Mathematical Software for Student Success

1. Mathematical Software for Student Success Mark ThomasEmerging Technology & Software Contracts Minnesota State Colleges & Universities Office of the Chancellor

2. Introduction & Background • Briefly: Mark’s work on system-wide academic software contracts for the MnSCU Office of the Chancellor has enabled him to advance technology access, in the realms of mathematical software and GIS, for MnSCU faculty and students. Along the way, Mark found synergy by helping to provide access to mathematical software for Minnesota High School teachers and students.

3. MnSCU Software Contracts Administrative: • Microsoft Campus Agreement • Novell, Inc. Academic License Agreement • Symantec Enterprise Agreement • Lumension "patch management & remediation" Academic: • Adobe Systems, Inc. Adobe CLP • Autodesk, Inc. License Agreement • ESRI - GIS - site license • LodeStar Learning • Wolfram Research -Mathematica - site license • Maplesoft - Maple - site license • Above are some of the software contracts on Mark’s plate

4. What is mathematical software • Interactive software that brings math concepts to life • Intuitive user interface – drag & drop • Sometimes called Computer Algebra Systems because they perform symbolic computations • Maple and Mathematica are used across MnSCU in science, research and engineering. • From Algebra to Quantum Mechanics

5. Clickable Math™ techniques • Clickable Math is a Maplesofttrademark • Smart, context-sensitive right-click menus for instant access to solvers and other command-free operations • Extensive range of palettes for visual editing of math expressions • Interactive plotting and animation controlled by the mouse • “Drag and drop” operations on plots, expressions, text, and more • Built-in selection of interactive tutors that offer visual learning environments for many important math topics in precalculus, calculus, linear algebra, and more • Interactive assistants that provide easy mechanisms to solve and explore advanced topics such as data analysis, optimization, and advanced visualization • A Maple Portal for Students, which acts as a guide for hundreds of common tasks from mathematics courses • Handwriting recognition of math symbols and equations • WYSIWYG document processing features

6. What does Maple look like in-action? • Clickable Math video • http://www.maplesoft.com/products/maple/demo/aca/ClickableMath/ClickableMath.aspx

7. Question:Can mathematical software help in achieving the high school math learning objectives, as defined in the Minnesota Academic Standards Mathematics K-122007 version

8. MN Academic Standards in Mathematics • Beginning with the 8th grade algebra standards and moving through the 12th grade the terms graph, graphing, and graphical are used twenty-one times. Fifteen of the thirty algebra learning objectives include these terms. • This means that at least half of all the learning objectives expected of high school students involve visual learning done with graphs.

9. Technology tools in the Math Stds. • 9.2.2.5 … know how to use spreadsheets and calculators to explore geometric sequences and series in various contexts • 9.2.2.6 … know how to use graphing technology to graph these functions • 9.3.2.5 Use technology tools to examine theorems, make and test conjectures, perform constructions and develop mathematical reasoning skills in multi-step problems. The tools may include compass & straight edge, dynamic geometry software, design software or Internet applets. • (why not add mathematical software to the list?)

10. An offer to Minnesota high schools from Maplesoft • Provides 5 cost-free floating licenses of Maple for Minnesota high schools •  Open-ended option to continue in future years based-on renewal of MnSCU system-wide site license • The offer from Maplesoft, Inc. provides five cost-free floating licenses of Maple 14 to any Minnesota state high school interested in participating. • The Maple 14 software will be delivered in the form of a download link and include purchase code to unlock the software.

11. Maple used across MnSCU • Maple is an important tool for teachers and students learning mathematics. It lets educators and students explore, visualize, and solve mathematical problems, thus providing greater understanding of the mathematics. • Maple is used extensively throughout Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, so introducing Maple to high school students will also give them a head start on the next phase of their education.

12. Maple for Teaching & Learning Teaching: • Bring math concepts to life with interactive graphics and animations, solvers, and interactive tutors in calculus, precalculus, algebra, linear algebra, and more • Save preparation time with Maple’s Smart Document interface, which allows you to produce rich lesson documents that are fully interactive and as professional looking as a text book • Gain access to curriculum resources, with dozens of built-in tutors and assistants, a math dictionary, and access to thousands of classroom resources contributed by a community of educators. Learning: • Increase understanding, faster… Students can check their answers, modify problems and instantly see how the answers change, use tutors to explore and practice fundamental concepts, and visualize problems at a click of a button

13. How are instructors using Maple in the classroom Learn how real educators are using Maple in their classrooms to provide an engaging, effective learning experience for their students. Video: How Are Instructors Using Maple in the Classroom? • http://www.maplesoft.com/products/maple/demo/aca/MapleInTheClassroom/MapleInTheClassroom.aspx

14. Free Mathematics Software for Minnesota State High Schools • Each school is entitled to a 5-user floating license of Maple. This license can be shared by more than 5 people at the school, with a maximum of 5 people using it at any one time. • Details on how to Obtain Maple @ www.maplesoft.com/minnesota/

