Edx/BUx Introduction to Differential Equations Starts 5/16

[sanantone]

That's definitely part of it. Plus, my personal opinion is that the Study.com stuff is pretty lightweight...I don't think it's a good prep for anyone looking for a math degree, where people are going to expect you to...well...'math stuff', as my 8 yr old says. (Where math is, indeed, a verb.) If you like shorter explanations, then the Shaum books, are a lighter approach but have significant numbers of solved problems, or even one of those "365 solved problems in ____" books would give you a better feel than the "mostly words" approach of the Study.com videos.

For folks just needing to whip off a math course, it's fine. To build a deep foundation, not so much.

(Don't get me wrong, I love Study.com...when words are the appropriate medium for the lesson. With math, I feel they need a LOT more numbers and fewer words, both in lessons and in solved-problem examples outside of the videos.) That's just my personal opinion, with a strong preference for 'learning by doing'. YMMV.

ETA - Ideas, if you have an old books shop near you, some of my fave calc books have been from the 1950s-70s, before there was all the super-gimmicky printing, 4-color glossy artwork, etc. Where the pages were mostly numbers/equations, clearly laid out so you could follow the process without all the cutesy stuff, and where text was very crisp, concise, and clear. *Those* were math books. I haven't found a modern math book that I like even a little, in any math subject.

Oh, another resource. MIT's amazing professor, Gilbert Strang, has a bunch of DiffE videos (and at least a text or two) - the videos are very good. (Dr. Strang and Dr. Fowler, previously mentioned for Calc 1 & 2) are the only 2 math professors I'll watch "just because" I want to wallow in math a while. Dr. Strang has some that are just the math side, and he has some that add in MATLAB implementation with Cleve Moler of MathWorks (for anyone thinking of an engineering degree...I'm pretty sure that AMU/APU have switched from LabView over to MATLAB recently, and the Boston engineering schools all go heavy on the MATLAB from year 1).

There have been a few others, including myself, who have found their non-math courses to be lightweight. People feel like they're learning, but they don't know what they're not learning.

[SolarKat]

There have been a few others, including myself, who have found their non-math courses to be lightweight. People feel like they're learning, but they don't know what they're not learning.

You said it, exactly right. Study.com is *awesome* for something you just need to get the credit for...like gen-eds that you want to blow through on your way to bigger things. But I'm not sure it's a way to build concrete skills. A single quick essay for "advanced tech writing," for example. And while I find the history classes to be very interesting, I know from my history-buff friends that the courses are super light on detail and complexity. Still, it's a fine trade-off for me, so I can hit my AOS harder, spending much less time with gen-eds. However, if my AOS was history, I don't feel the Study.com would give me the knowledge expected of a history major in those classes. And for a mathematician, I don't think there's enough opportunity for practice work with feedback to provide a grounding for advanced study. It reminds me more of a "calculus for non-math majors"...quick, dirty credit.

[Ideas]

I wouldn't have done this class right now, but I figured I'd give it a try. I think that I am still going to give this a bit of a try without going crazy. I'll make sure I get all of the practice exercises right and then do the midterm on the last day and see what happens.

Are you still going to try this?

I have only done the first module of the EdX course, and I already wanted to give up a few times. However, now that I invested a lot of time into the first module, I plan to keep going. The main problem I face is that I feel I don't have as much time as I need.

[Ideas]

Does anyone know if this course has a time limit on the midterm or final? I know I can do the problems, but I need a lot of breaks.

[SolarKat]

Does anyone know if this course has a time limit on the midterm or final? I know I can do the problems, but I need a lot of breaks.

If this hasn't been covered in the syllabus or in discussion posts already, I would ask on the class message board, or email the professor/TAs.

[eriehiker]

Are you still going to try this?

I have only done the first module of the EdX course, and I already wanted to give up a few times. However, now that I invested a lot of time into the first module, I plan to keep going. The main problem I face is that I feel I don't have as much time as I need.

I am going to try. The whole Davar thing kind of jumped up and I'm also checking exams like crazy at school. By Monday I should be able to devote some time to it.

[eriehiker]

Well, I took the MidMOOC essentially cold. My focus was really on the Davar exams this month. But, I scored at least a 56% and I think that I have another 8 points coming because I have had some difficulty submitting one additional answer and I'm hoping that the automatic score on the 27th will add the 8 points. My only real goal with this midterm was to stay alive into July so that I can go very carefully through the modules and pick up most of the work points. And I think that I am still alive. It will take some work, though, to get to 70.

[Ideas]

Well, I took the MidMOOC essentially cold. My focus was really on the Davar exams this month. But, I scored at least a 56% and I think that I have another 8 points coming because I have had some difficulty submitting one additional answer and I'm hoping that the automatic score on the 27th will add the 8 points. My only real goal with this midterm was to stay alive into July so that I can go very carefully through the modules and pick up most of the work points. And I think that I am still alive. It will take some work, though, to get to 70.

Nice. The final is worth double the midterm, and the work is worth the same as the midterm. You could probably get at least 80% on the work portion.

[StudentOLife]

Need a UL for TESU math, is this still available or are there alternatives?

[rachel83az]

I don't believe any edX courses give UL credit at TESU. Check the wiki for suggestions.