| Transcript
for the Math
Jam "WOOT Math Jam"
on Sep 2. |
| Math Jam hosted by nsato
(Naoki Sato ). |
nsato19:30:25
WOOT MATH JAM
nsato19:30:31
Welcome to today's WOOT Math Jam!
nsato19:30:37
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.
nsato19:30:46
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.
nsato19:31:02
Today we're here to answer questions that you may have about WOOT!
nsato19:31:08
WOOT stands for Worldwide Online Olympiad Training.
nsato19:31:17
Plus, it's fun to say... "Woot!"
nsato19:31:30
WOOT is a 7-month online training program for students who are preparing for their national math Olympiad or the International Mathematical Olympiad. WOOT 2008-09 will run from mid-September, 2008 to mid-April, 2009.
nsato19:31:40
WOOT is sponsored by D. E. Shaw group and Jane Street Capital:
nsato19:31:49
nsato19:31:54
nsato19:32:03
Why WOOT?
nsato19:32:09
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.
nsato19:32:32
Specifically, WOOT will include the following activities:
nsato19:32:38
(1) 16 2-hour online lectures. Each class will be offered twice to alleviate time conflicts.
(2) 8 handouts that will contain articles and practice problems, that will help students prepare for the lectures.
(3) 2 Practice AIME-style tests and 6 Practice Olympiad-style tests.
(4) Detailed feedback on student work on each practice Olympiad.
(5) WOOT message board for discussing lectures, post-lecture problem lists, and past WOOT tests.
(6) 24-hour online classroom access for WOOT participants to collaborate.
nsato19:33:05
Numerous International Math Olympiad participants and USA Mathematical Olympiad winners (including the current Art of Problem Solving instructors) will be WOOT instructors.
nsato19:33:16
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, 2008 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.
nsato19:33:43
The tuition for WOOT is $845.
nsato19:33:56
Here is the URL for the WOOT page:
nsato19:34:10
At this point I'll open the discussion for questions.
sparkle12319:35:02
For what age group is woot for?
rrusczyk19:35:04
Most WOOTers are in high school, though we do have a few 8th graders in WOOT.
Aylsero19:35:49
Are the lectures at the two different dates pretty much exactly the same? What should your skill level be as well?
nsato19:35:51
The two lectures are the same. We recommend WOOT for students who are able to score at least 5 consistently on the AIME.
peregrinefalcon8819:35:56
should we be familiar with the intermediate series includint intermediate trig and complex numbers soon to come
rrusczyk19:35:58
You don't need to have the whole Intermediate series mastered before WOOT, but you should have some familiarity with those topics (enough to tackle mid-range AIME problems, for example)
Lolligal10119:36:13
is this going to be on a transcript?
rrusczyk19:36:14
Yes
Aylsero19:36:53
Is there a way to save transcripts of classes so you can have them for after the class ends?
rrusczyk19:36:57
There is a full transcript of each class available to all students in WOOT. Transcripts are typically put up on the course homepage at the end of the week of classes for WOOT.
istos19:37:33
none younger than 8th grade?
rrusczyk19:37:34
On rare occasion. We had a 6th grader last year who qualified for the USAMO.
istos19:37:59
wow..
rrusczyk19:38:00
Yeah, that's what I said, too.
crichton19:38:09
can i join it if i am a international student?
rrusczyk19:38:11
Yes
Kongster19:38:19
Are classes offered on a weekly basis? Which two days are they offered?
nsato19:38:20
WOOT classes are offered on Mondays and Thursdays. You can find the complete schedule here:
modx0719:39:25
Are there any textbooks needed for Woot?
rrusczyk19:39:26
There are not required texts, but there are usually several message board conversations about different texts students use.
formerchess19:39:42
i heard something about beginner, intermediate, and advanced woot. are the lectures the same for these three levels or do each level have completely different lectures?
nsato19:39:43
Those levels only apply to the practice olympiads. We do not separate the lectures for different levels; all lectures are meant for all students.
jnghiem101719:40:42
where do u find the transcript for this
rrusczyk19:40:44
In the Community section, click Math Jams, then click Transcripts. The transcript will be available tomorrow.
modx0719:41:21
How many people usually participate in Woot?
rrusczyk19:41:22
We expect over 150 this year, and will be adding a third class time (to be announced) to early classes due to the increased size.