15. Community & Technical College Math software Success Stories • My name is Francois Nguyen, I’ve taught Mathematics at Saint Paul College for over twenty-five years. Saint Paul College is an urban technical and community college located in the Saint Paul. The college has a diverse student population, with 52 percent of the students coming from ethnic and racial backgrounds, most of them are the first generation in college. • Many minority student chose Saint Paul college for their Liberal arts courses as PSO ( Post Secondary Option) since they can enroll for free though Power of You program. These high school students have limited technology and Math skills. The number of high school students enrolled at college through PSO program has increased significantly during the last couple years. We have provided over 30 classes, ranging from math Fundamentals to calculus. • To motivate student learning, I’ve worked incorporated Maple 14 and Mathematical 7 into my math classes. When using this software , I find that students are more engaged and enjoy learning Math. • The student work together through projects and spend more time in developing critical reasoning skills without worrying too much on the calculation. Students can view demonstration models on-line which help with the broad concept of problem solving and develop confidence and appreciation in mathematics. • Francois Nguyen, Math Instructor , Saint Paul College

16. Math software Success Stories • Century CollegeI’ve used the packages in my lecture to help illustrate concepts, especially finding areas and volumes in Calc II by rotating curves around an axis. • The 3-D graphing capabilities make it easier to demonstrate what it looks like when you form a solid of revolution. It also helps to explain how to slice the object to find its volume. • * Maple is user friendly.* Faculty need Mathematica. • The feedback from students was positive, compared with trying to draw the objects by hand. - Becky Campbell, Math Faculty

17. Math software Success Stories • Lake Superior CollegeI am using Mathematica 6 for my Calculus I and II. This is a perfect tool for more advanced math, science classes. In my opinion, teaching this type of classes with Mathematica or Maple makes tremendous difference. Thanks for the campus wide license, and now this new student licensing option is great. I know that students will appreciate this option very much. • - ZbigniewWdowiak,

18. Math software Success Stories Minneapolis Community & TCI’ve found that the use of Mathematica for Multivariable Calculus and for Linear Algebra and Differential Equations has made it very easy to illustrate and demonstrate mathematical ideas that previously were hard for students to visualize. - Janis Hollenbeck, Dean of Math, Science & Nursing

19. Math software Success Stories Normandale Community CollegeSix faculty members have built Mathematica into the structure of courses they teach. I have built an extensive set of Mathematica notebooks for use by students in my Multivariable Calculus course. These include interactive tutorials for most of the topics in the course, as well as student projects, which are collected and graded. I also use it regularly for classroom presentations in this and several other courses. Most students generally like it, and I hear comments that it really helps with their understanding of the material. - Christopher Ennis, Department Chairperson Mathematics/ Computer Science

20. Math software Success Stories North Hennepin Community CollegeIn all of the Calculus courses, I like to do relatively difficult real-world applications from other fields (physics, chemistry, biology, finance...) after we've mastered the skills 'by hand' in class. We still have to translate the statement of the problem into a mathematical equation (which is usually the most challenging part), but the tedious work of solving can be completed in just a few minutes using a few Maple commands. Without Maple, we'd maybe have time for one or two applications in a 50-minute class; whereas we can finish 5 or 6 applications if we use Maple to help us solve the problem. I want to stress that by the time we use Maple, we've already covered solving problems 'by hand', so Maple is not replacing 'by hand' skills.- Elaina Bleifield, Ph.D., Dean of Science, Math and Health Careers

21. Minnesota Center for Engineering and Manufacturing Excellence • Minnesota State University, Mankato’s Center for Engineering and Manufacturing leads a consortium of ten two-year colleges located throughout Minnesota. The Center is a first contact resource for K-16 students and industry partners for continuing education, emerging technology and the development of future workers by promoting opportunities for students to pursue science, technology, engineering and math as career fields. A key element of that goal is a national middle and high school curriculum intended to spark interest in STEM called Project Lead the Way (PLTW). As the Minnesota Co-Affiliate University for PLTW, Minnesota State Mankato’s Center sponsors and administers PLTW which is a hands-on, project-driven curriculum that includes the practical application of mathematics. The program has grown in schools throughout Minnesota by 140% in the past four years -- from 92 to 216 schools. This growth now gives even more students early exposure to mathematics and mathematical software in a learning environment that promotes student success at the two-year college level. • Center for Engineering and Manufacturing Excellence • Minnesota State University, Mankato

22. Potential collaboration • I’ve been working to provide mathematical software for MnSCU institutions, for over five years. Along the way I’ve found synergy in helping to provide access to mathematical software for Minnesota high schools. • Hopefully high schools across Minnesota will find Maple 14 to be useful in enhancing math education. • Vision: Collaboration with high schools to renew and expand the existing Perkins grant for mathematical software to provide high school and college teacher training and support.

23. Thank you Mark Thomas Emerging Technology Architect & Software Contracts Minnesota State Colleges & UniversitiesOffice of the Chancellor Feel free to contact me by email or phone. mark.thomas@so.mnscu.edu651-201-1485