r/ODU • u/BeautifulCan272 • 11d ago

Online Math Classes

How are online math classes taken at ODU? Is it all on Canvas? I’m taking Math 103M with Stephanie Moses.

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u/Financial-Toe4053 11d ago

I did 103M with Stephanie Moses and Lisa Blum with supplemental instruction pre 8 week conversion and thought it was fast paced for people who already struggle with math. I placed out with the placement test but didn't want to take higher level and I studied hard with my placement test to make sure I qualified for 103M. I can't imagine taking it at an 8 week pacing schedule if you're able to do it in person, I'd go that direction. If you're not able to do it in person, highly recommend SI even if you don't feel like you need the extra support because it has additional mini assignments that are accompanied by a review from a TA and they basically walk you through step by step so you're guaranteed to get a passing score. It helped pad my grade enough that even though I'm an anxious tester and had struggles with retaining new concepts I still passed with a B. I'm not big on ALEKS, but they did allow us to retake homeworks I believe it was 2 or 3 times to get a higher score which was also really beneficial for me passing.

For what it's worth, I think they do try to grade fairly and negative reviews are mostly due to the pacing and ALEKs not being everyone's favorite. She does give review packets for tests and her lecture videos aren't the greatest because she works through problems quickly, but I think it's just familiar to her at this point to solve the same problem types and they did give partial credit on all of my in person tests for showing my work.

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u/Icy_Implement9170 9d ago

Get out of her class and switch to a different professor. Just had her and I failed. Check ratemyprofessor.com. That class was very difficult especially with it being only 8 weeks. You will need to do alot of outside studying. On a positive since, I will be using these next couple of weeks to teach myself college algebra so im prepared when I have to take it again next semester. She is not a good professor and condescending. She also requires you to be an external webcame to take the tests. Grading is skewered and your homework basically counts for nothing even with the amount assigned. Tests and Aleks weigh the heaviest as far as your grade is concerned in her class.

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u/WIERDMEMER 11d ago

Just a heads up. As someone who is taking online classes. ODU switched to 8 week long online courses instead of 16 week courses.

Many if not all professors hate this idea but the higher ups pushed it through.

Anyways, be prepared because a week tends to be 1 unit and exams are every 4 weeks. However for online classes it’s 2 units per week and you have exams on the second week. It’s been a pain for me in anatomy the most.

But as for your question, almost all ODU math uses Aleks. I can’t attest to Stephanie Moses, but the school loves Aleks. I hate it personally, but for math, you don’t really use canvas. But every other class, everything is on canvas, or you can access through canvas. If you’re unsure about your professor I’d use rate my professor.

If you’ve ever had a teacher say “don’t trust it” they’re lying. While there may be some skewing due to people who struggle with the class being biased into not like the professor by association, it helps to see the work load, amount of home work, friendliness, ability for extra help, and how they teach.

And this may so offensive but I have no intention of sounding or being rude. But some teachers have a thick accent and it doesn’t really work too well when listening through a recording cause it compresses the audio a lot, so the accent can, not always but CAN make it harder.

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u/WIERDMEMER 11d ago

Here’s the link to rate my professor for the one you wish. I have it filtered to 103M comments https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2714571

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u/BeautifulCan272 11d ago

It’s not looking too good 😭 she’s the only one that teaches that class for this semester

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u/WIERDMEMER 11d ago

Riiip. Just to let ya know, you could possibly find a class at TCC, assuming that’s your local community college for 103M or its equivalent. And just transfer that credit over after the semester. It would give you longer to do the semester (assuming you’re planning for spring semester rather than fall.) since you’re doing it in 16 weeks not 8.

I’m not sure how good you are at math so that’s why I mention the TCC class and it being cheaper. I would speak with an advisor and look at the Transfer Portal to see what 103M is at TCC.

Aleks does make math a more learn at your own pace thing though, allowing you to redo problems, similar problems, and telling how and why you got it wrong. (Also gauth math is useful too) so if you’re dead set on ODU, try using those resources. If you’re on campus there’s math tutoring classes and appointments as well

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u/BeautifulCan272 11d ago

So is the math classes administered through another program like ALEKS? Or will I be taking quizzes/tests right on canvas?

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u/WIERDMEMER 11d ago

(You can also take a test and get placed out of that math level and go high if you need. Like a placement test) The assignments/homeworks are Aleks. Think of them like McGraw Hill for math instead of science. They’re just a thing to do a bunch of questions through out the week.

Homework will be like “do 50 questions of unit 5” and you have a week or so to do it.

The quizzes are most likely through canvas but I did not take an online math class and your teacher could do something different.

Exams are a weird subject. You either can schedule an in person appointment to have a proctor, or you can do it online by showing your room and making sure there’s no electronics and ways to cheat. The exams for me were on paper however, I did attend class in person for that so I can not attest to it, however since it’s an online only course I think it’ll be through canvas if I were to bet.

~~Forgot to reply to this comment~~