Sage is an open-source computer algebra system (CAS) much like Maple, Mathematica or Matlab. Since it is open source and free to use, it provides a great affordable learning tool for students who want to visualize what they are calculating and can be used to check work.

Many students complain about not being able to see the surfaces they are working with, visualize the vector field they need, or recognize the correct region of integration. A graphing calculator is useful, but not perfect since most of the time it can not integrate in multiple variables or plot surfaces very easily
if at all.

This is where Sage becomes useful. Throughout the course, I will provide ways to solve problems using Sage. One should of course never use Sage to do homework problems, because then it will simply become a crutch. But I encourage students to use it to check their work and supplement their understanding of the material.

To the left you will find links to getting started with sage, a brief tutorial I put together, and some frequently asked questions.