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Food in flasks and test tubes

 

 

How much of a time commitment will this course take?
You can expect to spend 4 to 6 hours a week on this course. Your time will be spent watching mini-lectures and taking notes, reading the required articles, and completing interactive exercises. The week preceding an exam you will want to spend time reviewing your notes and taking the practice exam for extra credit.

 

Is there a course timeline? Can I go at my own pace?
This course is offered on a semester schedule. You will be expected to start your coursework when the semester starts. The course is divided into 4 Units and for each unit you will complete 5 lessons. Each lesson includes mini-lectures, readings, and activities. Although you can do your work at your own pace, you’ll be expected to finish the Unit by the time the exam for that Unit is scheduled.

 

What do I have to do to complete each lesson?
Each Lesson consists of 1 to 3 multimedia mini-lectures of roughly 25 to 120 minutes each. There are required online articles to read and interactive exercises to complete. The exercises include videos to watch and quizzes to complete.

 

How do exams work for an online class?
All exams will be on campus on Wednesday evenings. Students who take FS120 and who live at a significant distance from campus may be approved for off-campus proctored exams. Please see the Off-campus Learning link for more information.
           
How is this class graded?
There are 4 exams worth 100-points each (3 midterms and a final exam). Points that you earn from the exams will be added together to determine your grade. You can also earn extra points from the practice exams in Learn@UW.

A 360-400 points
AB 340-359 points
B 320-339 points
BC 300-319 points
C 280-299 points
D 250-279 points
F 0-249 points

You will have access to your Gradebook in Learn@UW so you can view your grade at any time.

 

What support is available when I have course questions or technical problems?
Although FS120 is an online course, we are committed to helping you be successful in this learning environment. Professor Ingham and the class TA are available by email throughout the semester to answer your questions about course content. All technical questions should be addressed to the UW Madison HelpDesk - phone (608-264-4357) or email help@doit.wisc.edu .

 

How will I communicate with the instructors?
Professor Ingham and the class TA will be available by email. You can expect an email response to your question within 24 hours Monday through Friday. If you do not hear back, please try again. There will also be weekly office hours hosted by the course TA and Professor Ingham.

 

How much do I need to know or be able to do before I start?
There are no prerequisites for this course; students who have had high school chemistry and biology are generally well prepared. You should be comfortable with accessing material through a course web site. You’ll do best if you plan ahead and keep a weekly schedule for spending time on this course.

 

What computer software and hardware do I need for this course?
To get the most from this course you must have the required hardware, basic set-up, internet connection and media. These are described in the tables below.

 

Computer hardware

Requirements Why it is needed
Computer Processor:

PC with a Pentium II 200 MHz, or higher processor running Windows 98, 2000 or XP.

Macintosh Power PC or higher with OS 9.x or 10		 Older computers with older operating systems may display the course materials slowly or not at all. If you purchased your computer within the last three years don't worry, it's probably just fine. The easiest way to find out what type of processor you have is to ask someone who knows about your computer or to look at the documentation that came with it.
Computer memory :

64 Megabytes of RAM or higher
(not to be confused with hard disk space)		 If you don't have the minimum recommended amount of memory (RAM) you could experience problems with the display of the media elements of the course. Most computers purchased within the last few years will generally have sufficient memory.
Monitor Resolution:

1024 x 764 (minimum)		 The minimum screen size you will need to see the course web pages is 1024 pixels wide x 768 pixels high. If your browser window is expanded fully and you still need to scroll horizontally to see the entire home page including map and icons, then your monitor resolution needs to be expanded.
Resolution settings can be changed to increase your monitor's screen capacity. If you don't know how to reset your screen resolution, it's best to ask someone who knows how to show you.
Sound:

Sound capabilities with speakers or headphones		 This course contains audio material. You will need a sound card and speakers to hear the audio. All computers purchased within the last several years have built in sound capabilities. If you don't have speakers you can use headphones such as those used with portable CD or tape players. Headphones can be plugged in to the headphone jack located on the rear of most computers.

 

Internet connections, browsers and plugins

Requirements Why it is needed
Internet connection speed :

Preferred: broadband, high speed connection (DSL, LAN, T4, etc.) 		You need an internet connection in order to view most course material. If you use a slow modem (56k Dial-up), you may have difficulty accessing course materials. The U.W. library has available computers with the recommended Internet speed to take this course.
If you are curious about what your actual connection speed is, you can perform an online speed test.
[Test ]
Web Browser :

PC: Firefox 2.0 or Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 and higher

Mac: FireFox 2.0 and Safari 1.0 or higher 		These are the browser requirements that are necessary to use certain features of this course such as discussion groups and assignment submission. If you do not meet these requirements you may have difficulty accessing these course features. Updating your browser may be necessary.

You can check your browser version.

Internet Explorer: Click Help > About Internet Explorer

Firefox (PC) : Click Help > About FireFox

Firefox (MAC) : Click FireFox > About FireFox

Safari: Click Safari > About Safari
Flash Player Plug-in Most browsers have the Flash player installed.

Check to see if you have the most recent Flash Player. (This is the second box on the page). If you see an animation play, you have the Flash Player installed. Information on what version you have installed is available on this page.

Download the player. (This is an easy and quick download/installation recommended for everyone.)
Adobe Acrobat Reader Version 5 or higher Many of your course reading assignments require access to electronic reserves. These materials are stored as files in an Adobe Acrobat format (PDF). They can be read by your browser and even printed out. However, your computer needs to have the Acrobat Reader installed. Check to see if you have Acrobat installed by trying to open the test document below. If you can't do this then download and install the free reader.



Science.Food.Fun.