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| Reviewed: |
Oct 05, 2005 by Mathematics |
| Overview: |
This site is primarily designed as lecture materials, but it is equally suited
as tutorials for individual study. Much of the material consists of text and
graphics in a large font for easy viewing; the materials for a given topic are
presented as a series of web pages with easy navigation. Some of the sections
include glossaries of terms, applications, and more; all are very nicely
presented. The interactive parts are provided by LiveMath and Macromedia Flash,
which are interspersed throughout the site. The two broad areas of ?basic
maths? and ?calculus? are divided into subcategories that include algebra,
logarithms, trigonometry, graphs, complex numbers, statistics, differentiation,
integration, and higher calculus. These subcategories include 28 chapters of
materials and are linked to nearly 200 pages of mathematical content.
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| Learning Goals: |
Demonstrations in lectures, through the use of text, graphics, and interactive
visualizations, of much of the material usually covered in college algebra,
pre-calculus, and first-year calculus. Tutorial use of the site is also highly
appropriate.
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| Target Student Population: |
Students taking a course in college algebra, pre-calculus, or first-year
calculus.
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| Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills: |
This site assumes only that students are competent in basic algebra.
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| Type of Material: |
Lecture/Presentation with interactive simulations and animations.
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| Recommended Uses: |
Classroom demonstrations and student tutorial resource
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| Technical Requirements: |
Requires browser plug-ins for LiveMath and Macromedia Flash. Note: Authors warn
that the LiveMath plug-in does not always work well with IE 6.0 and suggest
using Netscape.
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| Strengths: |
This extensive site contains a wealth of demonstrations/tutorials illustrating
both theory and applications of material from college algebra through first-year
calculus; there are a few sections beyond first-year calculus: differential
equations, Fourier series, and Laplace transforms. The presentation of content
is consistently well thought-out with concise, accurate, and clear explanations.
The graphics and interactive components from LiveMath and Macromedia Flash are
particularly well done and effective in illuminating the mathematical content.
Extras, such as the Millionaire Calculus Game and photographs of real-life
practical applications, round out this excellent learning/teaching resource.
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| Concerns: |
None.
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Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool |
Rating:  |
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| Strengths: |
This is a well-designed, mathematically accurate, technologically dependable
demonstration/tutorial site that should be useful as a complement to traditional
courses in college algebra, pre-calculus, and first-year calculus. Because
many of the content pages contain supplementary exercises complete with
solutions, this site should benefit students wanting additional explanation and
practice in the subject matter.
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| Concerns: |
None.
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Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty |
Rating:  |
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| Strengths: |
This site is easy to navigate. The LiveMath and Macromedia Flash plug-ins
install readily and reliably. Despite a warning by the authors that the
LiveMath Plug-in would not work well with Internet Explorer, reviewers observed
very little trouble except as noted below; the authors do encourage the use of
Netscape.
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| Concerns: |
No search feature is provided on-site (however, there is an externally powered
search feature that does an adequate job of searching the site). Some of the
LiveMath examples are not as interactive as they could have been. Also,
the
reviewers encountered some instances of Internet Explorer 6.0 hanging up.
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| Other Issues and Comments: |
At least one of the reviewers plans to use this site in his teaching.
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