My Students
This page is for you
A Few Tips on WesternOnline and MyMathLab
WesternOnline (westernonline.wiu.edu) is our online Course Management System at WIU (it is by DesireToLearn, aka D2L).
- It is a good idea to do that "Check your system for compatibility" early in the semester (and every couple months). This can be found at the homepage of WO (WesternOnline). Call 309-298-2704 (WIU) if you have trouble.
MyMathLab (MML) is the online textbook system (from Pearson) that is used for numerous textbooks at WIU. You can usually view the entire book and do online homework and take online quizzes (which are automatically graded by MML).
- It is best to get to MML using WesternOnline (WO) in my classes. Go to WO and your course first, then click the Pearson MyLab link (then click MyMathLab with Pearson eText Course Home). I usually link MML and WO, so you do not need to go directly to MyMathLab.
- To get MML to work you need to disable the pop-up blocker and you need to allow cookies. On an iPad this is under Settings|Safari (for other devices, etc. it might be elsewhere.
- Call Pearson's helpdesk if something is going wrong. They help students every day with browser, properties, and setting issues. 800-677-6337.
Transfering to WIU and Transferring Courses (from a community college,
college, or university)
College of Education and Teacher Education Links
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Adding Teaching Endorsements Now Easier in Illinois - Once a teacher has a PEL (Professional Educator License), adding endorsements (even in at a different grade level) has become easier in Illinois. ISBE page.
QuizStar
This a new sytem of online quizzes for teachers and student. Click
here for the directions.
Information on the Illinois Basic Skills Test and Teacher Certification
Included on this page are links to the ISBE Basic Skills study guide and
Illinois Certification Testing System. More information can be obtained from
the COEHS Advising Center at 309/298-1438.
For More Information on ISBE Teacher Certification Exams follow the links in the ISBE Section
of My Teaching Resources Page.
Top 10 Test-Taking Strategies
On Lesson Planning
Suggestions for Math Exams
Suggestions for making a study plan for
mathematics exams: click
here
Recommendations for taking a mathematics
exam: click
here
Helpful Study Tips for College Students (and time management and more)
Regression Models on the TI-83+
Steps for using the TI-83+ for finding regression
models for data
Data Sets and Statistics
American FactFinder - from the US Census Bureau.
Measure of America - "provides easy-to-use yet methodologically sound tools for understanding the distribution of well-being and opportunity in America." Interactive maps are great.
Open Data Inception - 1600+ Open Data Portals Around the World
GapMinder.org - Data visualization. "For a fact-based world view.
BLS.gov - . Searchable, customizable, exportable to Excel.
Your Stat Class - List of organizations who have posted data. "Have you ever wanted to perform a research study but was reluctant to do so because you didn’t have the data? You soon realize that you don’t have the time, money, or resources to collect your own data. Well, don’t worry!"
NationMaster.com - A massive central data source and a handy way to graphically compare
nations. You do have to side-step the ads.
Exploring Data - from the Math Forum.
Finding Data on the Internet by Robert Niles
National Center for Education Statistics - From the US Department of Education. Includes NAEP
data and Public
School District Finance Peer Search.
Neighborhood
Data - Stats on things such as median income, money spent per
pupil on education, and sunny days per year. Compare cities and against the
national average. From MSN House and
Home.
Social
Explorer - map of US which is zoomable and clickable to find
demographic data.
Gapminder World - Interesting (interactive) way to look at data.
Baseball Reference -
Baseball statistics.
Baseball Almanac - Most
everything you want to know about baseball.
- Baseball Formulas - Statistical Formulas for calculating baseball statistics, such as On
Base Percentage, ERA, and Range Factor.
Logarithms and the Richter Scale - Earthquake Data Available from the NEIC.
Information Please - Contains almanacs, statistics, and more.
Writing Suggestions
A Pocket Style Manual (4th edition as of 1/2004) by Diana
Hacker. This is required for English 180 and 280 at WIU and should be used
early, consistently, and often by all WIU students. If you have lost yours,
they are available in the bookstore.
The Five-Paragraph
Essay - from Study
Guides and Strategies.
