UMass Lowell maintains a site license for Mathematica that includes coverage for all students. Details. If you get Mathematica before the course starts, you can get started becoming familiar with it. One way to get started learning syntax is by using free form input. See a video about free form input.. You need still need to learn syntax - this just gets you started.
Wolfram's Mathematica Learning Center: There are a variety of learning resources, including screencasts at http://www.wolfram.com/learningcenter/
Documentation at Wolfram Research -->
If you have any questions about this course, feel free to contact me by email: Kenneth_Levasseur@uml.edu