嗨!I’m happy to announce a public availability of theBetter Explained Guide To Calculus. You can read it online:
And here’s a peek at the first lesson:
(喜欢新造型吗?I’ve been working with agreat designerand will be refreshing the main site too.)
Thegoalis an intuition-first look at a notoriously gnarly subject. This isn’t a replacement for a stodgy textbook — it’s the friendly introduction I wish I’d had. A few hours of reading that would have saved meyearsof frustration.
The course text is free online, with a complete edition available, which includes:
- Course Text
- Video walkthroughs for each lesson
- Per-lesson class discussions
- PowerPoint files for all diagrams
- Quizzes to check understanding (In development)
- Print-friendly PDF ebook (In development)
- Invitations to class webinars (In development)
The price of the course will increase when the final version is released, so hop onto the beta to snag the lower price.
Building A Course: Lessons Learned
在制作这门课程的过程中，我领悟到了一些东西。如果你有一天正在考虑教授一门课程，这可能会很有帮助(我希望你是这样)。
Incentives Matter
I struggled with what to make free vs. paid. I love sharing insights with people… and I also love knowing I can do so until I’m an old man, complaining that newfangled brain-chip implants aren’t “real learning”.
Incentives always exist. I want to make education projects sustainable, designed to satisfy readers, not a 3rd party.
Similar to the fantasticRails Tutorial Book, the course text is free, with extra resources available. Having the core material free with paid variations & guidance helps align my need to create, share, and be sustainable.
Being Focused Matters
Historically, I’m lucky to write an article a month. But this summer, I wrote 16 lessons in 6 weeks. What was the difference?
Well, pressure from friends, for one: I’d promised to do a calculus course this summer. But mostly, it was the focus of having a single topic, brainstorming on numerous analogies/examples, and carving a rough path through on a schedule (2-3 articles/week).
我希望这听起来不是很自律，因为我不是。A combination of fear (I told people I’d do this) and frustration (Argh, I remember being a student and not having things click) pushed me. When I finished, I took a break from writing and vegged out for a few weeks. But I think it was a worthwhile trade — in my mind, a year’s worth of material was ready.
Fundamentals Matter
There’s many options for making a course. Modules. Quizzes. Interactive displays. Tribal dance routines. Hundreds of tools to convey your message.
And… whatisthat message, anyway? Are we transmitting facts, or building insight?
在基本原理发挥作用之前，花式舞蹈似乎毫无用处。我宁愿从披萨盒里读到真正的真知灼见，也不愿看到一个交互式全息图，背诵一篇无聊的演讲。
When lessons are lightweight and easy to update, you’re excited about feedback (Oh yeah! A chance to make it better!).
The more static the medium, the more you fear feedback (Oh no, I have to redo it?). A fixed medium has its place, ideally after a solid foundation has been mapped out.
I’ll be polishing the course in the coming weeks, feedback is welcome!
-Kalid