Happy Holidays! (December 2023 Update)

Hi there!

It's been a while since I made a blog post updating you on what's going on at JK Math with regards to new content and projects. The main reason for this is that there really wasn't much to update you on, as I've been hard at work on creating Calculus 3 videos every week since the end of August. Now as we approach the end of the 2023, I have an update for those of you who are interested in knowing what else I might be working on and some of my plans for the new year!

There are 2 main updates I have for you today:

1) Calculus 3 Video Production Update

2) Early 2024 Plans (New Financial Mathematics Content?!)

Feel free to read both of them or just the one you are interested in!

1) Calculus 3 Video Production Update

If you've been following the uploads on Youtube, this week I released Calc 3 Lesson 18 & its corresponding examples video. These two videos will be the LAST Calc 3 videos for 2023. As we enter the holiday season, I will be taking a brief hiatus from creating Calc 3 videos. I have been working on them pretty much nonstop since August, so I am definitely in need of a break. But don't worry, Calc 3 videos will return in 2024, although I am not certain on the exact date/time of their return as of right now (more on why in the second update). Regardless, I'll provide more details on the return of new Calc 3 videos in the new year. I hope you don't mind the wait!

2) Early 2024 Plans (New Financial Mathematics Content?!)

So since I am taking a break from working on Calc 3 videos, a natural question would be: "well, what will  you be working on?" And that's the topic of this second update!

In short, I have started to work on some new content and another exciting project for Financial Mathematics. But let me fill you in on some of the details:

A couple weeks ago I sent out a survey asking for some feedback from students who have taken or are currently taking Financial Mathematics about their experience with the course and its content. The purpose of this survey was to help me decide what to focus on, if I were to create new FM videos of some kind. I received a lot of valuable responses to that survey, and am always looking for more, so if you are an FM student and haven't filled it out already, be sure to do so here: https://forms.gle/xhzoHW2RQozwsLwe7

My FM video series is by far the most popular and well-received on my channel, and so I want to continue to support and create new content for students studying FM. I am aware that well-organized and high-quality videos for help in this course and its content are a bit scarce on Youtube, and so I want to continue to change that.

From the survey, I learned that (as I suspected), the most difficult part of FM for students is being able to solve the Exam FM level problems. I too found this to be the most challenging part of the course when I first took it a little over 3 years ago. So, considering all the feedback I have received, I have decided to create what I will call "Unit Review" videos to add to my FM series. There will be 5 of these videos and what they will do is summarize the content of each main unit of topics in FM, and then will feature several challenging problems involving those topics to solve that will be similar to or on the same level as Exam FM level questions.

The 5 Units are as follows:

Unit 1: Interest Rate Measurement (covers lessons 1-10 of my FM series)

Unit 2: Valuation of Annuities (covers lessons 11-19)

Unit 3: Loan Repayment & Bond Valuation (covers lessons 20-24)

Unit 4: Rates of Return & Interest Rate Term Structure (covers lessons 25-30)

Unit 5: Cashflow Duration & Immunization (covers lessons 31-34)

Additionally, I am planning to make a 6th new video that will be a "Final Exam Review" for FM that will feature solving more FM problems, but they could be from any of the 5 units above, and could even combine multiple topics from different units into one problem. This video will be the culmination of my FM series, and will hopefully be my best video at helping you prepare to take the Exam FM, or the final exam of an FM course.

These videos are still in the early-planning stages, and so I do not expect to have them ready immediately in 2024. It will take time to write, record, and edit these videos so I appreciate your patience as I begin to create them.

But that's not all! I am also currently working on a more secret project involving solving FM problems that I will share more details on at a later date, closer to its completion. Nonetheless, I expect the new unit review videos and this other project to be ready for release in early 2024. The current release window I am aiming for is late January to early February, but I won't know for sure until I get closer to completing everything. Once I do complete these projects however, that will be when I resume working on Calc 3 videos again.

In the meantime, what type of new content will be posted to JK Math on YouTube? Good question! It is most likely the case that I am done posting new videos for 2023, although I may change my mind and record a "Quick Solve!" video or two, if I have some extra time. In 2024, I will try to create a new "Quick Solve!" video here and there to fill in the gaps until the new FM content is ready to release, but I won't make any promises on that in case things get super busy.

Also, I am continuing to add new exclusive bonus videos to my membership site JK Math+ every month, so if you are looking for new tutorials for Calc 1, Calc 2, Calc 3, or FM, then be sure to look into becoming a member! You can learn more here.

That's all for now! I hope you look forward to all of the new content and projects coming your way in 2024. For those of you preparing to take final exams in the coming weeks, I wish you the best in your studies! And then for everybody, I wish you a Merry Christmas and happy holidays!

-Josh