I'm quite satisfied with my final grades! I was a bit worried about the final paper in Emerging Diseases, but I ended up acing that and securing an A overall (95.2%, give or take). I was aiming for A's in both classes (the other being Internet & American Life), and am glad that I hit my goal. These were the first 300- and 400-level classes that I've tackled.
Now I can refocus on Math (with a slice of Physics) for the time being. Still a couple more non-Math requirements that will need to be knocked out, but those are at least a year away.
Really looking forward to those two weeks off in a few days.
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Summer ends in late July?
... for the student enrolled in extra courses, it does.
I'm glad to be done with the summer session at UIS, and looking forward to taking a much needed three or four weeks off from being a student. The final day of the online semester was yesterday, and that means I've knocked out seven upper-level credits (the first seven credits I've earned beyond 200-level courses). In the four-credit course, I'm 99% certain I've managed an A. In the three-credit course, I'm still waiting on the grade for the final paper (25% of the overall grade is tied up in that), but I'm certain I'll get at least a B (hoping for that A!).
Next up come Fall: Calculus III, Physics II, Linear Algebra, and Mathematical Statistics.
What I'm currently reading over the break:
I'm glad to be done with the summer session at UIS, and looking forward to taking a much needed three or four weeks off from being a student. The final day of the online semester was yesterday, and that means I've knocked out seven upper-level credits (the first seven credits I've earned beyond 200-level courses). In the four-credit course, I'm 99% certain I've managed an A. In the three-credit course, I'm still waiting on the grade for the final paper (25% of the overall grade is tied up in that), but I'm certain I'll get at least a B (hoping for that A!).
Next up come Fall: Calculus III, Physics II, Linear Algebra, and Mathematical Statistics.
What I'm currently reading over the break:
- Book of Proof by Richard Hammack (also available as a free eBook)
- Introduction to Mathematical Thinking by Keith Devlin
- Paul's Math Notes - Linear Algebra
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Upcoming MOOC: Intro to Mathematical Thinking (Coursera)
Coursera has announced another new course offering that should interest anyone studying or planning to study math: Introduction to Mathematical Thinking by Keith Devlin. Dr. Devlin is a professor at Stanford and will be offering the course starting this September.
Monday, July 23, 2012
Teach yourself Linear Algebra for free
Editor's Note: This page has been merged with other topics at my Learn Math for Free page. You can find other free resources for various mathematical topics there.
It's been about eleven years since I last studied Linear Algebra in an academic setting, and that was in Linear Algebra for Engineers (not a more general course on the subject). With a full-fledged course on my schedule for the fall (as a student), I figured it was time to brush up on the subject.
I discovered that WikiBooks (an offshoot of Wikipedia) has a complete university-level textbook -- Linear Algebra: An Introduction to Mathematical Discourse. After spending a couple of days on the beginning chapters, I can say that it is an excellent exercise-driven experience. The book aims to provide intuition and proof with regards to all theorems/examples. The exercises at the end of each chapter are designed to test your knowledge as well as your ability to think about what is happening behind the scenes.
This free book, combined with video lectures such as those at Khan Academy, is (in my opinion) one of the best free ways to learn Linear Algebra from the comfort of your own home. Definitely accessible to high school and college students (or adult learners, like myself) that want to get ahead or catch up to their peers.
There is also an extensive set of course notes by Paul Dawkins of Lamar University, available at Paul's Online Math Notes. These notes cover the entirety of a typical university-level class.
If you know of any other great resources for leaning Linear Algebra, feel free to let me know!
It's been about eleven years since I last studied Linear Algebra in an academic setting, and that was in Linear Algebra for Engineers (not a more general course on the subject). With a full-fledged course on my schedule for the fall (as a student), I figured it was time to brush up on the subject.
I discovered that WikiBooks (an offshoot of Wikipedia) has a complete university-level textbook -- Linear Algebra: An Introduction to Mathematical Discourse. After spending a couple of days on the beginning chapters, I can say that it is an excellent exercise-driven experience. The book aims to provide intuition and proof with regards to all theorems/examples. The exercises at the end of each chapter are designed to test your knowledge as well as your ability to think about what is happening behind the scenes.
This free book, combined with video lectures such as those at Khan Academy, is (in my opinion) one of the best free ways to learn Linear Algebra from the comfort of your own home. Definitely accessible to high school and college students (or adult learners, like myself) that want to get ahead or catch up to their peers.
There is also an extensive set of course notes by Paul Dawkins of Lamar University, available at Paul's Online Math Notes. These notes cover the entirety of a typical university-level class.
If you know of any other great resources for leaning Linear Algebra, feel free to let me know!
Monday, July 16, 2012
Summer 2012 Update: Three-quarters of the way
A little personal note: I write these update posts to keep myself accountable, and appreciate that you're reading this! I aim for A's in all my university classes. I think that is the only way to approach education (aim high). I know that some people may not agree with this, and that's fine, but I always discuss my grades with that in mind. When you see me say "I need XX points," I'm almost always speaking in terms of how close I am to getting an A overall.
Well, it's been six weeks since the Summer 2012 semester started for me at UIS. That means we're in the home stretch with two more weeks to go, and I can get a pretty good idea of where I stand in terms of grades. The two classes I'm taking this summer are Emerging Disease and The Internet & American Life. Both have been interesting classes thus far.
