Take distance Calculus course online class with video lectures, live help, forum. Enroll and transfer online calc to medical school, MBA, or your university | San Francisco State University (Cal State, accredited)

What are the students who succeeded in this online calculus class say and what advice they offer? - Expand »

Josephine, University of the Pacific, Summer 2010 Although this class was an online class, I felt that I got the full experience as if I were taking this class in person. The video lectures really helped me learn a lot since I was able to visualize everything Professor Goetz was doing and explaining. By doing all homework assignments and sharing my thoughts and answers with other students on the forum really helped me a lot. It allowed me to ask questions to receive help from fellow students. Not only did I get help, but I also got to help other students as well. For me, when I'm able to explain something I understand, it makes me remember the concepts even more. This class was absolutely spectacular, if Professor Goetz ever had another math course available online during the summer, I would definitely take it.

Mike, architecture major, Summer 2010 This calculus course was very convenient in the sense that it was online and 4 credits without any major prerequisite. But over the summer I took this class while taking another online class and working 40 hours a week. This calculus class is not good for someone who plans on doing too many other things over the summer. When professor Goetz says you need to devote alot of time to this class he is not exaggerating. This class requires your full attention and effort. The only thing I though was not right was the fact that the homework switched from Monday Wednesday Friday to sometimes Tuesday Sometimes Thursday and even sometimes on the weekends. When it was all said and done I am thankful for this class.

A student who is a parent, Spring 2010 I want to thank you for the great spring semester of online calculus. I never ever would have thought that I would be able to grasp calculus the way I did. Before enrolling in your class, I went and bought some calculus text and notes. And, although, they were insightful they were unable to convey the message the way you were able to so eloquently do. I always found the language of math, as it is written in the text, difficult to understand...it just didn't flow for me, and as much as I tried to grapple it, it just wasn't happening. Back 15+ years ago, when I was a college student, math was always difficult for me. Although I majored in biology and pre-med, I never felt the need for it, until I went into research where besides understanding the biologic processes, there was an ever greater and relevant need to validate and quantify the data by mathematical means. I was young back then, and I saw the world in black and white as I did science, but the real world is not that simple and science requires one to think outside the box. I just wish that somehow, somewhere an instructor would have mentioned that to me. But I had to figure it out on my own through culminating experiences in both life and while in the industry. But irrespective of all the experience I had thus far in life, I don't think it would have helped me understand calculus if you had not been there. Now that I have kids, not just do I want them to have the best education, but also I do not want their education to be as challenging as it was for me. You see, my parents did not have any formal college education. And throughout my education career as I struggled through math and physical sciences there wasn't anyone there for me at home who could have directed me, as I have seen with so many of my friends who fathers and mothers were engineers/scientists. It definitely helps to have some sort of a direction/guide in life. I am just glad, with your help, that I was able to get a much better understanding of math and calculus, and I know it will not just help me but also my kids, whose future I hope to positively influence with this new knowledge. Again, thank you for a great, well-structured calculus course. I had a great time, and thank you for the new found knowledge. Abdouramane Diallo. (Club of Emerging Leaders for Africa, Fall 09) I would also like to thank you for the quality of the calculus course, your method and availability. To be honest, I have never been very strong in mathematics in the past, although I covered lots of the fundamentals required to perform in the calculus course (algebra, trigonometry, basic functions, slope etc...). However, your course and method allowed me to work rigorously on each of these fundamentals, to build relationships between them and integrate them to solve calculus problems. At present, I have no doubt that this will help me throughout my professional career. Furthermore, I gained a strong interest in the discipline and wish to participate to a calculus II class. [...]

Migdalia Ordonez, (post-bac for pre-med, Fall 07 )

1. What was the main reason you why you took the online Calculus course rather than a regular class? I am took online calculus because of the flexible schedule which allows me to work full time.

2. What was the key to your success in this course? In order to do well in the class I consistently set aside 2 evenings a week to listen to lectures and an additional 2 days a week to do the homework problems and participate on the discussion board. [this comment is about the setup for the Fall, in the summer there are three lesson per week] I listened to lectures on the same days and times every week, which I feels helps. I worked on homeworks ANY time, which is great. You could post your questions on the discussion board any time and come back to it later for some answers. The key was to stay on top of the lectures and homeworks.

3. Who in your opinion would be a good student likely to succeed in this class format? Who, in your opinion, would not be a good candidate? In order for a student to succeed in the course he/she must be comfortable with setting up a schedule for classes and sticking to the schedule. You must be comfortable with asking questions and answering questions on-line the majority of the time. You must be comfortable with searching through google or through the sfsu website for examples that will further enhance your knowledge of calculus concepts you do not understand. Do not take this course if you like doing everything last minute, cannot stick to a schedule, and are weak in algebra and trigonometry.

