MyMathLab is a website that organizes homework, interactive tutorials, videos, and other resources into learning units for each chapter of the text. It is provided by Pearson Education, Inc., the publisher of our textbook. The program is on Pearson servers, which means that all technical questions must be addressed to them, not to NIU personnel. (The phone number for Student Help is given below.) The program is useful because it allows math symbols to be used, and makes it possible to do online assignments. It also does all of the grading.
If you purchased your textbook on campus, it should include an access code to allow you to register for MyMathLab. If you purchased a textbook that does not include an access code, you can buy one from the MyMathLab site for $55.
WARNING: You cannot afford to ignore the online component of Math 110. The online homework and quizzes will be worth 15% of your grade, and so getting a 0 on the online work is enough to change a low C into an F.
MyMathLab is accessible over the internet, which is a good feature. Unfortunately, it requires a plugin that works only with Internet Explorer on a PC. If you are used to using Firefox, or another browser, you must go back to Internet Explorer for Math 110 assignments. MyMathLab isn't available yet on MAC or LINUX machines. The good news is that MyMathLab is available in all of the ITS labs on campus.
There are weekly homework assignments, usually 15 problems worth 1 point each. You can work on some problems in an assignment, and come back later to finish the rest. If you get an answer wrong, you can try it again, though the program will then give you a slightly different question. While you are solving the problem, you can ask the program to show you a relevant example. Most students really like this feature. It will help you see what your answer should look like too, since the program is quite particular about the form of your answers. It is easy to become addicted to this help feature, so the second part of each homework assignment forces you to look for examples in the textbook, or in MyMathLab outside of the assignment.
Homework assignments become available on Mondays, and are due in 7 to 10 days. In MyMathLab you can find a calendar with these due dates. The homework scores will be entered automatically in a MyMathLab gradebook that your instructor will use to determine the overall percentage.
Your instructor will give you a Course ID for your particular section. It will begin with the instructors name. Do not use the Course ID from another section, because your instructor needs to be able to find your scores.
Please use your first and last names as they appear on NIU documents, so that your instructor can be sure to connect your MyMathLab scores with your name on the official NIU grade roll.
Call MyMathLab Student Tech Support at 1-800-677-6337 if you need help with technical questions.
If you are going to access MyMathLab from your own computer, here are detailed instructions for installation of the MathXL player.