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OfflinePDU
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An Alternative to Khan Academy
    #21769256 - 06/06/15 07:47 AM (8 years, 7 months ago)

Freelance Teacher.

I've been teaching myself highschool physics for the past month. Because both the "open learning" course i've been taking through the school district and the "found" text book/solutions manual i obtained are of poor quality, i've been looking for additional resources to get through the material.

I'd been unable to find any MOOC's which start from square 1, Bozeman science is too simplified, and Khan Academy has massive gaps and has more focus on problem solving than theory. I've been spinning my wheels using the resources available to me....

Yesterday I found the Freelance Teacher Website and he really explains the content and problem solving strategies from the ground up. There are a massive amount of videos and he moves at a very slow pace so it's going to take me forever to get through the physics series - Never-the-less, his explanations are VERY thorough and I am finding it to be massively helpful.

He also covers Calc 1, General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry and touches on Introductory Biology. The videos are free - but he has a paypal link if you find them helpful. I plan on kicking down $10-20 because these videos are saving my life right now and will set me up real good for first year physics next school year.

Just thought i'd share.


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OfflinePDU
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Re: An Alternative to Khan Academy [Re: PDU]
    #21769261 - 06/06/15 07:49 AM (8 years, 7 months ago)

Note to self: WHY THE HELL DID I NOT USE THIS FOR 2ND SEMESTER OF GENERAL CHEMISTRY!


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Offlinedixienormous

Registered: 09/21/14
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Re: An Alternative to Khan Academy [Re: PDU]
    #21791173 - 06/11/15 12:29 AM (8 years, 7 months ago)

This looks interesting. The resource you have linked is kindly appreciated.


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OfflineAmidst Eridanus
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Registered: 01/09/14
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Re: An Alternative to Khan Academy [Re: dixienormous]
    #21847308 - 06/23/15 07:24 PM (8 years, 7 months ago)



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OfflinePDU
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Re: An Alternative to Khan Academy [Re: Amidst Eridanus]
    #21851490 - 06/24/15 05:07 PM (8 years, 7 months ago)

Coursera is not the same IMO - and they don't have the entry level physics I am looking for, as far as i can tell. Thanks though.... MOOC's have their place too.


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OfflineMi-Go
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Re: An Alternative to Khan Academy [Re: PDU]
    #21859086 - 06/26/15 09:23 AM (8 years, 7 months ago)

i plan on majoring in chemEng and im looking for something aswell to teach me calculus i enjoy math but i do not know more than algebra and geometry.. i took a break from school for a year so i dont think that helped much.


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OfflinePDU
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Re: An Alternative to Khan Academy [Re: Mi-Go]
    #21860929 - 06/26/15 05:09 PM (8 years, 7 months ago)

Well - I just went through calc 1 and 2 after more than a decade after dropping out of school. Math 12 upgrading was actually more difficult.

**Disclaimer i was "calculus for the biological sciences" therefore not rigorous proof based maths like you'll be expected to learn for engineering.

It is do-able. The calculus lifesaver book/videos is a popular study aid. Additionally, I found a decent calculus intro on Coursera, although I only watched the first couple vids.... it seemed engaging though.


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InvisibleDieCommie

Registered: 12/11/03
Posts: 29,258
Re: An Alternative to Khan Academy [Re: PDU]
    #21863030 - 06/27/15 08:07 AM (8 years, 7 months ago)

Quote:

PDU said:
**Disclaimer i was "calculus for the biological sciences" therefore not rigorous proof based maths like you'll be expected to learn for engineering.





Engineers don't generally take the rigorous proof based math classes either.  If they do its more likely to be on the computer science side in a class like "Discrete Mathematics".

People using math in biological sciences can't really skate by with less rigor than an engineering student's calculus classes.  You think your class was less rigorous?  I am curious what topics you covered.  I think its a shame a class like this gets made, it suggests that biology majors and graduates are less capable of math which is false and not helpful in a field that needs math more than ever.


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OfflineMi-Go
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Re: An Alternative to Khan Academy [Re: DieCommie]
    #21864591 - 06/27/15 02:36 PM (8 years, 7 months ago)

How long would it take to learn calculus? you think for someone that hasnt had good teachers and hasnt brushed up on math since school besides arithmetic itll be difficult? I mean im saving cash going to a cc to get what i need to transfer. I know engineering is a hard major im wondering if it can be done, im interested in it.:pipesmoke:


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OfflinePDU
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Re: An Alternative to Khan Academy [Re: Mi-Go]
    #21865854 - 06/27/15 07:43 PM (8 years, 7 months ago)

Quote:

Mi-Go said:
How long would it take to learn calculus? you think for someone that hasnt had good teachers and hasnt brushed up on math since school besides arithmetic itll be difficult? I mean im saving cash going to a cc to get what i need to transfer. I know engineering is a hard major im wondering if it can be done, im interested in it.:pipesmoke:





It depends. Math 12 upgrading was absolutely brutal for me and my ex., It was very very hard and would have prepared us well for a rigorous calculus class. Without that foundation you would have a hard time skating by in my "easy" class and i doubt you'd survive "enriched calculus" aka. the hard maths.

I had a friend who didn't bother upgrading his math 12 and had shaky math 11 foundations, and got through calc. 1 for the biological sciences with a B-.

Basically you need to know Algebra really well and be familiar with Trigonometry, or you will not under what is going on.


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OfflinePDU
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Re: An Alternative to Khan Academy [Re: DieCommie]
    #21865971 - 06/27/15 08:07 PM (8 years, 7 months ago)

Quote:

DieCommie said:
Quote:

PDU said:
**Disclaimer i was "calculus for the biological sciences" therefore not rigorous proof based maths like you'll be expected to learn for engineering.





