About…

This site is owned and maintained by Zac aka Murray Bourne.

I was a teacher in secondary schools in Australia for some years. I was in Broken Hill (outback Australia) and then Grafton (northern NSW).

I then moved to Japan where I taught mathematics (in English) for 4 years in an interesting program that prepared Japanese students for college courses in the USA. The students would spend 1 year improving their English, then 1 year doing a typical freshman program, then off they would go to small mid-West colleges. I also taught English while in Japan.

On returning to Australia, I taught in TAFE, Bond University and Griffith University.

I then moved to Singapore where I taught engineering mathematics in a polytechnic. I am now doing staff training in the same institution.

The views expressed in this blog are my own – not those of my institution.

To avoid spammers, I hesitate to put my real e-mail address here :-( . If you want to contact me, leave a comment on this post. :-)

Here’s a library catalog card (remember those?) of this site:

Catalog card

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Posted in Contact - November 21st, 2004.

17 Comments on “About…”

  1. Tang Kim Seng Says:
    18 Jan 2005 at 5:46 am Link to this comment

    Hi Zac,

    Great website ! I can’t seem to get enough of it and keep coming back for more. Your topics are interesting and diverse. They stimulated my thinking and I enjoyed our discussions. Hope to see more of other topics being posted and others join in our discussions. Cheers!

    Regards
    KS

  2. Vinod Says:
    7 Dec 2006 at 10:08 pm Link to this comment

    nullity

  3. zac Says:
    8 Dec 2006 at 12:34 pm Link to this comment

    Vinod’s article is an April Fool’s type piece from BBC:

    Computers simply cannot divide by zero. Try it on your calculator and you’ll get an error message.

    But Dr Anderson has come up with a theory that proposes a new number – ‘nullity’ – which sits outside the conventional number line.

    What is extraordinary to me is the hundreds of people that have commented on the nonsense.

    I agree with Matt Milford, who says:

    For goodness sake, do NOT teach this to year 10 pupils!

  4. Joice Toh Says:
    15 Mar 2007 at 3:34 am Link to this comment

    Hi Zac,

    I chanced upon your blog in regards to your entry about SMART Interactive Whiteboards.

    Would like to touch base with you on that. Do drop me an email when you read this? Thanks heap!

  5. Ivan Chew Says:
    1 Apr 2007 at 4:05 am Link to this comment

    Hi Murray,
    I just saw your entry at the sgSocialMediaDir wiki (Individual H-N page). Included additional keywords to describe your blog (you can amend them if you think they are not appropriate).

  6. zac Says:
    1 Apr 2007 at 8:50 am Link to this comment

    Fine with me, Ivan – thanks for the better set of keywords! [I edited your comment – by including the link to the wiki.

  7. Alane Tentoni Says:
    19 Jun 2007 at 11:05 am Link to this comment

    I loved your Ten Ways to Beat the Math Blues. I’m going to make it required reading for my high schoolers this year. Thanks!

  8. zac Says:
    19 Jun 2007 at 1:58 pm Link to this comment

    Thanks, Alane – glad you found it useful!

  9. Del Says:
    26 Jun 2007 at 3:38 pm Link to this comment

    Hi!

    I’m teaching Geometry for this few weeks. I’ve been wondering how I can get my hands on a pair of giant compasses that I can use and demonstrate on the board in class.

    Can you suggest a way for me to buy one locally in Singapore?

    Thanks,
    Del

  10. zac Says:
    27 Jun 2007 at 1:07 am Link to this comment

    Hi Del. I can see why you had trouble finding a supplier of compasses in Singapore. I’ve just googled like mad and cannot find a supplier.

    I expect some of the larger Popular bookstores (like at Jurong East) might have them and Bras Basah Complex has a multitude of related shops and a huge Popular.

    The following suppliers (of books, mostly) may know where you can get them:

    http://www.jotterbook.com/
    http://www.sgbox.com/

    If all else fails, you could always contact MOE – they would surely know…?

  11. Andrey Says:
    14 Aug 2007 at 7:40 pm Link to this comment

    Hi Zac,

    I have created a tool to write math equations online. If it is not against your principles, could you put a link on it in your blog?

    The URL is http://www.texify.com

    Thank you,
    Andrey

  12. zac Says:
    15 Aug 2007 at 2:05 am Link to this comment

    Hi Andrey – I will review your product when I get a chance. Good luck with it!

  13. asmat Says:
    25 Feb 2009 at 10:34 pm Link to this comment

    sir
    u r great i am from pakistan,i want to touch with for ever,ur websites and the method help of people is unique,i gain a lot from ur websites,thanksssssss

  14. Alicia Says:
    28 Apr 2009 at 6:37 am Link to this comment

    I was just reading your blog and thought you may be interested in checking out a new math resource that my nonprofit organization, Facing the Future, has just released.

    Real World Math: Engaging Students through Global Issues is a supplementary math text that puts math in an interesting context that relates to students’ lives. The teacher’s guide and corresponding student workbook contain 15 lessons that engage students in learning foundational algebra and geometry through real-world data on global issues such as climate change, population, and financial literacy.

    Each lesson in the teacher’s guide includes:
    • A complete lesson plan including an activity based ‘hook’ to engage students
    • Masters for student lesson handouts
    • Masters for practice worksheets

    All lessons were inspired, researched, designed, reviewed, and pilot tested by educators in the field.

    You can read more about this resource and download sample lessons on our website. If you would like to receive a review a complementary copy of the teacher’s guide, please send me your mailing address.

    Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions about this resource or our organization in general.

  15. zac Says:
    28 Apr 2009 at 8:23 pm Link to this comment

    Hi Alicia and thanks for the interesting resource!

  16. Krithika Says:
    22 Jun 2009 at 11:34 pm Link to this comment

    Hi Sir,

    I was really surprised when I nvigated through your website. Well I have a small work asked by my friend. I have no idea regarding this and I would liek to have your advise and help in order to proceed with this. I’m really curious to get your help!Thanks in advance!

    “Please use Microsoft Excel (Solver add in) to Maximize Z = 3X + Y, under
    these constraints: 12X + 14Y = 85, 3X + 2Y = 18, 0 = Y = 4, X = 0, Z = 0.”

  17. zac Says:
    23 Jun 2009 at 5:27 pm Link to this comment

    Hi Krithika

    This is a linear programming problem. You need to add the Solver to Excel and there are plenty of tutorials on the Web how to do that.

    Here’s some resources that may help:

    http://www.stanford.edu/~ashishg/msande111/notes/excel_solver.pdf
    http://faculty.kfupm.edu.sa/SE/salamah/mis/tutorial_to_excel_solver.htm
    http://www.economicsnetwork.ac.uk/cheer/ch9_3/ch9_3p07.htm

    Good luck with it!

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