Would it be wise to use a textbook for the MIT OCW 18.01 Calculus course? I am doing their 'OCW Scholar' course which states no textbook is required, but I'm wondering if there is anyone here who has done this course and knows if a textbook would help. Thanks.

Question

anonymous · Answer

It would be wrong of anyone to say a textbook doesn't help.  Personally I'm finishing the 2006 videos, my own notes and notecards included, and I'm about to use the scholar version to brush up and polish off.
If you want a book for recitation purposes, you know that yucky stuff teachers call homework, I keep track of the video examples as problems to go back and solve myself.  That won't work for you if the professor's instruction is fresh in your memory though.  My other source is a calculus workbook.  Make sure you have all the problems answered and not only the evens...

stacey · Answer

I have not done the class, but sometimes seeing things a different way helps, so a book may be helpful. I would recommend http://tutorial.math.lamar.edu/Classes/CalcI/CalcI.aspx though. These notes are explained better than many books I have seen and the instructor tries to give different types of examples to help explain the different types of problems that a person may run into.