Upgrating our seminar room

Ultimate list for immediate purchase

1.  Camera: Tongevo with 20x zoom (~ $420) 
2.  Microphone:   Suphyee (~ $70)   
3.  Rack:  Furino (~ $30)
4.  Speakers:   Creative Pebble (~ $18)

We shall discuss a computer later.

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What we would need (ideas and finds): 

1.  Camera: Tongevo with 20x zoom, $420. 
[alternatively  Prisual  (30x zoom, good ratings)  $700]

2.  Microphone:   Suphyee, $70   
[Alternatives:  Lavalier 2 $110.]. 

3.  Rack:  Furino ($30)
[Tribesigns  ($110).  Which is more robust?]

4.  Speakers with a wide Hz range for the computer?  (< $30).   Creative Pebble?

5. MOST IMPORTANT:  A decent computer with HDMI output and a good sound card. With a variety of ports. And a good keyboard.  One that actually works.   ($1000 +  ?)  Our current computer behaves erratically, it takes sometimes 15 min before things are set.    

Any other suggestions or remarks?  (We have to read carefully the customers opinions).

A whim:  what about buying Maple (math program) for the seminar room computer?...

Making animations

ImageJ -- create a movie (ave, gif) from a stack of pictures

ImageJ Wiki -  the main site

Download from here  
Coursea -- learn ImageJ

Instructions on their website.

Excerpt from "Make a movie using ImageJ":

save your images in a folder.

open the images in ImageJ:  

  click on File>Import>Image Sequence...    

  click on any of the file names that appear in a list

  to make sure everything's ok, check the opened stack by pressing. ...

  save the AVI file by clicking File>Save as...>AVI.

Other animation creation software

Animation desk --gif and cartoon

"Best gif makers" -- a list 
"7 Best Free Image Sequence To Video" for Windows
FFmpeg -- open source.  Record, convert and stream audio & video

Manim -- to make professional math animations 

   -->  Manim -- the community version

                    -->  Documentation

Intro -- blog by Bex T.

YouTube videos by Benjamin 

YouTube videos by Brian 

Also: May learn here  (pay $15)

How to use Python graphics in HTML

Supercomputing at SIU

Check it out:

https://oit.siu.edu/rcc/

including:

List of things available

Anybody interested in doing something?...
Perhaps we should stat with learning how one can used.
If you know anything, please share it.


BTW,  to review Jupiter, watch
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maLy3WI7B34

Help

Online teaching tools

We may use this space for sharing our ideas, experiences, questions, and answers as we get prepared to online teaching.  Please use the comments area for this purpose.

Questions to our administrators (who seem to left us to ourselves):

1. Which software solutions are available at SIU? Are new purchases considered?
2. Are there docu-cameras available?  Where?  Would SIU buy some for Math Dept? Should we buy our own for preparation videos at home? 
3. Same question concerning other software.  How to record and edit videos?  Can they be posted on personal blogs?  Elsewhere? (I run a blog for every class.)   Etc., etc.
4. Can we get a professional help (training and Q&A session)  that will address our specific math teaching needs?  For instance in Nc 356 for all math instructors, some time at the beginning of the next week.
5. Is there a chance that the final exams can be taken in May on campus? That would be a great deal! It would solve the major headache-inducing problem.

For now, potential software to consider: 

• ZOOM:  A good short intro.
• ECHO 360:  Short intro video for SIU users.   
                        See also this 12-part tutorial.
                        Also, on Universal Capture.
                        Center for Teaching Excellence - SIU
• CANVAS:  Yet another system

Whiteboards for research communication

• Whiteboard -- simple, free
• Webwhiteboard - more complex (colors, etc)
• Awwap - very popular among researchers
• Ziteboard -- also more complex
• Scribblar -- advanced (great for math tutoring) but paid 

How to make your own  videos:

• A  drawing/writing software, e.g., OpenBoard:  See here a tutorial.  Download here.  
• A screen recording software (like OBS,  CamStudio, or Free Cam).  
• And video editing (OpenShot looks good)
• For precise writing, you will need a writing tablet, e.g.,  Wacom (~$70)

PDF Scanners

• Notebloc

SIU administration updates 

Happy New Year!

Interesting article in The Atlantic:

• https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/04/the-scientific-paper-is-obsolete/556676/ 

The second half promotes Jupyter and Python as the future everyday tool in computing.

See also how to produce images with python  (found by Ph.F.):

• https://blog.jupyter.org/ipycanvas-a-python-canvas-for-jupyter-bbb51e4777f7

WINTER BREAK

If you want to learn programming Processing
try this fantastic series of youtube lectures by A. Shiff.
He actually follows P2.js,  a sister version of Processing.
They are almost identical.

Start here 
(Youtube lets you speed up the videos).

You might like also this nice short intro to the online version of P5.js.

WEEK 8

About plotting in Jupyter:

                                  Plot1.pdf 

Have a great, pleasant and productive break!

WEEK 7

Jupyter: dealing with matrices this and that way:

            Meeting of Nov 22

WEEK 6

   Tikz:

   Tikz-examples.tex     and    Tikz-examples.pdf


  See also:

• TeXample.net,    
• pgfplots/examples,    
• Tikz Gallery at Overleaf,   
• Very Minimal Intro to Tikz
• Another into

WEEK 5

Here is the pdf of the last meeting:

                   November 8

WEEK 3 AND 4

Here are records from the last two meetings (pdf)

    18 October   and   1 November  

Suggest/request other exercises and problems in the comments area.


              $\frac{1}{2} + \frac{1}{4}+\frac{1}{8}+\frac{1}{16}+\cdots = 1$

WEEK 2

                         Install iPython via Anaconda distribution

WEEK 1: Intro and scope

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Next time we meet in Neckers 156 (downstairs),  Same time: Friday 3 PM.


PLAN FOR THE NEXT WEEK

1. Part 1 (10-15 min): a short introduction to LaTeX.  Suggestion: install MikTex on your computer, or make an account in OverLeaf (see below for links to both).

1. Part 2:  How to do first simple operations with Jupyter. Install it on your computer following the hints from the last meeting. Or simply click on the link below and follow the instructions. Some notebooks are available through http://ziglilucien.github.io  Click Contents and then NOTEBOOKS.

TOOLS

Basic tools that we will learn follow.
(The list is incomplete, suggest other programs)

Calculating

• Jupyter - open-source software based on Python and coming with a "notebook" (free)
• QB64 -- new version of QBASIC, an old simple programming language.  Perfect for beginners and for checking out some hypotheses quickly and effortlessly. Includes graphics (free).
• Maple -- heavy duty symbolic calculations (not free....)

Writing

• MikTex -- a friendly distribution of Latex (free) 
• OverLeaf -- online implementation of LaTeX (free up to two collaborators) 

Geometry (all free)

• Processing -- stand alone program (for artists and scientist) 
• Processing.js -- a version for incorporation into browse 
• P5.js -- newest version of Processing-like  program
• Cinderella -- great for experimentation in Euclidean (and not only) geometry  
• Cindy.js -- same, rewritten in js for easy embedding in web pages