Another one on the The Five-Paragraph
Essay - from the UK
Elements of Style - by William Strunk, Jr. A timeless reference that gives clear suggestions
for improving ones writing.
Students writing a paper may want to click Western's
Writing Center, or OWL (On-line
Writing Lab at Purdue University), or click:
- Invention is an instructional handout that may help you get started with your paper.
- Transitions is an instructional handout that may help you improve the flow of your paper.
GradeSaver - Professional proofreading and editting online. Some of this costs (it's
"professional"). Quite a bit is free, including ClassicNotes.
Assignment Calculator - From the University of Minnesota. Helps you set up a schedule and list of
task for writing a paper. Also provides resources for improving your writing.
Special Note on Letters of Recommendation
Things are changing (ugh). In the past I've sent letters of recommendation for students to the WIU Career Services Office and they would mail them out to school districts where students were applying for jobs. The Career Services Office no longer maintains a credentials file with letters of recommendation which they mail out to school districts where candidates are appying.
They do have a useful eRecruiting system, which I recommend you use, where candidates can post resumes and information which can be viewed by potential employers. However, the eRecruiting system has no mechanism for confidential letters of recommendation.
Many school districts are going away from letters of recommendation and using references instead. Some still use letters of recommendation.
What this all means:
- If I've had you in class and you'd like me to be a reference, I'd be happy to discuss that with you.
- If you need me to write a letter of recommendation for you, I'm also happy to discuss that with you. Realize that I will be mailing out the letter myself, so I will need the full address of the school district where you are applying.
Undergraduate
Research and Summer Opportunities
- WIU College of Arts and Sciences
Undergraduate Research Grants (Click Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity
Grant) - apply various times during the academic year.
- WIU
Mathematics Department U-grad Research Page - what we are doing locally.
- W.I.U. Undergraduate
Research Day - Annual event. Sponsored by the W.I.U.
Centennial Honors College
- NASA Internships - for students (HS/college, through graduate school). Fall, spring, or summer.
- Millikin Undergraduate
Mathematics Research Conference - Millikin University, Decatur, IL
- Rose Hulman Conference on
Undergraduate Mathematics - Students can present papers.
- Youngstown State
University PME Regional Math Conference - Click on Conferences (past or
upcoming). Students can present papers.
- Council on Undergraduate Research - Has
an annual national conference.
- Nebraska Conference for Undergraduate
Women in Mathematics - University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE.
- Budapest Semesters in Mathematics - Bedapest, Hungary
- ISU REU (Research Experiences for Undergraduates) - At Illinois State in Bloomington-Normal, IL
- National Research Experience for Undergraduates Program (NREUP) - by MAA
- Summer Research Opportunities
for Undergraduates - Including Argonne National Lab, Michigan, Iowa, and
many other locations. From SIAM.
- Summer Undergraduate Research
Focus (SURF) - Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. Science oriented,
but mathematics may be included.
- IPAM Research in Industrial
Projects for Students (RIPS) - Institute for Pure & Applied Mathematics
- Argonne National Laboratory is a A U.S.
Department of Energy laboratory operated by The University of Chicago which
has a Argonne Symposium
for Undergraduates in Science, Engineering And Mathematics.
- CURM - Center for Undergraduate Research
in Mathematics at Occidental College.
Resume Writing
How to Write a Great Resume: The Definitive Guide
Write a Great Resume to Start Your Careers
Some Scholarship links
Get Published - click Rose-Hulman
Undergraduate Mathematics Journal to see how you can submit an article for
publication.
Student notes from past semesters - Old stuff:
Math 355 students click here (Fall 2002)
Educ/Math 439 students click here (Fall
2001).
Math 402 Students - Spring 2001 - WIU-RC -
click for course information.
Math 402 students click here
Pythagorean and Similar Triangle Practice
Math 504 students click here
Math 406 Students click here for some good practice problems written by classmates (and a few others).
Back to Jim Olsen's
homepage
James R. Olsen, Western Illinois University
E-mail: jr-olsen@wiu.edu
Page last updated:
March 2, 2021
Counter since 9/17/05