Aylsero19:42:15
If we were taking the Trigonometry course that is coming do you think that we would have enough skill to take on WOOT? Or should we wait for next year so we will have taken the entire course?
rrusczyk19:42:16
You can "double up" with Trig and WOOT, and that's not an uncommon combination. If you're comfortably at or above the 5 level on the AIME, but don't have a close mastery of trig/complex numbers, you'll still get a lot out of WOOT.
blastoff19:42:39
Can you give a rough Canadian equivalent to judge readiness - ie Gauss, Euclid, Canadian Open Math Challenge etc?
nsato19:42:40
That's a tough one, it's been a while since I've looked at Canadian contests. You should be able to get through most of the COMC, say 75%. But I recommend doing some past AIME contests, just to be sure.
Kongster19:43:10
How many months does WOOT extend for?
rrusczyk19:43:11
WOOT runs from mid-September through mid-late April.
sparkle12319:43:39
when are the classes? (what time do they start?)
nsato19:43:40
7:30-9:30 PM ET/4:30-6:30 PM PT on Mondays, 9:00-11:00 PM ET/6:00-8:00 PM PT on Thursdays. (Again, this information is on the WOOT schedule page.)
Kongster19:44:05
Should I be prepared to spend a lot of my time when enrolling for a Woot class?
rrusczyk19:44:07
You'll get the most out of WOOT spending 5-8 hours/week on it. However, you have some flexibility in how you spend your time -- if you have a tight schedule one week, you can do more work another week.
formerchess19:44:40
are the lectures the same every year or are different topics covered every year?
rrusczyk19:44:41
The lectures vary from year to year -- we don't re-use class material until it has been at least 3 years since we last used it.
chenhsi19:45:30
What is the expected score on AIME for someone after they have finished the WOOT training?
rrusczyk19:45:31
Very tough to say. I don't have thorough statistics on it, but I would estimate that around 80-90% of WOOTers pass the AIME. Keep in mind that this is a *very* biased sample, though!
formerchess19:45:55
are all practice olympiads about USAMO level difficulty
nsato19:45:56
As mentioned above, practice olympiads come in three different catgories of difficulty. The easiest level is about AMC 12 level, and the hardest level is about USAMO level.
peregrinefalcon8819:46:40
do people usually take woot more then once say because all the material is not undeerstandible the first time through
rrusczyk19:46:41
Many people take it more than once because they qualify for MOSP and get it for free :) They also take it more than once because the course is different from year to year.
rrusczyk19:46:51
And because they improve, so they can focus on the harder material.
modx0719:47:35
So is woot specifically for USAMO preparation, or AIME?
nsato19:47:36
For both, really. Roughly half the classes will cover AIME-level material, and the other half USAMO-level material.
modx0719:48:08
Is there any way to ask the teachers for help outside of the classtime?
rrusczyk19:48:10
Yes. There is a course message board on which you can ask questions at any time. In addition to the WOOT instructors, we will have some former USAMO winners and US IMO team members answering questions on the WOOT message board.
modx0719:48:27
Do Woot participants get access to transcripts from classes that they may have missed?
rrusczyk19:48:28
Yes -- transcripts for all WOOT classes are available for all WOOT participants.
Aylsero19:49:03
If we learned the Intro series and was on our way to completing the Intermediate series and were able to do the 5 AIME problems is that a good record for WOOT?
rrusczyk19:49:04
Yes - but you should be confident about that "5 AIME problems", and should be more than a couple chapters into "on our way to completing the Interm series".
sparkle12319:50:19
How many people are in each class? Are the classes similar to these MathJams?
rrusczyk19:50:20
The classes are similar to those in the Math Jams in which we do problems. The classroom will be this room at the beginning, though we'll be updating the classroom to new software later this fall. The size of the class ranges a great deal throughout WOOT -- anywhere from 30 to 70 students. For larger classes, we pull in extra assistants to help handle questions and work with students 1-on-1 as appropriate.
sparkle12319:50:40
It is necessary that you do all the intro series books before WOOT?
rrusczyk19:50:41
Not if you're basically already mathematically beyond them. You should know most of that material already, though.
rrusczyk19:51:02
(Ooops, my answer precedes the question -- I'm fast.)
jkjk677019:51:54
If I want to join WOOT, what textbook should I study?
rrusczyk19:51:55
Some books we recommend for WOOT study are: our Interm books, Volume 2 of AoPS, Art and Craft of Problem Solving by Paul Zeitz, Problem Solving Strategies by Arthur Engel, many of the Andreescu Olympiad books.
rrusczyk19:52:31
Are there any more questions?
sparkle12319:53:09
So should we have finished volume 2 of AOps beofre WOOT?
rrusczyk19:53:10
Not necessarily.
