Welcome to Freshman Programming with MATLAB. Don't be Overwhelmed.
Michael O'Connor, Biomedical Engineering, University of Massachusetts-LowellI was introduced to MATLAB as a student in 2004. Now as an instructor who is looking back, it is impressive how MATLAB and SIMULINK have evolved. I have been teaching biomedical engineering courses for he past eight years. MATLAB has been the key computational tool in all those courses. Recently I have been instructing a Freshman level introduction to MATLAB (Application Programming for Biomedical Engineers). The sections are typically 45 students. Two sections a semester. A majority of the students state they have little or no programming background; although approximately 25% will state they have been proficient with some language (though rarely has one stated they have experience with MATLAB).
The flip side of the great strides made by MathWorks with MATLAB ever improving feature sets and capabilities in MATLAB environment, programming language, toolboxes and even support etc. in each R20xxa/b release is that for a student being introduced to MATLAB it can be OVERWHELMING. MATLAB can be everywhere: online, desktop, mobile not only on local drives but also MATLAB Drive.
Welcome, stay calm and finish Onramp. Any questions? SEARCH DOCUMENTATION (functions, Blocks, Apps, System Objects, Examples, Help Topics, Release Notes - take your pick). Where next? Stay Calm and remember your MATLAB Grader problems are due before the second week.