Comprehensive Online Resource Materials for Numerical Linear Algebra Made Available to All

Robert van de Geijn, from the Department of Computer Science, and Maggie Myers, from the Department of Statistics and Data Sciences, have just made available a comprehensive body of online teaching and learning tools for Numerical Linear Algebra.

These resources, which come just as the entire academic world grapples with the new reality of online teaching and learning post-pandemic, couldn’t be more timely, and put a modern spin on the central topics covered in "Numerical Analysis: Linear Algebra,” a core course at the Oden Institute’s Computational Science, Engineering and Mathematics (CSEM) program.

“Building a course around proven online resources can ensure a quality learning experience even when in-person education is infeasible,” observed Dr. van de Geijn and Dr. Myers.

Van de Geijn, a core faculty member at the Oden Institute, and Myers, a faculty affiliate, have leveraged their extensive research expertise and experience with online education to provide a comprehensive body of teaching and learning tools available for anyone who wishes to access it. The result is an easy to navigate electronic book, authored in PreTeXt, that incorporates over 200 short videos, text, exercises, programming assignments, and full solutions. These materials can be used as alternatives or supplements to traditional texts like those by Demmel or Trefethen and Bau.

The authors themselves have used the new materials in a variety of ways, including for:

• “Advanced Linear Algebra: Foundations to Frontiers,” a free electronic book. It is also the name of their Massively Open Online Course (MOOC) currently offered on edX that can be audited for free or taken for a Verified Certificate (for $49). • “Advanced Linear Algebra for Computing,” offered as part of the new Masters of Computer Science Online program of the UT Department of Computer Science. • Their Spring 2020 offering of “Numerical Analysis: Linear Algebra,” a graduate level course taught at UT-Austin. This course is a requirement for CSEM students and cross-listed with Mathematics, Computer Science, and Statistics and Data Sciences.

“It was a very unique experience which I will never forget. I felt more engaged and involved than any other online or even on-campus class I have ever attended,” said one recent online student.

Other courses on edX by van de Geijn and Myers that may also be of interest include:

• Linear Algebra: Foundations to Frontiers (LAFF), a full semester undergraduate introduction to linear algebra for learners interested in computing. • LAFF-On Programming for Correctness, a six week course on the secret sauce behind the software libraries developed by the Science of High Performance Computing (SHPC) group in the Oden Institute. • LAFF-On Programming for High Performance, a four week course that uses matrix-matrix multiplication to illustrate basic techniques for attaining high performance as exploited by the BLAS-like Library Instantiation Software of SHPC. For more information on all these MOOCs, visit ulaff.net.

“We want others to think about how this body of work can fit into their teaching or learning,” indicated Dr. van de Geijn and Dr. Myers.