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 Ratings
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| Reviewed: |
Sep 29, 2004 by Mathematics |
| Overview: |
This site consists of a small collection of java applets in elementary
mathematics that can be used for classroom demonstrations. It mainly provides
supplementary material to enhance visual understanding of concepts that are
being explained elsewhere. The applet collection is an incomplete translation
of the German version at:http://www.walter-fendt.de/m11d/ (Java 1.1) or
http://www.walter-fendt.de/m14d/ (Java 1.4).
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| Learning Goals: |
The applets provide interesting visual representations of several common topics,
especially in Geometry, Precalculus and Calculus, and allow interactive
manipulation.
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| Target Student Population: |
High school or entry-level college students.
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| Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills: |
Appropriate arithmetic, geometry or algebra course. Some familiarity with
applets ? interface is somewhat obscure.
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| Type of Material: |
Interactive java applets ? mainly visual.
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| Recommended Uses: |
Classroom demonstrations for visualization.
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| Technical Requirements: |
Two versions are available using Java 1.1 or Java 1.4. The 1.1 versions run
successfully on MACs with older operating systems and browsers and on PC?s with
older operating systems. The 1.4 version does not.The Java 1.1 version
http://www.walter-fendt.de/m11e/ will not beupdated in future. The Java 1.4
version requires a Java machine of thisversion which can be downloaded from
http://java.sun.com/.
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| Strengths: |
This site contains a collection of java applets in elementary mathematics ?
grouped into Arithmetic (1) , Elementary Geometry (8), Stereometry (2),
Spherical Geometry (1), Trigonometry (1), Vector Analysis (2), Analysis (2),
Complex Numbers (1).The arithmetic applet, for example, features metric unit
conversions for length, area and volume at four different levels of difficulty.
The geometry examples such as sum of angles of a triangle and angle subtended
in a semicircle were particularly visually attractive. The complex number
example provided an attractive combination of graphical and algebraic display
that covered multiplication and division as well as addition and subtraction
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| Concerns: |
The arithmetic example did not include instructions for how to enter answers and
had some difficulty displaying symbols such as powers. The visual geometry
examples did not include any calculations or explanations. The algebraic
calculations in the complex number example did not include any intermediate
steps.
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Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool |
Rating:   |
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| Strengths: |
Paired with an explanation, most of these applets can significantly enhance
presentations on geometry. Some applets can be used to present proofs in an
intuitive, fairly painless manner. The code can be downloaded and used for
non-commercial purposes for those who want to experiment and develop further.
Different language versions may be useful in some circumstances ? German,
Spanish, Italian, Indonesian and Korean are available
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| Concerns: |
The material would need additional teacher explanations to be useful for most
students at this level of content. Some applets are not very convincing
demonstrations of the concepts involved; this is mainly due to lack of
documentation.
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Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty |
| Rating: |
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| Strengths: |
The applets are generally simple and uncluttered with a strong visual effect.
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| Concerns: |
The instructions for using the applets are cursory or non-existent ? for example
how to enter answers in the unit conversion applet. There are no background
explanations of the mathematics involved so these would be needed to supplement
visual understanding.
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| Other Issues and Comments: |
Useful as a supplement to other explanations of the material.
Physics and astronomy applets are also available at the same site.
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