Engineers don't generally take the rigorous proof based math classes either.  If they do its more likely to be on the computer science side in a class like "Discrete Mathematics".

People using math in biological sciences can't really skate by with less rigor than an engineering student's calculus classes.  You think your class was less rigorous?




At my school the engineer transfer students take "enriched calculus" which is:

Quote:

This course includes an in-depth study of single-variable differential calculus and its applications, and provides a strong foundation for further study in mathematical disciplines. This is a required course for students in the Engineering Transfer program.




I had heard some of the students talking about proofs in the math help centre, although you may be right - it enriched calculus may not be "proof based" like it would be for a math major...

I am honestly not sure. The point i was trying to make still stands - I took what i consider to be a remedial calculus class and I have a feeling that my experience doesn't translate to the experiences of others at most institutions.

Quote:

I am curious what topics you covered.




Here's the listings for Calc. for Bio. Sci. 1 and 2:

Quote:

students are instructed in differential calculus for functions of one variable, with applications that emphasize the biological sciences. Topics include calculation and interpretation of limits and derivatives, curve sketching, optimization problems, and Newton 's method.

Students are instructed in integral calculus for functions of one variable, with applications that emphasize the biological sciences. Topics include Riemann sums, definite and indefinite integrals, techniques of integration, improper integrals, first-order differential equations and slope fields, (applications to area, probability, logistic growth and predator-prey systems), and series.





One factor that may have had an effect - was it was the professors last year (now retired) - She was really old and in poor health and had absolutely no control of the class. People walked all over her. Instead of a textbook we had a 100 pg. workbook which she had made a decade ago. Although it covered the material it was the easiest type of questions possible. When i purchased a text/solutions manual it was "next level difficult" by comparison and what i learned in class didn't translate well to the material in the text book on which the handout was based.

Additionally - although the final was worth 40% there were 2 midterms each worth 20% and and 20% for weekly inclass quizzes.

For the most part I skated by reviewing her worksheets and solutions multiple times and basically memorizing the problems. The quizzes were pretty much identical to the worksheet but with different numbers.
So although i could score decent on the quizzes and exams, i never felt like i truly understood what i was doing...

It's a shame because i enjoyed the rigour of Math 12 and was well prepared to carry on in the same vain (sp?) in University. I find calculus fascinating but I probably couldn't even take the derivative or integrate a simple problem these days (just months after the end of class.) I honestly have no clue how to use calculus for problem solving....

I basically just barely learned how to take a derivative how to find the integral, and take limits -> I honestly have no clue of their applications.

Quote:

I think its a shame a class like this gets made, it suggests that biology majors and graduates are less capable of math which is false and not helpful in a field that needs math more than ever.




Total agreement. I was complaining about the lack of rigour the entire time and was going to file a complaint against the prof. until i learned she was retiring. I feel like i got sold short and by the time I was in this class and realized how it was, it was too late to transfer. By the same token I was just glad to have got through some classes most people consider pretty difficult relatively unscathed and with a decent grade.

Looking at my schools calendar now it seems there is enriched calc. for math and engineering majors, regular calc, and calc for biological science students. *shrugs* - I am going into geology at another school and was surprised to find out that these classes will transfer equivalent to the more difficult calculus classes....

One example of the lack of rigor: We never used the unit circle and used decimal approximations instead of real numbers.

EDIT: Here's a link to our practice final for Calc 2. if you are interested: Practice final


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Edited by PDU (06/28/15 12:55 AM)


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InvisibleDieCommie

Registered: 12/11/03
Posts: 29,258
Re: An Alternative to Khan Academy [Re: PDU]
    #21867704 - 06/28/15 09:12 AM (8 years, 7 months ago)

That exam doesn't look too dumbed down, it looks like most of the major stuff one would cover in a second term of calculus.  But the questions do seem straightforward.

At least you didn't have to suffer through brief calculus, that is the calculus class for business and finance majors.  To me, that class seems harder to students than a "real" calculus class because they try to dumb it down and apply it to the real world so much that the basic concepts get lost.


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OfflineMi-Go
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Re: An Alternative to Khan Academy [Re: DieCommie]
    #21869572 - 06/28/15 05:23 PM (8 years, 7 months ago)

Jeesh i dont understand a drop of what i even saw on that exam lol, kudos to anyone who knows, seriously i regret dropping out a bit, now that im back in school its gunna be hard to get to that level within a year or two


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OfflinePDU
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Re: An Alternative to Khan Academy [Re: Mi-Go]
    #21869612 - 06/28/15 05:30 PM (8 years, 7 months ago)

Quote:

Mi-Go said:
Jeesh i dont understand a drop of what i even saw on that exam lol, kudos to anyone who knows, seriously i regret dropping out a bit, now that im back in school its gunna be hard to get to that level within a year or two




No worries - where there is a will, there is a way.

Alot of the younger kids straight out of highschool were able to whiz through the stuff as they'd already learned elementary calculus. For me, it was mostly all new - I was well prepared on the algebra front but the rest of the class was learn as you go. I studied hard and although I don't feel like i got a good grasp of the material I got a B+ in both Calc 1 and 2.

Study hard and look for additional study materials outside of your text book and you'll do fine. I do recommend self-studying or upgrading your highschool math though, if it's been awhile. You will be like a fish out of water if you don't have the basic algebra mastered.

EDIT: Also Calc 1. is a fair bit easier and altogether more straight forward than Calc 2.


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Edited by PDU (06/28/15 05:31 PM)


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