Aylsero19:53:40
Do the transcripts go away when the class is over?
rrusczyk19:53:41
When the whole course is over, yes. But you can save them to your computer. (Some students print them and make binders. Big binders. Many binders.)
peregrinefalcon8819:53:47
where can we find the art and craft of problem solving and problem solving strategies by arthur engel
rrusczyk19:53:49
Amazon.
formerchess19:54:19
how do you sign up for the different level olympiads?
nsato19:54:21
You don't sign up for them, you just submit solutions for the appropriate problems. You'll get full instructions with each olympiad.
sparkle12319:55:00
Are they grade 11 or grade 12 students in WOOT, or are there mainly grade 9-10 students?
rrusczyk19:55:02
Full range of 9th - 12th grade.
blastoff19:55:27
Still trying to judge readiness - does a 5 on the AIME mean 5 out of 15 problems right?
rrusczyk19:55:29
Yes, and not just "got 5 once", but "pretty confident I can tackle 5 of the problems on most AIMEs.
modx0719:56:14
do you get feedback from the instructors on your work (i.e. illustrating a better method of doing something)?
rrusczyk19:56:16
There is feedback on the mock Olympiad tests on each problem you turn in. Also, there will be plenty of discussion on the message board.
rrusczyk19:56:47
Any more questions?
snorkelpickle19:57:47
U have class for Grade 5-6?
rrusczyk19:57:49
Not yet. We expect to have a Prealgebra book in a year or two, and we'll likely build an accompanying class.
formerchess19:58:02
the mock AIME's are all of AIME level difficulty right?
rrusczyk19:58:04
Yes -- with variance, just like the real AIME
istos19:58:23
would USAMTS be around the level of w00t?
rrusczyk19:58:24
USAMTS = easiest 50-70% of WOOT.
Aylsero19:58:56
When is the Trigonometry book coming out?
rrusczyk19:58:57
I hope end of summer, 2009, but more realistically, fall, 2009. It will have a lot of complex numbers and 2- and 3-dimensional vector spaces, as well.
peregrinefalcon8819:59:22
will u make a calculus or intermediate geometry book any time soon
rrusczyk19:59:23
Calculus: fall, 2009. Interm Geometry: 2011?
Kongster19:59:42
On istos' question, do you mean that Woot will be generally harder than the USAMTS?
rrusczyk19:59:43
On average, yes.
modx0720:00:37
what "schoool" math classes are recommended for woot (if any)
rrusczyk20:00:40
Depends on the school. Most school classes will not do much of anything to prepare for WOOT. Past performance on the AMC and AIME is a much better indicator of readiness.
Eulers_Apprentice20:00:50
will there be an advanced series?
rrusczyk20:00:51
We're not sure what books we'll do later.
snorkelpickle20:01:52
What is the earliest grade level a student can participate? In the mean time, what can one do to prepare for WOOT?
rrusczyk20:01:53
The barrier isn't so much age level as mathematical readiness. If you aren't confident you'll get a 5 on the AIME, you aren't ready. In that case, we recommend study from the Intro/Intermediate series.
serene20:02:24
Could you tell me whether the lecture will be conducted just like this math jam or it will be a webcast?
rrusczyk20:02:25
They'll be held in this room, or a room like it.
rrusczyk20:02:34
Here's why we don't do A/V in our classes currently:
peregrinefalcon8820:03:08
do u think that if i ( anyone ) took ur calculus class even though it doesnt have a book we would be able to pass any level high school exam
rrusczyk20:03:11
If you take the class seriously, are ready for the class in the first place (take the Pre-Test), and do all the work, then yes. But I don't recommend rushing to calculus.
rrusczyk20:03:19
Any more questions?
nsato20:05:04
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.
nsato20:05:10
We look forward to working with you in WOOT this year!
