Figuring Web Calculus via Special Browser
At Texas A&M University, professors have developed a special curriculum
designed to make high-quality calculus courses available to those who do not
have access to the traditional classroom. The courses, first and second semester
WebCalc 1 and WebCalc 2, were developed by Don Allen, Mike Stecher, and Philip
Yasskin at Texas A&M beginning in the fall of 1997. They cover material
required in the two-semester engineering calculus sequence and are also available
to high schools as AB and BC advanced placement courses.
The course is recommended for self-motivated students, the type who might want
to take a calculus course at a small high school that d'es not have enough students
to offer a traditional class. It is also excellent for mature students wanting
to take a college calculus course on their own schedule while working during
the day. And the professors say it is also perfect as a review course for a
high school math teacher who is suddenly told she will be teaching AP calculus
next fall and has not looked at calculus for the past eight years.
An introduction and description of the course is available on the Web at www.math.tamu.edu/~webcalc.
However, the course material itself is not accessible using either Internet
Explorer or Netscape. That's because the quality of mathematical display
via those browsers is not up to the standards of the course developers. Rather,
students must obtain a specialized browser called Scientific Notebook. The browser,
which can also be used as a sophisticated graphing calculator, is available
for about $99 from MacKichan Inc. or free for 30 days at www.mackichan.com.
It comes with Maple and MuPad computing engines.
From within Scientific Notebook, the full text of the courses can be obtained
via the Web by clicking on File + Open Location and going to www.math.tamu.edu/~webcalc/1/mindex.tex
for WebCalc 1 or www.academicsolutions.
com/webcalc2/mindex.tex for WebCalc 2. This brings up the main table of contents
for each course. There are hyperlinks to the chapter tables of contents and
the pages of the course. The text includes a derivation of the basic concepts
with pop-up notes for more detail, proofs, and historical references. In addition,
there are many examples with full solutions, exercises, and pop-up quizzes.
In the studio mode of delivery, the students come to a computer lab three days
a week for 50 minutes. There, they read the course text and practice with exercises
and pop quizzes. When they don't understand something, they ask their neighbors
or call the instructor or teaching assistant over for direct one-on-one help.
Then, for two days a week for 50 minutes, they meet with the instructor who
answers questions, d'es a few more examples, gives a quiz on a chapter, and
introduces the material from the next chapter. The students also take three
midterm exams and a final.
In the distance mode of delivery, a college student covers the material at
his or her own pace but is expected to cover two or three small chapters a week.
After each chapter, the student takes an unproctored quiz. The quiz is posted
on the Web, and the student
e-mails or faxes the quiz back to the instructor who e-mails or faxes the results
back to the student. In addition, the student takes three proctored midterm
exams and a proctored final. The proctored exams are taken at a location that
is mutually acceptable to the student and the instructor. If the student needs
help, the instructor sets up a Web-based tutoring system with a chat room and
an online mathematics whiteboard.
High school access varies, as every high school has to work out its own procedures.
However, here is a possible schedule: The high school students would meet in
a computer lab five days a week for 50 minutes to read the text and practice
with exercises and pop quizzes.
It would be best if the school could designate a math teacher who would be
available to answer questions. If that is not possible, the WebCalc authors
will set up a Web-based tutoring service similar to that for distance-mode students.
The students are expected to cover two or three chapters a week. After each
chapter, they take a quiz, which is proctored by someone at the high school.
In addition, the students take three (or six) proctored midterm exams and one
(or two) proctored finals. If the school can provide someone who can grade the
quizzes, midterms, and finals, that is great.
Otherwise, the WebCalc authors will set up a grading service where the school
faxes the tests to the graders who fax the results back to the school. For home
schooled students, the parents proctor the exams and the WebCalc authors provide
the Web-based tutoring service and grading service.
At Texas A&M, grades have been about equal to those from the traditional
sections, sometimes higher and sometimes lower. Blinn College reports that the
completion rate for WebCalc students is the same as for traditional students.
For more information, contact Philip Yasskin, Ph.D., Texas A&M University,
(409) 845-3734 or yasskin@math.tamu.edu.