Department of Mathematics | CEL • Active forum • Flexible   •Dowloadable videos

Transfer academic credit to your university Summer 2009 (4 semester units, June 22-Aug 14) Calculus class online with video lectures, active forum & personal help You can still register › After generating a student ID, enroll online or enroll by calling CEL at 415-405-7700, choose option #5, (9-5PST). Choose MATH226 Z-03 sched. 94601 (general), or MATH226 Z-02 sched.94600 (future med professions). All sections cover the exact same content. CEL has info how to pay? Questions? Read more and share with Dr. Goetz (goetz @ s f s u . edu) your professional goals and background. Already registered? Welcome! Then get ready.

Video introduction. If it does not play, you need a free realplayer. Dr. Goetz is a recipient of two National Science Foundation Grants. An experienced university instructor, an active researcher in dynamical systems, a software architect, and an entrepreneur.  Transcript of the video.

Calculus I, MATH 226, 4 semester units, at San Francisco State (California State System), now in its third year, is open to all students with sufficient elementary algebra and trigonometry background. We welcome students from domestic or international universities as well as professionals who are preparing for graduate schools. Particularly popular among students preparing to enter medical schools (many medical schools require at least one semester of calculus), pharmacy, and MBA programs. The registration for this class is done through the College of Extended Learning. The class is equivalent to other campus based Calculus I classes at SFSU - see the Math Dept MATH226 syllabus.

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

Lauren Norris, a Peace Corps volunteer (Fall 08). A little bit about me... I'm a Peace Corps volunteer serving in Suriname, a former Dutch colony on the East coast of South America. I arrived in May 2007 and have since worked for the Pan American Health Organization. Primarily, I am working to draft and implement a Family Health policy. I also volunteer part-time at Lotjes-Huis, a home for children displaced from their families.
B. Why Calculus 1 at SFSU? I am currently applying to Masters in Public Health programs for 2009-2010 and I needed to take a quantitative course. I researched many options and finally chose the online Calculus course offered through SFSU, taught by Professor Goetz. I was impressed by the course structure and Professor Goetz' support and responsiveness. I was also excited about participating in real time dialogue with my classmates.
C. Challenges in taking US based courses while abroad... Suprisingly, I ran into very few challenges. Suriname is certainly a developing country but as long as I gave myself plenty of time to work through power outages and bad internet connections, I was able to get my homework in on time and participate in discussions with my classmates. At all times, I had an open line of communication with Professor Goetz in case an unavoidable roadblock popped up but everything went quite smoothly. All the course required was a computer, an internet connection and a digital camera. Otherwise, all course materials were accessed online so I didn't need to worry about a textbook. Professor Goetz also provided very helpful links to differentiators, graphers and extensive background if further explanation was needed. Ultimately, my main resource was working through problems with my fellow classmates. I was always able to clear up any confusion I had and often by posting my concerns, other students realized what mistakes they had made and we worked through them together. The TA's were also extremely helpful in guiding you through a problem, rather than just giving you the solution. Often, Professor Goetz would post a response or question that would help clarify a concept as well. The lectures were extremely informative and the homework sets were well thought out an relevant.
D. I highly recommend this class to anyone living abroad. I was hesitant to engage in such an endeavour but putting off grad school another year was not an option. I'm so glad I took the course and I'm so grateful for Professor Goetz's support. The interface was straightforward and worked well on even the oldest computers. Being able to submit the homework by taking a picture was a breeze. As for the material itself, Professor Goetz made Calculus accessible to those of us who shunned math long ago. The pace was spot on and as long as I kept up with the lectures and the homework, I was never left behind. It is important to note that on average, I spent 10 hours a week which can be a lot for folks who are working but certainly doable.

