Introduction

• 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.
• On Canvas, under Modules, review the Fall 2024 Physics 222 Lab Syllabus.

Physics 222 is a 4 credit hour, asynchronous online course taught in the Fall 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 12 modules.  Each module is divided into two parts.

• Carefully study the class material for the sub-module before or on the day shown on the schedule.  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.
• Submit all assignments associated with each sub-module before their 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 labs from cheating sites on the web.  All labs have been modified from previous semesters, so that it is easy to spot a copy.  If you submit a a labs with a plagiarized section, you will get zero points for the lab and may be reported for plagiarism.
• 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. There are also short video summaries for each module under Panopto Video on Canvas.

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.
If you need more help, attend the office/tutoring hours of the instructors. They are offered at various time throughout the week. You can attend the office/tutoring hours of any instructor.

AI chatbots

Asking questions and exploring different aspects of the topics covered in the class material is one of the best ways to learn physics.  You can use AI chatbots as a helpful tool for this purpose, as they can give you answers, explanations, examples, and more.  Try to think of good questions that interest you, challenge you, or help you review what you have learned.   Then ask an AI chatbot and see if its answers make sense or not.

You can also share the answers you get from the AI chatbots with your classmates in the discussion forum. This will make this activity more engaging and collaborative. Everyone can comment on the answers and discuss whether they helped them understand the concepts better or not.  You can also learn from each other and exchange different perspectives and insights.  Please remember to identify which answers are generated by AI chatbots and which are your own.

Using AI chatbots to ask and answer questions can be a fun and effective way to deepen your knowledge and curiosity about physics. I hope you enjoy this activity and benefit from it.

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.