Syllabus

This course introduces principles for particles and rigid bodies in equilibrium using a vector approach. Topics include: forces on particles and two/three-dimensional rigid bodies, equilibrium of forces, moments, couples, centroids, section properties, and load analysis of structures.

Please review the FIU's Policies and Netiquette webpage. The policies webpage contains essential information regarding guidelines relevant to all courses at FIU, as well as additional information about acceptable netiquette for online courses.

As a member of the FIU community you are expected to be knowledgeable about the behavioral expectations set forth in the FIU Student Code of Conduct.

This course is taught online.  Students are required to be self-motivated for learning and to complete all online tutorials, assignments and book reading on time, to ensure the effectiveness and success of the course. However, all students are required to be on campus three times for 2 midterms and 1 final exam.

This is a online course in which students have a flexible schedule to watch the tutorial and complete homework assignments. However students need to self organized in the teams with maximum 5 members. There will be five team activities during the semester at the end of each course module. Each team will hold their team activities on their own schedule to have discussions online. All exams require the use of approved proctoring computer laboratories at Engineering Center. Students are required to be physically present at the exam room on campus. All homework assignments are performed online through www.pearsonmylabandmastering.com. Should you have any questions, please contact me through email or by attending my office hours.

Online activities include:

1. Tutoring videos that explain difficult concepts, expand on the textbook to include newer and more advanced information and provide examples of key concepts
2. Assignments to digest and exercise the principles and concepts.
3. Adaptive practice tailored to students’ unique weak areas
4. Catalystics learning questions
5. Team and individual activities on Readiness Assurance Tests (RAT)

One of the greatest barriers to taking an online course is a lack of basic computer literacy. By computer literacy, we mean being able to manage and organize computer files efficiently, and learning to use your computer's operating system and software quickly and easily. Keep in mind that this is not a computer literacy course; but students enrolled in online courses are expected to have moderate proficiency in using a computer. Please go to the "What's Required" webpage to find out more information on this subject.

By taking an online course your computer literacy skills will grow. Some of the skills that you need at the beginning of the course include:

1. Working knowledge of how to use word processing software and web browsers.
2. Good email and email and document management skills.

Technical course requirements include:

1. A reliable Internet connection.
2. Regular access to a laptop or desktop computer with an updated operating system and web browser.
3. An active www.pearsonmylabandmastering.com account.
4. An active FIU email account that is checked daily (or forwarded to an email that is checked daily).
5. Anti-virus software.
6. This is the requirement check for your online course: http://online.fiu.edu/login/browsercheck.php and
   http://online.fiu.edu/html/blackboardlearn/mastertemplate/technical_requirements/

Please visit the System and Technical Requirements (http://online.fiu.edu/html/blackboardlearn/mastertemplate/technical_requirements/) webpage for additional information.

Privacy Policy Statements for Partners and Vendors

• Canvas
• Microsoft
• Adobe
• Google
• ProctorU
• HonorLock
• Turnitin
• NBC Learn
• OpenStax
• Adobe Connect
• Respondus LockDown Browser

Please visit our Technical Requirements webpage for additional information.

The Disability Resource Center collaborates with students, faculty, staff, and community members to create diverse learning environments that are usable, equitable, inclusive and sustainable. The DRC provides FIU students with disabilities the necessary support to successfully complete their education and participate in activities available to all students. If you have a diagnosed disability and plan to utilize academic accommodations, please contact the Center at 305-348-3532 or visit them at the Graham Center GC 190.

For additional assistance please contact FIU's Disability Resource Center.

Web Accessibility Statements for Partners and Vendors 

• Canvas
• Microsoft
• Adobe
• Google
• ProctorU
• HonorLock
• OpenStax

Please visit our ADA Compliance webpage for additional information about accessibility involving the tools used in this course.

Florida International University is a community dedicated to generating and imparting knowledge through excellent teaching and research, the rigorous and respectful exchange of ideas and community service. All students should respect the right of others to have an equitable opportunity to learn and honestly to demonstrate the quality of their learning. Therefore, all students are expected to adhere to a standard of academic conduct, which demonstrates respect for themselves, their fellow students, and the educational mission of the University. All students are deemed by the University to understand that if they are found responsible for academic misconduct, they will be subject to the Academic Misconduct procedures and sanctions, as outlined in the Student Handbook.

Academic Misconduct includes: Cheating – The unauthorized use of books, notes, aids, electronic sources; or assistance from another person with respect to examinations, course assignments, field service reports, class recitations; or the unauthorized possession of examination papers or course materials, whether originally authorized or not. Plagiarism – The use and appropriation of another’s work without any indication of the source and the representation of such work as the student’s own. Any student who fails to give credit for ideas, expressions or materials taken from another source, including internet sources, is responsible for plagiarism.

Learn more about the academic integrity policies and procedures as well as student resources that can help you prepare for a successful semester.

If you are looking for help for yourself or a fellow classmate, Panthers Care encourages you to express any concerns you may come across as it relates to any personal behavior concerns or worries you have, for the classmate’s well-being or yours; you are encouraged to share your concerns with FIU’s Panthers Care website.

Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) offers free and confidential help for anxiety, depression, stress, and other concerns that life brings. Professional counselors are available for same-day appointments. Don’t wait to call 305-348-2277 to set up a time to talk or visit the online self-help portal.

