We discuss conventions made in the course.
Arbitration policy
There is a tremendous danger of, for instance, otherwise productive weekly Code Reviews being overtaken by bikeshedding---or more substantive disagreements.
If, in the process of producing the MOOCulus textbook, it happens that there is a disagreement which cannot be abstracted away by incorporating appropriate LATEX macros, then it is time for one of those present to propose a rule addressing the disagreement. Those involved in the disagreement at the Code Review then vote: if 85% of those present agree, the proposed rule is incorporated into this document. If near consensus is not achieved, then three textbooks (e.g., Spivak, Stewart, Briggs/Cochran) are consulted to formulate the rule.
Stylistic conventions
The first letter of the first word of a title is capitalized, then all other words are lowercase, except for proper nouns. For example:
Introduction to Newton’s method
No punctuation is used at the end, except for perhaps a question mark.
The abstract is a one-sentence description of the activity. It is intended to give the instructor an idea of what the activity is about.
Do not hack the LATEX document to make it appear in a customized way. Do not
add vertical space, boxes around formulas, etc. This is counter to the philosophy
of separating content from deployment. Any stylistic changes shoudl be done
by the Ximera conversion. Hence, if some special formatting is needed, it
should be done at the level of the preamble or a separate style file, like
lulu1.sty.
Structure guidelines
Each lecture corresponds in MOOCULUSto three distinct sections:
- Break-Ground
- An introduction to the topic.
- Dig-In
- A detailed discussion of the topic.
- Reinforce
- Practice problems.
Break-Ground The Break-Ground should somehow present a ‘‘mystery’’ for the students to solve. This gives an ‘‘intellectual need’’ for the material being covered. Moreover, it should lead them to the right path. Ideally if we had a bright student working on the Break-Ground, they might even develop the techniques from the lesson to solve the problem. By the end of the dig-in phase, the mystery is solved!
Typically the Break-Ground will be between and problems.
Dig-In The dig-in section is most like a traditional textbook. However, some key differences:
Every definition and every theorem should have a question following it to check for student comprehension.
The ‘‘mystery’’ presented in the Break-Ground must be solved here.
Reinforce This section is a list of exercises.
Problem-types
Ximera supports a variety of problem-types. It is least confusing for students if the author sticks to -- problem-types per activity.
For the Break-Ground, ‘‘Problem’’ should be used along with a final ‘‘Xarma Boost.’’
For the Dig-In, ‘‘Question’’ and ‘‘Examples’’ should be used, though the author must ensure that the ‘‘questions’’ they write are actually questions. Moreover in ‘‘Examples’’ one actually writes statements, where the students fill-in the blanks. In the handout version of the textbook, these ‘‘Examples’’ become complete prose. As an example:
\begin{example}
Let’s compute a basic derivative. Suppose you want to compute the
derivative of $x^3+3x-1$
\[
\dd{x} x^3+3x-1 = \dd{x} \answer[given]{3x^2} +3}.
\]
\end{example}
In all cases, ‘‘Hint’’ can also be used as an additional problem-type.
Nested and delayed questions
We can have delayed questions.
\begin{problem}
Compute:
\[
\ddx \sin(x)
\]
\begin{prompt}
\[
\ddx \sin(x) = \answer{\cos(x)}
\]
\end{prompt}
\end{problem}
Here prompt is the ‘‘prompt’’ for the students to answer online. Code inside of
prompt is not displayed in the printout version of the text.
To write follow up questions, nest problem enviroments.
\begin{problem}
Compute:
\[
\ddx \sin(x)
\]
\begin{prompt}
\[
\ddx \sin(x) = \answer{\cos(x)}
\]
\end{prompt}
\begin{problem}
Compute:
\[
\ddx \sin(3x)
\]
\begin{prompt}
\[
\ddx \sin(3x) = \answer{3\cos(3x)}
\]
\end{prompt}
\end{problem}
\end{problem}
Note, hint will not block future questions.
Images
All images should be set within image tags.
\begin{image}
\includegraphics{myFunkyImage.pdf}
\end{image}
This will allow Ximera to ‘‘know’’ that an image is inserted, and handle the image
appropriately. All supporting files should be within the same directory as the
LATEX file that generates the Ximera activity. This will allow for maximum
usability of the Ximera documents.
LATEX Macros
| Command | Example | Typeset |
| \R | $f:\R\to\R$ | |
| \ddx | $\ddx f(x)$ | |
| \dd[_]{_} | $\dd[y]{x}$ | |
| \pp[_]{_} | $\pp[y]{x}$ | |
| \d | $\int f(x) \d x$ | |
| \l | $\l(x) = mx+b$ | |
| \dfn | we define \dfn{this} | we define this |
| \eval | $\eval{f(x)}_a^b$ | |
| \zeroOverZero | $\zeroOverZero$ | |
| \inftyOverInfty | $\inftyOverInfty$ | |
| \zeroOverInfty | $\zeroOverInfty$ | |
| \zeroTimesInfty | $\zeroTimesInfty$ | |
| \inftyMinusInfty | $\inftyMinusInfty$ | |
| \oneToInfty | $\oneToInfty$ | |
| \zeroToZero | $\zeroToZero$ | |
| \inftyToZero | $\inftyToZero$ | |
| \numOverZero | $\numOverZero$ | |
| \seq | $\seq{1,2,3}$ | |
| \unit | $3\unit{ft}$ | |
| \vector | $\vector{1,2,3}$ | |
| \vec | $\vec{v}$ | |
| \veci | $\veci$ | |
| \vecj | $\vecj$ | |
| \veck | $\veck$ | |
| \utan | $\utan$ | |
| \unormal | $\unormal$ | |
| \ubinormal | $\ubinormal$ | |
| \vecl | $\vecl$ | |
| \dotp | $\vec{v}\dotp\vec{w}$ | |
| \cross | $\vec{v}\cross\vec{w}$ | |
| \grad | $\grad F$ | |
| \curl | $\curl\vec{F}$ | |
| \divergence | $\divergence\vec{F}$ | |
Answer types
There are several currently supported answer types:
\begin{example}
$2+2 =\answer{4}$
\end{example}
\begin{example}
Hey notice that
$2+2 =\answer[given]{4}$.
\end{example}
\begin{question}
What is your favorite color?
\begin{multipleChoice}
\choice[correct]{Rainbow}
\choice{Blue}
\choice{Green}
\choice{Red}
\end{multipleChoice}
\begin{feedback}
Hello
\end{feedback}
\end{question}