4. What advice would you offer to a potential student? I would advice to make sure to have all the systems in place before class starts, for example: download skype, have a scanner or camera available for submitting homeworks, etc. before the first assignment is due. I would advice having some time available to meet with the TA in person.

5. Please add anything about the class and your experience: The class is set up to allow commited students to succeed. There are many resources and opportunities to learn. If you have the time (or are willing to give up personal time) you can succeed in the course. I committed about 10 hours a week to the course (that included listening to lectures). I learned the most from my online class mates. If they could not answer my questions, I would ask the TA (...). And if that did not help, I would always ask Prof. Goetz, who is very helpful.

6. What is your major and where do you go to college? I am a post-bac for pre-med at SFState. I originally did a B.S. in Kinseiology at SF STATE First of all, thanks to you for everything. This class is wonderful and I learnt alot, espeically the group homework work. The best thing, i like about the class is its "organization." You organzied the class in way that everybody can understand every concept easily. You always be there to help us any time (even 2 am). I definitely recommond this online class to every one because it helped me alot. Again thanks alot for all your help and hard work.

Shakir who took an accellerated version of the class [now at Cornell Business School]. Enrolling in the SF State accelerated online Calculus course with Dr. Goetz was one of the best decisions I made in my preparation to apply to business school. I have to tell you this course was like a marathon. It was intense especially due to the distance learning component. I had to work extra hard to be organized, stay focused, problem solve and communicate my needs with the teacher and other students. But because of the flexible nature of the course and unlimited access to video lectures, I was able to self pace and succeed beyond my expectations. I definitely came away feeling stronger and more confident in my math abilities for quantitative success as I start my Ivy League Business School in the fall. I highly recommend it for B-Schoolers needing to brush up or get a jump start on their education! --Shakir

David - 20 May 2008, 07:42 PM The hardest part for me, as someone who hadn't taken a math class in more than 5 years, was adjusting at the beginning of the semester. It was easy for forgotten algebraic principles and equivalencies to get in the way of new concept learning in the beginning. I was a little nervous at first because the first few assignments were taking much longer than anticipated, but it became much more comfortable once the algebraic rust fell away. Do review algebra first! I got a great amount of information from the lectures and online forum, but I found it also helpful to reinforce those concepts by reviewing the corresponding textbook sections. The textbook is good for the general concept and formula checking, but when you have a more specific question just shoot it off to the forum and the feedback comes almost immediately. Trying to teach concepts in the forum to someone else, I also found, was really a great way to lock down new concepts. If you're doing your homework early and not many people are discussing your question on the forum yet, check the stream channel for short video clips (a huge collection) that can provide that one needed concept (or trick) to the problem. Another source for learning (you will see there are very many) are great links to math websites and even designated times to personally chat online, or call, teaching assistants about your questions. Procrastination will penalize you in this course. There were some homeworks that were considerably longer than others that required early starts for a good grade. Overall it was a great learning experience that was just very convenient. You could probably be a full time business traveler and still take the course. I feel much better about my math skills now. Before I took this course, a function was just an equation that was hard to evaluate without a graphing calculator. Simply a great class with a great professor and fellow students! by Arnold - Tuesday, 20 May 2008, 09:22 PM
How to succeed: Tip #1: Do not take this course over the summer unless you are...
a. Either very proficient with math (algebra and trigonometry);
b. Or you have a lot of time to devote to this class and all the homework. Tip #2: Regardless of your answer to #1, you must be willing to do a lot of work, including posting and sharing questions and answers. Tip #3: Really listen to the very first lecture where Dr. Goetz explains how Calculus came into being. That sets the stage for the entire course and its primary objective. Throughout (and especially In the middle) of the course, it is easy to lose sight of how the little concepts add up to something worthwhile or useful. Thinking back on the first lecture will help you see the bigger picture and might even give you the proper perspective to understand that troublesome derivative problem or that confusing integration problem. Seriously! Tip #4: Try on your own first. Active learning is the only way to pass the final exam! Tip #5: When tip #4 fails, use all the resources at hand: the homework forum, video excerpts of the lecture or similar problems, the grapher, external resources, even that expensive dry text book! Tip #6: When tip #4 works, take the time to give others tips or weigh in on questions posed by other students. This serves 2 purposes: it reinforces your learning and it builds your body of "postings" for that all-important class participation credit (which is worth an entire grade improvement)! Tip #7: Convince yourself that you love to solve all kinds of problems, including Calculus, even if that's not entirely true. If you can get into the spirit of things, you will have some measure of fun to help temper the frustration and make the long hours of doing homework less tedious. Tip #8: Dr. Goetz and his staff are the best and they are looking after your best interest: to learn and have an appreciation for Calculus. So trust them and don't be afraid to ask anything that would help you to make the most out of the class.
Enjoy and good luck!

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