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Nicki Rosa
BS, Mathematics
MS, Computer Science
Teaching Experience:
Head of Math Department, Community Prep School, Colorado Springs, CO
Founder, TotalMath.net
Michael Hosking
B.S., Biology;
Ph.D., Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology
Teaching experience:
Davidson College (Davidson, NC)
Gary Schwartz
M.S., Ph.D., Mathematics
Teaching experience:
University of Oklahoma, Northern Illinois University
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
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Do I need to join the beginning of the school year?
No..you can join PersonalProfessors anytime you want. All lessons are archived (over 400 are currently available in Geometry, Biology, Algebra I, Algebra II, Trig/Precalc, and CAHSEE math) so you can learn at your own pace or review specific concepts at your leisure. Office hours are open to all.
Who is the PersonalProfessors system for?
We are for anyone who needs to learn high school math and science- students who homeschool, families in rural areas, independent study students, regularly-enrolled students who need supplemental instruction. Because our lessons are archived, you can learn whenever you want.
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How are office hours held, and how often?
We hold one office hour each week for each subject. They take place in our Web-conferencing system where we communicate in a 'virtual classroom' with whiteboard work (using a standard whiteboard and markers, not the mouse-based whiteboards), voice over the Internet, and chat.
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What role do faculty play in the discussions?
They read and moderate—they do not necessarily respond to each post,
as that would ruin the learning
experience for the students. Education research has shown that
students must formulate questions, think through responses, and
hear other students' interpretations and questions in order to
fully learn. If our faculty responded to each and every post with a
definitive answer, we would short circuit this process. They will,
however, monitor the discussions and direct the flow of ideas by
providing insightful questions, summarizing viewpoints, shifting
the focus, etc.
What subjects are covered in the discussions? Can non-academic material be discussed?
Only academic material will be covered in
the discussions, at least for now. If students, or faculty, see a
need for a discussion forum based on subjects not covered in the
lecture material, we will certainly evaluate it's educational
utility. After all, this whole system is designed for you, to help
you learn.
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How long are the lectures?
15-20 minutes
Do I need special software?
Click Here to Install the Plugins
RealPlayer (from RealPlayer 8, through RealOne and the newest, RealPlayer 10 vist http://www.real.com/ and Mimio boardCast plug in; both free, one-time downloads. NOTE: If you installed QuickTime after you installed RealOne, you may have
to reset RealOne as your default SMIL player (SMIL is the type of file used
for the Mimio lectures). To do this, open RealOne Player, go to Tools/Preferences and click on Media/Content on the far left. Ensure that SMIL files types are assigned to RealOne
What kind of Internet connection is needed?
A simple telephone modem is fine for all materials, including lectures. See the FAQ on Connection errors below if your RealPlayer freezes or buffers.
Can I stop in the middle of a lecture?
Archived lectures can be stopped whenever you feel like it. You can
also fast-forward to any point in the archived lecture.
Can I print out views of the lectures?
Yes, and we encourage our students to do this as part of a portfolio of their learning that includes notes and the self assessments. To print out a view of a lecture, press pause in the RealPlayer, press the Print Screen button on your computer (often abbreviated pr sc, or prt sc) and then past into a Word document or Paint document.
What grade level are the lessons?
We present pre-college material, which is appropriate for any one who has advanced to a
middle school or high school level in science and math. Certainly,
some concepts students encounter will be new to them, and some may
need review, but that is precisely the benefit of our system- by
joining the discussions and asking questions these participants
actually learn the material better than those who don't join in.
Do the lectures follow any particular curriculum?
Yes, we take our instruction directly from the California High School Standards
Any typical 'course' follows a logical and necessary trajectory through the
material so that students' knowledge can build on what they have
already learned. We do the same here, it's just these aren't 'courses'
in the standard sense- you can start, stop and go back to wherever
you need to be personally. Your learning speed is your own.
Can I use RealPlayer 7 or 8 to view the live and archived lectures?
Yes you can, but RealNetworks no longer
automatically delivers the necessary Mimio boardCast plug in. To obtain the plug
in for these older players go to www.Mimio.com, click on the Software tab, click
on the mimio boardCast link (don't worry, the download for the plug in is free),
fill out the required fields, then click on the RealServer-PC download. This is
the plugin for RealPlayers 7 and 8 that allows you watch live and archived
lectures on PersonalProfessors.com.
I keep getting 'Connection to Server Lost' or 'Connecting' errors.
Open your RealPlayer and go to the Tools menu. Select Preferences and in the left pane choose Connections. You'll see a 'Network Time Out' area- increase the Network Time Out by 20 seconds. Also, see this site for more help Click Here
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