I'm doing well in both classes at this point. Week 6 was really crunch time in both classes; an 8-12 page final paper was due in Emerging Diseases, and the penultimate review of a recent PEW Report needed to be posted for Internet & American Life.
About the last two weeks worth of grades for Emerging Diseases have yet to be posted, but I do know that I have a 100/110 running total (about 91%, although the final grade will be out of 320 points). That final paper is worth 80 points by itself, so I should be in good shape if that turns out well. I have 22 points (out of the 320) of leeway to maintain an A.
As for The Internet & American Life, I'm currently running a grade of 55/55 (100%). The week 6 project is 15 of those points, followed by weeks 7 & 8 being worth 15 and 20 points, respectively. Class participation will make up the last 5 points. That class is a straight 100 points possible, so I need to net 35 of the 45 remaining points.
These 8-week courses are really hectic at times, and a little slip up here or there can have a huge impact on overall grades. It will really be a a relief when I finish up week 8 and can take a few weeks off before the next semester starts.
Well, it's been six weeks since the Summer 2012 semester started for me at UIS. That means we're in the home stretch with two more weeks to go, and I can get a pretty good idea of where I stand in terms of grades. The two classes I'm taking this summer are Emerging Disease and The Internet & American Life. Both have been interesting classes thus far.
I'm doing well in both classes at this point. Week 6 was really crunch time in both classes; an 8-12 page final paper was due in Emerging Diseases, and the penultimate review of a recent PEW Report needed to be posted for Internet & American Life.
About the last two weeks worth of grades for Emerging Diseases have yet to be posted, but I do know that I have a 100/110 running total (about 91%, although the final grade will be out of 320 points). That final paper is worth 80 points by itself, so I should be in good shape if that turns out well. I have 22 points (out of the 320) of leeway to maintain an A.
As for The Internet & American Life, I'm currently running a grade of 55/55 (100%). The week 6 project is 15 of those points, followed by weeks 7 & 8 being worth 15 and 20 points, respectively. Class participation will make up the last 5 points. That class is a straight 100 points possible, so I need to net 35 of the 45 remaining points.
These 8-week courses are really hectic at times, and a little slip up here or there can have a huge impact on overall grades. It will really be a a relief when I finish up week 8 and can take a few weeks off before the next semester starts.
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Upcoming MOOC: Quantum Mechanics (Coursera)
Coursera will be offering a Berkeley-developed course on Quantum Mechanics, taught by Professor Umesh Varizani. It's currently scheduled to begin on July 17, 2012. It is recommended that students have a comfortable understanding of Linear Algebra (you can study or brush up over at Khan Academy). See the embedded video below for an introduction from the professor.
Much like Coursera's introductory course on algorithms, I'll most likely be viewing the videos of this course to absorb some general information on the topic. I don't expect to have time to complete the assignments, as I'll still be wrapping up my summer session at UIS and ST101 over at Udacity (plus a nice two-week vacation once those are done). Still, it's great to have the opportunity to at least get a basic understanding of a topic that will change our world in the coming decades.
Link to the course: Coursera - Quantum Mechanics and Quantum Computation
Here's Coursera's description of the course:
Quantum computation is a remarkable subject, and is based on one of the great computational discoveries that computers based on quantum mechanics are exponentially powerful. This course aims to make this cutting-edge material broadly accessible to undergraduate students, including computer science majors who do not have any prior exposure to quantum mechanics. The course will introduce qubits (or quantum bits) and quantum gates, the basic building blocks of quantum computers. It will cover the fundamentals of quantum algorithms, including the quantum fourier transform, period finding, and Shor's iconic quantum algorithm for factoring integers efficiently. The course will also explore the prospects for quantum algorithms for NP-complete problems, quantum cryptography and basic quantum error-correcting codes.The course will not assume any prior background in quantum mechanics. Instead, it will use the language of qubits and quantum gates to introduce the basic axioms of quantum mechanics. This treatment of quantum mechanics has the advantage of both being conceptually simple and of highlighting the paradoxes at the heart of quantum mechanics. The most important pre-requisite for the course is a good understanding of basic linear algebra, including orthogonal bases, eigenvectors and eigenvalues.
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Free resources for learning Statistics
I've been spending a lot of time focused on reviewing my knowledge of basic statistics and seeing where there are gaps in my knowledge. I've never formally studied the subject, although I've had quite a few introductions to its various topics. With my degree requiring a formal course on Mathematical Statistics coming up this semester and another one on the horizon, I figure it's a great time to review some of the free resources available online for studying Statistics.
Khan Academy: Statistics
Anyone who knows me will find no surprises here. I'm a huge advocate of Khan Academy. When it comes to Statistics, there are dozens of videos on a wide range of topics. If you only use one resource to learn, this should be it.Udacity ST101: Intro to Statistics
I've blogged about this course before, and am currently enrolled as of the time I'm posting this. It's taught by Sebastian Thrun, one of the pioneers in online learning for the masses. His Statistics course is full of concrete examples, applications, and humor. As of Week 2, he's gotten into some of the real meat of the topic, and promises that it will get harder and thus more interesting as it progresses.
This course hasn't officially started as of the time of this posting, but is scheduled to begin in September 2012. Much like Udacity, Coursera's goal is to offer free educational classes on topics in various fields. Their Statistics I course will be taught in collaboration with Princeton University. While it won't get you the prestige of having taken a class at Princeton, it will get you the knowledge, which is the important part in the end.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)