Prerequisite: MAC 2312 (Calculus II) and PHY 2048 (Physics I with Calculus)

Co-requisite:  MAC2313 (Calculus III, Multivariable Calculus)

This is an online course. Online courses require self-motivation, self-discipline, and technology skills that sometimes make these courses more demanding for some students. If you find that you are having difficulty keeping up with the out-of-class work, please see the instructor at the office hours or make an appointment. Make sure to seek early on as waiting until you are underwater will make it more diifcult to get back on track.

Students are expected to:

• Look at your Course Schedule. Do this at the same time every week. Maybe Saturday or Sunday afternoons as you plan your study and homework for the week ahead.
• Read sections in textbook and take notes in your well-organized notebook. Try some examples.
• Actively participate in all the team activities.
• Complete all required online activities every week.
• Complete homework assignments and quizzes on www.pearsonmylabandmastering.com before their deadline in team or individually.
• Late assignments are not credited towards the final score.

The instructor will:

• Prepare lessons that address challenging topics
• Be available in person for office hours for 2 hours every week
• Create questions designed to identify common misunderstandings
• Engage students in discussions
• Maintain an updated gradebook
• Communicate with you and respond to emails within 2 work days (please check the email addressee if you don’t hear response beyond this period).

Professionalism Practice

In this class, you will become a learning professional.  What's learning professional?  It's an engineer, lawyer, writer, physician, athlete, and a teacher, too.  Those are all professions in which learning effectively and efficiently and helping others to do this are at the very CORE of the profession.  If a profession doesn't have continued learning at its core, the profession is about to be replaced by software, if it hasn't already.

So in this class, professionalism is very important.  In the professional world, your life is influenced by three things:  your own effort, the effort of the people you depend upon, and the way you work together, which is why this course engages the Team-Based Learning (TBL) that values all three of those things.

Tips to Succeed in EGN3311

1. Watching the tutorial and reading the text are equalily important in the online course. Lectures are designed to address key issues and/or difficult concepts, not comprehensively go through the textbook. If you do not read the required text, you will get lost in the team activities and you will not be a productive member of your team.
2. Keep progressing at a constant rate throughout the semester is extremely important. It is the most efficient way to utilize your time for maximum outcome. Be sure to catch up as soon as possible if you are behind schedule.
3.  Actively engage in team discussions: Team RATs and group activities are critical parts of the learning process in the course. Be prepared to share three things with your teammates:  (a) what answer you chose as an individual, (b) why you chose that answer, and (c) how confident you are about it. Team activities will help you improve your ability to express yourself and convince others.
4. Deliberate as long as time permits - unless a team is full of all-stars, teams who deliberate longer (especially at the beginning of the term) will do better in team activities.

All email communications should have a heading “Statics …” in the subject line to avoid delay in response. Also, include your first and last name and your panther ID in all email communications.

The Email feature is an external communication tool that allows users to send emails to users enrolled within the course. Emails are sent to the students’ FIU email on record. The Email tool is located on the Course Menu, on the left side of the course webpage.

FIU email is your regular FIU email account.

Readiness Assurance Tests (RAT):

There will be five in-class multiple-choice RATs.  Each test will cover material presented in the assigned readings. RATs will first be taken individually (without the help of others) and then again in teams. Students will take the individual test (RATi) during the first 30 minutes and answer the question online. At the end of the 30 minutes, students will discuss in their teams through the internet and take the same test again online.  The team test (RATt) will last for 20 minutes or less.

Appeals: If your team feels strongly about the correctness of an item that they missed, the team may submit a written appeal to the instructor. This appeal process must occur immediately following a RAT. Only teams, not individuals, may write appeals. Only teams that write successful appeals get points for that appeal, even if another team missed the same question(s). Appeals are not simply an opportunity to try to get more points. Rather, they are an opportunity for teams to make scholarly arguments for their collective positions. All arguments must be supported by evidence from the textbook or lecture notes. If the appeal is based on an ambiguously phrased question, the team must suggest wording that is less ambiguous. The decision to grant or refuse an appeal will be made by the instructor after class via e-mail. The following is an example of a successful appeal:

              Argument: “We feel that A, rather than B, should be the correct answer to question 1.”

Evidence:  “According to Figure 2, the weight of the object is 10 x 21/2 N, i.e. 14.14 N, therefore the force of 14.10 is not enough to lift the box.”

ONLINE TUTORING AND ASSIGNMENTS

Students are required to access www.pearsonmylabandmastering.com for online tutoring and homework assignments. All tutoring and homework will be assigned and completed through the course website within the assigned time window in order to be prepared for in-class discussions, tests, and exams. Assignments will be graded instantaneously as they are submitted online. Late submissions will not be accepted for credit, except under extraordinary circumstances. Students may work in groups formed on their own for working on the homework, but each student is responsible for understanding the procedure and reasoning of their answers. Adaptive practice following each assignment for tailoring to students’ unique weak areas is counted for extra credits.

Keep in mind that your discussion forum postings will likely be seen by other members of the course. Care should be taken when determining what to post.

In order to mitigate any issues with your computer and online assessments, it is very important that you take the "Practice Quiz" from each computer you will be using to take your graded quizzes and exams. It is your responsibility to make sure your computer meets the minimum hardware requirements.

All assessments will auto-submit when (1) the timer runs out OR (2) the closing date/time is reached, whichever happens first. For example, if a quiz has a closing time of 5:00 pm but the student begins the exam at 4:55 pm, the student will only have 5 minutes to complete the quiz.

Assessments in this course are not compatible with mobile devices and should not be taken through a mobile phone or a tablet. If you need further assistance please contact FIU Online Support Services.

Adobe Connect Pro Meeting