What is/are the best option for studying calculus online for university credit?
November 5, 2010 4:03 AM Subscribe
I currently work and live in Beijing, so don't have the option of studying calculus locally. (At least, I can't study it in English.) I am interested in starting to study calculus for credit (and a grade) in anticipation of my return to the States in two years and applying to graduate school. Can anyone give recommendations or reviews of online calculus classes?
I am considering NetMath via the University of Illinois as well as Distance Calculus@Shorter University because both allow students to start classes at any time, rather than at the beginning of the term. Also, both have track records with online learning…in high school (years and years ago) I took a distance course via the internet and it was awful, so my tendency is to go with people who are experienced with giving such classes via the internet.
I have searched and not been able to find reviews of either (though one MetaFilter user mentioned liking NetMath). I would be very curious to hear any feedback all of you might have. Cheers!
I am considering NetMath via the University of Illinois as well as Distance Calculus@Shorter University because both allow students to start classes at any time, rather than at the beginning of the term. Also, both have track records with online learning…in high school (years and years ago) I took a distance course via the internet and it was awful, so my tendency is to go with people who are experienced with giving such classes via the internet.
I have searched and not been able to find reviews of either (though one MetaFilter user mentioned liking NetMath). I would be very curious to hear any feedback all of you might have. Cheers!
I don't have experience with the schools you're talking about there, but I had positive experiences with the BYU continuing education distance courses, as well as those offered by various community colleges in California and Ohio.
It looks to me like the Distance Calculus one is superior to the courses I actually had success with, if that helps you at all - and NetMath uses Calculus&Mathematica, which I enjoyed using at Ohio State. No, seriously, I actually enjoyed it, and I was a Political Science major.
posted by SMPA at 4:38 AM on November 5, 2010
It looks to me like the Distance Calculus one is superior to the courses I actually had success with, if that helps you at all - and NetMath uses Calculus&Mathematica, which I enjoyed using at Ohio State. No, seriously, I actually enjoyed it, and I was a Political Science major.
posted by SMPA at 4:38 AM on November 5, 2010
I haven't viewed them myself, but the videos at Khan Academy cover a lot of calculus topics. And Sal Khan has been named Bill Gates' Favorite Teacher, fwiw.
Doesn't help if you're looking for a course for credit though.
posted by toddje at 5:55 AM on November 5, 2010
Doesn't help if you're looking for a course for credit though.
posted by toddje at 5:55 AM on November 5, 2010
Seconding Khan academy. I went from flunking out of pre-calc to doing derivatives in a weekend. Not even for class, just because I found his site and started compulsively watching the videos. He's really good.
posted by empath at 7:14 AM on November 5, 2010
posted by empath at 7:14 AM on November 5, 2010
Response by poster: Thanks for the various responses. KhanAcademy apparently is blocked in China (?! - maybe my internet is just flakier than usual tonight), but would be a resource for me more than anything else since it doesn't offer credit-bearing classes.
Thank you SMPA for the link to BYU; unfortunately, I'm a Mac user and don't have any access to Internet Explorer. Glad to hear you liked Calculus & Mathematica…I'm very interested in the approach, it sounds like fun to me, too!
For anyone else's reference: there are a number of calculus-by-mail options available, but I've not found any that go past first year calculus. By contrast, the two programs linked above offer quite a few classes beyond Calc 1-2-3.
At this point I am leaning towards NetMath since it is run by University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, while the DistanceCalculus course isn't actually run by Shorter U faculty. I'd also feel better having transcripts from the University of Illinois than Shorter University.
DistanceCalculus mostly uses LiveMath Maker software, which is developed by the head of the DistanceCalculus team. NetMath uses Mathematica for the calculus classes…I think I'd rather learn to use Mathematica.
While the DistanceCalculus courses look like they're cheaper than NetMath's, once registration costs and textbooks are factored in, NM is only a bit more expensive than DC. That being said, Calculus I is ~$2000 at NM for a university graduate, while it's only ~$1450 at DC. That's quite a whack. Calculus II, though, is only ~$1200 at NM, while it's ~$1400 at DC. More advanced classes at NM also tend to be cheaper than at DC, but this depends on the number of credit hours.
Finally, NM offers the opportunity to earn a certificate in applied mathematics. I don't know if I'd want to go that far, but it certainly would be nice to have that option, since it would really only require one more class than what I'm planning to take.
Anyway, I hope the above analysis can be of use to someone. I'm still very interested to hear any experiences or feedback people have from actually taking classes from either of the above.
posted by lhp81 at 8:05 AM on November 5, 2010
Thank you SMPA for the link to BYU; unfortunately, I'm a Mac user and don't have any access to Internet Explorer. Glad to hear you liked Calculus & Mathematica…I'm very interested in the approach, it sounds like fun to me, too!
For anyone else's reference: there are a number of calculus-by-mail options available, but I've not found any that go past first year calculus. By contrast, the two programs linked above offer quite a few classes beyond Calc 1-2-3.
At this point I am leaning towards NetMath since it is run by University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, while the DistanceCalculus course isn't actually run by Shorter U faculty. I'd also feel better having transcripts from the University of Illinois than Shorter University.
DistanceCalculus mostly uses LiveMath Maker software, which is developed by the head of the DistanceCalculus team. NetMath uses Mathematica for the calculus classes…I think I'd rather learn to use Mathematica.
While the DistanceCalculus courses look like they're cheaper than NetMath's, once registration costs and textbooks are factored in, NM is only a bit more expensive than DC. That being said, Calculus I is ~$2000 at NM for a university graduate, while it's only ~$1450 at DC. That's quite a whack. Calculus II, though, is only ~$1200 at NM, while it's ~$1400 at DC. More advanced classes at NM also tend to be cheaper than at DC, but this depends on the number of credit hours.
Finally, NM offers the opportunity to earn a certificate in applied mathematics. I don't know if I'd want to go that far, but it certainly would be nice to have that option, since it would really only require one more class than what I'm planning to take.
Anyway, I hope the above analysis can be of use to someone. I'm still very interested to hear any experiences or feedback people have from actually taking classes from either of the above.
posted by lhp81 at 8:05 AM on November 5, 2010
I was wondering if you could check with Hong Kong U's school of profession and continuing education Even if they don't have anything for you, you could ask them to refer you to elsewhere, according to your situation, if possible.
Honestly, no idea where in mainland China, you could learn Cal in English.
posted by easilyconfused at 11:31 PM on December 6, 2010
Honestly, no idea where in mainland China, you could learn Cal in English.
posted by easilyconfused at 11:31 PM on December 6, 2010
P.S.: You might also want to ask your embassy in Beijing.
posted by easilyconfused at 11:42 PM on December 6, 2010
posted by easilyconfused at 11:42 PM on December 6, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Obscure Reference at 4:36 AM on November 5, 2010