• Read the syllabus for the class.
• Familiarize yourself with the course schedule.
• On Canvas, under Modules, read through the short modules under More Course Information.
• Under Account, on Canvas, set your Canvas your notification preferences so that you receive announcements when they are published.
  This is very important for an online course.  There is no excuse for missing an important announcement. 
• On Canvas, under Syllabus, review the Spring 2023 Physics 136 Lab Syllabus.

Physics 136 is a 4-credit hour, asynchronous online course taught in the Spring 2023 semester.

A traditional, face-to-face lecture-based course would require students to attend a 75-minute class meeting two times every week and a 2 hour and 40-minute lab/recitation sessions one time each week.  In addition, students would be expected to review their class notes, read the textbook, and complete homework assignments.  You are expected to invest an equivalent amount of time in this class.

Class Structure

There are 10 modules.  Each module is divided into two or three parts.

For each part of a module:

• Study online material for this part of the module before midnight of the date on the schedule.
  
  You have to read it.  It replaces the traditional lecture.  This is the material the assignments and tests refer to. 
  
  Read it slowly.  It is not an extremely large amount of material.  Study the solved problems.  Ask yourself if you understand the concepts and how to apply them. Use the discussion forum to ask questions and help other students.  Explaining something to others is the best way to learn it.
• Complete the associated homework assignment (A1 - A24) on Canvas before midnight on the due date.  Again, use the discussion forum to ask and answer questions.
• A lab is associated with every module.  Submit each lab before its due date.  The lab instructors will monitor the discussion forum for lab questions.
  Do not copy lab reports from cheating sites on the web.  Most labs have been modified from previous semesters, and it is easy to spot a copy.  If you submit a lab report with a plagiarized section, you will get zero points for the lab and may be reported for plagiarism.
• Contribute to the discussion forum under assignments before midnight on the due date of the last part of the module.  I will monitor the forum and answer questions each day.
• Submit all extra credit for the module before midnight on the due date of the last part of the module.
• After you have completed a module, review the summary slides for this module under "Modules" on Canvas.  They offer some additional problems to test your understanding.

Note: I strongly recommend submitting earlier than midnight on the due date and not waiting until the last minute.  You can submit all homework assignment multiple times.  Submitting early allows you to ask questions and get feedback if your first answer was incorrect, and it allows you to help other students once you have arrived at the correct answer.

The online material is my contribution to the class.  It covers all topics that may appear on homework assignments and tests.  Example problems are worked out in the online material.  The textbook presents the same material but expands on some aspects of it. It is always beneficial to go over new material more than once.  Different presentations are better suited for different audiences.