Author Archives: Matt Boelkins
Screencasts for Active Prelude to Calculus
My GVSU colleague Mandy Calvillo has developed a fantastic resource for students and instructors using Active Prelude: a YouTube library of 122 (!) short videos that offer additional perspective and explanation on key ideas in the text. The videos are … Continue reading
Back to school updates for Active Prelude, Active Single, and Active Multi
Here is my just-in-time post for back to school, Fall 2020 Edition. Overall: The two main things to know about the Active Calculus textbooks (Active Prelude to Calculus (APC), Active Calculus Single Variable (ACS), and Active Calculus Multivariable (ACM)) are … Continue reading
Posted in General, Publicity, Resources
Tagged activities, free, multivariable calculus, online, open source
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Active Calculus Activities in Google Sheets
Erica Miller of VCU had a brilliant idea: set up AC activities in Google sheets for remote teaching so that her students can work in breakout groups on a shared document. Dave Kung learned about this in an MAA-sponsored session … Continue reading
reminder: Active Calculus YouTube playlists
My GVSU colleagues have developed extensive video content to support all 8 chapters of Active Calculus. Each screencast is enumerated with the section number that aligns with the text. At GV, our Calculus 1 is MTH 201, which corresponds to … Continue reading
Desmos versions of Active Prelude Preview Activities
My colleague Marcia Frobish at GVSU has instantiated each of the preview activities in Active Prelude to Calculus as a Desmos activity. If you are a Desmos user, you should check these out.
Posted in precalculus, Resources
Tagged free, online, resources
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Google groups for Active Calculus
I’m launching two groups for information about the Active Calculus texts: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/active-calculus-announce, where there will be infrequent posts announcing new editions and features, and https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/active-calculus-users, which is a forum for instructors who use (or are considering using) the text. At … Continue reading
PreTeXt & the Future of Textbooks
Rob Beezer’s free, open authoring platform PreTeXt is what enables the fantastic HTML output for Active Calculus and so many other free, open textbooks. As part of my work with the PreTeXt Advocacy Group (Sally Koutsoliotas, Jennifer Nordstrom, Bruce Yoshiwara, … Continue reading
Posted in Publicity, Software
Tagged free, open source, projects, technology
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Short user survey – Active Calculus (single variable)
Regarding the single variable text, I’m trying to gain some information about adoption, how the text is used, and what additional features are desirable. If you use the text in your teaching, I’d greatly appreciate you taking 5 minutes to … Continue reading
An argument for print textbooks
Here’s an interesting article regarding the effect of electronic vs print textbooks on student learning when reading for understanding: https://www.businessinsider.com/students-learning-education-print-textbooks-screens-study-2017-10. “Our work has revealed a significant discrepancy. Students said they preferred and performed better when reading on screens. But their … Continue reading
Active Calculus and Edfinity: an alternative to WeBWorK
Many instructors use online homework systems with their students. This approach provides accountability for students, immediate feedback and multiple attempts on their work, and simple grading for instructors. While I’m always glad to share WeBWorK .def files with users who … Continue reading
