Online Resources Part 1

There are some online resources that might be useful to students in Diff Eq.

DField 2005.10.
DField will graph Direction/Slope Fields, something that your calculator might not do. Here is what the interface looks like.

click on the image to enlarge

The application runs using Java and will pop-up as three different windows. The Message window, pictured top-left, is not particularly useful and can probably be ignored. The Equation window, pictured bottom-left, is where you enter the differential equation. The program uses variables in a slightly unconventional way. Instead of using x and y, the program uses x as the dependent variable (where we normally use y) and t as the independent variable (where we would normally use x). In the example, I graphed the slope field for x'=2t. In the Direction Field window, pictured right, gives a picture of the direction/slope field for whatever equation you have entered.

Having passed Calc 2, we know that the general solution to x'=2t should be a parabola. By clicking anywhere on in the direction field, it will give you a particular solution (Those are the blue parabolas in the picture). If I click on the "Solutions" Tab and then "Keyboard Input of Initial Value" under that menu, a fourth window will pop up giving you the option of directly entering an initial value for t and x.

DField will be useful early on, when we are working on solving first-order differential equations. It may also help when we look at autonomous equations. It's value will fade as the semester goes on.

Online Videos at Khan Academy or via iTunes U.

Khan Academy offers short videos for both calculus and Diff Eq. The calculus videos might be helpful if you want to review subjects from Calc 2. If you are not completely confident in your ability to solve a problem involving Integration by Parts or Partial Fractions Decomposition, you need to become so. Those types of problems are not going away.

For the iCrowd, iTunes U is one of the tabs in the iTunes Store. You can download specific lectures and watch them in places where you can't stream video from Khan Academy. While Khan Academy videos tend to be short and specific to one topic, the videos on iTunes U tend to look more like a traditional classroom lecture.

Also, if you just look on YouTube, you can usually find some math help there, too. Just don't get distracted by Epic Rap Battles of History or the other awesome stuff on YouTube.

The ASC at Orchard Ridge.

The Academic Skills Center over in K-Building offers free tutoring by appointment. Just click on the "OR ASC Tutor Schedule" to see what is available. Appointments are made over the phone or in-person in K-100. Appointments can made for 1-hour, twice a week (depending on availability). The number of math tutors available to help with Diff Eq tends to be small. To overcome this, there are a few things you can try. First off, be ahead of the game. You can schedule appointments up to two weeks in advance. Secondly, do not get behind elsewhere. The ASC offers lots of tutors for classes other than math. Going and visiting one of the fabulous physics tutors or lovely chemistry tutors might help you stay ahead in those classes and thereby give you more time to work on Diff Eq.

Email the Instructor.

If you e-mail Prof. Reynolds, she is really good about getting back to you.

Comment on the Blog.

Feel free to post questions or comments on the Blog. If you drop me an e-mail or send me a message on Facebook, I'll probably will never get back to you. I rarely check my OCC e-mail and I avoid going on Facebook as much as possible.