Learning math online
February 3, 2015 3:38 AM   Subscribe

I want to learn math. I signed up for Khan Academy and I like the format a lot. I really like that there are short lessons that I can complete, and that the software automatically checks the answers and lets me continue when I completed a string of 5 good answers in a row (or something similar). I don't like the video explanations though. I'm just not a video person, I learn much better from text. Is there something like Khan Academy where you can do math exercises online but where the explanation is in text?
posted by blub to Education (8 answers total) 28 users marked this as a favorite
 
One option is to supplement with a textbook, and many modern textbooks have exactly the kind of online exercises you seem to like. If you tell me what level you're working at, I can probably make some recommendations.
posted by yeolcoatl at 8:21 AM on February 3, 2015


Response by poster: A textbook with online exercises sounds perfect. I did math in high school but that's a long time ago, so I figured I'd start at a beginner level and hopefully would be able to go somewhat quicker through the earlier lessons. I would like to get to the level that's required to start a non technical university education (in the Netherlands). One university stated the following entry requirements:
Arithmetic: coefficients, percentages, logarithms, involution and factorization
Algebra: sets and comparisons, functions (exponential, logarithmic) and dependent and independent variables, matrices (diagrams and parabolas)
Statistics: frequency distributions (average, variance) and histograms (boxplot), elementary probability calculus (conditional probability, stochastic functions) and probability distributions
posted by blub at 11:23 AM on February 3, 2015


I'm sorry that I don't know of a solution to your problem but I thought I would share what I do on Khan Academy (as it looks like you'd be able to speed through those requirements in a week on Khan if you wanted to):

- I just keep doing the exercises and hit the 'hint' button when I get stuck.
- if I really, really, don't know what they're talking about, I do actually watch the video, but I watch it at 1.5x or 2x speed so that I can get through it quickly and try it out.
- if I need to, I watch it again...

Good luck.
posted by HopStopDon'tShop at 11:27 AM on February 3, 2015 [1 favorite]


You don't say what level you are at or how comprehensive a curriculum you want. That said, both my kids (excellent students) enjoyed Calculus The Easy Way before they got to calc in HS. It seems to be part of a series, so the may have a book for whatever you are working on.
posted by SemiSalt at 1:58 PM on February 3, 2015 [2 favorites]


Best answer: For Calculus, mooculus is just what you need. The textbook plus problem set is a complete course, and is free. If you get stumped, you can watch a video lecture, which are amazing, but not mandatory.
posted by bensherman at 4:18 PM on February 3, 2015 [1 favorite]


Best answer: The following are not free, and some of them are quite expensive, but they are worth looking into.

For Algebra, I'd recommend Connally. It's one of the textbooks with the least wrong with it.

In general, the Rockswold books are also pretty good, and there's a pretty decent range, so you can find ones that are a good fit for you.

For a more applied approach, particularly with an interest in data and statistics, I'd recommend Small (the West Point book). He does the best with data. But his Average Rate of Change is weak, and getting your hands on it can be tricky.

All of these are pretty different from your standard textbook though (especially Small). If you want something that looks and reads in a familiar way, then a Stewart book is probably for you. He's the most traditional textbook author out there. I'm not a fan, but a lot of other mathematicians like them (enough to buy Stewart a mansion).

All of these have online exercises, except Small, which comes with a CD. I'm not sure how a private purchase works, you may have to contact the publisher to set up a course for yourself.
posted by yeolcoatl at 9:03 PM on February 3, 2015 [1 favorite]


Response by poster: Thanks for your answers! I will look into them. Mooculus does look really nice. I think perhaps it's not just that I'm not a learning-by-video person, it's also that I'm doing easy stuff on Khan Academy and I don't need a 12 minute video to explain to me what similar triangles are (I did not know you could speed up the video's, that's something at least). But maybe it's different for more difficult topics. I think I'll check out the textbooks first and brush up on algebra and then check out mooculus.
posted by blub at 11:06 AM on February 4, 2015


One more:
Here's a free precalc textbook that looks pretty good: Lippman & Rasmussen.

http://www.opentextbookstore.com/precalc/
posted by yeolcoatl at 11:36 AM on February 5, 2015


« Older I think I'm going to get fired: Restaurant edition...   |   Teach me how to date Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.