Salman Khan has some great educational videos on all sorts of subjects – including calculus. In this interview he explains to Charlie Rose the whats and why-fors of his educational imperative.
So I finally figured out how to play the whole videos at one time. Otherwise I would still be watching a bunch of 1-2 minute videos. All you have to do is click the main video first and boom! Full video. They are about an hour. So that is fun. On another note, this last video was still confusing. I think I must have missed something with my math teachings. Or maybe I just have not had math to do for too long of a time. A whole summer and semester of time wasted not doing math! Hope you note that sarcasm. Though I don’t really think I got a lot of calculus stuff in the standard level IB math class. I feel like there is something missing in my math learning. I just keep not really understanding the videos. Anyway, I hope it starts to make sense soon. Maybe it is because my mind is focus of psychology stuff. Not much math to do there. Mostly just statistics stuff which does not involve very high level computations.
The black boards are still very fascinating. I do not know why I like them so much. There are three!! And they go above each other. It is just fantastic. I do not really know why I like them so much. And the chalk is huge! Maddie has some chalk that big. We draw on the balcony. Anyway, it is funny to look at the teacher before and after the class. So much of the chalk ends up on his shirt. There were various spots of chalk on his cloths.
I do not really know what else to say about the math. It is just pretty hard and confusing. Going to have to watch them a lot more than I thought I would. And I also cannot spend as much time on the videos as I thought. But maybe next week I will. Anyway, I think that it will go well. The book should help clear things up when I do not understand things. I cannot really ask the teacher because, well, the teacher probably is not there anymore. But also the class is older. I think maybe 2006? So maybe the teacher is still there. That would be interesting. Maybe I can find some you tube videos about differentiations. Multiple people explaining the same process in different ways. So ya, maybe I will do that. It would probably help a lot. I will try that next week with the new set of videos, and maybe with the problem sets as well. I hope to work on the video on Tuesdays and Fridays plus weekends. I will do the writings on Mondays and Wednesdays? And whenever else I can find the time. Seems to work out pretty well. The extra work has not taken a toll on my sleep yet so that is a good sign. Sleep is important. Should probably go do that now. Say goodnight to calculus. Woot. Sleep….
So the next set of videos I did went pretty much the same way the first did. The teacher is a little confusing. I do not know it is not really that confusing. I just need to watch them more I guess. I tried to find some homework on the cite but this group of videos did not have any practice problems. Derivatives are weird. They have a clear formula but sometimes getting to that formula is unclear. So I had to watch his videos a few times. The videos where weird again. This last set links up with the first set so I bet it was all one class. I wish they would have left it that way without splitting it up into eight little videos.
Also, every time he erased one of the black boards I just got memorized by the amount of chalk dust that came off the eraser from the board. I mean really, how was he not coughing the whole time? It was very confusing. And that eraser was huge! It seemed so fun to erase with because almost one stroke would reduce the board to blackness. How could that not be cool?
Nothing much else to say about the video. They are still great and easy to understand. It is nice that the professor wears a microphone. Sometimes the person who operates the camera zooms in to the problems on the board. That makes it a lot easier to see.
I took a look at the problem set but the first problems do not go with the first two sets of videos. I am hoping that the book will help explain things. Or give me other homework problems to do. But the problems sets are probably similar to the tests so I do not know how that will work. Either way some form of homework will get done.
There was one problem at the end of the videos. It was pretty difficult for me to complete. I am not sure if I have gotten the hang of the problems yet. I need to take time to watch the videos again.
I am really hoping that the book has some helpful tips. I am looking forward to getting it. Reading it might help fill in the gaps in the teachers classes. I do think there are gaps but I am not really that sure. The book should help. But I am probably babbling.
I did my first segment of MIT Calculus classes. Differentiation. Super fun time. The videos where not all that bad. It was just weird that one class would be split up so much. Each video was about 5-6 minutes. But they built on top of each other. Each video after the first contained all the previous information. It was weird. The videos created by the “teaching assisances” ( at least that’s what I think they were) where a lot more helpful then the teachers video. I don’t really know what to do with the homework. I just did any problems that where in the videos before the solutions where given. It took me longer then it should. Guess I’m a little rusty at math.
Derivatives seem pretty easy. It is nice to have a specific formula for problems. Number theory is really hard because there are no real formulas. It is all about proofs. Really hard to understand.
Anyway, the teacher went over two overarching questions. One: what is a derivative and Two: How to differentiate anything? Apparently derivatives are useful for all the subject having to do with measuring, especially economics it seems. The teacher tried to say that a tangent line could intersect another line at two points. This did not make any sense because, if I remembered correctly, a tangent line only barely grazed a line at one point. Then he started calling this first line a secant line. Which made more sense but still confusing. Was it a secant or a tangent? Other than that he was pretty good at the whole teaching thing.
The black boards at that time seemed really cool to, one behind the other. Instead of having to earase all the time the teacher could just move them up and down.
The teacher for number theory uses a chalk board, which is weird. And the eraser really sucks sometimes because it does not erase all of the notes all of the time.
If I were to listen to my doubts
I’d think my time was running out
But I’m old enough to do it
And young enough to do it again
I’m not about to lose
I’m not about to lose
This feeling that I’ve found
If I were to listen to the sound
Of that little voice, I might turn back now
But I won’t be taking fear’s advice
Not after all I’ve sacrificed
I’m not about to lose
I’m not about to lose
This feeling that I’ve found
Though my heart is overcome at times
Still it knows
Where it’s coming from
And where it must go
Just like an oak I’ll take my stand
But like a willow I can bend
I’m not about to lose
I’m not about to lose
This feeling that I’ve found
Ellen:
Red Quill is taking awhile to upload. But it will get online eventually. Tonight.
Dad
Ellen: Visit this site: http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/novella/MixQuizProcessingServlet for a neat animation and explanation of osmosis…there is also a short quiz at which I failed miserably…I’m going to try it again. Mom
Ellen:
Here is the link to the Out of the Past video lessons.
To view the videos on your computer you will need Windows Media Player.
After you have the player you may need to open the video using the URL. You can do that by starting the WMP application, then go to File, slide down to Open URL, in the next window you can copy and paste one of the following URLs.
New Worlds
http://www.learner.org/vod/asx/seattle/Out_of_the_Past_01.asx
The Hearth
http://www.learner.org/vod/asx/seattle/Out_of_the_Past_02.asx
Artisans & Traders
http://www.learner.org/vod/asx/seattle/Out_of_the_Past_03.asx
Signs & Symbols
http://www.learner.org/vod/asx/seattle/Out_of_the_Past_04.asx
Power, Prestige & Wealth
http://www.learner.org/vod/asx/seattle/Out_of_the_Past_05.asx
Realms
http://www.learner.org/vod/asx/seattle/Out_of_the_Past_06.asx
Spirit World
http://www.learner.org/vod/asx/seattle/Out_of_the_Past_07.asx
Collapse
http://www.learner.org/vod/asx/seattle/Out_of_the_Past_08.asx
Ellen:
Found a new show on Hulu. It’s neat. It’s about a guy who’s an expert lie detector.
My BIP instructor was trained in lie detection. And the character in this series is based on a real guy named Paul Ekman.
Maybe we should get one of Ekman’s books. Watch an episode of Lie To Me. and then tell which one of Ekman’s books we should get.
Here’s a podcast interview with Ekman on a New York public radio station.
