| Transcript
for the Math
Jam "WOOT Math Jam"
on Sep 5. |
| Math Jam hosted by nsato
(Naoki Sato ). |
nsato19:28:22
Welcome to today's WOOT Math Jam!
nsato19:28:29
Before we get started I would like to take a brief moment to explain our virtual classroom to those who have not previously participated in a Math Jam or one of our online classes.
nsato19:28:42
As many of you know, this classroom is moderated, meaning that participants can type into the classroom, but only the moderators can choose a comment to drop into the classroom. This helps keep the session organized and on track. Also, only moderators can enter into private chats with other people in the classroom.
nsato19:28:54
Today we're here to answer questions that you may have about WOOT!
nsato19:28:58
WOOT stands for Worldwide Online Olympiad Training.
nsato19:29:07
Plus, it's fun to say... "Woot!"
nsato19:29:12
WOOT is a 7-month online training program for students who are preparing for their national math Olympiad or the International Mathematical Olympiad. WOOT 2007-08 will run from mid-September, 2007 to mid-April, 2008.
nsato19:29:18
WOOT is sponsored by D. E. Shaw group:
nsato19:29:24
nsato19:29:28
Why WOOT?
nsato19:29:38
Most students have little or no Olympiad-level experience or instruction before they take a National Olympiad. WOOT remedies this problem by offering test-taking and solution-writing practice with feedback, classes with past Olympiad winners, and collaboration with the some of the top high school math students in the world.
nsato19:29:55
Specifically, WOOT will include the following activities:
nsato19:30:00
(1) 16 2-hour online lectures. Each class will be offered twice to alleviate time conflicts.
nsato19:30:05
(2) 8 handouts that will contain articles and practice problems, that will help students prepare for the lectures.
nsato19:30:11
(3) 3 Problem Sets, 2 Practice AIME-style tests, and 4 Practice Olympiad-style tests.
nsato19:30:14
(4) Detailed feedback on student work on each of the problem sets and practice Olympiads.
nsato19:30:22
(5) WOOT message board for discussing lectures, post-lecture problem lists, and past WOOT tests.
nsato19:30:29
(6) 24-hour online classroom access for WOOT participants to collaborate.
nsato19:30:36
Numerous International Math Olympiad participants and USA Mathematical Olympiad winners (including the current Art of Problem Solving instructors) will be WOOT instructors.
nsato19:30:48
WOOT is ideal for students preparing for a National Olympiad such as the USA Mathematical Olympiad. Due to generous sponsorship from D. E. Shaw & Co. and Art of Problem Solving, 2007 Math Olympiad Summer Program participants are invited to join WOOT for free. Therefore, all participants in WOOT will have the opportunity to train with the top high school students in the United States.
nsato19:31:04
The tuition for WOOT is $795.
nsato19:31:08
Here is the URL for the WOOT page:
nsato19:31:33
So that is WOOT in a nutshell.
nsato19:31:37
At this point I'll open the discussion for questions.
MathSports19:32:25
Is it always this time?
nsato19:32:56
Here is some text from the schedule: " The first class will always be on a Monday, and held at 7:30-9:30 PM ET/4:30-6:30 PM PT. The second class will always be on a Thursday, and held at 9:00-11:00 PM ET/6:00-8:00 PM PT."
shady hill19:33:33
sounds like a high school only thing, right?
nsato19:34:06
Generally, it will only be high school students who are interested in olympiad level training.
james4l19:34:11
how do you group different level students?
DPatrick19:34:14
Beginning: Students with little or no Olympiad experience; students who typically expect
to score 5?8 on the AIME contest.
Intermediate: Students with some Olympiad experience; students who typically expect to
score 9+ on the AIME contest.
Advanced: Students with significant Olympiad experience; students who have placed highly
on a national olympiad, or have attended the IMO.
watchcatno119:34:38
Where will the list of instructors be put up and when?
nsato19:34:57
It will be put up on the the link I mentioned above:
dsiddharth19:35:14
is there any audio for the course or is the text the only way you communicate with us?
DPatrick19:35:17
There is no audio or video. All WOOT classes are in this classrom.
DPatrick19:35:35
dsiddharth19:36:03
but we cannot exactly respond to it like that
DPatrick19:36:05
Actually, you can!
DPatrick19:36:26
If you begin your post with a semicolon (;), then anything you type after the semicolon will be processed as LaTeX.
jennylu19:36:38
Is it necessary to know LaTex?
DPatrick19:36:47
No, you'll be fine without it.
The Visionary19:37:11
Is anyone, including those (Beginning students) that never seen olympiad-level questions suitable for WOOT? And, if yes, will the 7-month long training prepares them to participate and answer IMO questions?
nsato19:37:13
We recommend WOOT for students who can consistently score a 5 on the AIME. WOOT will certainly cover IMO level material.
MathSports19:37:52
nsato19:38:15
It varies; I expect it will be about 60 at the beginning.
jennylu19:39:08
Will WOOT provide additional training for AIME?
nsato19:39:32
Yes. We will have two practice AIMEs during the year.
watchcatno119:40:02
Do you do stuff like Projective geometry, harmonics and the like? Or is all that left for later?
nsato19:40:31
We won't be covering any projective geometry; in my experience, it doesn't come up that often on olympiads (or at least absolutely necessary).
Ivan Zhang19:41:16
If we can't understand everything, how can we get help after class?
