Welcome to Engineering Dynamics Online

Dear Student,

Welcome to distance education at Cuesta College. My name is Pam Ridgely, and I will be your instructor for the online version of Engineering Dynamics (Engineering 251), section 50180. This letter is to inform you of some important details prior to the commencement of the Summer 2009 online class. Please read this page carefully!!

My e-mail address is pridgely@cuesta.edu    Use the subject starting with "[E251]" on every e-mail.
 

Class Overview:

Engineering Dynamics: In this class you will learn to analyze the dynamics associated with motion of rigid bodies and particles, including velocity, acceleration, relative motion, energy, work, momentum, and impulse using vector mathematics.

Online:  The class will be conducted online through Blackboard.  You will have online access to lectures and examples.  Homework problems will be assigned.  Your online participation counts for a portion of your grade.  There will be online assignments but the tests and final exam will be in person, either on campus or remotely.  (See link at bottom of page for syllabus and class calendar, but note that they may be outdated until class starts.)

Dynamics is a 3 lecture unit course, which, according to college guideline, requires 9 hours/week of work during the Fall and Spring semesters.  However, the pacing in the Summer is about 3.5 times that, which means you should expect to spend at least 30 hours a week on this class.  This course is more challenging than most, so depending on your academic background and your goal, you may even need to spend more time than the stated guideline. It is strongly suggested that you treat this class as a full-time job.  You will have close to a week's worth of lectures/readings/homework/assignments to do each day and most likely won't have time for another class or job.

Many students are surprised at the amount of work and effort required to teach yourself with little interaction.  You need to be self-motivated and disciplined with good time management skills.  On the other hand, you can work according to your own schedule such as listening to lectures at 2am.

The prerequisite for this class is Engineering 250, Statics.  You also need to be familiar with a variety of mathematical concepts especially college-level vector calculus and trigonometry. This page from UNL does a nice job of summarizing the math you need to know for dynamics.

If you have not taken an online class before, go to the distance education page and read about it.  Pay particular attention to the "For Whom?" section and take the self-assessment survey.

1. Even though the classes will be conducted online, the 5 tests will be in person.  Make sure your schedule allows you to be at the SLO campus on the following dates and time:  (Photo ID may be required for tests and final)



Date	Time	Room	Activity
Monday 6/15	9:30-10:45am	4118	Orientation (Optional)
Wednesday 6/24	11am-noon	4118	Test 1
Wednesday 7/1*	11am-noon	4118	Test 2
Thursday 7/9*	11am-noon	4118	Test 3
Thursday 7/16*	11am-noon	4118	Test 4
Thursday 7/23	9:45-11:45am	4118	Final Examination

 * Note: these test times may be changed to 9:30-10:30am.  If you can only make either time slot, please let know ASAP.  
 
   
2. Book:  the required text is Vector Mechanics for Engineers: Dynamics by Beer, et al., 8th or 7th edition.  As the 9th edition is the most current version, it is the one widely available and you may use it if you can't find the 8th or 7th.  You can get it at the campus bookstore for approximately $160.   The older edition (new or used) can often be found for much less online (8th Ed,  7th Ed).  A copy will also be available on reserve at the library.  If you have the combined Statics and Dynamics version of the text book, that will work as well.  If you have a different edition of the book (older than 7th or the SI version), the problem numbers will not match.  It is your responsible to find out which problems are assigned and do the correct ones.

3. Computer Requirements:

• Computer - Pentium-class or Macintosh PC
• Operating System - Windows 2000 or Mac OS 10.2 or above (other OS such as linux may work but is not supported)
• Recent Video & Sound Card
• Speakers or headphone
• An email account that is checked everyday
• Visit the Cuesta Blackboard site and click on "Check Browser" to see if your browser is supported for WebCT/Blackboard C.E. 8.0.1. 
  
• You will also need the following plug-ins:
• PDF reader
• Macromedia Flash
• Macromedia Authorware
• VGA display of at least 800x600, higher recommended.  (Though 800x600 will work for the lectures, a resolution of at least 1024x768 is required to correctly view the Online Learning Center.)
• Internet connection of at least 56kb dialup, broadband strongly recommended
• Scanner and image manipulation software.

Maybe.  You will need to contact your nearby college or university which offers test proctoring service.  They will need to proctor your tests on the same day, and preferably time, as the test dates above then the proctor will need to scan and email me your test as well as mail me the original copy.  Some proctoring service will not provide a scanning service so you will need to find one that does.  It will be your responsibility to coordinate this.  Email me if you're considering this option.

Yes.  You can register for the online section (space permitted) and attend the in-class portion of the hybrid section.  There are a few conditions for this:

1. If you just want to attend lectures in addition to taking the online class.  You don't have to inform me.  Just show up to the lectures (M, W,Th 9:30-10:45am).   In the unlikely event that all the chairs are full, then you'll have to give priority to the students in the regular class.
2. If you want to take the hybrid class but if it's full and you can only get into the online section, then you may register for the online section and inform me within the first week of class.  Remember to inform me ASAP since the submissions for the two sections may be different.  (The reverse is also true for students who want to take the online section but can only get into the regular section.  See below)

 

1. Register for the class.  For Summer 2009, the class is sections 50180.
   
• New or former students who have been absent 2 or more semesters will need to apply first.
• During registration, you will be assigned a Cuesta email account.  Make sure to check this account regularly or forward emails to your regular email account.  I need to be able to contact you in the event that Blackboard is down. 
• If the section you want is full, you may add the other section and let me know within the first week that you want to change.
2. Around late May/early June, I will send you an email (though your Cuesta email account) with details on how to gain temporary access to Blackboard.  Since the summer session is very fast-paced, you are strongly encouraged to get a head start on the course.  
3. By Thusday before class starts, I will send all registered students an email (though your Cuesta email account) stating that a Blackboard account have been created for you.  If you registered for the class in the last week, it can take a week to get this set up so you might receive this email later.  Contact me if you are registered but have not received this email by Saturday morning.
4. Your blackboard username is the same as your myCuesta username.  The default password is STUDENT (in all caps).  
5. Log on to your Blackboard account and complete Assignment 0 prior to the orientation meeting (whether or not you are attending the orientation).  If you are registered and has not completed Assignment 0 by the time of orientation, I may drop you. If you have any problem completing it on time, email me immediately or come to orientation. 
   

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CLASSES

ONLINE/Hybrid E251

ONLINE E51 WELCOME