Summer 2020 Survey of Calculus Online Course Info - Distance Calculus

Is the course perfect? No. However, it was by far the best option available. I have learned quite a few things not normally taught in a Calculus course. However, the course lacks a lot of paper solving and integrating, which is to be expected in an online course.

I took the whole calculus series and Linear Algebra via Distance Calculus. Dr. Curtis spent countless hours messaging back and forth with me, answering every question, no matter how trivial they might seem. Dr. Curtis is extremely responsive, especially if the student is curious and is willing to work hard. I don't think I ever waited much more than a day for Dr. Curtis to get a notebook back to me. Dr. Curtis would also make videos of concepts if I was really lost.

The course materials are fantastic. If you are a student sitting on the fence, trying to decide between a normal classroom class or Distance Calculus classes with Livemath and Mathematica, my choice would be the Distance Calculus classes every time. The Distance Calculus classes are more engaging. The visual aspects of the class notebooks are awesome. You get the hand calculation skills you need.

The best summary I can give is to say, given the opportunity, I would put my own son's math education in Dr. Curtis's hands.

I truly loved this class—it's one of the most enjoyable math courses I’ve ever taken.

Pros:

-- Exceptional Instruction and Support: Dr. Curtis was incredibly responsive and helpful whenever I had questions. The TA was also very supportive, and thanks to their guidance, I was proud to earn a 100% in the course—even without having taken pre-calculus beforehand.

-- Innovative Software Platform: The custom software used in the course made a huge difference for me. I found it intuitive and engaging, and it helped reinforce the concepts in a way traditional textbooks never did.

-- Thorough, Rigorous Curriculum: The structure of the course really pushed me to stay organized and plan ahead. I felt like I was being challenged in all the right ways.

Potential Considerations for Others:

-- Requires Strong Time Management: If you haven’t taken pre-calc, like me, you’ll need to be extra proactive. The course can move quickly if you need, and pacing yourself is essential.

-- Software Learning Curve: While I personally loved the software, students who aren’t comfortable adapting to new digital tools might need a bit of extra time upfront to get used to it.

-- Helpful to Have Supplementary Resources: One improvement might be to offer a short list of "starter resources" (videos, concept overviews, etc.) for students who need a broader intro to calculus before diving in.

Overall, I highly recommend this course to motivated students, especially those comfortable with self-paced learning and open to using new tools. Dr. Curtis is a fantastic instructor, and the course setup really works.

The professor as well as the TAs give great feedback when you need help with problems and the videos are great at explaining concepts. Return time on work is good and the work is not too much to handle.

This course gives a perspective on Linear algebra that no traditional course does. I’d say i gained much more intuition for this subject from the DC course than my friends who took traditional courses elsewhere. As a cs major, this version of learning with visualization has helped me a lot in understand ML models. However the course doesn’t have videos for the last 2 chapers so i had to self learn with the mathematica notebooks. Response times are a little slow but since it’s a remote class, i guess it’s justified. Overall amazing course and definitely take this over traditional lin alg classes.

As a full-time business owner completing an Executive MBA, I needed to satisfy a calculus prerequisite without putting my work on hold. Distance Calculus made that possible. The fully self-paced structure let me work early mornings and weekends around an unpredictable schedule, which a fixed-semester classroom course never would have allowed.
The course covered the core business calculus material thoroughly — derivatives, optimization, integration techniques including u-substitution, the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus, improper integrals, and numerical methods. The LiveMath computer algebra environment was central to the experience: it forced me to build each step explicitly rather than just arriving at an answer, which actually deepened my understanding of the mechanics.
Communication through the student portal was responsive when I had questions. For working professionals who need a rigorous, accredited calculus course on a flexible timeline, I'd recommend it.