DPatrick19:41:19
First, there is a message board on the website exclusively for WOOT students. The instructors monitor it on a daily basis, and there's a good chance that a classmate might be able to answer a question before an instruction does!
Second, the classroom is open 24/7 for WOOT students to chat and collaborate on problems.
The Visionary19:41:25
How is the IMO questions fair/compared with UK's Sixth Term Examination Paper (STEP) questions? Are IMO harder or they are about at the same level?
nsato19:41:33
I'm not familiar with STEP, so I cannot say. :(
james4l19:42:05
how do we send back the answers? by regular mail?
DPatrick19:42:08
You must either email or fax them. You will receive your feedback by logging onto the website.
archimedes119:43:00
What is the basic most important difference between WOOT and Intermediate level classes?
DimaACM19:43:00
Is WOOT (in general) about the level of non-calculus part of Putnam?
nsato19:43:03
The most important differences are the length and breadth of the program. WOOT is a 7-month program, that covers all the major topics that appears on olympiads. Intermediate level classes only cover one particular subject, e.g. number theory.
DPatrick19:43:06
Sort of...the style of problems is similar, but in general Olympiad-level problems are harder than Putnam problems.
james4l19:43:45
are we allowed to discuss out a solution in the chat room?
DPatrick19:43:46
For the Problem Sets and the message board problems, yes. For the practice AIMEs or Olympiads, no.
azjps19:44:11
Is the sample problem listed on the What is WOOT? page a good example for problems we will be receiving? (and how difficult would that problem be considered?)
nsato19:44:35
That problem actually appeared on a WOOT test from two years ago, and it was one of the harder problems.
davidyko19:44:40
About the STEP: The IMO is more difficult than the STEP. Also, if you compete in the IMO, you're usually exempted from STEP.
DPatrick19:44:47
Thanks for the information.
MathSports19:45:30
About how many problems do you send out
nsato19:45:31
There are 7 problems on each practice olympiad, and you answer 3; there are 12 problems on each problem set, and you answer 6.
nsato19:45:51
Also, there will be about 10 message board problems after each lecture. Lots of practice material.
DimaACM19:46:47
What is the most reliable (and preferable way for you guys) to submit the solutions? I'd guess typed and in pdf format?
nsato19:47:10
Scanned into PDF format is the best, but we also accept fax.
Ivan Zhang19:47:23
How much do we expect to improve after the program, say one can get 8 on AIME and 10 on USAMO?
DPatrick19:47:25
We can't easily answer that. It depends at what level you start and how much effort you put into the program. In the past, the vast majority of U.S. WOOT students qualified for the USAMO.
Ivan Zhang19:47:59
Is there transcript after each class? How are we going to review what we learned?
nsato19:48:18
There will be transcript for each class, that you can review at your leisure.
HoratioK19:48:23
Are the 2 classes on M and Th the same or different classes on the same topic?
nsato19:48:29
It will be the same lecture.
nsato19:49:25
Are there any other questions?
dsiddharth19:49:38
if we register for a class on monday and miss it... will be able to take the class on thursday, since the topic is the same
nsato19:49:45
Yes, that's we offer each class twice.
nsato19:49:55
...that's why we...
DPatrick19:50:07
To clarify...you don't have to "register" for the Monday or Thursday classes. You can just show up at either time.
The Visionary19:50:31
How can we prove to the universities that we attend WOOT?
DPatrick19:50:42
We can issue a Certificate of Completion at the end of the program upon request.
james4l19:51:16
a student can pick different level of problems at different week, right?
nsato19:52:16
You can select your level on each practice olympiad, but other than that, it is the same problems for everyone.
Ivan Zhang19:52:28
Is there going to be any tests during the program?
DPatrick19:52:29
Yes. There will be 3 problem sets, 4 practice Olympiad-style tests, and 2 practice AIME-style tests.
DPatrick19:52:37
A schedule is at http://www.artofproblemsolving.com/Classes/AoPS_C_WOOTSchedule.php
tjhance19:53:12
Will we be able to see the problems of the levels we didn't pick?
nsato19:53:39
Yes, everyone will have access to all the materials.
nsato19:54:20
Are there any other questions?
MathSports19:55:07
So, if I sign up for WOOT, I can attend either the Mon. or Thurs. class?
nsato19:55:10
yes.
james4l19:56:07
any suggestions on how effectively make most of the values out the WOOT classes?
nsato19:58:25
My answer shouldn't be surprising: Just attend all the lectures, and practice as many problems as you can.
nsato19:58:38
And take note of what people are saying on the message board; you can learn a lot from your peers.
The Visionary19:58:41
What are the best methods/ways to prepare/train for the IMO?
DPatrick19:58:45
A good way is to practice writing full Olympiad-style solutions, and then getting feedback on those solutions. That's one core component of WOOT: 4 Olympiad-style practice tests, taken under Olympiad conditions, to which you will receive detailed feedback.
james4l19:59:22
the POTD is a very cool idea. will it last during the 7 months?
nsato19:59:42
Probably not; it will be supplemented by the message board problems.
The Visionary19:59:48
What is POTD?
nsato20:00:02
Problem of the Day - daily problems are currently being posted on the WOOT class forum.
nsato20:01:16
Thank you for coming to the WOOT Math Jam. If you think of questions later, you can email them to us at classes@artofproblemsolving.com.
nsato20:01:21
We look forward to working with you in WOOT this year!
