I am in charge of a virtual calculus course that started earlier this week. The course is offered at the University of Helsinki. The course is intended for non math majors, but math majors may also include the course in their studies. This is already the fifth time the course is offered online. The technology used in the course is improving, and hence, in a way, this is a new release of the course. Hence the experiences that we will have may be of some interest.

This time we did not make any effort in advertising the course. Also, in the list of courses of the department, the course changed its name from "analyysin peruskurssi" to "virtuaalinen analyysin peruskurssi." Hence the place of the course in the list changed from the top to the bottom. Consequently, the number of students who signed up was disappointing: only about 30 instead of 80 (which was expected). I hope that my students would find the blog, and comment my blog.

The course is being run synchronously. We use iVocalize conference room for the lectures and for the exercise sessions. MapleTA is being used to quiz students during all lectures. During the first meeting some students had minor technical problems. I believe that, for most students, the learning experience was as good as that of ordinary contact lectures.

The class' conference room is open to anybody. If you are interested, check http://vapk.webalt.ivocalize.net/?p=0. The notes are in Finnish, however.

Stay tuned for more comments...

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