra credit for good reasons, not just because I like the word “extra”.  Not only is it good for your understanding to create tutorials and example problems with detailed solutions for yourself, as you learn this stuff you’re the best person to explain it to others since the misconceptions that you overcome while learning are still fresh in your head.  Once we’ve mastered a concept it becomes more difficult to remember why it was so hard to learn in the first place so your fresh perspective helps remind me why you might need a “teacher” in the first place to help you learn this stuff.  Also, your contributions will be available for your classmates to learn from.  This is the primary purpose of my extra credit project so keep your target audience in mind when you create something for extra credit.  If it won’t help a confused classmate then it won’t help you or me and won’t be worth many extra credit points.

• I may post your extra credit submissions online on this website or submit it to the Textpotential Educational Organization for the whole world to admire.  Your name will be included (unless otherwise desired by you) with the submission and will be in their list of contributors on their website www.textpotential.org and will be subject to a creative commons copyright policy.  In other words, make a good homework problem and it may be published in addition to you receiving extra credit.  If you don’t want your work to be placed online then please let me know.

EXTRA CREDIT OPPORTUNITIES

•EXAMPLE PROBLEM WITH SOLUTION:    On the first class day of each week of classes you may turn in one example problem that you have created yourself.

•Don’t take problems from other books.  I’m looking for original and creative material.  Be creative but design the problems and solutions with their purpose in mind (to aid understanding for someone that “doesn’t get it”).

•Make sure you provide a detailed solution to the problem explaining as much correlation as possible to other class material.  Look at my solutions web page to get an idea of what an “explanation” can be.

•Extra credit points assigned will depend on the quality of the problem.

•UNIT CIRCLE:    Create your own version of the Unit Circle diagram.  You can do it digitally, or by hand.  It can be a simple drawing or an interactive applet like the one found on Dave’s Short Course in Trig.  It can be in color or in black and white.  It can be simple or ornate, beautiful or ugly.  Just try to make it so that it is useful.  Try to represent the information and concepts on the unit circle in your own, unique, clear, and meaningful way.

•Don’t give me something that has already been done.  Check out Textpotential’s Unit Circle Gallery for ideas and to see what’s already been done.  Produce something original if you expect any extra credit points.

•You may turn in only one unit circle for the semester so make it a good one.  The more useful it is to the other students, the more points it will be worth.

•TUTORIALS:    The tutorials I’ve created for you in the “Tutorial Pages” webpage are the kinds of things you should create for yourself in all of your classes.  Create your own tutorial for any particular concept/section in your own words and in your own style.  Creating these tutorials for others can help you learn the concepts yourself.

•Don’t give me someone else’s work.  Again, I’m looking for non-copyrighted, original material created by you.

•You may turn in one tutorial on the first class day of each week.

•If you want to make something of professional quality then consider using latex to type up your tutorial or use other software to make movies or interactive programs.

•“SHOW & TELL” PRESENTATIONS:    If you would like to present your ideas in front of the using the standard chalk board or any technology then let me know and we can set something up.  If you’d like to borrow a Tablet PC for a presentation then let me know.

•LATEX:    For added points, learn LaTex and typeset your extra credit nicely with it.  Click here for a LaTex tutorial or go to the Tex User Group (TUG) website for everything there is to know about latex and for free LaTex downloads.  You can also click here for a tutorial I found on the web.  LaTex is perfect for computer science and math majors, and a valuable tool for any science major or major that will lead you to a job that includes any legal or technical writing.  All research papers and most books are typeset in LaTex.  LaTex comes in many different flavors like Linux and is also free.  You can download the full LaTex package for the Mac here or search the TUG website for PC downloads.  You can also use Computer Algebra Programs, such as Mathematica, to produce LaTex code.  Check out some sample latex files of my own here or, if you don’t want to write your own tutorial or problem then go to my Written Tutorials webpage to find some content that you can LaTex for extra credit.  If you do some extra credit using latex then you can turn it in to me by emailing me via WebCT the file with the source code and the compiled output file as well.

•GOOD IDEAS:    If you have any other unique ideas for things that can be provided via the web to aid in student understanding then let me know.  If you can provide anything that could help others understand the course concepts better and/or easier, it would be a valuable resource to us all.

MORE EXTRA CREDIT INFORMATION

•I WILL NOT TAKE ANY EXTRA CREDIT AFTER THE LAST CLASS OF THE SEMESTER: Earn it during the semester while you still have a chance.

•DON’T GIVE ME CRAP:  Don’t expect points for crap.  This extra credit program is designed to promote creative thought and the development of new learning tools that more closely match your learning needs.  Don’t just copy something out of a book or the internet like a monkey or scribble something down in two minutes before class.  I will be posting decent submissions on the website for future students to use and admire.  Different styles register well with different people so feel free to express yourself through this program.

•TURNING IT IN:  If you’ve done something in a digital format please email me the digital version (you don’t have to do the extra credit digitally) because then it will be easier for me to use.  I usually scan hand-written/drawn stuff so I can save it on my computer.  Again, digital files are preferred (especially in LaTex ) but not required.