From a student who took the course from a remote location. I can only echo the sentiments of my classmates and say that this was truly a wonderful way to learn math. I am grateful to Dr. Goetz, Quan and the rest of the SFSU staff who made this happen. I also want to thank my fellow students who really jumped on the opportunity of using all the online tools at our disposal to mutually facilitate our learning. Meeting up online to study has been fun and very fruitful. I loved math before this class, but the experience has strengthened my resolve to continue working hard to understand and explore these profound and incredibly useful ideas. If only the first few math classes I was put through had been like this one! This format is a great idea and it goes a long way toward repairing some of the failings in the way math is traditionally taught at this level. That deserves huge kudos. I will certainly recommend these courses and will watch to see if more advanced calculus courses taught in this format become available. I actually can't wait to take more calculus now, haha smile OK, that's all for now, thanks again and have a wonderful summer everybody!

Another student. Thank you for such a wonderful opportunity. I finally enjoyed learning math. It was a great adventure and I am grateful to have the opportunity to participate in this experience. I also like to say thank you to your staff (...) for the support we received even very late at night and for the fast responses. I will definitely recommend this course to all, even those who are a student, a father and working at the same time. I would have signed up for an online math 227 if there was such an opportunity, but to my knowledge it is not available. Maybe not yet! Again, thank you very much and wish you a great summer.

Elisabeth Connors, senior, double-major in Cell & Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, SFSU, Fall 2007

1. What was the main reason you took the online Calculus course rather
than a regular class? I took the online class to have a flexible study schedule and to experience a fully online class for the first time.

2. What was the key to your success in this course? The keys to my success in this class were keeping up with the homework and spending as much time as I could online speaking with other students - either through the iLearn message board or via an instant messaging program.

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? Likely to succeed : someone who has a really good foundation in precalculus, is a "self-starter" - someone who can work independently if necessary, someone who can work with others cooperatively, and someone who knows when they need assistance and asks for it ASAP. Not a good candidate : someone with a weak understanding of precalculus (especially algebra and trigonometry), a person who needs a lot of structure to do well, and someone who has a tendency to procrastinate.

4. What advice would you offer to a potential student? Watch the lecture videos as soon as they're available; spend at least 12 hours a week altogether on the class (including studying, watching lecture videos, chatting with others, posting Q/A to the message board, interacting with the instructor and TA, etc); do the homework on time (I suggest doing ALL the assigned problems); take the opportunity to speak with the Professor (and TA) - he is very helpful and always responds to even the most mundane questions quickly; expect there to be a difference between the way you "do" this class versus normal lectures - use this experience for all it's worth.

5. Please add anything about the class and your experience: I would like to emphasize that there are weekly in-person office hours and also a lot of availability on the part of the instructor and TA online every week to assist you with any problems you may have. Take advantage of this. Also, don't forget to check Stream if you get stuck on homework problems; I found it to be quite useful and often so. Lastly, I'd like to add that I absolutely loved this course!

1. What was the main reason why you took the online Calculus course rather
than a regular class? I did not have the time to attend the classes in the school. I was in the initial steps of starting up a new business venture. I was attending some business classes for 3 days per week and as a father I needed to allocate some of my time with my family.

2. What was the key to your success in this course? Not staying behind even for 1 lecture. Planning to submit the HWS early and implementing that for almost all of them. Above all that, we received the best possible education trough well organized lectures, well planned homework assignments and online supports. I also need to add that the online discussion group was a great opportunity. We had the chance to discuss and to review our questions and home work assignments. Not staying behind even for 1 lecture. Planning to submit the HWS early and implementing that for almost all of them. Above all that, we received the best possible education trough well organized lectures, well planned homework assignments and online supports. I also need to add that the online discussion group was a great opportunity. We had the chance to discuss and to review our questions and home work assignments.

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, (Fall 07)
candidate? The key is a well planned schedule. I used to watch the lecture and complete the home works right after that or at least at the same day. Requires at least 10 -15 hours of work per week. It won't work for a student that is not willing or does not have at least 10 hours/week to allocate to the program. [comment from a student who took the class during the Fall]

4. What advice would you offer to a potential student? I never stayed behind even for one lecture. I doubt a student can make it if he or she falls behind for more than 2-3 lectures.

5. Please add anything about the class and your experience: It was a great opportunity. My first online experience and I learned a lot.