Online Material

  • Kahn Academy offers video-instruction (on digital blackboard with voice-over) in eight areas in mathematics including differential equations (good coverage for a computation-oriented course [but ours here is not such a course]), and linear algebra (covers process-oriented material and key concepts—perhaps 80% of what we cover here; however, our courses [MATH 271 and MATH 272] are proof-oriented and our comprehensive examination requires a proof-level (i.e., fully abstract) mastery of the material; thus Khan’s shortfall may be great in linear algebra).

  • MIT’s Open Courseware offers videotaped lectures (with captions), lecture-notes, problems, tests, and problem-solutions for many, many mathematics-courses—perhaps every mathematics-course offered at MIT.  Only a select few at the introductory level have been videotaped (e.g., multivariable calculus), but the notes and problems are a great resource whether video is available or not.  There are free calculus-textbooks available, too; students seeking a different perspective or treatment of a particular topic might appreciate these resources.

  • Mathematics Stack Exchange allows one to post questions to a community of mathematicians and others interested in mathematics.  Answers are posted (usually quite quickly) and voted-upon and those receiving the greatest number of votes rise to the top.  This site is most appropriate for our majors in upper-level classes.  Introductory mathematics-students might find the level of mathematical discourse on the site intimidating and might find answers to single questions less helpful because too little material is enfolded into a single problem in calculus.  (In other words, answers might be too pithy to offer the kind of instruction one likely would be seeking).  Linear-algebra students might have better luck, but they should visit the Khan Academy’s website for basic questions.