Required resources & policies

Text

Linear Algebra and Its Applications by David Lay, Steve Lay, and Judy McDonald. 6th Edition, eText. Available from MyLab for free as part of the textbook rental system. Use the purchase code found on our AsULearn course page.


Technology

  • download or access the computer algebra system Maple (free). See https://asulearn.appstate.edu/mod/page/view.php?id=778301

  • scanning work to a single multi-page PDF. The course is designed so that you’ll collate work, including handwritten work, into a single multi-page PDF. You can electronically annotate a PDF using a stylus, or write on paper/print the PDF to write on and collate handwritten work into a single multi-page PDF, like by using Adobe Scan or CamScanner from a phone. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2G02RJdAwLs.

  • reliable access to technology, software, and high speed connectivity. Because this course is online, most of the work you’re going to do you’ll be accessing though your internet connection with a device, so it will be really important to have a dependable high-speed internet connection, a good computer that can run everything we’ll need (you will not be able to complete all course activities through a smartphone), and a camera to scan written work in. We’ll also use Zoom videoconference software. If you don’t already have one you’ll also need a webcam, headphones or speakers and a microphone . Flexible browsers that will play common media formats from various sources such as from webpages, Google Drive, YouTube, and ASULearn, including interactive videos, are also something we’ll use regularly. You may need some flexibility in browsers so that if one browser is incompatible, you can try another. Online students are expected to have or acquire proficient computer skills and to resolve their own technology problems related to computers or internet access. See http://Support.appstate.edu, which can help with some issues.


Prerequisites

I will assume you have facility with the following that you further developed in MAT 1120: Calculus II and Analytic Geometry: algebraic solutions of linear equations (partial fractions), visualizations and equations of curves and surfaces and linear intersections in 2D and 3D (rectangle and box slicing, both visually and algebraically), limits applied to diverse objects (like improper integrals and partial sums of series), sin and cos trigonometry (trig substitution), linear approximations (Taylor polynomial of degree 1, Euler’s method, and slope field), and mathematical reasoning and justifications (algebraic, numerical, and geometric reasoning). If you did not complete MAT 1120 recently or do not feel comfortable with the material, you should review these topics.