A few days ago I clicked through the tutorial finder, which is an on-line tool that looks as if it is still in a beta-stadium and I saw that a tutor provides tutorials online. Of course I sent her a message asking if I am allowed to attend. The answer came very quickly and said "yes, of course". She also attached three very helpful files about Elluminate and the tutorial itself.

The tutorial was very good and she was very well prepared. I asked her why she provides online tutorials and she said that she lived in Scotland and therefore her students are widely spread. Well, this is funny, because the students of region 9 (were the Continential European students are attached) are widely spread, too and I was told last time that online tutorials are not on the short list.

Last Saturday I attended a day school from my MST209 tutor. It was really good and gave me an overview of the following 4 units of Block 2. The main topic in Block 2 is mechanics - of course Newton's mechanic. Block 2 repeats a lot of the physics lessons at school, but the approaches are different and also the questions are more "university like".

The day school itself was split in two halves, one tutored by the other region's MST209 tutor and one tutored by my tutor. Unfortunately the tutorial was more an ex-cathedra teaching then workshop, which I had found more interesting, but I guess that it was a lack of time which forced the tutors to do so.

Also, the region's person in charge for maths attended the meeting. She was not amused to see a student from overseas attending the tutorial and later on my tutor was quite suprised to see me, because he was told not to send emails telling about the upcoming tutorial to overseas students. I also found out that region 9 doesn't have a tutor for M337 (Complex Analysis) and so my tutor is from Wales.

I asked if it would be possible to set up an online-tutorial for those not able to attend tutorials or day schools, but the answer wasn't very positive. The person in charge meant that it isn't worth thinking about this issue and was some kind of beating around the bush, Also, she said that overseas students shall better attend tutorials in London.

I find this behaviour of the region's person in charge for maths courses very annoying, because on the other hand the overseas students are used to explain why there are nearly no tutorials in region 9. 

My conclusion of this day school ist that I really feel more prepared for the upcoming Block 2 than before, but the exposure with the overseas students is not fair and lets me feel like a second class student which accidently was able to attend at a meeting for first class students.

This section defines (again; because it was already subject of MS221, I think):

• differential equation
• order
• solution

It also introduces the expression . The margin note says that it is "strictly speaking ... an abuse of notation", because it is not clear what the y stands for: on the left-hand side it is a variable, but on the right hand side it is a function. The margin note also says "it is a very convenient abuse". But why do we use it? Is it really necessary to use this? I find it quite confusing and "all others do use it too" isn't a satisfactory explaination for me?!

Further the terms general solution and particular solution  are defined (again) and in this context, also, the definition for initial condition, initial values and the initial-value problem are defined.